Maryland Accident Law Blog

The Cambridge Health Alliance is reporting that there could be up to 3.9 million licensed commercial truck drivers who are suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. This condition is the number two cause of fatigue during the daytime, which means that truckers with OSA may be more prone than other drivers to engage in drowsy driving or fall asleep behind the wheel of their trucks—two common causes of Maryland truck accidents.

As a matter of fact, sleep apnea in general reportedly increases the chances of being involved in a motor vehicle accident by up to seven fold. The consequences of falling asleep behind the wheel of a large truck can be catastrophic.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea
A person with this sleeping disorder may have trouble breathing and sleeping well at night, which can lead to excessive sleepiness during typical waking hours, a tendency to fall asleep during the daytime, and psychomotor deficits. While about 20 million people in the US are believed to be afflicted with sleep apnea, many individuals don’t even know they have the disorder.

With long, irregular hours already taking a toll on a truck driver’s health and ability to drive lucidly, OSA further compounds the concern that exhausted and overworked truckers could cause fatal motor vehicle crashes because they’ve fallen asleep while driving. The Cambridge Health Alliance, which conducted a 15-month study, recommends making it mandatory for commercial truckers to test for OSA.

The Cambridge Health Alliance OSA-Trucker Test
456 commercial truck drivers were tested. 17% of them met the criteria for possible OSA. These truckers tended to be older, more obese, and had above average blood pressure. Only 20 of the participants that satisfied the OSA screening criteria took part in the sleep studies, and all of them were diagnosed with OSA. Unfortunately, only one of the truckers followed treatment recommendations. According to Dr. Philip Parks, the study’s lead author, most truckers seemed to underreport or minimize symptoms for OSA, and there could be up to 14 million US truck drivers with untreated or undiagnosed sleep apnea.

Truck drivers must be alert anytime they are behind the wheel of their commercial truck. Not only is their vehicle likely larger and significantly heavier than the other vehicles on the road, but often, trucks may be carrying large loads or toxic substances. Unfortunately, in the rush to meet deadlines and fulfill delivery orders, truckers have been known to drive while exhausted. This can make them drive carelessly or recklessly, resulting in fatal truck crashes.

Obesity Linked To Dangerous Sleep Apnea In Truck Drivers, Science Daily, March 12, 2009

Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Sleep Disorder Channel

New Study Links Obesity to Dangerous Sleep Apnea in Truck Drivers, 24-7 Press Release, March 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Hours of Service Regulations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Continue reading " Truckers with Sleep Apnea May Cause Maryland Truck Accidents " »

A number of school bus students were rushed to the hospital this week following two separate Maryland motor vehicle accidents involving school transportation vehicles on Wednesday. An elementary school bus and a pickup truck collided in St. Mary’s County when the bus turned in front of an oncoming pickup truck and was struck.

Three of the students who were on the bus were taken to a local hospital, while the pickup truck driver, a Lusby man, was taken to Prince George’s Shock Trauma. Police say the bus driver failed to yield the right of way.

In another Maryland school bus accident, one man died in Garrett County after his vehicle was involved in an auto crash with a school bus. For reasons that are still not clear, the Ford pickup truck of 63-year-old Robert Charles Biers crossed the center line to collide with the bus. All 23 passengers on the bus were taken to Garrett Memorial Hospital so they could be examined for possible injuries.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• There have been 1,389 school transportation-related crashes between 1997 and 2007.
• 1,541 people died in those crashes, which averages to about 140 school transportation-related deaths each year.
• 73% of the people who died were riding in the other vehicles.
• 7% of the those who died were riding in the school transportation vehicles.
• 20% of the people who died were pedalcyclists, pedestrians, and others who weren’t riding in any vehicles when the deadly motor vehicle crashes happened.
• 152 pedestrians younger than age 19 have died in school transportation-related collisions.

