Maryland Accident Law Blog

In Maryland, a grand jury has indicted Tavon Taylor and Darren James Bullock on eight counts of vehicular manslaughter, as well as charges of engaging in a speed contest and reckless driving. Eight people died in the deadly motor vehicle accident last February in Prince George’s County, while eight others sustained injuries.

The two men are accused of illegally racing each other on Indian Head Highway before they ran into the crowd that was watching another illegal race. The victims were among the many spectators.

While Maryland authorities have accused Bullock of driving his car into the crowd, they have refused to say whether Taylor struck anyone with his car. A surveillance camera shows Bullock and Taylor speeding with their headlights off at speeds as high as 110mph. At Taylor’s bond hearing this week, the prosecution accused Taylor of “repeatedly deceiving” authorities about what happened. The defense attorneys for both men say that their clients never meant to hurt anyone.

If you or someone you love was seriously injured in a motor vehicle crash because a motorist or someone else was negligent or reckless, an experienced Maryland car crash lawyer can investigate the crash scene to determine whether you are entitled to financial compensation for injuries, pain and suffering, and other losses incurred.

Speeding Facts

• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 13,192 people died in speeding-related accidents in 2004.

• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that after a number of states increased their speed limits in 1996, the number of motor vehicle deaths on Interstate highways increased by about 15%.

• 38% of motorcyclists involved in deadly crashes in 2002 had been speeding.

Driver Who Hit Crowd, Killing 8, Is Charged, WashingtonPost.com, July 30, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Speeding, Saferoads.org

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Continue reading "Motorist that Crashed into Crowd at Illegal Street Race in Maryland Charged with Vehicular Manslaughter" »

In Baltimore County Circuit Court, Donna Jankowski reached a confidential medical malpractice settlement with Franklin Square Hospital Center and Dr. Diaa Mikhail. The settlement was reached on July 18 on the 5th day of their medical malpractice lawsuit trial.

Jankowiak had sued the Baltimore hospital and Mikhail for medical malpractice, alleging that they failed to diagnose her heart condition. The Dundalk woman went to Mikhail in November 24 because she was experiencing pain going from her arm to her chest.

In her medical malpractice lawsuit, filed last year, Jankowiak says that Mikhail conducted an EKG and said the results normal. Jankowiak then sought help at the Franklin Square emergency room where she had another electrocardiogram. These EKG results also were reportedly normal, according to the hospital.

Six hours later, at another hospital, Jakowiak underwent a third EKG. This time, results came back abnormal. Jankowiak was suffering from a myocardial infarction, which has resulted in permanent heart damage. She has had to undergo surgeries and other medical treatments as a result of her condition.

Failure to Diagnose
Failing to diagnose an illness or condition can cause a patient’s condition to grow worse. His or her chances of survival may decrease if a diagnosis is missed completely or is delayed because of an initial failure to diagnose. Many conditions that could have been easily treated can become progressively worse because of a failure to diagnose, and a patient may have to undergo surgeries and other invasive and/or painful procedures that he or she could otherwise have avoided. Failure to diagnose a condition can also result in a patient’s death.

Failure to diagnose is a common kind of medical malpractice. In Maryland and Washington DC, an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help you with your case.

Settlement Reached in Lawsuit Against Baltimore Hospital and Doctor, RedOrbit.com, July 28, 2008

Related Web Resources:

How Common is Failure to Diagnose?, Wrong Diagnosis

Franklin Square Hospital Center

Three people sustained injuries in Towson when an elevator in the Baltimore Circuit Court building fell almost two feet between the first and ground floors.

Firefighters were able to manually open the door to rescue its passengers. One of the passengers, a man, was transported to Sinai Hospital as a precautionary measure. Two boys sustained minor injuries. All three injury victims involved in the elevator accident were at the courthouse to attend a wedding.

The Maryland Labor and Industry Commission says the state last inspected the elevator in January 2007 and only minor problems were found. The company in charge of maintaining the elevator, Otis Elevator, last inspected the elevator in July 2007.

Elevator Accidents
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that there were 68 fatalities involving elevator accidents between 1992 and 2003. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 9,800 elevator injuries in 1994 involving victims be sent to hospitals.

