Maryland Accident Law Blog

The family of John Short, the 57-year-old tractor-trailer driver that died when his truck fell into the Chesapeake Bay during a deadly motor vehicle crash last August, is suing 19-year-old Candy Lynn Baldwin for his wrongful death. Their Maryland civil lawsuit is seeking $7 million from the teenager, who swerved into the lane that Short’s truck was in, causing him to drive his truck through a bridge wall before it fell into the water.

Short’s relatives contend that the deadly Maryland truck accident happened because Baldwin had been drinking prior to getting into her car. Just six months ago, prosecutors decided not to criminally charge the teenager with auto manslaughter because her blood alcohol content two hours after the car-truck collision was .036%. Maryland’s legal BAC limit is .08%.

The Maryland wrongful death lawyer representing Short’s family, however, says Baldwin’s BAC would have been higher if she had been tested right after the Maryland truck accident. He also provided a photo taken from the teenager’s MySpace page that shows her holding a bottle of alcohol while seated behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.

Baldwin told police she drank four beers on the night of the crash. The 19-year-old says she was very tired while driving early on the morning of August 10 but there was no place for her to pull over. She fell asleep while on the bridge and her car swerved across the center line into Short’s path. Baldwin says she woke up just as she saw herself driving toward the truck.

She pled guilty to negligent driving, violating a license restriction, and failure to drive right of center. Baldwin paid a $470 fine.

Short’s family also plans to sue the state of Maryland for his wrongful death. Poor maintenance and improper operation may be cited. Their wrongful death lawyer says the bridge is not up to today’s standards and that the state should not have allowed two-way traffic on the bridge when there is a lot of traffic. 70% of fatalities on the bridge have occurred when two-way traffic was allowed on one span.

$7M civil lawsuit filed in Bay Bridge crash, Hometown Annapolis, June 17, 2009

Md. to be sued over fatal Bay Bridge crash, WTOP, June 17, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Maryland Transportation Authority

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

The parents of Andrew Waybright, a 23-year-old firefighter trainee that died after suffering from heatstroke in 2002, have reached a Maryland wrongful death settlement with Frederick County. Per the terms of the agreement, the County will pay $300,000 to Shirley and James Waybright, as well as install a commemorative plaque at the Frederick County Public Safety Training Center.

Andrew, who at the time was a Harney volunteer in Carroll County, was training for a full-time position in Frederick County when the tragic incident happened. He collapsed on July 3, 2002 while participating in an outdoor workout at the center while taking part in a nearly 4-mile run.

Instructors at the training center performed CPR on Andrew after he collapsed. He was pronounced dead upon his arrival at Frederick Memorial Hospital. Doctors that examined Andrew’s body at the hospital said his temperature was 107.4.

His parents not only contend that the training took place in severe heat, but they claim that their son’s supervising officer, Jeffrey Coombe, neglected to notice his son’s symptoms or provide him with first aid. They also accused the Frederick Board of Country Commissioners and training academy leaders of negligence.

Heatstroke
A kind of hyperthermia that involves a person that has an abnormally high body temperature.This condition can be fatal if treatment is not administered immediately and correctly. In addition to high body temperature, symptoms of heat stroke may include a rapid pulse, problems breathing, the inability to perspire, skin that is flushed dry or hot red, hallucinations, unusual behavior, agitation, confusion, disorientation, seizures, or coma. People most susceptible to heat stroke are babies, elderly people, athletes, and workers that do their job under a hot sun.

Frederick Wrongful Death Suit Settled for $300,000, The Washington Post, June 18, 2009

Md. judge tosses claims in 2002 firefighter's death, Firerescue1.com, March 10, 2007

Related Web Resources:
Frederick County Government

Frederick County Public Safety Training Center

Heat Stroke, MedicineNet.com

The father and sister of Erica Peters, the woman who was murdered along with her two children in her apartment on March 21, are planning to sue the District for her wrongful death. The plaintiffs are contending that the 911 dispatcher and police may have botched their handling of an emergency call that was made on the afternoon that Peters, along with her sons, Eric, 11, and Dakota, 10, were killed.

Peters reportedly was stabbed more than 20 times. Her two sons were also stabbed. Joseph Mays, Peters' live-in boyfriend, has been charged with all three murders.

Her family also believes that he isn't the only one that should be held liable for the triple slaying. They think that the 911 dispatcher that answered the call made from inside Peters’ apartment may have told a cop that the screams heard over the phone could have been “child’s play.” Her family also thinks that police waited anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half after no one answered the door before breaking into the home.

That is when they found the bodies. Mays, who was also in the apartment, sustained superficial chest wounds. The couple's 2-year-old girl was also there and alive.

Wrongful Death for Murder
If someone you love was murdered, you may have grounds for filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the person that actually committed the crime. There also may be other parties that can be held liable for your loved one’s wrongful death—even if he or she didn’t commit the actual crime. For example, a wrongful death claim can be brought against a premise owner for the inadequate security that allowed for a crime to occur on a property, or police or a city can be sued for wrongful death if negligence on their part allowed for a murder to occur.

Family Suing Over D.C. Triple Murder, MyFoxDC, June 8, 2009

Charges Are Filed In Triple Stabbing, The Washington Post, March 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Wrongful Death Overview, Justia

Continue reading "Family Plans for Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against the District for Woman’s Murder" »

A Maryland wrongful death settlement has been reached between the mother and fiancé of a pregnant woman and her unborn son that died and Smithsburg Emergency Services Inc, medics James Ulrich and Karin Nichol, and former ambulance chief Jason Tracey. The terms of the agreement are confidential. Also previously named among the Maryland wrongful death defendants were Washington County, the Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association Inc., and dispatcher Robert Myerly.

20-year-old Christina Lynn Hess and her unborn son died in March 2004. The Maryland wrongful death complaint against the defendants contends that a feud between the Smithsburg Volunteer Fire Co. and the ambulance company caused the deaths of Hess and her son. Hess and fiancé Danny Gibson were volunteers at the fire company. Gibson and Hess’s mother, Tammy Reed, had sought $4 million for the wrongful deaths.

According to their Maryland wrongful death complaint, Ulrich and Nichol responded to an emergency call from Gibson, who said that Hess was having seizures. The medics arrived at the scene and spent at least 14 minutes unsuccessfully attempting to intubate Hess. She was then transported to Washington County Hospital where she and her son were pronounced dead.

Hess was suffering from eclampsia. The Maryland wrongful death lawsuit contends that the medical workers did not respond appropriately to her medical condition. It also notes a tape-recorded conversation between the former ambulance company chief and the dispatcher. The ex-chief can be heard making fun of the call for help and putting down the fire company. The plaintiffs say that the bad blood between the two companies led to EMS workers not responding fast enough to the medical emergency.

In 2007, a Washington County Circuit judge dismissed the lawsuit against the Washington County Commissioners, the Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association, and the dispatcher because he was a county employee at the time of alleged incident. These actions still left Smithsburg Emergency Medical Services, Tracey, and the medics with wrongful death and survival actions alleging willful conduct and gross negligence in the deaths of Hess and her son, as well as individual action counts alleging privacy invasion leading to unreasonable publicity that placed Hess in a false light.

Maryland Medical Malpractice
Emergency medics are supposed to respond appropriately to all medical emergencies. When failure to provide that standard of care leads to a patient’s condition getting worse, the parties responsible can be held liable for Maryland medical malpractice or wrongful death.

Eclampsia
Eclampsia is a serious condition that can occur in pregnant women. Symptoms can include coma or seizures. Eclampsia is treatable but can be fatal if not treated correctly or in a timely manner.

Maryland EMS Wrongful Death Suit Ends in Settlement, Insurance Journal, May 6, 2009

Wrongful death settlement under wraps, The Herald-Mail, May 5, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Smithsburg Emergency Services Inc.

Smithsburg Volunteer Fire Co.

Eclampsia, Emedicine

In Maryland, Montgomery County Judge John W Debelius III refused to cap the medical malpractice noneconomic damages received by the surviving family members of attorney Richard H. Semsker who died after a mole that was not treated became skin cancer and spread to his brain. Last year, his wife and two children were awarded $5.8 million for his wrongful death.

The Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit says that in 1998, Dr. Lokshin in Silver Springs examined Semsker’s back. He noticed that there was a 6 millimeter mole and recommended that Dr. Lawrence Marcus, the patient’s primary care physician, remove the mole.

The complaint claims that each doctor thought that the other physician had tended to the mole. In 2004, Semsker underwent another skin checkup. Dr. Michael Albert noted that there was an atypical mole and two cysts. Albert recommended the removal of the atypical mole but didn’t know that the other mole (documented in 1998) had doubled in size because he didn’t have access to Lokshin’s medical report, which under Maryland law could be destroyed after five years.

It wasn’t until 2006 that the mole was removed after Semsker’s wife saw that the mole had changed color. The delayed diagnosis led to Semsker being diagnosed with skin cancer that had now moved to other parts of his body. Semsker had to undergo surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. He died in 2007.

Included in the verdict was $3 million for the anguish that Semsker and his family experienced while he was sick and after he died. If the judge had applied the cap, that portion of the award would have been reduced to $812,000. Judge Debelius, however, said the cap, under the 2004 Maryland Patient’s Access to Quality Health Care Act, provides exceptions for cases that were not first pursued through voluntary arbitration. He did, however, lower the award to $2.8 million because of a Maryland medical malpractice settlement that Semsker’s family reached with Dr. Marcus. Debelius’s decision does not bind other judges dealing with other cases.

Current Maryland medical malpractice cap:

• $665,000 for cases with one claimant
• $831,250 for cases with two claimants

Ruling: No cap applies, The Daily Record, April 21, 2009

Family wins malpractice suit against Silver Spring dermatologist, Gazette.net, November 19, 2008

Related Web Resource:
Skin Cancer Foundation

Is It Skin Cancer?, Skin Cancer Guide

The families of Randall Orff, his son Jonathan, and James Hewitt Ingle are suing the Maryland Transportation Authority, driver Stephen Adam Burt, trailer owner Levon Andonian, tractor-trailer driver Joshua Hargrove, Mobile Mini Inc, tractor-trailer driver Edwin Tixon, Ag Trucking Inc, and Travelers Property Casual Co of America for Maryland wrongful death.

The three victims died on May 10, 2007 when a trailer detached from an SUV driven by Burt. The trailer went in front of Orffs’ vehicle, and a seven-vehicle pileup ensued. No criminal charges were filed against Burt.

The $19 million wrongful death lawsuit accuses Burt of negligence because of the manner in which he operated his motor vehicle. It also contends that Andonian was negligent because he did not include a safety hitch pin when he constructed the trailer and accuses the two tractor trailers (and their employers) of negligence because they allegedly drove too fast under the driving conditions of the time and neglected to control their motor vehicles.

The complaint blames the MTA for letting there be two-way traffic on the westbound span of the bridge when there was a history of previous traffic accidents and deaths occurring under the same traffic conditions. They plaintiffs said that the Maryland Transportation Authority should have known that barriers were needed to separate lines and that steps should have been taken to warn drivers that the driving conditions on that part of the bridge were “dangerous.”

A spokesman for the authority police, Sgt. Jonathan Green says the deadly crash didn’t happen because there was two way traffic but because the trailer had come unhitched from the SUV.

Multi-Vehicle Crashes
Determining liability in a multi-vehicle crash can be hard work, which is why you must retain the services of an experienced Maryland personal injury law firm that knows how to investigate these types of cases. You may be entitled to financial recovery from more than one responsible party.

Victims of Bay Bridge crash sue MdTA, other drivers for $19 million, Daily Record, April 23, 2009

$19 million lawsuit filed in 2007 Bay Bridge crash, Hometown Annapolis, April 26, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Maryland Transportation Authority

3 Killed in Bay Bridge Crash, Washington Post, May 11, 2007

In Maryland, the family of a heart patient who died while trapped in a hospital bathroom has reached a wrongful death settlement with Washington Adventist Hospital. Jose Valladares died in 2006.

He went to the bathroom in his room and locked the door. He experienced a cardiac event while using the toilet. The heart monitor he was using showed that his heart rate had decreased.

Hospital staffers in the area were unable to unlock the door immediately because they didn’t have a key. EMS workers and the Montgomery County Fire department broke down the door a number of minutes later but by then Valladares was already dead.

He had been admitted to the Takoma Park hospital just four days before. Washington Adventist Hospital has said that soon after Valladares’s death, all locks were taken off the bathroom doors in the hospital.

Maryland hospitals and nursing homes are supposed to make sure that there are no hazards or unsafe conditions on the premise that could cause injury or death to patients, residents, and visitors. Sick, mentally challenged, elderly, and frail residents are also more susceptible to injury in certain situations than healthier, younger people, which is why long-term care facilities, hospitals, and medical centers must make sure that they make allowances for all possible eventualities to keep everyone safe from harm.

Examples of hazards that could be grounds for a premises liability lawsuit against a hospital or a nursing home:

• Slippery or uneven floors
• Defective beds
• Inadequate security
• Staircases lacking the appropriate handrails
• Exposure to hazardous substances or unsanitary conditions

Family of trapped bathroom patient settles with hospital, WTOP.com, April 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Washington Adventist Hospital

Premises Liability Overview, Justia

A Maryland wrongful death settlement has been reached between a woman whose husband and 10-year-old daughter died after being exposed to CO and the Bay Shore Development Corp, Heat Transfer Products, R.E. Michel Co., and All About Plumbing. Yvonne Boughtner’s carbon monoxide lawsuit had sought $30 million in damages.

In 2006, Yvonne was on vacation with her husband Patrick, 30 and their daughters Kelly, 10, and Morgan when carbon monoxide started leaking from a disconnected water heater pipe at the at the Days Inn Hotel in Ocean City. Patrick and Kelly died in the hotel room, while Yvonne and Morgan were transported to Baltimore where they were admitted to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

A fire marshal report noted that the heater right under the family’s room was leaking CO. The heater was reportedly only meant for residential use and not for commercial use.

Yvonne's first 911 call reportedly garnered a delayed response by emergency officials because they got her call confused with another call made from the hotel by another family. She called them again four hours later, but by the time the emergency team got there her daughter and husband were no longer alive. According to Ocean City, the emergency responders did nothing wrong.

Yvonne filed her Maryland wrongful death lawsuit in February 2008. Since then, the defendants have filed a number of counter-claims blaming each other for the deadly accident. The terms of the out-of-court settlement with Yvonne are confidential.

According to a local government Web site, the health effects of exposure to carbon monoxide (depending on the degree of concentration) can include:

• Fatigue in people who are healthy
• Cheat pains in people suffering from heart disease
• Headaches
• Impaired vision
• Poor coordination
• Nausea
• Confusion
• Dizziness
• Death, which can even occur if the person is exposed to concentrations under 1%.

Following the deaths of Patrick and Kelly, Maryland's Ocean City now requires that new houses, hotels, and condos have carbon monoxide detectors.

If you or someone you love was seriously injured on another party’s premise because there was a hazardous toxin or another condition on the premise that could have and should have been remedied, you may have grounds for filing a Maryland premises liability claim or a wrongful death lawsuit.

Settlement reached in carbon monoxide suit, Delmarvanow.com, April 7, 2009

Hotel settles suit over Lebanon County pair's deaths, PennLive.com, April 1, 2009

Quick Facts on Carbon Monoxide, EDC.gov.us

Four years after a SWAT team fatally shot Cheryl Lynn Noel during a drug raid of her Dundalk home, the ensuing wrongful death lawsuit filed in Baltimore County has finally gone to trial. Attorneys for both sides gave opening statements last week.

During the wrongful death trial, a jury will determine whether law enforcement officers were justified in shooting Noel or if the deadly incident was an example of police abuse of power and her family should be compensated for her loss.

According to the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit filed by her husband Charles, he and Noel, a 44-year-old mother, were in bed on January 1, 2005, when at around 4:30 am members of the Baltimore County SWAT team barged into their residence using a battering ram and a flash-bang grenade because they suspected it was a narcotics den housing cocaine and marijuana. The officers, who were heavily armed, claimed to have found traces of drugs in garbage cans outside the residence.