School buses are common carrier vehicles which means that the bus driver owes its occupants and other motorists an even greater duty of care than do regular drivers. Many school buses still lack safety belts, which means bus accidents can result in serious injuries—especially for young occupants.

School Bus Accident In St. Mary's, MyFoxDC.com, March 25, 2009

Collision with Bus Kills Driver, Times-News.com, March 25, 2009

School Transportation-Related Crashes, NHTSA

Continue reading " Two Maryland School Bus Accidents Lead to Possible Injuries and One Death " »

According to the Associated Press, the number of mentally ill patients in US nursing homes increased by 41% between 2002 and 2008. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says these approximately 125,000 long-term care residents make up 9% of the overall nursing home population.

There are a number of reasons for this. A number of state facilities have shut down and there aren't enough hospital psychiatric beds. There is also more room in US nursing homes because a lot of older residents are healthier and more independent than those from past generations. As a result, there are less of them requiring long-term care.

Unfortunately, this increase of patients with mental illnesses in nursing homes has resulted in crimes being committed by the younger ones against older nursing home residents. The younger residents tend to be stronger than the older ones, and because they aren’t always aware of or can be responsible for their actions, they may hurt older residents that are too sick or frail to defend themselves. For example:

• An elderly patient, 77, died after his roommate, 72, beat him using the towel bar from the bathroom. His attacker did not go to trial for killing him because he was found incompetent.

• A 23-year-old woman was also found incompetent to go to trial after she was charged with igniting a fire at a nursing home that killed 16 patients.

• A 21-year-old mentally ill resident raped a 69-year-old woman. The nursing home reportedly failed to supervise him despite knowing about his violent history.

• A 77-year-old nursing home resident was in his bed when his much younger roommate, who was mentally ill, slammed a clock radio into his face. The elderly resident died from his injuries.

It is the responsibility of Maryland nursing homes to make sure that all of their residents are housed in a safe environment. This means making sure that older, sick residents are kept separate from younger, stronger patients with mental or behavioral challenges, as well as making sure that these patients with special needs get the care, attention, and supervision they require so that they don’t become a danger to themselves or others. Failure to exercise this duty of care can be grounds for nursing home neglect or wrongful death.

Housing Mentally Ill in Nursing Homes Sometimes Leads to Violence, NewsInferno.com, March 24, 2009

Nursing Homes Called 'Dumping Grounds' for Mentally Ill, MedPage, March 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Welcome to the Maryland Nursing Home Guide, Maryland Gov.

Caring for the Mentally Ill, Newsday.gov

Continue reading " Increase in Number of Younger and Middle Aged Mentally Ill Patients in US Nursing Homes is Leading to Violent Crimes Against Elderly Residents " »

Four years after a SWAT team fatally shot Cheryl Lynn Noel during a drug raid of her Dundalk home, the ensuing wrongful death lawsuit filed in Baltimore County has finally gone to trial. Attorneys for both sides gave opening statements last week.

During the wrongful death trial, a jury will determine whether law enforcement officers were justified in shooting Noel or if the deadly incident was an example of police abuse of power and her family should be compensated for her loss.

According to the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit filed by her husband Charles, he and Noel, a 44-year-old mother, were in bed on January 1, 2005, when at around 4:30 am members of the Baltimore County SWAT team barged into their residence using a battering ram and a flash-bang grenade because they suspected it was a narcotics den housing cocaine and marijuana. The officers, who were heavily armed, claimed to have found traces of drugs in garbage cans outside the residence.

Noel reportedly grabbed a lawfully registered gun that she pointed toward the floor. The complaint contends that Officer Carlos Artson then kicked in the bedroom door and without asking Noel to drop the gun shot her three times—the last time while she was already on the floor.

While Baltimore County Police maintain that they did nothing wrong, the Noel family’s wrongful death attorney maintains that Noel was within her legal rights to protect her home, police violated her civil rights by shooting and killing her without giving her an opportunity to drop her weapon, and the the third shot fired at her was “grossly excessive.”