Common Elevator Accidents:

• Sudden acceleration or deceleration of speed
• Sudden stops
• Stopping in between floors
• Failing to stop so that the bottom of the elevator- is level with the floor
• Falling elevator
• Getting struck by or caught between the elevator doors
• Trip accidents
• Fall accidents

Examples of Elevator Injuries:

• Cuts and scrapes
• Nerve lacerations
• Fractured bones
• Death

Property owners with elevators on their premises are obligated to make sure that the elevator is working properly and is up-to-date on all maintenance checks and repairs. Failure to fulfill these obligations can be grounds for a premises liability claim or lawsuit if a passenger is injured or killed.

Elevator Malfunction Injures Three, ABC2news.com, July 30, 2008

Three Hurt in Court Elevator Accident, Delmarvanow.com, July 30, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Deaths and Injuries involving Elevator Accidents, CPWR.com (PDF)

Continue reading "Three People Injured in Baltimore County When Elevator Falls" »

Importer Bayside Furnishings and the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of approximately 9,350 Pirates of the Caribbean Twin Trundle Beds and LaJolla Boat Beds because of concerns that the toy chests pose an entrapment or strangulation hazard to kids.

There is concern that the toy chest lid supports do not stop the chest lid from shutting too fast. The CPSC says that they have received reports of one incident in which a boy, 22-months, was strangled to death after the toy chest lid fell on the back of his head and his neck became trapped.

This is not the first time toy chests have been recalled over entrapment/suffocation worries. One child suffocated while in a toy chest three years ago. In separate incidents in 2001, another child fell while another child suffocated. Both children died from their injuries.

At least 10 other toy chest recalls have taken place over the last 10 years. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that since 1975, there have been at least 45 reported deaths. At least three children that were injured injured in toy chest-related accidents suffered brain damage. The majority of injury victims are younger than 2 years of age.

Common toy chest-related accidents:

• The chest falls on a child’s hands or neck.
• Suffocation, from children climbing into or get trapped in the toy chest.

Manufacturers of toys and other children’s products are supposed to design and make products that are safe for use. If your son or daughter was injured because of a product defect, you may be able to file a products liability claim or lawsuit to obtain compensation for his or her personal injuries.

Toy Boxes and Toy Chests, CPSC.gov

Bayside Furnishings Recalls Youth Bed Toy Chests Sold at Costco After the Death of a 22-Month-Old Child, CPSC.gov, July 3, 2008

Toy Chests are Not Toys, Washington Post, July 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:

NNCS Toy Safety

Kids in Danger

Continue reading "Bed and Toy Chest Sets Recalled May Pose an Entrapment Hazard to Kids" »

In Maryland, Salisbury Cardiologist Dr. John McLean is being sued for medical malpractice. The 2-count lawsuit, filed by patients and their families, accuses McLean of performing stent placement and cardiac catheterization without proper cause. Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Peninsula Regional Health System Inc., and McLean’s practice, John R. McLean, MD & Associates.

The 24 plaintiffs include 13 patients throughout the Delmarva Peninsula, as well as the spouses or representatives of decedents’ estates. They are alleging negligence and seeking damages above the $30,000 jurisdictional limit for each count plus all legal costs. The personal injury attorneys for the plaintiffs say that McLean “dramatically overstated findings” from tests and persuaded his patients to undergo surgeries they did not require. They also say that there were less expensive procedures that could have been used. The lawsuit also accuses the technicians and nurses that assisted McLean during the surgeries of knowing about the malpractice but failing to report or stop the wrongdoing.

Last year, Peninsula Regional Medical Center, where McLean conducted the procedures, accused McLean of performing 25 unnecessary heart stent procedures. Some claimaints even underwent the procedure more than once.

Cardiac Catheterization
Cardiac catheterization involves the insertion of a thin plastic tube into the vein or artery. The tube can then be advanced into the heart. The test can measure blood pressure in the heart and oxygen in the blood.

Stent Placement
Stents can be inserted after cardiac surgery to keep blood vessels open. They can also be used to open arteries in certain areas of the body and to treat patients with liver disease or blocks in the esophagus.

