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Posted On: June 28, 2010

$1.65 Million Frederick County, Maryland Wrongful Death Award Issued to Parents of Man Who Died in Accidental Shooting

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Frederick County Circuit Judge John H. Tisdale has awarded the parents of Michael Abraham Brall $1.65 million in their Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against Brian Gregory Stone. Stone accidentally shot Brall on October 25, 2007.

The two men had been drinking at a local bar that night when the decided to go to Stone’s apartment. Stone, then 22, reportedly was showing Brall, 23, his roommate’s gun when it went off, sending a bullet into Brall’s chest. He died at the accident site.

At his 2008 criminal trial, Stone said he didn’t know the gun was loaded when he showed the gun to Brall. He says that Brall had asked to see the weapon. Stone was later found not guilty of reckless endangerment and manslaughter.

Brall’s parents don’t expect to receive payment from the Stone. However, their Frederick County wrongful death case was more about holding Stone accountable for his negligent actions. They also settled their Maryland wrongful death case against Jordan S. Kaiser, Stone’s roommate and the owner of the gun that accidentally fired on their son.

Maryland Wrongful Death
Even if the person that you believe was responsible for your loved one’s passing is not charged or convicted in criminal court, you may be able to hold them accountable in civil court. Obtaining financial damages can help cover some of the cost that the death has caused you and your family, while making the responsible party liable for the loss of your loved one and the harm that you have suffered.

Family awarded $1.65 million in son's accidental death, Frederick News Post, June 23, 2010

Local man killed in Frederick shooting, The Herald-Mail, October 25, 2007


Related Web Resources:
Maryland Wrongful Death and Intestacy Statutes, Justice.gov (PDF)

Wrongful Death Action, Cornell Unversity Law School

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Posted In: Wrongful Death

Posted On: June 25, 2010

Prince George’s County Jury Awards $2.025 Million Maryland Wrongful Death Verdict to Family of Inmate Killed by Dump Truck

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The family and estate of Rodney Jennings has been awarded a $2.025 Maryland wrongful death verdict against dump truck driver Wayne Goss and the state of Maryland, Jennings, 28, died in August 2007 after he was hit by a dump truck on Interstate 495.

At the time, Jennings was an inmate serving time for a drug-related charge. The Prince George’s County dump truck accident happened while he picking up trash. Jennings was part of a work detail working under the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

On the morning of August 23, 2007, Jennings was struck by Goss’s 39-ton dump truck as he and other inmates on the work crew tired crossing the Exit 17 ramp for Route 202. His legs were crushed during the Maryland truck accident and, according to the family’s Prince George’s County wrongful death lawyer, Jennings experienced severe pain for about 45 minutes prior to his passing.

The plaintiffs have accused Goss of improperly crossing a solid white line while driving too fast in an attempt to overtake a tractor-trailer. Their Maryland truck accident lawsuit also claims that there were inadequate work signs set up at the off- ramp work area. They blame the Department of Corrections and State Highway Administration for failing to ensure Jennings’ safety. Their Maryland wrongful death attorney says the department should have made sure that the inmates crossed the area where Jennings’s was struck by the truck in a van rather than on foot. He also says that the state workers that were supposed to monitor the inmate crew were inadequately trained. Since the tragic Prince George’s County truck accident that claimed Jennings’ life, inmates are now driven across similar ramps in a van.

In Maryland, many civil verdicts have a $680,000 noneconomic damages cap. However, since there were two defendants, the family will likely receive close to $1.4 million.

Jury awards $2 million to family of Md. inmate killed by truck, The Washington Post, June 25, 2010

Jury awards $2 million in highway death of Md. inmate, The Baltimore Sun, June 24, 2010


Related Web Resources:
Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services

Maryland State Highway Administration

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Posted In: Truck Accidents , Wrongful Death

Posted On: June 21, 2010

Carroll County Motorcycle Death is Third One This Year

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Washington Irving Wheeler died in a Carroll County motorcycle crash on June 10. The 41-year-old was riding his bike south on Md. 30 when he was involved in a traffic collision with a Chevrolet Cavalier whose driver was attempting to make a left turn. According to police, Wheeler was not at fault in causing the Maryland motorcycle accident.

His death is the third Carroll County motorcycle fatality this year—an increase from the two Carroll County motorcycle deaths in 2009. On March 31, Westminster resident William Parry was killed after his bike and a motor vehicle that was also making a turn collided. In an unrelated traffic crash, motorcyclist Brian Ecker, died on May 15 when his motorcycle struck a fence and a mailbox.

In another recent Carroll County, Maryland motorcycle accident, two local residents suffered injuries on June 12 when the motorcycle they were riding and a car collided at the intersection of Broadfording Road and Md. 63. The motorcycle struck the driver’s side of the 2004 Chevy Monte Carlo as it pulled out from the stop sign. The two riders were thrown from their bike.

Police are saying that there is a huge tree at that intersection that obstructs the view from both roads, which makes it likely that both drivers couldn’t see each other. The motorcycle driver, 41-year-old Michael Destefano, was flown to University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in critical condition. His girlfriend, 45-year-old Christine Biddinger, was treated for a collapsed lung, chest injuries, and a broken arm.

Carroll County man in critical condition after motorcycle accident, Herald Mail, June 12, 2010

Md. 30 crash is Carroll's third motorcycle fatality this year, Carroll County Times, June 16, 2010


Related Web Resources:
2010 Maryland Motorcycle Safety Program , Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration

Maryland Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog

Continue reading " Carroll County Motorcycle Death is Third One This Year " »

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Posted In: Motorcycle Accident

Posted On: June 16, 2010

Columbia Man Files $50 Million Maryland Police Brutality Lawsuit Against Howard County Police

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Melvin Yates is suing the government of Howard County, Police Chief William McMahon, and three officers for $50 million. In his federal lawsuit, the 23-year-old is accusing the officers of beating him until he became semiconscious at his father’s memorial party last April.