Excessive use of violence by law enforcement officers can be grounds for a police brutality claim or a wrongful death lawsuit.

Lawsuit brings dissection of fatal SWAT raid, Baltimore Sun, March 18, 2009

Family of slain Dundalk woman sues Baltimore County police, Examiner.com, August 10, 2006

Related Web Resource:
Baltimore County

As close friends and family members continue to mourn movie star Natasha Richardson, questions are beginning to arise as to whether her life could have been saved if she had received medical attention for her traumatic brain injury sooner.

Richardson, 45, passed away on Wednesday—two days after she fell and hit her head while taking a beginner’s ski lesson at a Canadian ski resort. While initial reports indicated that she had been laughing and walking after the accident, new information has surfaced indicating that this may not have been the case.

Paramedics who arrived at the scene to check on her were reportedly turned away. They say, however, that the movie star wasn’t laughing and walking after the accident as was initially reported, but that she was sitting on a stretcher.

It wasn’t until Richardson began complaining of a headache that a second group of paramedics arrived at the scene to take the movie star to a local hospital. While the resort says the ambulance took Richardson away no more than an hour after the first ambulance had driven off, ambulance records indicate that this may have occurred at an even later time and that the actress was not admitted to the hospital until about four hours after she fell. Autopsy results indicate that Richardson died of an epidural hematoma, which involves brain bleeding between the skull and the cover of the brain.

Traumatic Brain Injuries
While some head injuries may seem minor, Richardson’s tragic death is a reminder of how it is so important to get medical attention as soon as possible—especially as some people who hit their heads may appear to be fine at first and then within hours their condition rapidly deteriorates to the point of death.

Symptoms of a possible TBI may include dizziness, nausea, vision problems, balance problems headaches, balance difficulties, sensitivity to light, headaches, problems communicating, and appearing “out of it.”

Richardson’s fall accident on a beginner’s ski slope is also raising the issue of whether it is important for skiers and snowboarders to use helmets.

The movie star leaves behind her husband, film star Liam Neeson, her two sons, Michael, 13, and Daniel, 12, her mother, the legendary actress Vanessa Redgrave, and her sister, actress Joely Richardson.

Richardson Saw Doctors Several Hours After Fall, New York Times, March 20, 2009

Autopsy: Natasha Richardson Died From Bleeding Near Brain, SeattlePI.com, March 19, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Natasha Richardson: A death in the fullness of life, Roger Ebert, March 20, 2009

Epidural Hematoma, MUHealth.org

Continue reading " Natasha Richardson Did Not Receive Medical Attention Until Four Hours After Ski Fall Accident that Resulted in Fatal Traumatic Brain Injury " »

This week, the Maryland Senate approved by a 43 to 4 vote a bill banning drivers from text messaging whenever they are operating their motor vehicles. If the bill becomes law, it would make reading, composing, sending, or receiving text messages a misdemeanor crime punishable by a $500 fine. Maryland would also join a growing list of states and jurisdictions, including Virginia and Washington DC, that are banning text messaging—whether on a cell phone, PDA, or IPod Touch or another device—while operating a motor vehicle.

Sending short messages via cell phone or other electronic devices is a bad habit that has grown more popular in recent years—especially among younger, more inexperienced drivers. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, one of its studies last year found that about 50% of young drivers, ages 18 – 24, text message while driving. The study found that among drivers ages 45 and older, less than 5% engaged in text messaging while operating a motor vehicle.

Text messaging is a type of distracted driving, and like all other forms of distracted driving, including talking on a handheld cellular phone, applying making, or reading the newspaper, can lead to deadly auto accidents. ABC News says that a 2006 study showed that 65% of near-motor vehicle collisions and 80% of auto crashes occur because of distracted driving.