Noel reportedly grabbed a lawfully registered gun that she pointed toward the floor. The complaint contends that Officer Carlos Artson then kicked in the bedroom door and without asking Noel to drop the gun shot her three times—the last time while she was already on the floor.

While Baltimore County Police maintain that they did nothing wrong, the Noel family’s wrongful death attorney maintains that Noel was within her legal rights to protect her home, police violated her civil rights by shooting and killing her without giving her an opportunity to drop her weapon, and the the third shot fired at her was “grossly excessive.”

Excessive use of violence by law enforcement officers can be grounds for a police brutality claim or a wrongful death lawsuit.

Lawsuit brings dissection of fatal SWAT raid, Baltimore Sun, March 18, 2009

Family of slain Dundalk woman sues Baltimore County police, Examiner.com, August 10, 2006

Related Web Resource:
Baltimore County

Three of the victims of a Maryland motor vehicle accident involving a passenger van and a tractor-trailer are suing the van driver for wrongful death and personal injury. Robin Poffenberger was transporting a group of seniors to a softball tournament in Olney, when he drove a 2003 Chevrolet Custom van into the path of a tractor-trailer.

One van passenger, 72-year-old Clifford J. Rice, died from his injuries. He was sitting in the front passenger side of the vehicle when the May 21, 2008 crash happened at the intersection of Interstate 70 and Md. 66. Six other people suffered serious injuries. The impact of the collision left the truck’s cab embedded in the side of the van.

Now, three Maryland car accident lawsuits have been filed against Poffenberger. Rice’s widow is seeking $4 million for medical costs, loss of her husband’s income, funeral expenses, his pain and suffering, wrongful death, her mental anguish and emotional trauma, loss of companionship, society, protection, attention, comfort, care, counsel, love, and advice.

Another accident victim, Hagerstown resident Jack Finniff, and his wife are seeking $2 million from the van driver. Finniff was so seriously injured that he had to be flown by Medevac to Baltimore, where he was treated at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

The couple’s Maryland personal injury lawsuit is accusing Poffenberger of negligent driving, which resulted in Finiff’s serious injuries. The complaint also contends that the van driver’s negligence resulted in injury to their marital relationship, loss of companionship and physical relations, and loss of society, assistance, and affection.

A third motor vehicle crash victim, Gardner L. Stewart, is seeking $3 million. Stewart says the defendant’s negligence lead to his permanent injuries, debilitating pain and suffering, severe mental trauma, serious emotional anguish care, and his need for medical attention, hospital care, and rehabilitation.

Poffenberger says he is not liable and wants to go to trial.

Lawsuits filed in fatal 2008 crash, The Herald-Mail, March 8, 2009

Several People Still In Serious Condition From Wednesday’s Route-66 Accident, Your4State.com, May 22, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Car Accidents Overview, Justia

Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration

In Washington County Circuit Court, a woman whose mother died in a 2006 fire is suing a tobacco company and the landlord of the property where the fatal accident occurred. Dawn Bunch’s Maryland wrongful death lawsuit is seeking $30 million against Barbara Bristow, who owns the property where she and her mother, Linda Ford, lived and Lorillard Tobacco Company.

Bunch is accusing the tobacco company of acting negligently when it manufactured, sold, and brought cigarettes into the marketplace—the product that caused her mother’s fatal injuries. She also accuses Lorillard of making a tobacco product that was an unreasonable fire risk. Bunch points out that the company could have made self-extinguishing cigarettes. As for defendant Bristow, the plaintiff alleges she breached the duty of care she owed her tenants when she failed to provide them with fire protection or warning devices in their mobile home rental.

Ford, 58, died after a fire broke out in her mattress and caused her hair to catch fire. She reportedly went looking for water to douse the flames but a maintenance worker had shut down the water at their mobile home.

Bunch was also injured in the fire. She was treated at a local Maryland hospital for smoke inhalation and second-degree burns. She is seeking $10 million for lost wages and earning capacity, medical expenses, pain, mental trauma, and disfigurement. She is also seeking $10 million for her mother’s physical pain and suffering, under Maryland’s Survival Statute, and $10 million, under Maryland’s Wrongful Death Statute, for mental anguish caused by her mother’s death, funeral costs, and exemplary and punitive damages.

Premises Liability
Landlords owe their tenants a duty of care to make sure that a premise is safe to live in. When inadequate safety measures or hazards exist on the property that lead to injuries or death, the property owner or manager can be held liable under Maryland’s premises liability law.

Landlord, tobacco firm sued in woman's death, The Herald-Mail, February 25, 2009

Premises Liability, Justia

Related Web Resource:
Lorillard Tobacco Company

In a deadly Maryland motor vehicle crash that left the vehicle split in two, one Montgomery County high school student is dead and the other has serious injuries. The accident occurred on Sunday afternoon in Rockville.

The driver of the vehicle, 17-year-old Silver Springs resident Johvanny Garmendez, reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which raced down a hill and struck a tree. Garmendez survived the Maryland auto crash with critical injuries. His passenger, 17-year-old Rockville resident Thiago Andrade, was thrown from the 2003 Toyota Camry and pronounced dead at the accident site.

The Camry they were riding in split into two sections after striking a tree. Both parts rolled down the hill separately before landing in an apartment complex parking lot. Another car in the lot was damaged.

Police are trying to determine the cause of the auto crash. According to witnesses, the vehicle was driving at about 45 mph above the speed limit.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2007 Young Drivers (Ages 15 – 20) Traffic Safety Facts

• 6,982 young drivers were involved in auto accidents where there was at least one fatality.
• 3,174 young drivers died in auto accidents.
• 252,000 others were injured.
• 1,631,000 young drivers were involved in auto crashes in which the police became involved.
• 4% of young drivers involved in auto accidents resulting in injuries had been drinking.

Driver distraction, drunk driving, and driver inexperience are just some reasons why young drivers are involved in auto accidents.

According to the Choose Safety for Life Web Site:
• Nearly 20,000 Maryland auto accidents in 2006 involved young drivers.
• That same year, there were 102 auto accidents involving young Maryland drivers that resulted in fatalities.

1 Student Killed, 1 Hurt In Crash That Halved Car, Washington Post, February 2, 2009

Young Drivers, Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA

Young Drivers, Choose Safety for Life

Related Web Resources:
Latest on New Driver Issues, NHTSA

Maryland Teen Drivers, DMV.org

Continue reading "As Maryland Motor Vehicle Collision Splits Car in Half, One Montgomery County Student Dies and The Other Teen is Critically Injured " »

In Maryland, a Washington County Circuit Court judge has ordered the man convicted of Debra Reed Fields-Jordan’s manslaughter by vehicle death to pay her family $2,084,076.31 in restitution. Fields-Jordan died in a May 2008 motor vehicle accident when a pickup truck ran a stop sign and struck her motorcycle on Md. 77.

The driver of the pickup truck fled the motorcycle accident scene. Police, however, apprehended Harry W. Shrader a few days later because the truck was registered in his name. In November 2008, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter and is now being held at the Maryland Correctional Training Center. Shrader was intoxicated at the time of the deadly traffic crash.

In August 2008, Fields-Jordan’s husband, Stephen J Jordan, sued Schrader for his wife’s wrongful death. Jordan sought $2 million in punitive damages and $4 million in compensatory damages. He accused Schrader of causing emotional trauma, mental anguish, loss of companionship, society, marital care, comfort, protection, advice, attention, training, guidance, counsel, education, and his wife’s love. Last month, Jordan filed documents accusing Schrader of trying to defraud his family from any wrongful death compensation they could be owed when the inmate transferred more than 44 acres of land to his girlfriend.

Intoxicated Driving
Driving while intoxicated, whether under the influence of alcohol or drugs, is against the law. It is also a cause of far too many personal injuries and wrongful deaths. A truck driver, motorcyclist, car driver, or bus driver who engages in intoxicated driving and injures someone else as a result may be held liable with a Maryland personal injury claim or wrongful death lawsuit.

$2M restitution in manslaughter case, The Herald Mail, January 30, 2009

Smithsburg man gets 10 years in vehicle manslaughter case, The Herald-Mail, November 17, 2008

Related Web Resource:
Motorcycle Accident Overview, Justia

A bill that is calling for a Maryland reckless driving law would make it easier to prosecute reckless drivers if passed. The proposal calls for drivers who were responsible for causing a motor vehicle fatality because they exhibited negligence leading to “substantial risk” of safety to be charged with a misdemeanor crime. The penalty would be up to three years in jail.

