Maryland Accident Law Blog

The family of Randy Rakes, a Finksburg man who died in 2006 in a Maryland motor vehicle crash involving a State Police trooper car on Md. 140, is calling on Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to remove trooper Dale Derr from the force. Their demand comes following a confrontation between Derr and Rakes’s half-brother, Joseph Blizzard, earlier this month.

According to the Rakes family's Maryland wrongful death lawyer, other troopers had detained Blizzard in Carroll County on October 12 when Derr arrived at the scene and verbally and physically assaulted him before throwing him to the ground, allegedly causing the suspect to break his thumb. Blizzard was arrested over allegations of check forgery.

Police say they are investigating the allegations against Derr. The Rakes family wants him suspended from the force pending the probe’s outcome.

The Rakes family is suing Derr and the Maryland State Police for $15.8 million for Randy’s wrongful death. On November 29, 2006, Rakes and a friend were walking along Route 140 late in the evening when they decided to cross the road. According to the Maryland State Police crash report, Derr, who was driving over 50 mph above the speed limit at around 80mph, struck Rakes with his vehicle.

The report cited the cause of death as Rakes’s failure to yield the rate of way to the cruiser and Derr's speeding. No charges were filed against Derr for his involvement in the crash.

Based on his alleged behavior toward Blizzard, the Rakes family is worried that Derr is “volatile” and could cause further harm.

Police Brutality
Law enforcement officers are forbidden from abusing their authority and exercising excessive force on anyone, including criminal suspects. If you have been a victim of police brutality, your civil rights have been violated and you may be entitled to personal injury compensation.

Md. trooper's firing sought by kin of 2006 crash victim, BaltimoreSun.com, October 29, 2008

Family wants cop fired, Carroll County TImes, October 29, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Maryland State Police

Police Brutality and Accountability in the US, HRW.org

Maryland State Police are investigating a deadly motor vehicle crash in St. Mary’s County that left a newlywed couple dead. Phillip Brian Natalie died at the crash scene, while his wife, Jessica Laurel Natalie, was pronounced dead at St. Mary’s hospital following the crash. Jessica and Laurel, who were both 26, were married this summer.

The collision took place at the intersections of Crimson Drive and Willows Road. Police reports indicate that the Maryland motor vehicle collision happened after a Toyota Camry, driven by 25-year-old Lateesha Shonte Cooper, made a left turn and drove into the path of the motorcycle that the couple was riding. Cooper, who is also a Lexington Park resident, was treated at a hospital for her injuries and later released.

According to Lt. Michael Thompson, preliminary findings made it appear to him as if the motorcycle was trying to avoid Cooper's car. He noted the possibility that Cooper might have failed to yield the right of way.

Maryland State Police records show that there were 96 motorcycle deaths in Maryland in 2007. Police say that although only 2% of all registered motor vehicles in Maryland are motorcycles, these vehicles were involved in 16% of the state’s deadly traffic collisions. While Maryland motorcyclists are responsible for 50% of these auto accidents, the other 50% of traffic crashes are caused by other motorists.

2007 NHTSA US Motorcycle Crash Statistics:

• 5,154 motorcyclists died.
• 103,000 others were injured.
• 1,784 lives were saved because of helmet use.
• 2,332 two-vehicle crashes involved collisions between a motorcycle and another vehicle.
• 25% of all motorcycles involved in deadly accidents were in collisions with fixed objects.

Lex. Park Couple Killed in Motorcycle Crash, Southern Maryland Online, October 20, 2008
2 killed in crash with car, Southern Maryland Newspapers, October 15, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Motorcycle Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA

Continue reading "Lexington Park Couple Dies in Maryland Motorcycle Accident" »

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1,670 of the 41,059 traffic fatalities that occurred in the United States in 2007 were child victims, age 14 and younger. 22 of those fatalities occurred in Maryland. 3 of the child traffic deaths occurred in Washington DC.

The National Center for Health Statistics says that auto crashes are the number one cause of death for children ages 8 to 14 and 3 to 6. Last year, 385 child vehicle occupants, age 4 and under, died in motor vehicle crashes.

More 2007 NHTSA Traffic Accident Statistics About Children, Age 14 and Under:

• 245 of the 1,670 child motor vehicle deaths involved at least one drunk driver.
• 130 of the 245 children that died in drunk driving accidents were riding with a drunk driver.
• Children, age 14 and under, made up 306 of the 4,654 pedestrian deaths last year.
• Drunk drivers killed 29 of these child pedestrians.
• 14,000 child pedestrians sustained injuries in traffic accidents.
• Young pedestrians were most likely to sustain fatal injuries between 4 and 8pm and noon and 4pm.
• 80% of pedestrian deaths involving this age group took place at non-intersections.
• 91 child pedalcyclists died last year.
• 10,000 child pedalcyclists were injured in motor vehicle crashes.
• Each day last year, 5 children in this age group were killed in traffic accidents, with 548 others injured.

