Maryland Accident Law Blog

Joseph Wheeler is suing Prince George's Hospital Center for Maryland personal injury. He is seeking over $12 million—$9.5 million in punitive damages and $3.2 million in compensatory damages. He is also seeking damages from Broadway Security and hospital guards Donovan Scott and William Reese.

The 46-year-old Inigoes, Maryland man had been admitted to the Upper Marlboro hospital for treatment of shoulder and torso injuries he sustained following a July 23 car accident. Wheeler contends that when he woke up the following day he was told by a nurse that he couldn’t eat because he had to undergo surgery.

The hospital ID bracelet he was wearing explained that he was about to have a “potentially cancerous mass” taken out of his chest. However, the bracelet had what appeared to a female name on it belonging to a person who was born 13 years before Wheeler's birth year.

Wheeler and his wife tried to leave but security arrived to detain him. He claims that they pushed him into a wall and metal railing and cussed at him.

The two guards are also accused of putting on black padded gloves before they approached Wheeler. While the security lieutenant acknowledged there had been an ID mix-up, he reportedly told the guards to prevent Wheeler from leaving unless the bracelet was returned. Following the incident, Wheeler was admitted to St. Mary's Hospital for three days where he was treated for a concussion, a sprained shoulder, and a ruptured spleen.

Wheeler and his wife are claiming damages for false imprisonment, emotional distress, and assault and battery.

Maryland Personal Injury
With discovery rule, you have three years to file a Prince George's County personal injury lawsuit. Your best chance of obtaining the maximum recovery possible is to get experienced legal representation.

Man alleges false imprisonment, sues hospital for $12M, WTOP, August 30, 2010

Accident Victim Says He Was Assaulted by Hospital Guards, MyFoxTampaBay, August 26, 2010

Nightmarish Hospital Visit Capped by Beating, Accident Victim Says, Courthouse News, August 25, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Prince George's Hospital Center, DimensionsHealth

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

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

The grandmother of a Leith Walk Elementary boy is suing the Baltimore public school system, the city school board, the city government, and the Northeast Baltimore school for Maryland injuries to a minor. The child, age 9, tried to commit suicide last September after his teacher refused to pay attention to his complaints that he was being bullied.

The 9-year-old, who attends a special education class and has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, reportedly had been bullied since he started studying at the school. The Baltimore personal injury complaint accuses the boy’s teacher of gross negligence, claiming that before rushing to save the boy, who was hanging from the classroom door coat hanger with the chair kicked from underneath him, she first stopped to take photos of him with the camera on her phone.

Bullying
The issue of bullying in schools has always been a problem, but the repercussions can no longer be ignored. On January 14, 2010 Phoebe Prince, an Irish teenager who moved to the US, was found after she hung herself from the stairwell at her home. She reportedly could no longer take the bullying she’d been experiencing at school. Six teens have been criminally charged with having allegedly committed crimes that led to her suicide.

Also in Baltimore last month, a third grader at Gilmor Elementary School threatened to jump out the window and kill herself to get away from bullies. Her mother, Geneva Biggus, says that the school wasn’t very responsive to her complaints that the girl had been the victim of bullying for months.

Bullying can cause serious physical and emotional injuries. We can no longer consider bullying a childish game and schools must take steps to prevent students from becoming victims of any type of violence. It is important that you speak with a Baltimore injury lawyer to explore your legal options.

School Bullying, Attempted Hanging Leads To Lawsuit, WBAL, March 1, 2010

City school system sued over boy’s attempted hanging, Baltimore Sun, April 30, 2010

Girl's suicide increases urgency to prevent teen bullying, The Seattle Times, March 30, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Stop Bullying Now

Bullying, National Crime Prevention Council

Candace Williams is suing Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs for Maryland personal injury. Candace Williams, 26, is seeking $70 million: $50 million in punitive damages and $20 million in compensatory damages.