Maryland Delegate Luiz R.S. Simmons (D-Montgomery) has been pushing for this law for five years. He claims that the state’s standard for proving vehicular homicide is too high.

Currently, some 30 US states have laws that allow reckless driving charges even if the driver did not exhibit “gross negligence.” The bill has died every year so far because the House Judiciary Committee chairman, Del. Joseph F. Vallario, has not called for a vote on the matter.

This week, Mary Gray, the mother of a 20-year-old man who died after he was hit by an off-duty Prince George’s County police officer, testified in Annapolis in support of the reckless driving bill. Officer Mario Chavez, who admitted to drinking on the night before the deadly Maryland auto crash, was not charged in her son's death.

The state’s attorney for Prince George’s County found that there was insufficient evidence to charge the police officer with vehicular manslaughter, which is an offense that requires proof that the driver was grossly negligent. Instead, Chavez was issued a traffic ticket for the deadly December 2007 accident.

Now Brian’s family is suing Chavez and Prince George’s County for his wrongful death.

Reckless Driving
While state laws can vary in terms of how incidents of “reckless driving” are defined and criminally prosecuted, there is no doubt that driving carelessly or recklessly can lead to serious motor vehicle accidents resulting in personal injury or wrongful death. Driving at excessive speeds, drunk driving, and other reckless acts can be grounds for a Maryland wrongful death lawsuit if someone else dies as a result.

Reckless Driving Law Is Urged, Washington Post, January 29, 2009

Mother Waits For Answers In Crash That Killed Son, WUSA9.com, May 17, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Wrongful Death, Justia

Maryland State Highway Administration

The family of Shirley Mae Almer is suing Peanut Corporation of America and King Nut Companies for her wrongful death. The 72-year-old nursing home resident allegedly died after she ate the peanut butter that was served to her at the facility where she was staying. A tub of peanut butter found at the nursing home contained Salmonella typhimurium, the same strain of salmonella that has made a number of other people in the US sick.

The Centers for Disease Control says there have been at least 501 reports of Salmonella typhimurium-related food poisoning. 108 people required hospitalization. 8 of the cases resulted in deaths. Over 280 cases involved minors.

Almer died on December 21, 2008. Her family’s wrongful death lawsuit accuses the defendants of failure to safely manufacture, package, and transport the peanut butter, failure to properly train and supervise employees, failure to maintain hygienic conditions at the peanut butter plant, failure to test the peanut butter before sending the products off, and failure to prevent cross-contamination.

Peanut Corporation of America is the company that made thousands of pounds of the contaminated peanut better. On January 27, 2009, federal health official reported finding Salmonella typhimurium, as well as four other strains of salmonella, at the peanut butter manufacturing plant. King Nut Companies supplied the peanut butter to the nursing home.

Over 300 peanut butter-related recalls have occurred because of the Salmonella outbreak. Peanut Corp sells peanut paste to almost 100 manufacturers of nutrition bars, cookies, peanut butter crackers, and ice cream. More recalls are expected.

If you got sick or someone you love died because of a contaminated food product, you may have grounds to file a products liability lawsuit.

FDA: Peanut plant knew product was tainted with salmonella, CNN Health, January 28, 2008

Family sues over salmonella-related death, Forbes/AP, January 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Read the Food and Drug Administration's Inspection Report of Peanut Corporation of America

View a List of Peanut Butter Recalls

The federal government has settled a VA wrongful death lawsuit with the family of an Iraq war veteran who killed himself soon after he was denied mental health care. The family will receive $350,000.

Jeffrey Lucey was a corporal in the US Marines who was based in Iraq in 2003. When he came back to the United States, family members says he was having nightmares, behaving erratically, suffering from insomnia and serious depression, and drank a lot. The 23-year-old was involuntarily committed to a VA medical center’s psychiatric unit but was discharged from the hospital after four days following a diagnosis of mood swings and alcoholism.

Two days later, Lucey’s family readmitted him to the hospital after he crashed a car in an attempt to kill himself. He was turned away by a VA hospital nurse who failed to have a psychiatrist examine him.

Lucey hanged himself on June 22, 2004. His family filed their Veterans Affairs wrongful death lawsuit alleging medical malpractice against the United States. The Federal Tort Claims Act allows plaintiffs to file tort lawsuits, including those involving medical malpractice, against parties acting for the federal government.

Although the settlement has been reached, the Assistant US Attorney for the case says the VA is not admitting that it was responsible for Lucey’s suicide. The veteran’s death, however, has led to changes in how the VA medical system works with veterans and suicide prevention.

In 2007, A CBS News’ Investigative Unit found that from 1995 – 2007, almost 2,200 active duty service members killed themselves. The journalism also discovered that when it asked all 50 states for their suicide data for veterans and non-veterans, information sent back from 45 states showed that in 2005, 6,225 individuals who served in the armed forces were among those who committed suicide.

The Lucey family’s wrongful death lawsuit is not the first complaint filed against the federal government alleging that a VA hospital was negligent and therefore responsible for an Iraq war veteran’s suicide.

U.S. to pay $350,000 to family of Belchertown veteran who killed himself, MassLive, January 15, 2009

Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans, CBS News, November 13, 2007

Related Web Resources:
US Department of Veterans Affairs

Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), United States Department of Justice

A 21-year-old Baltimore County woman is dead after a tire that broke off from a truck being towed landed on her car on Wednesday. The deadly motor vehicle accident took place on Interstate 495 in Prince George’s County.

According to Maryland State Police, tow truck driver Roger Smith was towing a delivery truck when one of the tires with a metal wheel broke off the vehicle, rolled across lanes, struck two guardrails, rolled across a grassy median, and hit a tractor-trailer. The impact of this collision caused the tire to fly back across the median and land on Channing Quinichett’s Honda Civic, crushing the windshield and roof of her vehicle. The 21-year-old Maryland resident was pronounced dead at the crash scene.

If you have been injured in a Maryland traffic accident because a party’s negligence caused flying or falling debris to strike you and/or your motor vehicle, you may have grounds to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

For example, last September, the family of 39-year-old Milena Del Valle, who died after part of the Big Dig tunnel ceiling in Massachusetts fell on her car, received a $28 million wrongful death settlement. In another personal injury lawsuit, the wife of Pawel “Paul” Swierczynski sued five companies after her husband was struck by a 250-pound grate that crashed through his windshield. Swierczynski sustained numerous injuries, including a traumatic brain injuries.

Just this month, a 6-year-old boy died and a man sustained injuries after they were struck by flying metal chunks at a monster truck rally. The catastrophic accident occurred when a truck's driveline malfunctioned, causing the fragments to fly toward the crowd. Witnesses have expressed anger that the show was not stopped even after both victims started bleeding.

While freak accidents do happen, there may have been steps that a liable party could have taken to prevent the personal injury accident or wrongful death.

Tire kills Baltimore Co. woman on Capital Beltway, Baltimore Sun, Associated Press, January 22, 2009

Boy, 6, killed by flying debris at Tacoma monster truck rally, Komonews.com, January 17, 2009

Boy, 6, killed by flying debris at Tacoma monster truck rally, Komonews.com, January 17, 2009

Settlement Reached In Big Dig Death Suit, CBS News, September 30, 2008

Related Web Resource:
Wrongful Death Overview, Justia

Continue reading "Baltimore County Woman Dies After She is Struck by Flying Truck's Tire on Capital Beltway" »

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" »

In Maryland, the State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County says that police officer Mario Chavez will not be prosecuted for vehicular manslaughter in the Maryland car accident death of Brian Gray. The 20-year-old Bowie resident died in December 2007 when his vehicle was struck by the police car driven by Chavez, who did receive a speeding ticket for his role in the auto crash.

A police probe placed responsibility for the traffic collision on both Chavez and Gray. Their investigation concluded that Chavez was speeding, driving 50mph in a 20mph area zone, and that Gray, who was coming out of an intersection, pulled out in front of the police officer’s vehicle.

