Maryland Accident Law Blog

More than 20 Ruth’s Chris workers who say they suffered serious injuries because they were exposed to carbon monoxide at the Pier Five Hotel in 2008 have been awarded a $34 million Baltimore personal injury verdict. The steak restaurant, which is not considered at fault, is located at the downtown hotel. The workers contend that the exposure left them with permanent brain damage that have resulted in attention problems, memory problems, and personality changes.

Firefighters had to evacuate the restaurant after workers and customers fell ill. During the civil trial, the rescuers affirmed that the levels of carbon monoxide on the premises could have proved fatal. According to the plaintiffs’ Baltimore injury lawyers, fumes entered through cracks in the hotel’s walls over a four- to five-month period. The safety device for detecting carbon monoxide was shut off on several occasions. On February 2, 2008, that a pipe cap came off, resulting in the carbon monoxide leak.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide exposure can prove deadly for victims. Because CO has no taste, smell, or color, it can be hard to know when one has been exposed. This is one reason there are detection devices designed to give warning when exposure has occurred.

Some 5,000 people are killed and over 10,000 others are injured in the US because of carbon monoxide poisoning. Depending on the specifics of a case, property owners, the manufacturers of products that emitted the CO, or maintenance companies that failed to do their job properly so as to allow for the leak are just some of the parties that can be held liable for Maryland personal injury in the event that carbon poisoning harmed the victim.

Jury awards $34M to restaurant workers at harbor Ruth's Chris, Baltimore Sun, July 29, 2010

Workers at an Inner Harbor steakhouse win a $34 million dollar lawsuit over CO poisoning, ABC2, July 28, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Carbon Monoxide, eMedicineHealth

Premises Liability, Justia

Our Maryland child accident attorneys work hard to obtain the financial recovery that our clients’ families are owed by the manufacturers of defective products. The makers of consumer goods, especially furniture, accessories, and toys that are intended specifically for child and infant use, must make sure that there are no defects to their products that can cause injuries to a child. Failure to do so can cause serious Maryland personal injuries to a minor or wrongful death.

Just today the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 30,000 Nap Nanny® portable baby recliners. The recliners pose a suffocation hazard and fall danger. The CPSC is investigating a report involving the death of a 4-month old child who died while harnessed to the recliner She got stuck between the crib bumper and the recliner.

In another child entrapment accident involving the Nap Nanny®, the baby got caught between the crib’s side and the baby recliner. The infant sustained a forehead cut. There have been 22 reports of babies under 5-months-old who ended up either hanging our falling out of the recliner even though they were harnessed to it.

Last Tuesday, CPSC recalled about 44,900 Kariño Baby Pacifiers that don’t meet federal safety standards. No injuries or incidents have been reported, but the pacifier is an aspiration and choking hazard to kids.

On July 15, the CPSC and Health Canada recalled approximately 20,000 Cozy Indoor Outdoor Portable Playard Tents Plus Cabana Kits because they pose an entrapment hazard to children. In December 2008, a 2-year-old boy was found hanging with his neck trapped between the tent’s metal base rod and the playard. He died from his injuries. The child entrapment accident happened as the boy, who managed to pop off the clips that kept the metal base rod secure, was trying to get out of the playard. Three other incidents were reported involving kids who removed the clips and were able to put their neck between the playard and the tent. Fortunately, they were not injured.

The day before, Pottery Barn Kids recalled about 82,000 drop-side cribs because they pose suffocation, fall, and entrapment hazards. At least seven kids have sustained minor injuries when their legs got stuck between the drop side and the mattress and they fell out of the cribs. There have been 36 reports of drop-side detachment or malfunction.

Recalls and Safety Product News, CPSC, July 2010

Related Web Resources:
Kids in Danger

Potentially Dangerous Children's Products, Good Housekeeping

Continue reading " Preventing Maryland Injuries to Children: Latest CPSC Baby Product Recalls Include Recliners, Pacifiers, Playards and Drop-Side Cribs " »

Two truck drivers were injured during rush hour today in a Baltimore truck collision involving a box truck and a tractor-trailer. According to Maryland State Police, the traffic collision happened when a box truck rear-ended the semi-truck on the Inner Loop close to Baltimore National Pike.