For example, one Maryland child lost her right forearm in a catastrophic bus accident that occurred while the bus driver was texting on his cell phone. 30 people were injured in this Maryland motor vehicle accident. In another traffic accident, a 26-year-old woman died last year in a truck accident when she was struck by a tractor-trailer while the truck driver had been texting.

These kinds of catastrophic motor vehicle collisions could have been avoided if the drivers had not been engaged in distracted driving.

Md. Is Latest State to Target Text Messaging by Drivers, Washington Post, March 18, 2009

Texting While Driving Could Spell Trouble, ABC News, May 8, 2007

Driving and Dialing Bus Drivers May Case Accidents, ABC News, Feb 7, 2007

Related Web Resources:
Examination of Maryland Senate Bill 98 (PDF)

Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association

Continue reading " Maryland Senate Votes for Text Messaging While Driving Ban " »

The family of Charla Nash, the woman who was mauled by a chimpanzee, is suing the owner of the pet primate for personal injury. In their $50 million personal injury lawsuit, the plaintiffs are accusing Sandra Herold of recklessness and negligence due to her inability to control her 200-pound pet and subdue it if necessary. They also accuse Herold, 70, of inviting Nash to her home while knowing that the chimp, Travis, was agitated.

Nash, 55, had come to Herold’s home to help her lure the primate back into the residence. Their plan, however, went awry when Travis began mauling Nash. Travis also attacked one of the police officers who came to the scene. He eventually shot Travis dead. The officer was treated for trauma. Herold, who was also injured while trying to get Travis off Nash, was hospitalized for her injuries.

The 12-minute attack left Nash without her nose, eyelids, hands, and lips, crushed a number of her facial bones, and left her with brain damage and possible blindness. One month after the attack, she remains in critical condition.

Herold thinks that Travis attacked Nash because she changed her hairdo and was driving a different motor vehicle and, as a result, he thought he needed to protect his owner from this “stranger.” Herold has reportedly issued conflicting public statements about whether she gave Travis Xanax the day the attack happened.

This is not the first time Travis had attacked someone. He bit two people in 1996 and 1998. An ex-animal control officer says that in 2003, she warned Herold that her pet’s behavior was cause for worry.

Police are trying to determine whether to press criminal charges against Herold. Meantime, a judge has issued a temporary restraining order that bars Herold from mortgaging or selling her assets.

If you or someone you love was attacked or mauled by someone else's dog or another kind of pet, you may have grounds for filing a Maryland personal injury claim or lawsuit.

Family of Conn. chimp attack victim seeks $50M, Google.com/AP, March 17, 2009

Lawsuit planned in chimp case, Connpost.com, March 17, 2009

Pet Chimp Is Killed After Mauling Woman, The New York Times, February 16, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Chimpanzees as Pets

Chimpanzees Don't Make Good Pets, The Jane Goodall Institute

In Maryland, a Baltimore County jury has awarded the victims of a 2006 Exxon gas spill over $150 million. Some 90 Jacksonville residents experienced personal injury, property damage, and emotional trauma after a leaking pipe at a neighborhood gas station caused 26,000 gallons of gasoline to enter the groundwater.

As part of its compensatory damages, Exxon Mobile Corp is paying the plaintiffs for the full appraised value of their properties, as well as for emotional trauma and the annual testing for four kinds of cancer for the rest of the victims’ lives. However, the jury members, who found that Exxon was not guilty of fraud, did not rule in favor of awarding the punitive damages to the plaintiffs, who had sought billions of dollars in recovery.

Their personal injury team had argued that Exxon was aware it was using inadequate leak detection tools yet ignored that this could result in personal injuries. Meantime, while Exxon has accepted responsibility for the spill and apologized to the victim, the company maintains that it never acted with intentional malice or negligence.

Some four tanker loads of gas spread through the area until the leak was discovered over five weeks later. The Jacksonville, Maryland service station is now closed. However, some 87 wells continue drilling in an attempt to pump water from the ground and take out any remaining contaminants. Since the gas leak, about 45 million gallons of groundwater has been treated.