According to Yates, on April 10 police were called to the memorial party that Yates was holding for his father, who died in a motorcycle crash last year, because a fight broke out. Yates claims he was not involved in the disagreement and that he actually tried to leave the party because he was upset that his guests were disrespecting his father’s memory with their dispute. It was then that a police officer stopped him from leaving, several cops surrounded him, and he was told that he was going to jail.

In his Howard County police brutality complaint, Yates contends that he cooperated with the police officers, who handcuffed him, but that a number of police officers started shoving him against a vehicle, using objects to hit him on the head, and kicking and punching him. The 23-year-old’s allegations are contrary to police claims that he resisted arrest and pushed and grabbed the officers. Their charging documents maintain that they followed police procedure.

Yates’s Maryland injury lawyer says that her client sustained a concussion, bruises, a chipped tooth, a black eye, and cuts during the alleged police beating and that there are more than 10 witnesses who will support his claims. Yates’s sister reportedly captured a portion of the alleged police brutality incident on her phone’s camera.

Yates says he has tried to press assault charges against the police officers but he has been told that he lacks “probable cause.” His federal lawsuit accuses Howard County’s police department of civil rights violations, battery, false imprisonment, inadequate hiring practices, and poor training.

Maryland Police Brutality
Excessive use of police force is a serious problem. Many victims of Maryland police brutality don't realize that their rights have been violated and are too scared to come forward. You may have grounds for a Maryland injury case.

Columbia man files $50 million suit against police, Explore Howard, June 16, 2010

Maryland Police Brutality: Columbia man files $50M lawsuit for beating, Top Wire News, June 16, 2010


Related Web Resources:
Howard County Police Department

Police Brutality and Misconduct

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Posted In: Police Brutality

Posted On: June 10, 2010

Arnold Man Convicted of Hindering Cop Who Shot Him Plans to File Anne Arundel County Personal Injury Lawsuit

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An Arnold man who was shot by police during an altercation at his home last July plans to file an Anne Arundel County police brutality lawsuit. Michael A. Housley was acquitted by a jury of the charge that he assaulted police officers and other related charges. He was, however, found guilty of two counts of obstructing a police officer. The 52-year-old defendant plans to seek a new trial.

On July 12, three cops were asked by Anne Arundel Medical Center to go to his home to check on Housley’s wife, Leah Housley, who left the center even though doctors hadn’t discharged her yet. Housley had taken her there because he was worried that had taken too much prescription medication. The couple says that they went home several hours after she was admitted because she was feeling better.

When the police officers arrived at their residence, Housley refused let them in without paperwork and contacted 911. Meantime, Leah told the officers she would come out but that she needed to place the family dog in the bathroom first.

The police officers forced their way into the Housley’s home by kicking in a glass kitchen door. They then subdued Michael, who was unarmed, with a Taser and pepper spray. When he brandished a chair at a police officer, he was then shot in the shoulder and neck. Michael was treated at Shock Trauma for his injuries.

Excessive Use of Police Force
Police must never use excessive force without just cause. If you suspect that your injuries were caused by unjustified use of police force, you may have grounds for a Maryland injury lawsuit.

Arnold man shot by officer convicted of hindering police, Baltimore Sune, June 4, 2010

Officer Shoots Man Threatening Partner With Chair, WBAL TV, July 13, 2009

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Posted In: Police Brutality

Posted On: June 3, 2010

Woman Claims Maryland Fall Accident Left Her with a Russian Accent

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Robin Vanderlip says she suffers from Foreign Accent Syndrome because she was injured in a Maryland fall accident three years ago. The 42-year-old says that because a handrail at the conference center in Chevy Chase was faulty, she fell backwards down a staircase and hit her head.

Vanderlip, who is American, claims that because of her head injury, she had a stroke and now can only speak with a Russian accent. She also suffers from fatigue and memory problems.

The single mother of two is seeking over $1 million in Maryland personal injury compensation from the National 4-H Council. Meantime, she continues to undergo treatment at the University of Maryland and the National Institutes of Health. Vanderlip says that her daughter is embarrassed by her foreign accent.

Foreign Accent Syndrome
This rare brain disorder causes people to speak with an accent that sounds different from their native tongue and can be triggered by a brain trauma. According to ABC News, one woman, CindyLou Romberg, was diagnosed with FAS 15 years after she fell out of a moving truck and sustained a depressed skull. She recovered from her serious brain injury and could speak normally until in 2006 when she went to see a chiropractor and lost her voice for two days.

When Romberg's voice returned, her American accent had disappeared and she could only speak English with a foreign accent. According to neuroscientist Julius Fridriksson, Romberg may have experienced decreased blood supply to the brain during manipulation, which could have resulted in FAS.

The first case of FAS was reported during World War II and involved a Norwegian woman who woke up from a coma with a German accent after she got hit in the head by shrapnel. Her countrymen alienated her because of her accent.

Woman says fall changed her accent, The Washington Post, May 24, 2010

US woman with Russian accent suffers from 'Foreign Accent Syndrome', UK Telegraph, May 30, 2010


Foreign Accent Syndrome Gives Sufferers an International Sound, ABC/Good Morning America, November 13, 2008


Related Web Resource:
Foreign Accent Syndrome

National 4-H Council

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Posted In: Personal Injury , Premises Liability , Slip and Fall

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