Lawsuit filed in stent surgeries, Delmarvanow.com, July 21, 2008

Stent Placement

Cardio Catheterization, American Heart

Related Web Resources:

Peninsula Regional Medical Center

Dr. John McClean

A new safety study is reporting that there are hundreds of thousands of tractor-trailer operators and bus drivers in the United States with commercial driver’s licenses even though they suffer from medical conditions that could cause them to have seizures, blackouts, heart attacks, or experience other major health issues while driving. As a result, hundreds of injuries and deaths have occurred because some of these medically unfit drivers experienced health emergencies while on the road. The study was obtained and reported on by the Associated Press.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is in charge of disciplining unfit drivers, says it hasn’t completed any of the recommendations that US safety regulators proposed 7 years ago. Recommendations included barring truck drivers from “doctor shopping,” which allows them to find a doctor that would ignore or not notice that the driver suffered from a health condition, and establishing a minimum truck standard that officials can work with to determine when a truck driver is no longer medically safe to get behind the wheel.

The latest information gathered by the Transportation Department in 2006 showed that there were 7.3 million commercial driver violations, and truckers in violation of federal medical rules were apprehended in every US State. Maryland was one of the 12 US states with drivers having the most sanctions for violating these rules.

A 2007 federal safety study found that drivers falling asleep or becoming physically impaired while on the road were among the leading causes of serious truck accidents.

A driver that experiences a seizure, a heart attack, or a fainting spell while behind the wheel can pose a serious danger to motorists and other pedestrians. That driver will likely be unable to stay in control of the vehicle, which can lead to serious motor vehicle collisions and pedestrian accidents.

A Congressional hearing is scheduled this week to examine recent findings related to why it is easy for many unfit truckers and bus drivers to continue working without having to deal with disciplinary repercussions. Prevention recommendations will be assessed.

The impact of being struck by an out-of-control bus or truck can lead to catastrophic consequences for victims. In Maryland and Washington DC, our truck crash lawyers can determine whether a truck driver or trucking company was negligent in causing the motor vehicle accident that resulted in your injuries.

Medically unfit truck drivers still on roads, AP, July 21, 2008

Center for National Truck and Bus Statistics

Related Web Resources:

Truck Safety Coalition

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Continue reading "Study Shows that Medically Unfit Truck Drivers Pose Serious Threat to Motorists and Pedestrians" »

Television host Ed McMahon is suing Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, two doctors, and an investment tycoon for personal injury. He says that the neck injury he suffered from a fall accident makes it impossible for him to work and is the cause of his financial problems.

McMahon says he fell down a ramp-like staircase during a dinner party at the home of Robert Day, an investment tycoon, and that the stairwell was “unsafe” because it didn’t have handrails or proper lighting. Day is one of the defendants in the lawsuit.

McMahon is also suing Cedar-Sinai Medical Center and two of its doctors for discharging him with a broken neck following the fall accident and failing to properly perform two surgeries. McMahon says that it was his cardiologist who later diagnosed the neck injury.

The 85-year-old former TV host says that he cannot work because of his injuries and is now $644,000 behind on mortgage payments. He has already undergone three surgeries to repair his neck injury.

A spokesperson for McMahon says the personal lawsuit comes following failed negotiations with the defendants. McMahon is seeking compensation for battery, negligence, elder abuse, and emotional distress.

Medical Malpractice
Doctors and hospitals are supposed to provide patients with a certain level of care. When failure to provide that care leads to injury or the exacerbation of an existing injury or illness, the health care provider can be held liable for medical malpractice.

Premises Liability
Slip/trip, and fall accidents can occur when there is an unsafe condition on a property that leads to injury accidents. Property owners must make sure that there are no hazards on a premise that can cause someone to slip and fall or trip and fall. Slip/trip and fall accidents can lead to painful injuries.

In Maryland and Washington DC, contact our personal injury lawyers to discuss your case.

Ed McMahon Files Lawsuit Over Neck Injury, CNN.com, July 19, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Ed McMahon Explains his Mortgage Mess, CNN.com, June 6, 2008

Continue reading "Ed McMahon Sues Hospital, Doctors, and Investment Tycoon for Personal Injury" »

The Maryland Natural Resources Police have charged Milton Owings, a Glen Burnie resident, with the negligent operation of a vessel after the boat he was operating capsized.