Gas Leaks
Gas leaks may cause damage to surrounding areas and pollute the water. These leaks can occur when a gas pipe at a station breaks. Failure to detect and repair the leak in a timely manner can prove a health hazard to those affected and may result in major property damage to commercial and residential properties.

Exxon found liable in Jacksonville gas leak, BaltimoreSun.com, March 12, 2009

Exxon To Pay 150 Million After Gas Leak, ABC2News.com, March 12, 2009

Exxon gas-leak case goes to jury after 19-week trial, BaltimoreSun.com, February 28, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Exxon Mobile Corp

In Maryland, a Salisbury man is waiting to find out whether a judge will allow his $45 million police brutality lawsuit to go to court. Ceasar Savage says that a number of police officers beat him unconscious when apprehending him outside his mother’s Newton Terrace home in January 2007.

Savage, 37, says that he did not regain consciousness until he was in the emergency room at the Peninsula Regional Medical Center. Upon his release, police took him into custody and charged him with resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, and a number of drug charges.

According to Savage’s Maryland police brutality complaint, two of the police officers that approached Savage said they were probing a reported burglary in the area. They asked for his registration and license information and asked him to step out of the car.

Savage was handcuffed while police searched the vehicle without a warrant or his consent. No drugs were found. Savage says he asked to be set free and that one police officer began using excessive force on him, busting his teeth and jaws and bruising him on the face.

A Maryland jury would later find Savage not guilty of assaulting a police officer and failing to obey. They also acquitted him of assault charges. The state of Maryland dismissed the remaining criminal charges against him in May 2007.

Savage says he experienced a similar altercation in December 2007 involving some of the police officers he is now suing. All charges related to that incident where dismissed last year.

Savage’s Maryland police brutality lawsuit names Salisbury City Council, Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman, and Salisbury police officers Tanya Ehrisman, David Underwood, Kenneth Wilson, Brian Whitman, Christopher DeVoe, Milton Rodriquez, Chad Crockett, Lisa Purnell, and James Russell. The defendants had sought to have the Maryland personal injury lawsuit dismissed claiming that the Salisbury Police Department cannot be sued.

Brutality lawsuit still awaits trial, DelMarvanow.com, March 2, 2009

$45M lawsuit claims police brutality, DelMarvaNow.com, January 10, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Top 5 Police Brutality Videos, The Huffington Post, March 10, 2009

Stop Police Brutality

Three of the victims of a Maryland motor vehicle accident involving a passenger van and a tractor-trailer are suing the van driver for wrongful death and personal injury. Robin Poffenberger was transporting a group of seniors to a softball tournament in Olney, when he drove a 2003 Chevrolet Custom van into the path of a tractor-trailer.

One van passenger, 72-year-old Clifford J. Rice, died from his injuries. He was sitting in the front passenger side of the vehicle when the May 21, 2008 crash happened at the intersection of Interstate 70 and Md. 66. Six other people suffered serious injuries. The impact of the collision left the truck’s cab embedded in the side of the van.

Now, three Maryland car accident lawsuits have been filed against Poffenberger. Rice’s widow is seeking $4 million for medical costs, loss of her husband’s income, funeral expenses, his pain and suffering, wrongful death, her mental anguish and emotional trauma, loss of companionship, society, protection, attention, comfort, care, counsel, love, and advice.

Another accident victim, Hagerstown resident Jack Finniff, and his wife are seeking $2 million from the van driver. Finniff was so seriously injured that he had to be flown by Medevac to Baltimore, where he was treated at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

The couple’s Maryland personal injury lawsuit is accusing Poffenberger of negligent driving, which resulted in Finiff’s serious injuries. The complaint also contends that the van driver’s negligence resulted in injury to their marital relationship, loss of companionship and physical relations, and loss of society, assistance, and affection.