During his deposition, Chavez, 30, said he consumed several drinks the night before the deadly car accident and spent the night at a friend’s house. He was returning home to get ready for work when the auto crash happened early the next morning. Following the fatal motor vehicle collision, Gray’s family sued Prince George’s County and Chavez for wrongful death. They are seeking $2 million.

According to county state’s attorney Glenn F. Ivey, a person cannot be prosecuted for vehicular manslaughter just for speeding in Maryland and that another factor, such as drunk driving, purposely ignoring others’ safety, or speed racing, has to be present for there to be the possibility of gross negligence. Ivey says that although Chavez drank the night before, there was no evidence that he was intoxicated on the morning of the accident.

Ivey also reiterated that the fact that Chavez is a police officer is not the reason that he won’t be prosecuted. He expressed hope that the Maryland General Assembly would lower the state’s high standards for prosecution. New legislation, proposed by Del. Luiz R.S. Simmons, would allow for a misdemeanor charge to be filed if a driver causes an auto crash while engaged in actions that pose a “substantial risk” to the safety of others.

In October, another Prince George’s County police officer was acquitted following a 120mph pursuit of a motorcyclist. The high-speed chase left two people dead and 15 others injured. Meantime, Chavez continues to work as a Prince George’s County police officer.

Officer involved in fatal accident will not be prosecuted, Gazette.net, December 30, 2008

Md. Will Not Indict Officer in Car Crash, Washington Post, December 13, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Prosecutors fight for changes in traffic laws, SoMDNews.com, November 12, 2008

Beltway Chase Wasn't Called In, Sources Say, Washington Post, June 22, 2007

In Maryland, the Board of Public Works has approved a $500,000 wrongful death settlement for the family of Ifeanyi A. Iko, an inmate who died in 2004 after being subdued with pepper spray at the Western Correctional Institution. According to the state medical examiner, his cause of death was homicide due to the “chemical irritation of the airways by pepper spray,” the use of a mask on the 51-year-old prisoner’s face, and the manner in which he was restrained.

The Nigerian immigrant was found asphyxiated following an altercation with police when he was removed from his cell, handcuffed at the wrists and ankles, put in a spit-protection mask, and sprayed with pepper. Other prisoners who saw the incident say that prison guards severely beat Iko and used three cans of pepper spray on him.

While an Allegany County grand jury did not indict the correctional officers involved in the pepper spray incident, the prison’s lead investigator in the case has admitted that key evidence, such as wet clothing and video footage, were not preserved. Also, two months after Iko died, the state prison commissioner issued stricter guidelines on pepper spray use. Now, officers need a warden or assistant warden to approve the use of the spray and anytime the spray is used, a full report must be prepared within 24 hours.

Iko’s family had filed a $28 million federal wrongful death lawsuit, which will now be dismissed, following the incident on April 30, 2004 in Cumberland. The half a million dollar settlement may be the largest award granted in a Maryland personal injury or wrongful death case involving a prisoner victim.

Pepper Spray
Pepper spray can irritate the eyes, skin, and airways. Burning, tearing, sneezing, shortness of breath, coughing, skin blisters, and vomiting are some of the symptoms that can occur. Concentrated use of this spray can lead to more serious health conditions.

Maryland police officers and correctional officers are not supposed to use excessive force or severe restraint methods when apprehending suspects or prisoners. Failure to exercise this duty of care can be grounds for a Maryland police brutality or wrongful death lawsuit.

State will pay $500,000 in death of prisoner, Baltimore Sun, January 2, 2009

FBI Investigating Md. Inmate's Death, Washington Post, September 11, 2004

Related Web Resources:
Pepper spray rules tighten, Daily Press, July 21, 2004

Western Correctional Institution

Anne Arundel County has agreed to pay $90,000 to settle the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Donald Coates. The 20-year-old was shot dead by Anne Arundel County Police Officer Tommy Pleasant in 2005.

Earlier this year, Coates’s family members filed federal and state lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages. They claimed that Pleasant, who was a rookie and had been patrolling solo for just a month when the incident happened, acted wrongfully when he shot Coates, who was naked and unarmed at the time.

The shooting incident occurred on May 24, 2005. According to witnesses, Coates had called 911 while he was smoking marijuana in his home. He claimed that someone was trying to kill him. He then fired several shots before leaving the premise.

Pleasant saw Coates, who started running toward him. The then-22-year-old cop later explained that he thought Coates was on drugs and that his only choice was to shoot the naked man.

In September 2005, a grand jury found that Pleasant was not criminally liable for Coates’s shooting death. He continues to work as an Anne Arundel County police officer.

Excessive use of violence by police officers to apprehend suspects is considered a violation of one’s civil rights. It can also be grounds for a police brutality claim or a wrongful death lawsuit if someone is injured or killed.

Suit Is Settled In '05 Police Killing of Man, Washington Post, December 19, 2008

Arundel settles suit, Baltimore Sun, December 18, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Anne Arundel County Police Department

Anne Arundel County Sued for Wrongful Death of Naked Man Shot by Cop, Lebowitz & Mzhen, July 7, 2008

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

The Owings Mill mother of Damon D. Smith, the Maryland man who committed suicide by jumping from the top of Mercy Hospital, is suing the Baltimore Police Department for wrongful death. Hazella White’s lawsuit seeks $10 million in damages from the police department, the city of Baltimore, and Officer Wilbert Perez.

On October 26, 2007, Smith crashed his motor vehicle on Interstate 795 and was picked up by Maryland state police. A police check determined that Baltimore police were looking for the 27-year-old in connection to his ex-girlfriend Veronica Fludd’s murder. Smith also appeared to have self-inflected injuries.

According to White’s Maryland wrongful death lawsuit, Officer Perez knew that Smith was suicidal yet loosened his restraints before he went to the bathroom. The complaint also contends that Perez had been working too many hours in a row and should have called medical workers.

As a result of defendant Perez’s actions of alleged gross neglect, the lawsuit says Smith was able to free himself and jump from a window off the hospital’s 10th floor on October 28, 2007.

The Baltimore Police Department disciplined the officers who had Smith in their custody. White’s wrongful death lawyer says this action shows that the police department acknowledges a breakdown in protocols that led to Smith’s suicide.

Perez and Sgt Carrie Everett maintain they did nothing wrong. In September 2008, the Baltimore Sun reported that the two men believed they had been wrongly disciplined based on a rule for violations that are no specified. Perez claimed the protocols were flawed. The two men were later disciplined for talking to the media.

Police Negligence
Law enforcement officers are supposed to exercise a certain duty of care when doing their jobs. When police negligence causes injury or death, a police officer, the police department, and/or the city where the police department is located may be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death.

Examples of Police Negligence Include:

• Conducting an improper investigation.
• Making an arrest or identifying a suspect with insufficient evidence or the wrong evidence.
• Police brutality.
• Failure to properly supervise detainees.
• Improper arrest procedures.

Police sued over suicide, Baltimore Sun, December 9, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Baltimore Police Department

City of Baltimore, Maryland

In US District Court, the mother of Karl Grimes, the 18-year-old who died from injuries he sustained during a fight with two youths while staying at the Oak Hill Youth Center in 2005, is suing the DC government and Prince George’s Hospital Center in Maryland for wrongful death. Patricia Grimes is seeking $5 million from the hospital for alleged negligent care and $15 million from the DC government for its failure to properly staff and supervise the detention facility.

According to Patricia’s wrongful death lawsuit, Karl was sent to Oak Hill in August 2005 because of a probation violation. He was beaten and knocked unconscious by a number of Oak Hill residents on November 23. The lawsuit contends that city officials knew that the detention center lacked the adequate staffing to properly supervise residents and make sure they were safe. Patricia also claims there was a “significant delay” in getting her son the care that he needed and that he would be alive today if city workers had done their jobs correctly.

After the assault incident, Karl was treated by on-site medical workers before he was taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center. He appeared to be recovering until two days later, when his condition deteriorated. On November 26, Grimes was declared brain dead.

This is not the first time that the Oak Hill Youth Center has come under fire for conditions at the DC detention facility. Drug use, overcrowding, and violence among residents are some of the problems the center has been cited for over the years.

