January 2011 :: Maryland Accident Law Blog

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Posted On: January 31, 2011

Looking for Ways to Decrease the Number of Maryland Car Crashes Caused by Drunk Drivers

Our Baltimore personal injury lawyers represent many people that have been hurt in Maryland car crashes because a driver was drunk. It is unfortunate that despite laws that make it illegal for people to drive while intoxicated, and all the efforts to educate people about the dangers of drunk driving, people continue to die in drunk driving accidents.

This isn’t to say that the number of US drunk driving crashes hasn’t gone down. While almost 12,000 people died in auto accidents involving a drunk driver in 2008, 10,839 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in 2009. Our Rockville, injury lawyers hope that this figure continues to go down.

Last week, the transportation safety officials and advocates against drunk driving took a look at technology under development that would stop drunk drivers from driving. The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) technology (DADSS), would prevent drunk drivers from being able to operate their vehicles if they had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or greater. DADDS could be voluntarily installed in new vehicles. One DADSS system uses a breath-based approach, the other system is touch-based.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says predictable effects on driving include:

W/ a BAC of .08%: Short term memory loss, problems processing information and visual data, impaired perception challenges, and issues with speed control.

W/ a BAC of .10%: Difficulty braking or maintaining lane position.

W/ a BAC of .15%: Significant impaired driving

Our Owing Mills, Maryland personal injury law firm knows how to prove negligence in cases involving drunken drivers. We know that no amount of money can make up for your catastrophic injuries or a loved one’s death, but we can help you hold the responsible party liable, which can help cover expenses incurred because of the injury or wrongful death.

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Views Demonstration of New In-Vehicle Technology Targeted Toward Habitual Drunk Drivers, NHTSA, January 28, 2011

Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration

Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

Posted On: January 25, 2011

Owing Mills, Maryland Car Accidents Can Cause Hard to Detect Soft Tissue Injuries

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Involvement in a Maryland car crash can lead to all sorts of painful injuries, including spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, broken bones, and organ damage. Another common injury that occurs, but can be hard to detect at first, is soft tissue injuries.

The soft tissue is generally the area that surrounds the joints or bones, such as tendons, muscles, and ligaments. Soft tissue injuries usually manifest as strains, sprains, or tears, and it may be hours or days before an Owing Mills car crash victim starts to experience symptoms, including inflammation, soreness, and persistent pain. Whiplash is one of the most common soft tissue injuries.

Unfortunately, many insurance companies will try to minimize the seriousness of this type of injury in an attempt to pay an injured person the least amount of compensation. While soft tissue injuries may not necessarily be easy to detect, the pain and discomfort experienced by the victim is very real. A person suffering from a soft tissue injury may have trouble moving his/neck. He/she may also experience chronic back pain or suffer from muscle spasms in the shoulders or serious headaches. In addition to medical care and physical therapy, a person with a soft tissue injury may have to take time off work to recover.

Because obtaining fair compensation for soft tissue injuries can be challenging, it is important that you work with a Maryland injury law firm that has the experience and commitment to helping you obtain your financial recovery.

Sprains, Strains, and Other Soft-Tissue Injuries, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons

Treatment for soft tissue injuries, Brain Mac

Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Maryland Motorcycle Accident Attorney Blog

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Posted In: Car Accidents

Posted On: January 19, 2011

$270 Baltimore Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages Against Police Officer Charged with Man’s Murder

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The family of Tyrone Brown is suing Baltimore Police officer Gahiji Tshamba for his Maryland wrongful death. They are seeking $270 million. Tshamba shot Brown dead last summer outside a Mt. Vernon night club. The Baltimore cop is charged with first-degree murder.

Per charging documents, Tshamba shot the East Baltimore man 12 times on June 5, 2010—not just 6 or 9 times, as was reported. Witnesses say that Brown grabbed Tshamba’s female companion in an inappropriate fashion and that was when the officer challenged him with his gun. The Baltimore wrongful death complaint contends that Brown’s hands were already in the air before the off-duty cop shot him.

Also named as defendants are the state of Maryland, Baltimore’s city council, its mayor, and Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld. The plaintiffs say that Tshamba violated department protocol because he was carrying his gun while intoxicated. They contend that Tshamba shouldn’t have been a member of the police force.

Last summer, The Sun reported that Tshamba shot another man in the foot in 2005. He was also off-duty at the time and driving while intoxicated. He shot someone in the back in 1998 after mistakenly thinking that the other person had fired first. Brown’s family is questioning why, despite indicators that Tshamba had a propensity for using excessive violence, he has been allowed to stay on the police force. They are also questioning the way the police department handled their investigation of Brown’s fatal shooting, including not requiring that he take an alcohol test immediately after and waiting a month after the tragic shooting to get a statement from him.

Baltimore Police Misconduct
The Daily Record reports that a summary by a city council woman noted that from mid-2007 to mid-2010, the city of Baltimore paid $7.25 million to settle police misconduct claims. Unfortunately, police misconduct can happen and may include civil rights violations, such as police brutality, sexual assault, threats, verbal abuse, and unjustified/excessive use of physical violence.

Family of Marine shot by city officer sues for $270 million, The Baltimore Sun, January 18, 2011

Baltimore City Police Officer charged with murder denied bail during bail review, ABC2News, June 13, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Baltimore Police Department

Police brutality, Maryland Accident Law Blog

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Posted In: Wrongful Death

Posted On: January 15, 2011

$2.4M Maryland Wrongful Death Verdict Awarded to Family of Forklift Driver Who Had Asbestos-Related Cancer

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A jury has awarded $2.4 million to the family of Daniel Edwards for his Maryland wrongful death. Edwards died from mesothelioma in 2008.