A third motor vehicle crash victim, Gardner L. Stewart, is seeking $3 million. Stewart says the defendant’s negligence lead to his permanent injuries, debilitating pain and suffering, severe mental trauma, serious emotional anguish care, and his need for medical attention, hospital care, and rehabilitation.

Poffenberger says he is not liable and wants to go to trial.

Lawsuits filed in fatal 2008 crash, The Herald-Mail, March 8, 2009

Several People Still In Serious Condition From Wednesday’s Route-66 Accident, Your4State.com, May 22, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Car Accidents Overview, Justia

Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration

The US Coast Guard is suspending its search of Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith, Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, and former University of South Florida football player Will Bleakley. The three boaters, who had gone on a fishing trip off Florida's Gulf Coast were reported missing at around 1:30 am on Sunday. Search efforts began about half an hour later.

One of the other boaters, Nick Schuyler, who is also a former University of South Florida football player, was rescued on Monday. Schuyler says all of them had been wearing life vests when the boat capsized and that they held on to the 21-foot boat for about 12 to 16 hours until Bleakley, Cooper, and Smith finally let go.The boat belongs to Cooper. 10-foot tall weaves reportedly played a role in the catastrophic boating accident.

According to the US Coast Guard, some 200 boats have capsized in last five months. Capsizing is the number one cause of US boating accidents.

Just last week, officials recovered the bodies of a 7-year-old girl and her 48-grandfather after their 15-foot boat toppled over when the steering cable broke, causing the boat to go out of control. In 2007, About 284 injuries and 204 deaths occurred from 398 capsized boat accidents.

The next two leading causes of US boating accidents are falls overboard and boating collisions with other vessels.

If the boat you are riding in capsizes, the US Coast Guard advises passengers to stay close to the boat to make it easier for rescuers to find you. Officials also recommend letting family and friends know where you will be and where you plan to go in your boat.

Coast Guard suspends search for NFL players, AP, March 3, 2009

200 boats have capsized in past five months, Coast Guard says, CNN, March 3, 2009

Related Web Resource:
United States Coast Guard

Continue reading " US Coast Guard Suspends Search for NFL Players Who Were Lost After Boat Capsized " »

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety says most of the victims killed in teen driving accidents are people other than the teen drivers. The AAA compiled this information based on its analysis of 10 years of crash information.

According to its findings:

• Between 1998 and 2007, 28,138 victims died in teen (Ages 15 – 17) driving accidents in the United States.
• Between 1995 and 2004, 30,917 people were killed in teen driving accidents.
• Approximately 1/3 of fatalities are the teen drivers, ages 15 to 17.
• Almost 2/3rd of the other teen driving accident victims are the passengers in the vehicle, other vehicle occupants, bicyclists, pedestrians, and other motorists.

AAA Western and Central New York President and CEO Tom Chestnut says that these findings show how important teen driving safety is not just to the teenagers but to everyone involved.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the leading causes of teen driving deaths and accidents include:

• Driver inexperience
• Immaturity
• Speeding
• Drunk driving
• Failing to wear a seat belt
• Talking on the cell phone
• Listening to loud music
• Talking to other teenagers in the vehicle
• Driving at night
• Drug use
• Drowsy driving

The NHTSA recommends ways to reduce motor vehicle accidents involving teen drivers including:
• Eliminating teen access to alcohol.
• Graduated driver’s licensing program.

Maryland had strict driving laws for teenagers including:
• A teen driver must have a provisional license for six months before he or she can apply for a provisional license.
• A Maryland teen driver must undergo at least 60 hours of driving practice with someone 21-years-old or older who has had a driver’s license for at least 3 years.
• 10 of the practice driving hours must happen at night.

Teen crashes more likely to kill others, WIVB.com, March 2, 2009

Maryland Teen Driving Laws, About.com

Related Web Resources:
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

Maryland Website for Parents of Young Drivers

Continue reading " AAA Says Most Teen Driving Accident Victims are Other Motorists, Vehicle Occupants, and Pedestrians " »