Maryland Accident Law Blog

In US District Court, the mother of Karl Grimes, the 18-year-old who died from injuries he sustained during a fight with two youths while staying at the Oak Hill Youth Center in 2005, is suing the DC government and Prince George’s Hospital Center in Maryland for wrongful death. Patricia Grimes is seeking $5 million from the hospital for alleged negligent care and $15 million from the DC government for its failure to properly staff and supervise the detention facility.

According to Patricia’s wrongful death lawsuit, Karl was sent to Oak Hill in August 2005 because of a probation violation. He was beaten and knocked unconscious by a number of Oak Hill residents on November 23. The lawsuit contends that city officials knew that the detention center lacked the adequate staffing to properly supervise residents and make sure they were safe. Patricia also claims there was a “significant delay” in getting her son the care that he needed and that he would be alive today if city workers had done their jobs correctly.

After the assault incident, Karl was treated by on-site medical workers before he was taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center. He appeared to be recovering until two days later, when his condition deteriorated. On November 26, Grimes was declared brain dead.

This is not the first time that the Oak Hill Youth Center has come under fire for conditions at the DC detention facility. Drug use, overcrowding, and violence among residents are some of the problems the center has been cited for over the years.

Juvenile detention facilities and prisons are supposed to make sure that residents, detainees, and inmates are not placed in situations where they may sustain injuries or die. Failure to provide that care can lead to a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

Grounds for filing a personal injury claim against a juvenile detention facility may include abuse, sexual assault, assault and battery, slip and fall, police brutality, negligence, or premises liability. There are specific steps that must be taken to file your claim or lawsuit against a local, state, or federal government.

Mother Sues City, Md. Hospital Over Teen's Death, Washington Post, November 26, 2008

District youth dies after fight at Oak Hill in Laurel, Gazette.net, November 29, 2005

Related Web Resources:

Behind Oak Hill's Fences, Violence and Uncertainty, Washington Post, August 2, 2004

Medical Malpractice, Justia

According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, fewer Maryland motorists are expected to travel long distances this Thanksgiving than the number of Marylanders who traveled last year. While AAA estimates that 795,200 Maryland residents will travel no less than 50 miles, this figure is 1.5% lower than the number of travelers during Thanksgiving 2007. This is also reportedly the first time that there has been a drop in the number of people traveling for Thanksgiving since 2002.

Additional AAA figures involving Maryland motorists include:

• Some 650,000 Marylanders will travel by car.
• About 84,000 will ride in planes.
• Travel by bus and train are expected to be more popular modes of transportation this year than in 2007.

Even if the roads are less crowded this holiday weekend than they have been in past, many people are still expected on Maryland and other US roads. This is one reason why it is so important that drivers exercise caution to prevent motor vehicle accidents—especially if there is rain or snow on the roads.

The National Safety Council provides tips for safe driving in winter-like weather:

• Make sure your engine is tuned-up.
• Consider using winter-weight oil.
• Adjust your bakes.
• Check your vehicle’s battery.
• Ensure that your wiper blades are cleaned and working correctly.
• Carry tire chains in your vehicle—just in case.
• Drive slowly—especially in ice or snow.
• Know how to driver your motor vehicle if it skids.

In the event that you or someone you love is seriously injured in a Washington DC or Maryland motor vehicle accident, it is important that you seek legal counsel before trying to work out a deal with the other party’s insurance company.

AAA: Fewer Marylanders plan to travel for Thanksgiving, Baltimore Sun, November 25, 2008

Safe Winter Driving, Syracuse.com/The National Safety Council

Related Web Resources:

Maryland Weather

AAA Mid-Atlantic

Continue reading " Even Though AAA Mid-Atlantic Expects There To Be Less Maryland Drivers Traveling This Thanksgiving, Motorists Should Still Exercise Caution to Prevent Motor Vehicle Accidents " »

Personal injury lawyers for a woman who is suing Victoria’s Secret for injuries she says she suffered from using the brand’s Very Sexy Extreme Me Push-Up and Angels Secret Embrace bras say that tests they ordered show that bras from those lines contain formaldehyde, which is used in embalming. They think that their client, Roberta Ritter, is allergic to the chemical.

Ritter, who sued the company in May, says she sustained itchy, inflamed, and blistery welts after using the bras. Since then, dozens of other woman have come forward claiming that they experienced the same injuries after using the Victoria’s Secret bras. At least two other products liability lawsuits have been filed. Class action status is pending.

The bras have not been pulled off store shelves, but a spokesperson for Victoria’s Secret says the company is investigating the complaints. Victoria's Secret denies that any of their bras contain formaldehyde.