His families said that he developed mesothelioma lung cancer from moving bags of asbestos for six years during the 60’s and 70’s while employed with National Gypsum. They contend that Union Carbide supplied and mined the asbestos and did not warn workers about the risks associated with exposure to asbestos even though they allegedly knew about the link between mesothelioma and asbestos two years before Edwards started working at the product manufacturer. Union Carbide’s lawyers have argued that it was National Gypsum’s job to warn its employees about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

However, a Baltimore City jury found that it was Union Carbide who was responsible for Edwards’ work-related disease. Because of the state’s cap on damages, the Maryland wrongful death award was lowered to $2.2 million.

Third Party Lawsuits for Maryland Accidents and Illnesses Sustained on the Job
Exposure to hazardous substances on the job can cause serious injuries and even deaths. While employees and their families generally cannot sue their employer for Baltimore wrongful death (most workers are entitled to Maryland workers’ compensation from the insurers of the companies they work for over work-related injuries, illnesses, or fatalities) they may have grounds for a third party lawsuit against other entities or individuals that contributed to causing the injury or death. Examples of some other possible third complaints: (depending on the circumstances surrounding your case): a Maryland products liability case involving defective machinery, a Maryland slip and fall lawsuit against the owner of the property where the work accident occurred, or an inadequate security lawsuit against the party that failed to provide the required safety measures.

Asbestos Settlements, Lawyers and Settlements, January 7, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Asbestos, Occupational Safety & Health Administration

Mesothelioma, National Cancer Institute

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Posted In: Third Party Lawsuits , Workers' Compensation , Wrongful Death

Posted On: January 11, 2011

Man and His 6-Year-Old Son Killed in Maryland Car Accident

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Kent Island residents Joseph Michael "Mike" Hein and his 6-year-old son Mikey have died from injuries they sustained during a Bowie, Maryland car accident on Route 5. Hein, 52, and his son were reportedly riding their 2002 Hyundai Accent on Friday evening when they crashed into a 2004 Cadillac SRX that was stopped on the road with its taillights and headlights off.

Following the Prince George’s County car accident, father and son were taken to different hospitals. The elder Hein was pronounced at Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly. Mikey, who was taken to Children's National Medical Center, died on Monday.

The 2004 Cadillac SRX involved in the catastrophic Bowie motor vehicle crash had reportedly been stolen. Two men, Hyattsville resident Theophilia Herbert Jarvis Jr. and Lanham local Anthony Demetrius Davis, were taken into custody after they were found walking close to the collision site. They are charged with the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. They also may face charges related to the accident.

In other recent Maryland car accident news, four people were sent to the hospital on Saturday after they were involved in an Anne Arundel County auto crash involving multiple vehicles. According to police, Ryan Galliher, the 21-year-old driver of the Mercury Cougar, was driving recklessly when he crossed over the yellow line on Marley Neck Boulevard and struck a Toyota Corolla. The Toyota collided with a Nissan Murano and a Mercedes SUV, which were following behind it.

Galliher was thrown from the vehicle and admitted to Maryland Shock Trauma in serious condition. Three people in the Toyota, including a 3-year-old girl, were also taken to local hospitals. A preliminary probe into the Glen Burnie car crash indicates that driver error and excessive speed may have been factors on Galliher's part.

Father, son killed in Bowie car crash, Gazette.net, January 11, 2011

Passengers in critical condition after head-on collision in Glen Burnie, ABC News, January 10, 2010

Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Continue reading " Man and His 6-Year-Old Son Killed in Maryland Car Accident " »

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Posted In: Car Accidents

Posted On: January 5, 2011

Carroll County Car Accident Death Caused by Tire that Came Off Truck

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A woman was killed in a Carroll County auto accident on Tuesday evening when her vehicle was struck by a tire that came off a Chevrolet Silverado truck. Elisabeth Catherine Osorio died at the Westminster, Maryland traffic crash site on Route 30.

Maryland State Police say that the rear tire first struck a Mazda before hitting the windshield of Osorio’s Subaru Legacy. Her auto then went through a fence. According to the York Daily Record, Jason M. Dempsey, the truck’s driver who is from Hanover, and New Oxford resident Andrew Timothy Nulty, who was driving the Mazda, declined medical treatment.

In other recent Maryland traffic accident news, a 24-year-old female driver was killed and her two passengers sustained injuries on Friday afternoon when the truck she was driving went off Interstate 70 and overturned. The woman, Ashley Marie Matthews, was ejected from her auto and died at the Howard County car crash scene. The two male passengers, 27-year-old Brandon Gaskins, who was reportedly critically injured, and 22-year-old Trevell Brookes, were flown to Baltimore and admitted to Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Police are investigating whether alcohol and speed were factors in the Ellicott City, Maryland auto accident.

Meantime, police are trying to determine what caused a deadly Rockville motor vehicle accident at a local car wash. Driver error and mechanical difficulties are some of the reasons under consideration.

On the afternoon of December 29, 2010, a 1998 Jeep that employee Julio Cesar Coreas-Portillo was driving out of the car wash accelerated out of control to pin two workers beneath it. One of the victims, Gavino Euseda, died from his injuries. The other worker, Eusebio Oacan, sustained serious injuries.

Hanover woman killed in Maryland collision, York Daily Record, January 5, 2010

Airborne Tire Blamed For Fatal Highway Accident, WBALTV, January 5, 2010

Police Identify Woman Who Died in New Year's Eve Crash in Ellicott City, Columbia Patch, January 2, 2011

Fatal crash on I-70: 1 dead, two injured, The Baltimore Sun, December 31, 2010

Police Search For Cause of Fatal Carwash Accident, MyFoxDC, December 31, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Car Accidents Overview, Justia

Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration

Continue reading " Carroll County Car Accident Death Caused by Tire that Came Off Truck " »

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Posted In: Car Accidents

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