One of the truck drivers reportedly fell asleep while driving. Following the Maryland tractor-trailer accident, box truck driver Michael Ocasio was taken to Shock Trauma and admitted in serious condition. The semi-truck driver was treated at the hospital for nonfatal injuries.

Drowsy Truck Driving
Because of all the hours they spend behind the steering wheel of a large truck—often at odd times of the day and night, with little rest, and while having to navigate through some very long routes—truck drivers are at higher risk than most other motorists of falling asleep while driving. It doesn’t help in the event that a trucker is suffering from sleep apnea—especially when his/her condition has not been diagnosed.

Unfortunately, many motorists don’t realize that driving while drowsy or exhausted puts them at risk of causing a serious Maryland car crash. The National Sleep Foundation says that 60% of Americans polled say that they’ve driven when sleepy and 37% say that they’ve fallen asleep while driving. Sometimes a motorist can fall asleep while driving for just a few seconds. At other times, what may feel like just a blink of an eye may last long enough for the motorist to unknowingly drive off the road or, worse yet, into oncoming traffic or the back of another vehicle.

Drowsy driving can be grounds for a Maryland injury lawsuit if another party is hurt as a result.

Signs that you may be too drowsy to drive safely:
• Heavy eyelids
• Frequent blinking to keep your eyelids from closing
• Not being able to remember the last few miles that you just drove
• Constant yawning
• Lane drifting
• Missing your exit
• Your mind feels foggy and you are having a hard time thinking clearly

Truck Driver Falls Asleep And Crashes On 695, WJZ, July 20, 2010

Two lanes of Beltway Inner Loop reopen after crash, Baltimore Sun, July 20, 2010

Drowsy Driving, National Sleep Foundation

Related Web Resources:
Obesity Linked To Dangerous Sleep Apnea In Truck Drivers, Science Daily, March 12, 2009

Sleep Problems Linked To Truck Drivers' Performance Behind The Wheel, Medical News Today, August 15, 2006

Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Continue reading " Baltimore Tractor-Trailer Crash Caused by Allegedly Drowsy Truck Driver " »

A 14-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy were injured during an East Baltimore car accident yesterday afternoon. The two children were close to the intersection of North Highland Avenue and East Fayette Street when they were hit by a car. Charges are pending against the motorist that struck them.

Child Pedestrian Accidents
Many children lack the judgment and experience to protect themselves from Maryland pedestrian accidents. Although drivers must always refrain from negligent driving to avoid striking pedestrians of any age, they must exercise extra caution around children.

Steps motorists can take to avoid striking child pedestrians:
• Drive at a slower speed in residential neighborhoods and areas where children are likely to be playing or walking to and from school.

• Obey traffic signs and signage and respect crosswalks and speed limits.

• When backing up your car, do so cautiously and slowly. Many child pedestrians are injured in backover accidents each year.

• Don’t text message or talk on the phone while driving.

• Keep your eyes and attention on the road at all times.

In 2008, 270 children in the 14 and under age group were killed in US pedestrian accidents. Our Baltimore injuries to children and minors lawyers have seen the devastating toll pedestrian accidents can take on the victims and their families.

Serious Maryland pedestrian injuries have included traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, internal injuries, and wrongful death.

Teen, toddler hit by car, injured; charges pending against driver, Baltimore Sun, July 11, 2010

Children: 2008 Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Pedestrian Safety, CDC

Pedestrians, NHTSA

Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Continue reading " Toddler and Teen Pedestrians Injured During East Baltimore Car Accident " »

According to the University of Utah Department of Neurosurgery, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of severe head and spinal trauma cases involving all-terrain vehicle. Its researchers’ findings, published in Neurosurgery, emphasis the need for better ATV stability, better rider training, and helmet use.

The research, which is to be published in the journal Neurosurgery, states that:

• ATV injuries resulted in 495 deaths and 1,117,000 emergency room visits in 2001—159% and 211% more, respectively than 1993.