Williams claims that Suggs physically abused her twice last month. She contends that on November 3, the football player broke her nose when he hit her face. Williams alleges that on November 29, Suggs poured chemical bleach on her body and threatened to drown her in the strong liquid.

She filed a restraining order against him last week. On Friday, a judge granted an order preventing Suggs from contacting Williams.

She is also suing for custody of the two small children she claims she shares with the football player.

No criminal charges have been filed against Suggs over Williams’ allegations. Police say they don’t have a record of emergency phone calls made from the home that Williams and Suggs share.

Maryland Personal Injury
If you have been a victim of physical assault, you may have grounds for filing a Maryland injury lawsuit against your assailant. A civil complaint is separate from a criminal case and allows an injury victim to obtain financial recovery for any harm suffered. Personal injury compensation can include damages for medical costs, recovery, pain and suffering, lost wages, and other damages.

There are domestic violence victims and victims of other violent crimes inflicted by stranger assailants that have sued their attackers and won. Examples of personal injuries stemming from assault crimes can include bruises, broken bones, gunshot wounds, traumatic brain injuries, emotional trauma, mental anguish, and wrongful death. There also may be other parties that can be held liable.

A Maryland personal injury plaintiff has three years to file a lawsuit seeking damages.

70 million suit filed against Suggs, Baltimore Sun, December 11, 2009

Protective order granted against Ravens linebacker, SI.com, December 11, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Terrell Suggs, NFL

More than 15 years after Dontae and Searra Wallace’s mother moved them into a City Homes rental in an effort to protect them from additional lead exposure, a Maryland jury has awarded the siblings over $2.5 million for their Baltimore personal injuries caused by lead poisoning.

Searra, 17, and Dontae, 20, sustained permanent behavioral and cognitive disabilities. They are unlikely to graduate from high school or get a GED, and their IQ’s are below average. Dontae dropped out of school four years ago and Searra failed two grades.

Their mother, Tiffini, says that the family moved out of a rental that used lead paint into a City Homes Inc. home. She says the nonprofit group told her the Baltimore City row house was safe.

Witnesses for the plaintiffs, however, say that while the lead paint was contained to a certain degree, the kids were still exposed to lead. There were paint flakes and chips in several areas of the residence. One wall got wet during storms, and rats that chewed on walls left behind lead dust.

The defendants of the Maryland lead paint lawsuit, City Homes and its president Barry Mankowitz, have said that the home the Wallaces were living in were inspected before and after the family lived there. They claimed that the Wallace siblings have disabilities because they were exposed to dangerous levels of lead before they moved into the City Homes residence.

Tiffini moved the family into the home on Booth Street after joining a Kennedy Krieger Institute Inc. study. The study has been criticized for persuading parents to live in residences where lead was contained in varying levels so that researchers could find out whether there were less costly means to protect kids from lead poisoning.

We now know that even the smallest exposure to lead can cause children to suffer from lead poisoning, which can be detrimental to their cognitive and behavioral development. Lead paint in a home is a Maryland premises liability.

The jury found City Homes and its president Barry Mankowitz guilty of negligent misrepresentation and negligence. They awarded Searra $1.3 million and Dontae $1.2 million.

$2.5 million awarded in lead-paint lawsuit, Baltimore Sun, November 4, 2009

Baltimore City Lead Paint Lawsuit Results in $2.5M Verdict, About Lawsuits, November 5, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Environmental Protection Agency

What You Should Know About Lead Based Paint in Your Home: Safety Alert, Consumer Product Safety Commission

Maryland’s highest court is going to review the constitutionality of the state’s personal injury noneconomic damages cap. This court hasn’t done this since 1995. Currently, the cap for a plaintiff’s pain and suffering is $725,000.

The Maryland wrongful death case that brings the noneconomic damages cap issue to the state’s highest court is the one involving the parents of 5-year-old Connor Freed. The young boy drowned in 2006 in a country club swimming pool in Anne Arundel County in 2006.