This isn’t the only personal injury lawsuit accusing Victoria’s Secret of products liability. In June, another woman filed a personal injury lawsuit seeking unspecified damages from the company because of injuries she says she sustained due to a thong malfunction.

Clothing manufacturers and distributors are supposed to make sure that their clothes are not made with any materials that could cause injury, allergy, infection, or death to wearers. Failure to insure their clothing is free from hazardous defects can be grounds for a Maryland products liability claim or wrongful death lawsuit.

Other injuries that can occur as a result of defective clothing include:

• Burn injuries, from clothing made from flammable material.
• Allergic reactions to toxic substances.
• Strangulation hazards.
• Choking hazards.

Victoria's Secret, Formaldehyde in Bras?, ABC News.com, November 11, 2008

Lawsuit Claims Victoria's Secret Bras Cause Rashes, HivesLawsuit Claims Victoria's Secret Bras Cause Rashes, Hives, Fox News, November 11, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Formaldehyde Council

Recalls.gov

A Delmar woman died in Dorchester County on Friday evening after the car she was riding in was pushed into the back of a tractor-trailer by a Maryland state trooper’s car on Eastbound Route 50. Kristin Underkoffler was taken to Dorchester General Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The 34-year-old driver was sitting in traffic in her 2008 Hyundai when Trooper First Class Paul Zimmerman’s patrol car slid on a patch of ice and struck her vehicle. Zimmerman’s sirens and emergency lights were activated as he headed to an accident scene at the Vienna Bridge.

Underkoffler’s car rotated clockwise before hitting the tractor-trailer’s rear. Zimmeran’s vehicle also struck the truck, but he only sustained minor injuries. He got out of his car to assist Underkoffler until emergency workers arrived at the auto crash scene.

The tractor-trailer driver was not hurt. The Maryland State Police says they still do not know what speed Zimmerman was driving when the crash happened, but a complete investigation is under way. Several other motor vehicle crashes had occurred that day because of ice on the roads.

Speeding and driver distraction are two of the leading causes of United States traffic accidents, and it is the responsibility of all motorists, including working police officers, to make sure that they do not endanger other motorists and pedestrians. Failure to obey the rules of the road and pay attention to pedestrians and other drivers can be grounds for a personal injury claim or wrongful death lawsuit if someone gets hurt or dies.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 314 people died during police chases in 1998. 2 victims were cops, 198 victims were the objects of pursuit, and 114 victims were not directly involved in the police chase.

Md. state police: Woman dies in crash with trooper, Examiner.com, November 22, 2008

Delmar woman dies after state trooper strikes her idling car, Baltimore Sun, November 22, 2008

High-speed police pursuits: dangers, dynamics, and risk reduction, Bnet.com, July 22, 2002

Related Web Resources:

Maryland State Police

Car & Driving Safety Tips, Nationwide.com

Continue reading " Maryland Woman Dies After State Trooper Hits Her Car, Pushing the Vehicle into a Tractor-Trailer " »

In Maryland, a Montgomery County Circuit Court jury has ordered the practice of Silver Springs Dermatologist Dr. Norman Ansel Lokshin to pay the surviving family members of Richard Semsker $5.8 million for dermatology malpractice.

Semsker died of skin cancer in October 2007. The Rockville resident had sought treatment from Dr. Lockshin’s practice. According to his family’s Maryland wrongful death lawsuit, Dr. Lokshin first detected a mole on Semsker’s lower back during a 1998 checkup. Lokshin contacted Semsker’s primary care physician, Dr. Lawrence Marcus, and recommended that the mole be removed. The mole was not removed.

In 2004, Semsker went back to Dr. Lokshin’s practice and was seen by Dr. Michael Albert, who was working at the practice part-time. Dr. Albert recommended that an atypical mole and two cysts be removed from Semsker’s upper back. However, he recommended that the same mole that Lokshin first detected on Albert’s back six years ago only be monitored because he believed that it wasn’t cancerous. Albert had just started working at the dermatology practice and he didn’t know that the mole had grown twice in size.

Semsker’s mole was not removed until August 2006, after his wife noted that it was now a different color. He soon found out that he had cancer and that the disease was now in lymph nodes in his lower abdomen and groin. It would later reach his brain. After undergoing surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, the 47-year-old died of cancer in October 2007.

The Semsker family accused Albert of medical negligence for failing to recommend the mole’s removal. During the wrongful death trial, an expert witness for the family testified that Semsker’s recovery chances would have been 95% if the mole had been removed in 2004 instead of 2006.