Two of his passengers fell into the water. One victim, a 17-year-old boy, had to be flown to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore where he received treatment for a foot injury.

The boating accident occurred on Saturday in the Atlantic Ocean south of the Inlet. According to the NRP, Owings should have exercised greater caution due to the rough ocean conditions.

Boat operators and owners are required to exercise certain duties of care when operating a vessel. If a boat owner or operator acts negligently or recklessly and someone is injured, the responsible party can be sued for personal injury or wrongful death.

2004 boating accident statistics from the US Coast Guard:

• 4,904 recreational boating accidents in the US
• 3,363 injuries
• 676 deaths
• $35 million plus in property damage

Causes of these boating accidents included:

• Operator inexperience
• Operator inattention
• Speeding
• Reckless driving

Capsizing and falls overboard are the leading cause of boating-related deaths.

In Maryland, our boating accident lawyers are familiar with the state, county, and city laws that govern boating accidents, and we can help you determine whether you have grounds to file a personal injury or wrongful death claim. If you have been injured in a boating accident, do NOT speak with representatives for any other parties that were involved in the collision until you contact an experienced Maryland boat crash law firm first.

Md. police charge boater in ocean mishap, Delaware Online.com, July 16, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

US Coast Guard

Continue reading "Glen Burnie Man Charged with Negligent Vehicle Operation After One Passenger is Seriously Injured When Boat Capsizes" »

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that 56,000 seniors age 65 and older were hospitalized in 2005 because of traumatic brain injuries sustained in fall accidents. Nearly 8,000 people died as a result of these TBIs. The study results were published in this June’s issue of the Journal of Safety Research.

TBIs were a factor in the 50% of accidental fall deaths and 8% of non-fatal fall-related hospitalizations involving seniors. The older people are, the greater their chances of becoming involved in a fall accident. Poor balance, chronic health issues, loss of sensation in the feet, muscular issues, eyesight problems, vision loss, and medication side effect have been known to contribute to an elderly person getting hurt in a fall accident.

According to CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Director Ileana Arias, while most people worry that older people will break a hip when they fall, traumatic brain injuries are also a serious worry. It doesn’t help that traumatic brain injuries among seniors can easily be misdiagnosed or missed.

Falls are the number one case of injury and death for seniors age 65 and older. 1 out of 3 elderly Americans will get hurt in a fall accident every year. 30% of fall accidents require the victim to seek medical care.

In 2005:
• Almost 16,000 seniors died from fall accidents.
• 1.8 million seniors were seen at hospital ER’s.
• 433,000 seniors involved in fall accidents were hospitalized.

Slip and Fall Accidents
Seniors can be especially prone to injury if the owner of a property or business is negligent and neglects to repair or clean up a hazardous condition that could result in a slip/trip and fall accident.

In Maryland and Washington DC, our slip and fall accident lawyers can determine whether the premise owner/manager could have done more to prevent your fall accident from happening.

Senior Falls Can Lead to Brain Injury, WashingtonPost.com, June 24, 2008

Prevent Brain Injury, CDC.gov

Related Web Resources:

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Traumatic Brain Injuries, National Institute of Neurological Disorders

Continue reading "Seniors Injured in Fall Accidents Can Suffer from Traumatic Brain Injuries" »

In Maryland’s Anne Arundel County, six people were injured on Monday morning in an accident involving a Ford pickup truck and a Honda Accord. Police say the driver of the Accord lost control of the motor vehicle and swerved into the opposite lane where it became involved in a head-on crash with the truck.

Edward Lawrence Paquette, the driver of the Honda, sustained life-threatening injuries. Rescue crews had to extricate him from the wreckage before he was transported to Anne Arundel Medical Center and later to Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

The truck’s front-seat passenger, Christine Oakes, also sustained life-threatening injuries. Gary Oakes and three children, also in the pickup, were taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital for their injuries. Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

According to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, head-on collisions are happening more often and resulting in fatalities.

Data gathered from 2003 shows that there were 366 fatal cross-media collisions on US freeways that year. 2002 statistics report that there were 680 deaths related to these kinds of accidents.