A jury awarded his parents, Debra Neagle Webber and Thomas Freed, over $2 million for his drowning death. Because of the Maryland personal injury cap, which was $665,000 when their son died, their wrongful death award would go down to $1.3 million.

The judge presiding over the Anne Arundel County wrongful death case wouldn’t let the jury consider whether the boy experienced “conscious pain and suffering” before his death. The Court of Special Appeals, however, reversed the decision.

While the Court of Appeals hasn’t reviewed the noneconomic damages gap for some time now, the court recently rejected a claim that the cap does not apply to cases filed under Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act. In November, it will look at the cap for medical malpractice compensation in the wake of a Montgomery County judge’s decision that it only applies to cases filed through the arbitration process.

The latter case involves the $5.8 million Montgomery County medical malpractice verdict awarded over Richard H. Semsker’s wrongful death. If Semsker’s melanoma had been treated when it was just a small mole on his back, the cancer might not have gone to his brain. Instead, doctors failed to treat the growth for years.

If the Court of Appeals were to reject the argument that Maryland’s medical malpractice cap only applies to cases that went through voluntary arbitration, then the Montgomery County wrongful death verdict awarded to Semsker's family would go down by more than $2 million.

Court of Appeals takes cap battle, The Daily Record, October 5, 2009

Medical jeopardy, Baltimore Sun, October 18, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Judge: Malpractice Caps Don't Apply to Jury Trials, Renalandurologynews.com, July 20, 2009

Medical Malpractice, Justia

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports even though more car accidents happened in urban areas, 56% of the 37,261 traffic deaths that occurred in 2008 took place on rural roads. There were 20,905 rural traffic deaths last year.

One reason for the number of deaths that occur in rural areas is that people tend to drive faster on roads that are not as designed and engineered as well as they are in urban areas. Two of the other reasons that rural auto accident deaths happen is people failing to use seat belts or driving drunk. It can also take longer for medical help to arrive at a rural car accident site. 222 of the 591 Maryland traffic fatalities in 2008 occurred in rural areas.

Findings from another traffic accident study, recently discussed in ScienceDaily.com, affirmed the NHTSA’s findings that driving in rural areas is not safer than driving in urban areas. The study, conducted by researchers abroad, reports that:

• Fatality crash risk in surrounding districts is 40% more than for city dwellers.
• Country inhabitants have a crash risk that is up to three times higher.
• The chance of sustaining serious injuries during a rural car crash is 70-100% greater than in cities.

Many people may harbor the misconception that driving in a metropolitan area is more dangerous. This may cause them to drive more cautiously than they would when driving on a rural road where there is less traffic. Obviously, this is not the case.

A driver whose negligence causes a catastrophic Maryland car crash can be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death—not to mention that he or she could end up serving time in jail while having to cope with the guilt of knowing that his or her careless or reckless acts contributed to someone getting seriously hurt or dying.

Our Maryland injury lawyers represent traffic crash victims who were injured in motorcycle accidents, truck crashes, bus collisions, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle collisions in both rural and metropolitan areas throughout the state. Contact Lebowitz & Mzhen today.

More Motorists Die on Rural Roads, USA Today, October 7, 2009

Cities Less Dangerous Than Rural Regions, Traffic Accident Study Shows, Science Daily, September 8, 2009

Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Maryland State Highway Administration

Yesterday, the parents of James Becker filed a $40 million Maryland personal injury lawsuit against the Woodcroft Swim Club and D.R.D. Pool Management Inc. They are accusing the defendants of failing to recognize and respond in timely manner to their son’s near drowning accident on July 29, 2006 and of neglecting to properly resuscitate him.

According to plaintiffs Mary Becker and William J. Becker III, James, then 15, was deprived of adequate oxygen to his brain for approximately 10 minutes. Paramedics arrived at the scene 13 minutes after the teenager was discovered without a pulse. By the time that they could feel James’s pulse, he had already sustained a traumatic brain injury.