Children are prone to catastrophic injuries anytime they are involved in a serious auto collision. While there are steps that parents can take to protect their young children from the impact of colliding with a motor vehicle—whether as an auto occupant, a pedestrian, or a pedalcyclist—accidents caused by negligent drivers or because an auto manufacturer designed a defective car or motor vehicle part do happen.

Children, 2007 Data Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA

Related Web Resources:

Preventing Injuries to Children in Motor Vehicle Crashes, Safe Kids Worldwide

Kids and Cars.org

Continue reading "NHTSA Reports That 22 Children, Age 14 and Under, Died in Maryland Traffic Fatalities in 2007" »

The Baltimore Sun recently looked through crash records and other key documents related to 26 deadly medevac crashes that have occurred In the US since 2003. The newspaper’s findings indicate that many of the cases involved victims that were being transported by air even though they weren’t “minutes-from-death.”

The Baltimore Sun chose to review the medical helicopter crash findings after last month's medevac crash that killed four people in Prince George’s County, Maryland raised questions about whether medical helicopter travel was necessary to save two auto crash victim's lives. The Maryland chopper used to transport the two victims lacked the terrain-awareness system that could have allowed the pilot to detect that he was flying too close to trees. One of the teen victims died in the aviation crash.

While there are many instances where air travel saves the lives of victims who are very sick or seriously injured in accidents, not all of the 26 medevac helicopters that crashed appeared to have been carrying victims whose lives could only be saved if they were transported by air.

Findings include:

• In eight cases, patients actually waited longer for a helicopter than they would have waited if an ambulance drove them to a hospital.
• In six cases, patients were discharged soon after the chopper left them at hospitals or they were transported in long ambulance rides after the helicopter dropped them off.
• 13 of the 26 medevac crashes happened while patients were being flown to hospitals.
• Many of the patients had to wait for hours for a helicopter to arrive and while it was readied for take off.
• One patient was transported by air just 10 miles to a hospital.

Since last month’s accident, the state of Maryland has defended its approximately 4,500 medevac flights a year, saying that they are needed to save lives. It also has implemented a change that will limit the number of flights that are not medically necessary. While patients with serious injuries will be flown by helicopter when air travel will help save their lives by reducing travel time, doctors will have to be consulted before patients with less severe injuries can be transported by medical helicopter.

Meantime, doctors are calling for a review of medevac flights from a medical perspective and whether new guidelines need to be put in place to make sure that a person’s injuries or illness warrants the urgency of air travel.

Unnecessary flight risks?, BaltimoreSun.com, October 23, 2008

Doctors question use of medevac helicopter, UPI.com, October 23, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Copter lacked equipment, BaltimoreSun.com, October 24, 2008

Medevac helicopters under scrutiny, USA Today, September 29, 2008

Continue reading "Baltimore Sun's Review of 26 Deadly Medevac Crashes Indicate that Not All Victims Needed Air Transport" »

In Maryland, a man who previously sought medical treatment at Sinai Hospital for depression is suing the hospital and security guard Timothy Hough for $77 million. The former patient, Gerrod Lewis, says that Hough assaulted him in the hospital emergency room on Labor Day.

Sinai Hospital acknowledges that an unfortunate altercation happened but maintains that Hough was “defending himself” against Louis, who they accuse of being “violent and out-of-control.” Hough continues to work at the hospital.

According to Lewis’s Maryland personal injury lawsuit, Hough started beating him on the head after he refused to remove his earring. Lewis maintains that the assault occurred in an exam room after an emergency technician left him alone with Hough. Lewis, who sustained head and eye injuries from the incident that occurred on September 1, alleges that Hough struck him about 20 times until he was on the ground in “puddles of blood.”

Following an investigation by Baltimore police, Hough was charged with attempted first-degree assault, attempted second-degree murder, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment. Since then, however, Baltimore city prosecutors have dropped the attempted murder charge.

Hough has filed a second-degree assault charge against Lewis, accusing him of verbal abuse, spitting on his face, and approaching him in a threatening manner. Hough says his actions toward Lewis were acts of “self-defense.”

Premises Liability
If you were assaulted on another party’s premise and the property owner or manager should have or could have acted to prevent the incident, you may be entitled to personal injury compensation. Premises liability law holds property owners liable for injuries or deaths that could have (or should have) been prevented.

Video Could Be Crucial In Sinai Lawsuit, WBALTV.com, October 20, 2008

Patient sues for assault, BaltimoreSun.com, October 18, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Sinai Hospital, LifeBridge Health

Premises Liability, Justia

In Howard County Circuit Court, Judge Joseph Manck dismissed two out of five civil claims against former teacher Kirsten Kinley in the Maryland sexual abuse lawsuit against her. Kinley, a former teacher at Hammond Middle School, had asked that the entire lawsuit be dismissed.

Kinley pleaded guilty to a third-degree sex offense for having a sexual relationship with the plaintiff in 2004 when he was 15. She is serving her 18-month sentence in the Howard County Detention Center.

The student, now 18, who never studied directly under Kinley, sued the former teacher for sexual abuse in February. The plaintiff’s lawsuit alleges negligence, battery, and emotional distress.