• 42% of head and spinal injuries involved young victims under the age of 20, who are riding adult-sized vehicles yet may lack the physical strength, size, experience, judgment, motor coordination, and restraint to safely operate any type of motor vehicle.

• Most common type of ATV accidents include rollovers and collisions with stationary objects or other vehicles.

• ATV drivers that don’t wear helmets are at greater risk of sustaining a neurological injury.

• With their high gravity center, short wheelbases, and high ground clearance, ATVs have an unstable design.

ATVs can travel on sand, snow, and mud. Neurosurgeon Joel MacDonald, MD, one of the researchers on this study, says children are at higher risk of becoming involved in an ATV rollover crash because they may lack the strength and weight to forcefully lean the vehicle during a turn.

Just last March, a 4-year-old boy died in a Maryland ATV accident close to Middletown when the he drove the ATV into a creek. The child drowned. While Maryland makes it illegal for children under the age of 12 to drive ATVs on state trails, no age limit exists regarding who can operate an ATV on private land.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission says kids under age 6 should not ride ATVs. However, even though ATV manufacturers are now recommending certain age limits depending on the size of an ATV’s engine, some companies are now making ATVs designed for small kids. It is also important to note that adults are also susceptive to ATV accidents and injuries.

If you or someone you love suffered serious injuries during an ATV accident, you may have grounds for a Maryland ATV accident lawsuit or a Maryland products liability case. Manufacturers can be sued for negligence if a product that was poorly designed, lacked the proper safety instructions, malfunctioned in some way, or did not come with the proper warnings caused a Maryland personal injury or wrongful death. If your child is the one that got hurt, you may be able to pursue an Maryland child accident lawsuit.

Head and spine trauma from ATV accidents cost $3.24 billion annually, University of Utah Health Sciences/EurekaAlert.org, July 6, 2010

ATV accident claims life of 4-year-old boy, The Herald-Mail, March 21, 2010

Related Web Resources:
ATV Safety

University of Utah Department of Neurosurgery

Products Liability, Nolo

Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog

Jessica Young and Antoine McLeod are accusing American Radiology Services, Dr. Karen Y. Perkins, and the Johns Hopkins Health System Corp. of Maryland medical malpractice. In their $20 million wrongful birth lawsuit, the Baltimore couple is claiming that a medical record mixup prevented them from receiving information about their baby’s birth defects that could have allowed them to decide whether they wanted to terminate the pregnancy.

Antonio Jesse McLeod was born prematurely last year with a number of birth defects, including a hole in his diaphragm. Also, his stomach was in his chest cavity.

According to the family’s medical malpractice complaint involving Maryland injuries to a minor, the abnormalities were visible in a sonogram performed by American Radiology Services months before the baby was born but that the radiology testing company sent the test results to the wrong doctor. Another Dr. Perkins and not the Dr. Perkins who was Young’s obstetrician received the results. Because of this mistake, Young's Dr. Karen Y. Perkins never saw the sonogram and thought the baby was healthy and the couple were never notified that their child was going to be born with any serious birth defects.

It wasn’t until just days before Antonio was born that a new sonogram showed there might be a problem. An ultrasound confirmed the birth defects. Antonio was born on July 18, 2009.

Following Antonio’s delivery, he was placed on a ventilator, suffered liver and kidney failure, and the hole in his diaphragm had to be repaired. The family’s Baltimore medical malpractice lawyer says that Antonio will likely require a “lifetime of care” that could cost the family over $20 million. The Maryland injury lawyer contends that if the couple had known about their son’s birth defects, they could have made an informed decision over whether to continue with the pregnancy.

Maryland Wrongful Birth
Parents whose doctors failed to diagnose or warn that their unborn child may be suffering from a congenital or genetic disability may have grounds for filing a Maryland wrongful birth complaint if this negligent act deprived them of informed consent and the ability to choose whether or not to terminate the pregnancy. These parents can pursue financial compensation for the costs that come with caring for a child with serious disabilities.

Baltimore parents file $20M lawsuit for wrongful birth, Dolan Media Company, June 21, 2010