The Becker family is seeking $36 million for James, who will require special care for the rest of his life, $3 million for expenses his parents have incurred as a result of his traumatic brain injury, and $1 million for Mary Becker, who experienced the trauma of seeing her son almost drown in the pool.

James, now 18, attends a special school for children who are developmentally disabled or have special needs. He is severely disabled, unable to speak, and must use a wheelchair. He should have been attending college this year.

The attorney representing the defendants says that James sustained a traumatic brain injury not because he almost drowned but because he had a heart attack while in the pool. The defendants deny any negligence on their part.

Near-Drowning Accidents
Near drowning accidents can lead to permanent traumatic brain injuries. This type of injury occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen for an extended amount of time. Sometimes, it can take several years to know the full effects of a brain injury sustained during a near drowning accident.

Caring for someone with a traumatic brain injury can be very costly. It can also be devastating for the victim, who may no longer be able to live a normal life.

Youth's parents sue swim club for brain damage, The Baltimore Sun, July 24, 2009

Family Of Injured Teen Sues Swim Club For $40M, WBALTV.com, July 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Water-Related Injuries: Fact Sheet, CDC

Injury Facts Drowning, Safe Kids USA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reportedly recommended as far back as 2002 that motorists not talk on cell phones while driving—unless in an emergency situation. The federal agency also recommended that drivers not use hands-held, as well as hands-free phones and even went so far as to note that establishing laws banning only handheld cell phones might not be enough to minimize the risks of using a phone while operating a motor vehicle.

The reason for this recommendation was that the NHTSA had in its possession hundreds of pages of research documenting the dangers associated with cell phone use while driving. Yet the recommendation and the research were never made available to the public. One reason for this was concern that Congress and other public officials would see the proposal as a form of lobbying.

The information finally became public after Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety, two public interest groups, managed to access the information via the Freedom of Information Act.

The question now being asked is how many lives could have been saved if people knew then what they know now about the risks involved with cell phone use while driving? When the NHTSA first made its proposal several years ago, there were more than 170 million people using cell phones in the country—now, there are more than 270 million cell phone subscribers. And now, more than ever, cell phone use while driving has become a bad driving habit that millions of motorist are finding hard to break.

Yet as more motor vehicle accidents are reported involving motorists that caused auto crashes because they were talking on a phone or text messaging, the consequences of cell phone use while driving can no longer be ignored. Even train operators have been found negligent for engaging in these bad habits and causing catastrophic train collisions.

While Maryland doesn’t have a ban on any kind of cell phone use for adult drivers—only for minor drivers—all drivers will be prohibited from text messaging beginning October 2009. The Maryland Highway Safety Foundation says it had been pushing for a hand-held cell phone ban, but with the latest revelations about the NHTSA’s suppressed findings, they may recommend a total ban on the use of all cell phones while driving.

U.S. Withheld Data on Driving Distractions, WBOC 16, July 22, 2009

Suppressed federal study having ripple effect in Md., Baltimore Sun, July 2009

The Truth About Cars and Cellphones, NY TImes, July 22, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Center for Auto Safety

Public Citizen

NHTSA

Maryland Highway Safety Foundation

Continue reading "Cell Phone Use While Driving: NHTSA Withheld Research Warning About Dangers " »

In Maryland, a woman is suing Ocean City, the Ocean City Convention and Visitors Bureau, and ThyssenKrupp Elevator Company for personal injury over an escalator accident that occurred in May 2006. Rebecca Beall filed her Maryland premises liability lawsuit in US District Court.

Beall was a high school student at the time of the escalator accident that injured her and several other students from her school band. The band was in Ocean City to attend the Youth Music Competition taking place at the Convention Center.

On May 5, 2006 the escalator they were riding to the next floor stopped abruptly and began moving in the opposite direction. A number of students fell and some of them were taken to a hospital for treatment of their injuries.