While the Maryland jury did not find Lokshin personally liable for the delayed diagnosis, his dermatology practice is being held responsible for the medical malpractice award. The Semsker’s family was awarded $3 million in non-economic damages and $2.8 million for loss of financial support. The non-economic damages will be lowered to $812,5000, per the state’s medical malpractice cap on non-economic damages involving at least two plaintiffs.

Doctor liable for lawyer’s fatal cancer, The Daily Record, November 17, 2008

Family wins malpractice suit against Silver Spring dermatologist, Gazette.net, November 19, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Derm Malpractice Payout Doubled From 2005 to 2007: Average settlement rose by 53% to $290,627, Skin and Allergy News, October 2008

In Baltimore County Circuit Court, Judge Susan Souder awarded Sandra Lee Meade $250,000 for personal injuries she sustained in a pedestrian accident in an Arbutus traffic construction zone more than 5 years ago. The amount is part of a high-low agreement made between Meade and general contractor Dick Corp, with a “low” of $250,000 and a “high” of $2 million.

Meade sustained traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries after she was hit by a car while crossing Westland Boulevard, which was undergoing construction, on December 3, 2003. She now lives in a Maryland nursing home.

While police placed the fault for the pedestrian accident with Meade for crossing the street illegally—she tried crossing the street diagonally to catch the bus to work—Meade’s Maryland car accident lawyer accused Dick Corp. of failing to put in place a maintenance of traffic plan. He noted the "willy-nilly" placement of barricades and lines that were incorrectly painted on the road.

The car driver, who says he did not see her until she was on his vehicle, was not charged in the accident. He is not named as a defendant in Meade’s Maryland personal injury lawsuit, which her sons filed against Dick Corp. The lawsuit sought $8 million in damages on her behalf. Following the Maryland personal injury trial, a Baltimore County jury found general contractor Dick Corp. negligent but not responsible for Meade’s Maryland pedestrian accident.

High-Low Agreements
In a high-low agreement, the defendant and plaintiff are in accord that a case’s verdict will be no more than a set maximum and no less than a set minimum. If the jury verdict reached is greater than the “high” set by the agreement, the plaintiff receives no more than the maximum amount agreed upon with the defendant. If the verdict is below the “low” set by the agreement, then the plaintiff receives no less than the agreed upon minimum.

Woman struck in work zone to get $250K, The Daily Record, November 16, 2008

Related Web Resource:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

A Maryland car crash that led to the deaths of Katherine Brady and her son Wilson in Harford County last Friday could have been prevented if police had arrested the driver accused of causing the accident for fleeing the scene of another motor vehicle collision less than two hours prior, reports the Baltimore Sun.

While police maintain that they acted appropriately when they issued Christopher Lentz a summons after he failed to stop at the scene of the first auto crash he was involved in that day (leaving a traffic crash scene is not a mandatory arrestable offense in Maryland), others are questioning why he wasn't arrested.

The first auto accident took place on Route 152 in Joppa at around 3:30pm when Lentz allegedly drove across the center line and struck a minivan. Seven children who were in the minivan at the time of the traffic crash were transported to a hospital for evaluation.

The 37-year-old Glen Arm motorist then reportedly kept driving for half a mile until his vehicle became disabled. Police charged him with failure to stop at an accident scene, failure to drive right of center, failure to provide the other motorist with insurance information, and failure to control the speed of his car to avoid a crash.

Some 90 minutes later, Lentz, who was driving another motor vehicle, crashed a 2004 Jeep Cherokee SUV head-on into a mini-van on the Bel Air Bypass. Katherine Brady and Wilson, 8, died in the accident. Her husband Stephen, 2-year-old son Ian, another motorist, and Lentz were taken to hospitals for treatment of their injuries.

Lentz has a record of previous driving offenses. He has been issued a number of speeding tickets and his license has been revoked once and suspended at least twice. Thirteen years ago, he was convicted for driving under the influence.

Police say that they will likely charge Lentz for his involvement in the second crash.

Driver could have been arrested before fatal crash, Baltimore Sun, November 13, 2008

Maryland Mother and Her Son Are Killed and Four Others Are Injured in Multi-Vehicle Crash on Bel Air Bypass in Harford County, Lebowitz & Mzhen, November 9, 2008

Related Web Resources

Wrongful Death, Justia

Continue reading " Deadly Maryland Car Crash Could Have Been Prevented if Police Had Arrested the Driver for Leaving Another Accident Scene Less than Two Hours Prior " »

A deadly multi-vehicle accident in Maryland on the Bel Air Bypass in Harford County on Friday afternoon has left two people dead and four others injured. Maryland State Police have identified the deceased as Perry Hall resident Katherine S. Brady and her 8-year-old son Wilson.