The lawsuit also initially named Hammond Middle School Principal Kerry McGowan, the school board, and the state of Maryland as defendants, accusing each one of them for negligent hiring and supervison. A circuit court judge dismissed them as defendants in the case earlier this year.

The claims that Judge Manck dismissed against Kinley include a claim holding Kinley’s employer responsible for her actions and a claim for punitive damages. Kinley's attorney had sought to get the negligence, emotional distress, and battery claims dropped on the grounds that his client never meant to cause the teenager emotional trauma and the fact that the plaintiff and defendant did not have a pre-existing relationship.

Sexual Abuse in Schools
The Project on Sexual Harassment in Schools at Wellesley College's Center for Research on Women says that hundreds of sex-related complaints are filed against teachers annually. A 2004 U.S. Department of Education study found that almost 10% of students in US public schools had experienced unwanted sexual overtures by a school employee. Between 1991 and 2000, close to 290,000 students experienced some kind of physical sexual abuse by a public school employee.

Two civil claims dismissed against former teacher, The View Newspapers, September 23, 2008

Teacher-Student Sex: What Were They Thinking?, ABC News, March 10, 2007

Related Web Resources:

AP: Sexual Misconduct Plagues Schools, ABC News, October 21, 2007

What's behind today's epidemic of teacher-student sex?, WorldNetDaily, March 22, 2006

In Maryland, a North Baltimore attorney that sustained serious personal injuries after falling into a construction hole is suing the city, a number of Trigen-Baltimore Energy Corp. entities, Ligon & Ligon Inc., and Johnson Controls Inc. Arianne Spaccarelli sustained serious burn injuries to nearly half her body in the fall accident that occurred in 2005.

In her Maryland personal injury lawsuit filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court, Spaccarelli and her husband Robert Galassi blame the party’s negligence for her fall into the steam pit. The accident occurred at the intersection of Saratoga Street and Guilford Avenue when the couple was walking back to her car after dinner.

Spaccarelli had been walking next to a fenced off construction area, when she fell into the pit. The lawsuit maintains that the construction hole existed beyond the fence. Her husband pulled her out of the hole, but not before she sustained second-and third-degree burns on more than 43% her of her body.

She was admitted to Johns Hopkins Burn Center, where she stayed for one month, and underwent two major surgeries. She also has had to undergo skin grafts, physical therapy, and psychological counseling. Aftereffects from her injuries include depression, itching, disfigurement, and problems sleeping. Galassi, who took time off work to care for Spaccarelli, says he continues to be haunted by what happened to her.

Spaccarrelli has so far accrued $300,000 in medical costs, and future medical bills are expected. According to her personal injury lawyer, she will likely spend over a million dollars in medical and recovery expenses. The 30-year-old staff attorney also has taken time off work because of her injuries and had to withdraw from law school. This caused her to forfeit expenses she’d spent on tuition and books.

While the plaintiffs acknowledge that a recent collision had pushed the fence back from the pit’s perimeter, they also contend that the location of the construction site made it likely that the fence would be hit be a motor vehicle, which rendered the barrier around the hole “inadequate.”

Premises Liability
If you have been injured at a construction site on a public street, you may be entitled to personal injury compensation. Construction companies and the government entities involved with such a job site are supposed to ensure that the premise is safe for workers and the public. Failure to do so can be grounds for personal injury or wrongful death if someone gets hurt or dies.

Lawyer sues city, Trigen over fall into steam pit, The Daily Record, October 7, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Trigen-Baltimore Energy Corp., Goliath

Ligon and Ligon

Proving Fault in Slip and Fall Accidents, Nolo.com

The mother of Latasha Harris, a 31-year-old Baltimore City woman that was murdered in her apartment, is suing the security guard company for wrongful death. The lawsuit, filed in a Maryland court against US Protect Services, is seeking $10 million dollars and accuses the company of not doing enough to stop one of its employees—who happened to be Harris’s live-in boyfriend—from shooting her.

The deadly shooting took place in March in Southwest Baltimore when Harris’s boyfriend, Jerry Bennett, shot her before shooting himself. Bennett had a gun because he was a security guard employed by US Protect Services.

According to the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit, the security guard company should have taken the company-issued weapon away from Bennett after he became violent at work and attacked a coworker.

Harris’s mother is now taking care of her two grandchildren and wants US Protect Services to compensate her family for her daughter’s murder. US Protect Services filed for bankruptcy soon after Harris’s slaying, but her family is hoping to recover compensation from the company’s insurer.

Wrongful death cases can be challenging cases, and there may be more than one party that can be held liable for a loved one’s death. The best way to determine liability is to contact a Maryland wrongful death lawyer about your case.

Maryland Wrongful Death Recovery
In Maryland, the cap on damages for non-medical malpractices wrongful death cases is $680,000 for one claimant. When there are two or more beneficiaries, the cap is $1,020,000. Maryland does not have a cap for economic damages involving wrongful death cases.

Mother Files $10M Lawsuit For Daughter's Murder, WJZ.com, October 2, 2008

Related Web Resource:
Maryland Wrongful Death and Intestacy Statutes, USdoj.gov (PDF)