In her Maryland personal injury complaint, Beall contends that she sustained serious injuries when students that fell pinned her to the escalator that was still moving. Her face, shoulder, and scalp became lacerated, and she now suffers from anxiety, post-traumatic migraine disorders, and has an escalator phobia. She also suffers from migraines, serious headaches, chills, nausea, blackouts, shaking, and is sensitive to light and sound.

Beall is seeking $500,000 from the defendants. Her Maryland civil lawsuit alleges negligence and contends that defendants knew or should have known that the escalator was experiencing problems before the escalator accident yet failed to act to repair the issues to remove its safety hazards. A year after the accident, an independent inspector assessed the escalator’s condition and found that it had worn and failing gear parts.

According to a 2005 CBS News report, almost 10,000 people a year sustain escalator injuries serious enough to warrant hospital emergency room care. Common kinds of escalator accidents include those involving:

• Sudden stops
• Slip and fall accidents
• Fall accidents
• Metal teeth on the escalator coming loose
• Hands, clothing, feet, or shoes getting caught in the escalator

$500K Lawsuit Filed In OC Escalator Fall, MDCoastDispatch.com, May 29, 2009

Danger On The Escalator, CBS News, February 17, 2005

Related Web Resources:
Thousands Injured in Escalator, Elevator Accidents, NewsInferno.com, May 14, 2008

In Maryland, the family of a young boy who sustained serious burn injuries from sulfuric acid that two teenagers poured on a playground slide have settled their injuries to minor lawsuit. Payton Potochne was just 2 when he went down the slide that had industrial strength drain cleaner on it. The injury accident occurred at Victory Villa Elementary School.

It wasn’t until he was taken to Franklin Square Hospital that doctors determined that there was sulfuric acid on the boy’s legs and he had sustained second- and third-degree burns. The hospital had to evacuate the emergency room and the toddler was taken to Johns Hopkins Burn Center. Since the tragic playground incident, Payton has had to undergo over six surgeries, including numerous skin grafts. He will also need medical care for life because of his injuries.

A hazmat team poured thousands of gallons of water onto the slide to remove the chemical from the playground. A Baltimore County Police Department spokesperson says the dangerous liquid had been poured onto all the different playground rides, including the monkey bars and the jungle gym.

The two teens, Matt Dybala and Kyle Meredith, had told police they poured the acid onto a plastic sliding board to see if it would melt, which it didn’t. Police, however, contend that the teenagers poured at least two bottles of the chemical onto the slide and used a brush to apply the acid onto other playground equipment. Criminal charges were filed against both Dybala and Meredith, who were both found delinquent in juvenile court.

Last year, Payton's parents filed a $6 million Maryland personal injury lawsuit against the teenagers’ family. While the terms of the injuries to minors and children settlement have not been disclosed, the lawyer for Payton's family says that his clients will receive the maximum payments allowed under the homeowners insurance policies of the plaintiffs’ parents.

The Baltimore County Board of Education is the remaining defendant of the personal injury lawsuit. A civil trial is scheduled for the fall. Payton's family says the board shouldn’t have kept the drain cleaner bottles in its maintenance shed, which had been broken into in the past.

Boy’s family settles with teens who poured acid on slide, The Daily Record, May 26, 2009

Police: Playground-Dousing Teens Intended To Cause Injury, WBALTV, April 23, 2007

Toddler hospitalized with burns from acid on playground slide, USA Today, April 15, 2007

Related Web Resources:
Sulfuric Acid Facts, DHSS.mo.gov

Johns Hopkins Burn Center

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

The National Safety Council wants all US states to ban motorists from using cell phones while driving. NSC CEO and President Janet Froetscher noted that talking on the phone while driving increases a driver’s chances of becoming involved in an auto crash by four times more than if he or she were driving without using one.