Juvenile detention facilities and prisons are supposed to make sure that residents, detainees, and inmates are not placed in situations where they may sustain injuries or die. Failure to provide that care can lead to a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

Grounds for filing a personal injury claim against a juvenile detention facility may include abuse, sexual assault, assault and battery, slip and fall, police brutality, negligence, or premises liability. There are specific steps that must be taken to file your claim or lawsuit against a local, state, or federal government.

Mother Sues City, Md. Hospital Over Teen's Death, Washington Post, November 26, 2008

District youth dies after fight at Oak Hill in Laurel, Gazette.net, November 29, 2005

Related Web Resources:

Behind Oak Hill's Fences, Violence and Uncertainty, Washington Post, August 2, 2004

Medical Malpractice, Justia

A Delmar woman died in Dorchester County on Friday evening after the car she was riding in was pushed into the back of a tractor-trailer by a Maryland state trooper’s car on Eastbound Route 50. Kristin Underkoffler was taken to Dorchester General Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The 34-year-old driver was sitting in traffic in her 2008 Hyundai when Trooper First Class Paul Zimmerman’s patrol car slid on a patch of ice and struck her vehicle. Zimmerman’s sirens and emergency lights were activated as he headed to an accident scene at the Vienna Bridge.

Underkoffler’s car rotated clockwise before hitting the tractor-trailer’s rear. Zimmeran’s vehicle also struck the truck, but he only sustained minor injuries. He got out of his car to assist Underkoffler until emergency workers arrived at the auto crash scene.

The tractor-trailer driver was not hurt. The Maryland State Police says they still do not know what speed Zimmerman was driving when the crash happened, but a complete investigation is under way. Several other motor vehicle crashes had occurred that day because of ice on the roads.

Speeding and driver distraction are two of the leading causes of United States traffic accidents, and it is the responsibility of all motorists, including working police officers, to make sure that they do not endanger other motorists and pedestrians. Failure to obey the rules of the road and pay attention to pedestrians and other drivers can be grounds for a personal injury claim or wrongful death lawsuit if someone gets hurt or dies.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 314 people died during police chases in 1998. 2 victims were cops, 198 victims were the objects of pursuit, and 114 victims were not directly involved in the police chase.

Md. state police: Woman dies in crash with trooper, Examiner.com, November 22, 2008

Delmar woman dies after state trooper strikes her idling car, Baltimore Sun, November 22, 2008

High-speed police pursuits: dangers, dynamics, and risk reduction, Bnet.com, July 22, 2002

Related Web Resources:

Maryland State Police

Car & Driving Safety Tips, Nationwide.com

Continue reading "Maryland Woman Dies After State Trooper Hits Her Car, Pushing the Vehicle into a Tractor-Trailer" »

In Maryland, a Montgomery County Circuit Court jury has ordered the practice of Silver Springs Dermatologist Dr. Norman Ansel Lokshin to pay the surviving family members of Richard Semsker $5.8 million for dermatology malpractice.

Semsker died of skin cancer in October 2007. The Rockville resident had sought treatment from Dr. Lockshin’s practice. According to his family’s Maryland wrongful death lawsuit, Dr. Lokshin first detected a mole on Semsker’s lower back during a 1998 checkup. Lokshin contacted Semsker’s primary care physician, Dr. Lawrence Marcus, and recommended that the mole be removed. The mole was not removed.

In 2004, Semsker went back to Dr. Lokshin’s practice and was seen by Dr. Michael Albert, who was working at the practice part-time. Dr. Albert recommended that an atypical mole and two cysts be removed from Semsker’s upper back. However, he recommended that the same mole that Lokshin first detected on Albert’s back six years ago only be monitored because he believed that it wasn’t cancerous. Albert had just started working at the dermatology practice and he didn’t know that the mole had grown twice in size.

Semsker’s mole was not removed until August 2006, after his wife noted that it was now a different color. He soon found out that he had cancer and that the disease was now in lymph nodes in his lower abdomen and groin. It would later reach his brain. After undergoing surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, the 47-year-old died of cancer in October 2007.

The Semsker family accused Albert of medical negligence for failing to recommend the mole’s removal. During the wrongful death trial, an expert witness for the family testified that Semsker’s recovery chances would have been 95% if the mole had been removed in 2004 instead of 2006.

While the Maryland jury did not find Lokshin personally liable for the delayed diagnosis, his dermatology practice is being held responsible for the medical malpractice award. The Semsker’s family was awarded $3 million in non-economic damages and $2.8 million for loss of financial support. The non-economic damages will be lowered to $812,5000, per the state’s medical malpractice cap on non-economic damages involving at least two plaintiffs.

Doctor liable for lawyer’s fatal cancer, The Daily Record, November 17, 2008

Family wins malpractice suit against Silver Spring dermatologist, Gazette.net, November 19, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Derm Malpractice Payout Doubled From 2005 to 2007: Average settlement rose by 53% to $290,627, Skin and Allergy News, October 2008

A Maryland car crash that led to the deaths of Katherine Brady and her son Wilson in Harford County last Friday could have been prevented if police had arrested the driver accused of causing the accident for fleeing the scene of another motor vehicle collision less than two hours prior, reports the Baltimore Sun.

While police maintain that they acted appropriately when they issued Christopher Lentz a summons after he failed to stop at the scene of the first auto crash he was involved in that day (leaving a traffic crash scene is not a mandatory arrestable offense in Maryland), others are questioning why he wasn't arrested.

The first auto accident took place on Route 152 in Joppa at around 3:30pm when Lentz allegedly drove across the center line and struck a minivan. Seven children who were in the minivan at the time of the traffic crash were transported to a hospital for evaluation.

The 37-year-old Glen Arm motorist then reportedly kept driving for half a mile until his vehicle became disabled. Police charged him with failure to stop at an accident scene, failure to drive right of center, failure to provide the other motorist with insurance information, and failure to control the speed of his car to avoid a crash.

Some 90 minutes later, Lentz, who was driving another motor vehicle, crashed a 2004 Jeep Cherokee SUV head-on into a mini-van on the Bel Air Bypass. Katherine Brady and Wilson, 8, died in the accident. Her husband Stephen, 2-year-old son Ian, another motorist, and Lentz were taken to hospitals for treatment of their injuries.

Lentz has a record of previous driving offenses. He has been issued a number of speeding tickets and his license has been revoked once and suspended at least twice. Thirteen years ago, he was convicted for driving under the influence.

Police say that they will likely charge Lentz for his involvement in the second crash.

Driver could have been arrested before fatal crash, Baltimore Sun, November 13, 2008

Maryland Mother and Her Son Are Killed and Four Others Are Injured in Multi-Vehicle Crash on Bel Air Bypass in Harford County, Lebowitz & Mzhen, November 9, 2008

Related Web Resources

Wrongful Death, Justia

Continue reading "Deadly Maryland Car Crash Could Have Been Prevented if Police Had Arrested the Driver for Leaving Another Accident Scene Less than Two Hours Prior" »

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" »

The family of Randy Rakes, a Finksburg man who died in 2006 in a Maryland motor vehicle crash involving a State Police trooper car on Md. 140, is calling on Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to remove trooper Dale Derr from the force. Their demand comes following a confrontation between Derr and Rakes’s half-brother, Joseph Blizzard, earlier this month.

According to the Rakes family's Maryland wrongful death lawyer, other troopers had detained Blizzard in Carroll County on October 12 when Derr arrived at the scene and verbally and physically assaulted him before throwing him to the ground, allegedly causing the suspect to break his thumb. Blizzard was arrested over allegations of check forgery.

Police say they are investigating the allegations against Derr. The Rakes family wants him suspended from the force pending the probe’s outcome.

The Rakes family is suing Derr and the Maryland State Police for $15.8 million for Randy’s wrongful death. On November 29, 2006, Rakes and a friend were walking along Route 140 late in the evening when they decided to cross the road. According to the Maryland State Police crash report, Derr, who was driving over 50 mph above the speed limit at around 80mph, struck Rakes with his vehicle.

The report cited the cause of death as Rakes’s failure to yield the rate of way to the cruiser and Derr's speeding. No charges were filed against Derr for his involvement in the crash.