There is no leading cause of head-on crashes. Driver fatigue, driver inattention, speeding, incorrect lane changes, and drunk driving have all been known to result in cross-over accidents.

Other Kinds of Vehicle-Related Crashes:

• Single car crash
• Rear-end collision
• Rollovers
• Multi-vehicle accidents
• Side collisions

In Maryland and Washington DC, our car crash lawyers have helped many motor vehicle crash victims obtain recovery for the injuries and losses they have suffered.

6 injured in accident on Ritchie Highway, BaltimoreSun.com, July 14, 2008

Freeways: Severe, head-on crashes and deaths are increasing

Related Web Resource:

National Cooperative Highway Research Program

Continue reading "Six People Are Hurt in Anne Arundel County Car Collision" »

A 22-year-old woman died in Washington DC on Tuesday morning while riding her bicycle to work. Alice Swanson was run over by a garbage truck on R Street NW close to Dupont Circle.

The truck belongs to KMG Hauling Inc. The driver of the truck, Marco Rosendo Flores Fuentes, reportedly did not see Swanson, who was making a left turn. No charges have been filed against him, and the Metropolitan Police Major Crash Investigation Unit is continuing to investigate the fatal bicycle-truck crash.

Swanson was a program associate at the International Research and Exchange Board. Her death is the first bicyclist fatality in Washington DC this year.

According to research found on Massbike.org’s Bicycle Crash Statistics page, common bicycle-motorist crash scenarios involve:

• The driver merging into the path of the bicyclist.
• The bicyclist merging into the motorist’s path.
• The driver trying to overtake the bicyclist.
• The driver neglecting to yield the right of way.
• The bicyclist failing to yield the right of way.

Common causes of bicycle collisions:

• Speeding
• Driver inattention
• Defective bicycle or motor vehicle
• Drunk driving
• Negligence

Our Maryland and Washington DC bicycle accident lawyers are experienced in proving when a bicycle accident is caused by a negligent motorist or another liable party. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering, medical expenses, or the loss of your loved one.

Bicyclist killed in garbage-truck crash, Examiner.com, July 9, 2008

Bicycle Crash Statistics, Massbike.org

Related Web Resources:

Bicycle Crash Facts, Bicyclinginfo.org

General Pedestrian Statistics, Walkinginfo.org

Continue reading "Garbage Truck Runs Over Bicyclist in Washington DC" »

The family of Donald E. Coates Jr., a 20-year-old Glen Burnie man who was unarmed and naked when he was killed by rookie Anne Arundel Police Officer Timothy Pleasant, is suing Anne Arundel for $10 million.

In the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit filed in Circuit Court, Pleasant is accused of acting with malice and behaving unreasonably on the night of May 24, 2005. The suit contends that no other police officer would have shot Burnie, who was fleeing, from behind.

Coates was delusional and on drugs when the shooting happened. According to Anne Arundel County police union president Officer O’Brien Atkinson, Pleasant “did exactly what he was trained to do under the circumstances” and that his only option was to use “deadly force.”

On the night of his death, Coates contacted 911 from his home and said that someone was trying to kill him. He then reportedly locked himself in the bathroom after ordering everyone in the house to leave at gunpoint.

Coates then jumped out of the bathroom window and hid behind the utility box. Pleasant spotted Coates and asked him to come out. Coates ran at him and Pleasant fired his gun four times. Coates died as a result of the shooting.

Coates’s family has filed the wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of his two young children. The family claims they sustained mental trauma and pain and suffering because of the shooting death. They are demanding recovery for funeral costs, gross negligence, excessive force, and seizures.

Please contact our Maryland personal injury law firm if another party seriously injured you or someone you love because of their negligent or careless actions.

Police Brutality
Police brutality is the use of excessive and unreasonable force by law enforcement personnel, including county police officers, state police, and federal agents. Beating, shooting a suspect without justification, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, and other violent actions are unjustifiable and against the law.

Police killing of naked man leads to $10 million lawsuit, BaltimoreSun.com, June 29, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Police Brutality in the US, HRW.org

Continue reading "Anne Arundel County Sued for Wrongful Death of Naked Man Shot by Cop" »