Currently, six US states have laws banning the use of hand held cell phones while driving:

• District of Columbia
• Washington
• California
• Utah
• New Jersey
• Connecticut

Seven US States have a ban on text messaging while driving:

• District of Columbia
• Connecticut
• Alaska
• New Jersey
• Washington State
• Minnesota
• Louisiana

While some localities within US states that do not have statewide bans have imposed their own cell phone restrictions, including bans on hand-held phones and text messaging and bans affecting teen drivers and school bus drivers, the states of Kentucky, Florida, Nevada, Louisiana, Oregon, Mississippi, Utah, and Louisiana prohibit their localities from imposing any such bans.

The NSC is quick to point out that just because someone is using a hands-free phone does not mean that he or she is now operating the vehicle safely. According to a Harvard Center of Risk Analysis 2003 study, cell-phone use while driving is a contributing factor in 6% of auto accidents each year. Some 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries result from such collisions.

According to a Nationwide Insurance public opinion poll, 81% of US drivers use a cell phone when driving. Froetscher notes that cellular phone use while driving is more dangerous than talking to a passenger who is in the same vehicle. While talking to a real person makes the driver aware that lives are at stake if he or she doesn’t drive safely, talking on the cell phone places the motorist’s attention not on the road and in the present moment but elsewhere.

In addition to pushing for a change in current driving laws, the NSC is advocating more education about the dangers that come from driving with a cell phone, as well as better training.

National Safety Council Calls for Nationwide Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving, NSC.org, January 12, 2009

Safety council urges ban on cell phone use while driving, CNN.com, January 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:

Maryland Cell Phone Law, DMV.org

Washington D.C. Hands-Free Law, Driving Laws.org

Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association

Continue reading "National Safety Council calls for nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving" »

Two recent Maryland lawsuits have brought the topic of police brutality to the media forefront. Last week, a judge ruled that teenager Eric Bush can sue the city of Baltimore for Maryland personal injury even though he had missed the deadline for letting the city know he intended to sue. The judge said Bush showed good cause for why his notice that there would be a lawsuit was late.

Bush became a YouTube star after footage of Officer Salvatore Rivieri putting the then-14-year-old skateboarder in a headlock and chastising him for calling the cop "dude" was posted on the popular Web site. The altercation took place in 2007 at the Inner Harbor.

Bush says he never heard Rivieri give him an order about skateboarding. Rivieri, a police veteran, was suspended after the video footage of the incident was brought to the Baltimore police Department’s attention.

In another Maryland police brutality lawsuit, US District Judge William D. Quarles says the wrongful death case involving a man shocked with a Taser by a Frederick County Sheriff’s deputy can move forward against Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins and the Frederick County Board of Commissioners.

Jarrel Gray died in November 2007 after he was Tasered by Corporal Rudy Torres, who had arrived at the scene of a fight that the 20-year-old was involved in. The Frederick County deputy reportedly used the weapon to stun Gray twice in 23 seconds. The 20-year-old died several hours after the incident.

Quarles had previously dismissed all defendants from the $145 million Frederick County wrongful death case except for Torres. Following the amended complaint by Grey’s family, however, the judge decided that the claims against the other defendants can also move forward. The civil lawsuit seeks compensation based on several counts, including civil rights violations, wrongful death, police brutality, negligent supervision, and inadequate training.

The use of Tasers has been criticized by civil rights groups for the many times the supposedly non-lethal weapons have been misused, causing injury or death, to their targets.

Police Brutality
Law enforcement officers are forbidden from using unnecessary or excessive force when dealing with suspects or other members of the public. Acts of police brutality can be grounds for a Maryland personal injury claim or wrongful death lawsuit.

Judge OKs Teen's Lawsuit Against Officer, WBALTV.com, December 11, 2008

Judge reinstates Frederick County sheriff and commissioners in Taser lawsuit, Gazette.net, December 12, 2008

Mother 'Furious' After Officer-Teen YouTube Encounter, WBALTV, February 13, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Watch the YouTube Video, Lebowitz & Mzhen, February 14, 2008

Taser

A jury in the United States has ordered drug manufacturer Roche to pay $12.9 million to three Accutane users who say they developed chronic bowel disorders from using the popular acne drug. The jury determined that the Swiss drug maker failed to properly warn of the side effects that can result from using Accutane.