Based on his alleged behavior toward Blizzard, the Rakes family is worried that Derr is “volatile” and could cause further harm.

Police Brutality
Law enforcement officers are forbidden from abusing their authority and exercising excessive force on anyone, including criminal suspects. If you have been a victim of police brutality, your civil rights have been violated and you may be entitled to personal injury compensation.

Md. trooper's firing sought by kin of 2006 crash victim, BaltimoreSun.com, October 29, 2008

Family wants cop fired, Carroll County TImes, October 29, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Maryland State Police

Police Brutality and Accountability in the US, HRW.org

Maryland State Police are investigating a deadly motor vehicle crash in St. Mary’s County that left a newlywed couple dead. Phillip Brian Natalie died at the crash scene, while his wife, Jessica Laurel Natalie, was pronounced dead at St. Mary’s hospital following the crash. Jessica and Laurel, who were both 26, were married this summer.

The collision took place at the intersections of Crimson Drive and Willows Road. Police reports indicate that the Maryland motor vehicle collision happened after a Toyota Camry, driven by 25-year-old Lateesha Shonte Cooper, made a left turn and drove into the path of the motorcycle that the couple was riding. Cooper, who is also a Lexington Park resident, was treated at a hospital for her injuries and later released.

According to Lt. Michael Thompson, preliminary findings made it appear to him as if the motorcycle was trying to avoid Cooper's car. He noted the possibility that Cooper might have failed to yield the right of way.

Maryland State Police records show that there were 96 motorcycle deaths in Maryland in 2007. Police say that although only 2% of all registered motor vehicles in Maryland are motorcycles, these vehicles were involved in 16% of the state’s deadly traffic collisions. While Maryland motorcyclists are responsible for 50% of these auto accidents, the other 50% of traffic crashes are caused by other motorists.

2007 NHTSA US Motorcycle Crash Statistics:

• 5,154 motorcyclists died.
• 103,000 others were injured.
• 1,784 lives were saved because of helmet use.
• 2,332 two-vehicle crashes involved collisions between a motorcycle and another vehicle.
• 25% of all motorcycles involved in deadly accidents were in collisions with fixed objects.

Lex. Park Couple Killed in Motorcycle Crash, Southern Maryland Online, October 20, 2008
2 killed in crash with car, Southern Maryland Newspapers, October 15, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Motorcycle Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA

Continue reading "Lexington Park Couple Dies in Maryland Motorcycle Accident" »

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1,670 of the 41,059 traffic fatalities that occurred in the United States in 2007 were child victims, age 14 and younger. 22 of those fatalities occurred in Maryland. 3 of the child traffic deaths occurred in Washington DC.

The National Center for Health Statistics says that auto crashes are the number one cause of death for children ages 8 to 14 and 3 to 6. Last year, 385 child vehicle occupants, age 4 and under, died in motor vehicle crashes.

More 2007 NHTSA Traffic Accident Statistics About Children, Age 14 and Under:

• 245 of the 1,670 child motor vehicle deaths involved at least one drunk driver.
• 130 of the 245 children that died in drunk driving accidents were riding with a drunk driver.
• Children, age 14 and under, made up 306 of the 4,654 pedestrian deaths last year.
• Drunk drivers killed 29 of these child pedestrians.
• 14,000 child pedestrians sustained injuries in traffic accidents.
• Young pedestrians were most likely to sustain fatal injuries between 4 and 8pm and noon and 4pm.
• 80% of pedestrian deaths involving this age group took place at non-intersections.
• 91 child pedalcyclists died last year.
• 10,000 child pedalcyclists were injured in motor vehicle crashes.
• Each day last year, 5 children in this age group were killed in traffic accidents, with 548 others injured.

Children are prone to catastrophic injuries anytime they are involved in a serious auto collision. While there are steps that parents can take to protect their young children from the impact of colliding with a motor vehicle—whether as an auto occupant, a pedestrian, or a pedalcyclist—accidents caused by negligent drivers or because an auto manufacturer designed a defective car or motor vehicle part do happen.

Children, 2007 Data Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA

Related Web Resources:

Preventing Injuries to Children in Motor Vehicle Crashes, Safe Kids Worldwide

Kids and Cars.org

Continue reading "NHTSA Reports That 22 Children, Age 14 and Under, Died in Maryland Traffic Fatalities in 2007" »

The Baltimore Sun recently looked through crash records and other key documents related to 26 deadly medevac crashes that have occurred In the US since 2003. The newspaper’s findings indicate that many of the cases involved victims that were being transported by air even though they weren’t “minutes-from-death.”

The Baltimore Sun chose to review the medical helicopter crash findings after last month's medevac crash that killed four people in Prince George’s County, Maryland raised questions about whether medical helicopter travel was necessary to save two auto crash victim's lives. The Maryland chopper used to transport the two victims lacked the terrain-awareness system that could have allowed the pilot to detect that he was flying too close to trees. One of the teen victims died in the aviation crash.

While there are many instances where air travel saves the lives of victims who are very sick or seriously injured in accidents, not all of the 26 medevac helicopters that crashed appeared to have been carrying victims whose lives could only be saved if they were transported by air.

Findings include:

• In eight cases, patients actually waited longer for a helicopter than they would have waited if an ambulance drove them to a hospital.
• In six cases, patients were discharged soon after the chopper left them at hospitals or they were transported in long ambulance rides after the helicopter dropped them off.
• 13 of the 26 medevac crashes happened while patients were being flown to hospitals.
• Many of the patients had to wait for hours for a helicopter to arrive and while it was readied for take off.
• One patient was transported by air just 10 miles to a hospital.

Since last month’s accident, the state of Maryland has defended its approximately 4,500 medevac flights a year, saying that they are needed to save lives. It also has implemented a change that will limit the number of flights that are not medically necessary. While patients with serious injuries will be flown by helicopter when air travel will help save their lives by reducing travel time, doctors will have to be consulted before patients with less severe injuries can be transported by medical helicopter.

Meantime, doctors are calling for a review of medevac flights from a medical perspective and whether new guidelines need to be put in place to make sure that a person’s injuries or illness warrants the urgency of air travel.

Unnecessary flight risks?, BaltimoreSun.com, October 23, 2008

Doctors question use of medevac helicopter, UPI.com, October 23, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Copter lacked equipment, BaltimoreSun.com, October 24, 2008

Medevac helicopters under scrutiny, USA Today, September 29, 2008

Continue reading "Baltimore Sun's Review of 26 Deadly Medevac Crashes Indicate that Not All Victims Needed Air Transport" »

The mother of Latasha Harris, a 31-year-old Baltimore City woman that was murdered in her apartment, is suing the security guard company for wrongful death. The lawsuit, filed in a Maryland court against US Protect Services, is seeking $10 million dollars and accuses the company of not doing enough to stop one of its employees—who happened to be Harris’s live-in boyfriend—from shooting her.

The deadly shooting took place in March in Southwest Baltimore when Harris’s boyfriend, Jerry Bennett, shot her before shooting himself. Bennett had a gun because he was a security guard employed by US Protect Services.

According to the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit, the security guard company should have taken the company-issued weapon away from Bennett after he became violent at work and attacked a coworker.

Harris’s mother is now taking care of her two grandchildren and wants US Protect Services to compensate her family for her daughter’s murder. US Protect Services filed for bankruptcy soon after Harris’s slaying, but her family is hoping to recover compensation from the company’s insurer.

Wrongful death cases can be challenging cases, and there may be more than one party that can be held liable for a loved one’s death. The best way to determine liability is to contact a Maryland wrongful death lawyer about your case.

Maryland Wrongful Death Recovery
In Maryland, the cap on damages for non-medical malpractices wrongful death cases is $680,000 for one claimant. When there are two or more beneficiaries, the cap is $1,020,000. Maryland does not have a cap for economic damages involving wrongful death cases.

Mother Files $10M Lawsuit For Daughter's Murder, WJZ.com, October 2, 2008

Related Web Resource:
Maryland Wrongful Death and Intestacy Statutes, USdoj.gov (PDF)

US Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced the latest national drunk driving-related death statistics. Peters noted that while the number of total DUI deaths has dropped significantly in 32 US states, half of the states experienced an increase in drunk driving-related motorcycle fatalities.