Katherine and Wilson were riding in a minivan with her husband Stephen and their other son, 2-year-old Ian, when their vehicle was hit head-on by a Jeep. While Katherine and Wilson were pronounced dead at the crash site on US 1, north of the Vale Road overpass, Stephen, who had been driving the Saturn Relay minivan, was transported by medevac to Maryland Shock Trauma Center where he was admitted in critical condition. Ian was flown to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, where he was treated and later released.

Police say that the driver of the Jeep Cherokee, Glen Arm resident Christopher Lentz, was driving on the should of the road when he lost control of the vehicle, crossed over the median, and crashed into the minivan before also striking a 2004 Ford van.

Lentz was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma for treatment of his injuries. The driver of the Ford was admitted to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center where, on Friday, he was listed in good condition.

Maryland State Police say they plan to press charges against Lentz for his involvement in causing the deadly auto crash on the bypass. Residents that live near the Bel-Air Bypass have called the road “risky.” Last year, one person died and another sustained injuries in another head-on crash on the bypass.

Charges likely in fatal crash, Baltimore Sun, November 9, 2008

2 die, 4 hurt in rush-hour crash on Bel Air Bypass, Baltimore Sun, November 7, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Motor Vehicle Related-Injuries, CDC

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Continue reading " Maryland Mother and Her Son Are Killed and Four Others Are Injured in Multi-Vehicle Crash on Bel-Air Bypass in Harford County " »

This week, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a drug litigation lawsuit pitting a musician, whose arm was amputated after she was given an anti-nausea drug, and drug maker Wyeth. Diane Levine’s arm had to be removed after a physician’s assistant accidentally injected the anti-nausea drug Phenergan into her artery in April 2000. She was administered the drug at a clinic where she was treated for migraine headaches.

Levine sued the clinic, the supervising physician, and the physician’s assistant who injected the drug into her artery for medical malpractice and settled with all parties out of court. She sued Wyeth for its alleged failure to warn clinicians that they should use the safer IV drip, instead of the intravenous “push” method, to administer to Phenergan to her.

A civil jury awarded Levine $7.4 million million, and a judge reduced the amount to $6.7 million. The Vermont Supreme Court upheld the verdict.

Now, Wyeth wants the US Supreme Court to reverse the ruling. The drug maker says that it was in compliance with Food and Drug Administration standards and should therefore be protected from product liability lawsuits filed in state courts.

Wyeth, an independent record label owner, says her business was “crippled” by the loss of her arm. She also says that losing her arm destroyed her musical identity, her source of income, and her self-image.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Drug Labeling in Case of Woman Who Lost Forearm to Gangrene, Fox News, November 4, 2008

High Court Case Looms Large for Drugmakers, Washington Post, November 4, 2008

The Court Confronts a Grievous Injury, NY Times, November 7, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals

Phenergan, Drugs.com

Food and Drug Administration

In Maryland, an Anne Arundel County cop lost part of his ear on Thursday when he bitten by a neighbor’s dog. Officer Michael McDermott, who was off-duty, was rescuing the dog when the unfortunate incident happened.

McDermott had pulled the dog out from under a fallen tree when it slipped its snout from from a makeshift muzzle and bit off part of the police officer’s ear. The dog died soon after of its injuries. McDermott was treated for his injuries at Anne Arundel Medical Center.

According for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 4.7 million people are the victims of dog attacks each year, with nearly 800,000 of these bites serious enough to require medical care. 368,000 people a year will visit a hospital emergency room for treatment of injuries sustained in a dog attack or mauling.

Examples of serious dog bite injuries:

• Facial disfigurement
• Severed limbs
• Internal injuries
• Mental or emotional trauma
• Death

Depending on the victim’s injuries, reconstructive surgery and other painful procedures may be warranted. The victim may also have to undergo additional trauma, such as having to go out in public with a disfigured face or other severe scars that may not fully heal.

In Maryland, dog owners can be held liable for personal injury caused by their pets. However, the degree to which the owner knew or should have known that a dog could hurt someone is a factor in determining whether reasonable care was exercised to prevent the pet from causing injury.

Arundel officer loses part of ear to dog he pulled from under tree, Baltimore Sun, October 31, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Cat and Dog Bites, Family Doctor.org

Dog Bite Liability, Insurance Information Institute

Continue reading " Maryland Dog Bites off Part of Anne Arundel County Police Officer’s Ear " »