The patients began using Accutane more than 10 years ago when they were teenagers to treat their acne. As a result of using the acne drug, two of the patients say they now require long-term drug rehabilitation and the third patient has to have his colon removed.

This is not the first drug litigation lawsuit filed against Roche that links Accutane to inflammatory bowel disease. This is the fourth IBD civil trial the Swiss Drug maker has lost.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease
There are two kinds of chronic diseases that can cause inflammation to the intestines and result in ulcers:

• Crohn’s Disease
• Ulcerative Colitis

While the drug’s warning label says Accutane is “associated with” chronic bowel problems, the drug maker maintains that there is no direct connection between chronic bowel ailments and Accutane. The drug litigation attorneys for the plaintiffs, however, say Roche has conducted internal studies that indicate Accutane can damage the intestinal tract and result in inflammatory bowel disease.

Hoffman-La Roche, Roche’s US subsidiary, plans to appeal the dangerous drug verdict. The company continues to maintain that there is no scientific evidence that proves using Accutane can cause IBD.

Accutane
Over 13 million people have used Accutane since 1982. Until the drug's patent expired six years ago, the acne medication was one of Roche’s top selling drugs. It is also a controversial drug.

Accutane was linked to birth defects in the 1980’s and 266 suicide cases in the US. It has also been associated with problems affecting the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and autoimmune systems, as well as the pancreas, liver, central nervous system, and kidneys. Some 500 lawsuits have been filed over the acne drug.

Roche Loses Fourth Accutane Trial, Ordered to Pay 3 IBD Victims, $12.9 Million, News Inferno, November 21, 2008

Pharma Roundup: Lawsuit for Roche, Teva Troubles for AstraZeneca, and More, BNET, November 19, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Roche Pharmaceuticals

Accutane, Drugs.com

Inflammatory Bowel Disease, FamilyDoctor.org

The mother of a six-year-old boy whose right big toe was mangled when his Crocs clog got caught in an escalator at the National Aquarium in Baltimore is suing Crocs Inc. for products liability. Kerry Burdick filed her federal lawsuit in court on Monday. She is seeking over $7.5 million in damages.

The accident occurred last April. Burdick’s lawsuit alleges that Crocs was aware that the popular clogs posed a hazard on escalators yet failed to warn consumers.

This is not the first incident where a person got hurt while using Crocs shoes. Over 200 people around the world have been involved in similar escalator entrapment accidents while using the popular clogs. Children especially appear more prone to injuries while wearing Crocs.

In 2007, a 10-year-old girl hurt her toe after her Crocs clog got stuck on an escalator at the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. This year, a 3-year-old Croc wearer had two of her toes partially amputated because of injuries she sustained while also riding an escalator at the Atlanta airport. The parents of another 3-year-old sued Crocs for $7 million after her toe was mangled in an accident at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

In April, Japan’s Trade Ministry asked Crocs Inc. to redesign its popular clogs. The ministry said that over a six-month period last year, it had received 65 complaints of escalator injuries involving Crocs clogs. In May, the US Consumer Products Safety Commission warned that it had received 75 injury reports between January 2006 and May 2007 about people who got hurt in escalator accidents while using Crocs.

Last July, Crocs Inc. said it would add warning tags about possible escalator entrapment-related injuries to its shoes. While the shoes that come with these warnings will become available in 2009, there are still millions of Crocs clogs out in the marketplace for sale or that have already been purchased that lack the entrapment warning.

Son hurt, Pa. woman sues Crocs firm, Baltimore Sun.com, December 4, 2008

Pa. mother sues Crocs over son's escalator injury, Examiner.com, December 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Crocs

Crocs and similar soft shoes linked to escalator entrapments, Consumer Reports, May 20, 2008

Continue reading "Mother Sues Crocs for Personal Injury After Son’s Right Toe is Mangled While Riding Baltimore Aquarium’s Escalator" »

Two Wal-Mart shoppers are suing the retail store for personal injury. Fritz, 51, and 19-year-old Jonathan Mesadieu say they sustained back and neck injuries after they got caught in the crowd of people stampeding into a Wal-Mart store during last week's Black Friday shopping rush.

Some 2,000 shoppers reportedly broke through the glass door and rushed into the building at around 5am on November 28. The Mesadieus’ personal injury lawyer says the two men were carried from where they were standing by the throng of people. They are now are experiencing back and neck pain.

Also, temporary Wal-Mart employee Jdimytai Damour died in the same stampede after he was crushed to death while he and other workers tried to open the store doors for the shoppers. Autopsy results indicate that the 34-year-old died of asphyxiation. Video footage shows up to a dozen people getting knocked to the ground as shoppers pushed their way into the Wal-Mart store. Damour was reportedly stepped on by hundreds of people.

The Mesadieus' personal injury lawsuit accuses Wal-Mart of recklessness, carelessness, and negligence. The father and son have also filed a claim against local police. They are saying that their injuries is causing them to suffer monetary damages in the form of legal and medical expenses in the range of $2 million.

Their personal injury attorney says that Wal-Mart failed to exercise reasonable care, including putting up barriers, improved police presence, and bringing in more security, that could have prevented the Mesadieus' injuries from happening, The Mesadieus say they saw police at the scene but that they left. Lt. Kevin Smith, however, says it was the store’s responsibility to provide security on Black Friday.

There have been other personal injury lawsuits filed by customers against Wal-Mart in the past. Five shoppers sued the retail chain in 1999 for injuries they say they sustained because other shoppers were rushing to buy Furby dolls. Another shopper sued Wal-Mart three years ago because she said that two other customers pushed her and pulled at her neck when she tried to cut in line.

Customers injured in crush suing Wal-Mart, CNN.com, December 2, 2008

Experts: Trampling death may be hard to prosecute, Newsday.com, December 2, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Continue reading "Wal-Mart Customers File Personal Injury Lawsuit " »

A deadly multi-vehicle accident in Maryland on the Bel Air Bypass in Harford County on Friday afternoon has left two people dead and four others injured. Maryland State Police have identified the deceased as Perry Hall resident Katherine S. Brady and her 8-year-old son Wilson.

Katherine and Wilson were riding in a minivan with her husband Stephen and their other son, 2-year-old Ian, when their vehicle was hit head-on by a Jeep. While Katherine and Wilson were pronounced dead at the crash site on US 1, north of the Vale Road overpass, Stephen, who had been driving the Saturn Relay minivan, was transported by medevac to Maryland Shock Trauma Center where he was admitted in critical condition. Ian was flown to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, where he was treated and later released.

Police say that the driver of the Jeep Cherokee, Glen Arm resident Christopher Lentz, was driving on the should of the road when he lost control of the vehicle, crossed over the median, and crashed into the minivan before also striking a 2004 Ford van.

Lentz was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma for treatment of his injuries. The driver of the Ford was admitted to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center where, on Friday, he was listed in good condition.

Maryland State Police say they plan to press charges against Lentz for his involvement in causing the deadly auto crash on the bypass. Residents that live near the Bel-Air Bypass have called the road “risky.” Last year, one person died and another sustained injuries in another head-on crash on the bypass.

Charges likely in fatal crash, Baltimore Sun, November 9, 2008

2 die, 4 hurt in rush-hour crash on Bel Air Bypass, Baltimore Sun, November 7, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Motor Vehicle Related-Injuries, CDC

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Continue reading " Maryland Mother and Her Son Are Killed and Four Others Are Injured in Multi-Vehicle Crash on Bel-Air Bypass in Harford County" »