Overall, almost 13,000 people died in accidents involving motorists with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or more—a drop from the almost 13,500 DUI victims that died in 2006. Peters noted that 1,621 motorcyclists that died in alcohol-related collisions last year—a 7.5% increase from the year prior.

Of the 12,998 drunk driver-related deaths that occurred last year:

• 7,283 of the victims where drunk drivers.
• 2,067 victims were riding with the drunk driver.
• 1,361 fatalities were motorcyclists that were intoxicated.
• 81 of the deaths were passengers of intoxicated motorcyclists.
• 1,431 victims were occupants of other motor vehicles.

The state that experienced the greatest drop in alcohol-related deaths was California, with 1,155 alcohol-impaired deaths in 2007 compared to the 1,272 fatalities in 2006.

States that experienced an increase in drunk driver-related deaths in 2007 included North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Alabama, Maine, Montana, Alaska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Delaware, North Dakota, West Virginia, Minnesota, Virginia, Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

The number of drunk-driving deaths in Maryland for 2007 was 179.

DUI Fatalities Down Nationwide and in 32 States, Says U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, NHTSA, August 28, 2008

2007 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment - Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities (PDF)

Continue reading "US Department of Transportation Releases 2007 DUI Death Statistics" »

The baby of a New York woman who was struck by a runaway van and pinned under a bus while she was still pregnant with him has died. Sean Michael Justin Sanz passed away in intensive care on August 22 after being born prematurely on August 14.

His mother, New York Traffic Agent Donnette Sanz, underwent an emergency cesarean section procedure to deliver him. She died soon after.

Some 30 people tried to lift the front of the bus off the pregnant traffic agent. She was then rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital. The driver of the van was Walter Walker, a 72-year-old man with an extensive history of traffic offenses. In a statement to the New York Post, Walker said that his brakes wouldn’t work, and he tried to stop his van to avoid hitting Sanz.

Wrongful Death
Family members that have lost loved ones in accidents may be entitled to compensation from the liable party or parties. In Maryland, barring certain exceptions noted by the state’s wrongful death statute, the husband, wife, son, daughter, mother or father of the deceased can file a claim for wrongful death. If the decedent has no primary beneficiaries, secondary beneficiaries may be entitled to claim recovery.

Depending on the specifics of the case, wrongful death damages may include compensation for mental trauma, emotional trauma, loss of companionship, loss of society, loss of comfort, loss of parental care, loss of filial care, and other damages.

Dad loses his miracle: Bus baby's tragic death leaves pa numb with grief, NYDailyNews.com, August 22, 2008

Bystanders Lift Bus Off Pregnant Mom, CBSNews.com, August 15, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Maryland: Wrongful Death and Intestacy Statutes, USDoj.gov

Continue reading "Newborn Baby Delivered Prematurely After Pregnant Mother Was Struck by Runaway Van is Dead " »

In Maryland, the family of Cassandra Blake, is suing Cedar Towers Apartment, American Pool Enterprises, Inc., American Pool Management Inc., Doug Kusher Co., and Westminster Management for $100 million for her wrongful death.

The 23-year-old Baltimore County woman died in 2005 after drowning in the Cedar Towers Apartment complex swimming pool. The lawsuit contends that the lifeguards that were on duty at the time of the accident were unqualified and had only one week’s worth of training.

Blake was visiting a friend at the Cedar Towers complex, and she had gone to the pool with her son, her sister, and other kids. A lifeguard and security guard reportedly told her it was okay to use the pool. At some point, Blake, who could not swim, either fell or was pushed into the deep end of the pool where she drowned.

According to the lawsuit, the children called to the lifeguard for help. Because the pool was murky, he had to use goggles to find Blake. He was unable to resuscitate her. The plaintiffs contend that the lifeguard was not qualified to do his job, that more lifeguards should have been provided, and the pool was poorly maintained, causing the murky water and unsafe conditions to result in Blake’s drowning death. The lawsuit accuses American Pool of hiring Jamaicans to train lifeguards for a week and that even the trainees that didn’t pass the tests were issued licenses.

If you or someone you love died in a pool drowning accident in Maryland, an experienced Baltimore personal injury lawyer can determine whether you have grounds to file a wrongful death claim against a negligent party. A pool that is poorly maintained or lacks the proper safety measures is considered a premise liability if someone is injured or killed as a result.

OCHealthinfo.com offers a list of potentially hazard conditions that could render a pool unsafe for use:

• Defective, loose, or missing drain covers.
• Murky water that makes it difficult to see the main drain at the bottom of the pool.
• Inaccurate or missing water depth markers.
• A nonfunctioning or defective recirculation system.
• Human feces or a dead animal in the pool.

Drowned woman's kin file lawsuit, BaltimoreSun.com, August 15, 2008

Pool Safety Issues, OCHealthinfo.com

Related Web Resources:

Health and Safety Tips, American Red Cross

American Red Cross Lifeguarding

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

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" »

Gregory Schoenburn and Kimberly Pifer, the widower and daughter of Martha Schoenburn, one of two pedestrians killed in a bus accident on Valentine’s Day in 2007, have settled their wrongful death lawsuit against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for $2.3 million.

Martha, an executive assistant, died after she and colleague Sally Dean McGhee were run over by a bus while they crossed Pennsylvania Avenue NW at the 7th intersection on February 14, 2007. The bus driver, Victor Kolako, pleaded guilty to two counts of negligent homicide and is currently behind bars.

Martha’s family had initially sued the WMATA for $50 million. The wrongful death lawsuit filed by McGhee’s family for $20 million is scheduled for trial in October.

Several pedestrian accidents have occurred at the intersection where the two women were struck, and the city has now added a left-turn only lane.

Following the two fatalities, WMATA has agreed to train its 2,400 Metrobus drivers annually. It also set up a “street smart” program to make sure that its employees are knowledgeable about pedestrians on the road.

Public buses are common carriers that owe passengers and pedestrians a greater duty of care to drive safely. Failure to fulfill this care is considered negligence, and if someone is injured or killed because of driver carelessness or recklessness, you are entitled to financial recovery. Our Maryland and Washington DC bus accident lawyers can help you explore all your legal options.

We know how to investigate bus crash cases and determine not just driver negligence, but we can find out if there is more that a transportation agency or the city could have done to prevent the accident from happening. We know how to bring an injury claim against all liable parties and deal with the unique issues that can arise with bus accident claims and lawsuits.

WMATA Settles Wrongful Death Suit, Legaltimes, June 13, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Approaches to Enhancing Pedestrian Safety and Access, FHWA Safety

Continue reading "Maryland Family Settles WMATA Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Tragic Valentine’s Day Pedestrian Bus Accident " »

Scott Peterson, the man convicted of murdering his wife Laci Peterson and their unborn son Connor Peterson, will have to stand trial again—this time for a civil wrongful death lawsuit filed by Laci’s parents.

The ruling to have the trial go forward was made by a Stanislaus County Superior Court judge who said that Peterson’s conviction and death sentence could not speak for themselves. The plaintiffs in the wrongful death case are Laci’s parents, Dennis Rocha and Sharon Rocha.

The judge has stayed his ruling until June 23 so Peterson’s lawyers can appeal. Peterson, who is in San Quentin Prison, maintains that he did not kill his pregnant wife.

Laci's body and Connor's fetus were found in the East Bay nearly five months after she disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002. Her parents, who initially sued for $25 million, are now asking for unspecified damages.

Although Peterson does not have the money to pay a large lawsuit, Laci’s parents want to make sure that he doesn’t make any money if he decides to sell his story. The murder of Laci and Connor had shocked the nation and books have been written and TV movies made about their killings. Sharon Rocha’s attorney says that Peterson can end the lawsuit if he agrees to a judgment of at least $10 million.

If your husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, or father has died in Maryland or Washington DC in an accident or incident that was caused by the negligence, malicious intent, or carelessness of another party, our wrongful death law firm can determine whether you have grounds to file a wrongful death claim against the negligent party.

If your loved one died because of someone else’s criminal actions, the murderer will not only face criminal charges, but he or she can be named as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Scott Peterson likely faces second trial in wrongful death case, MiamiHerald.com, June 6, 2008

Related Web Resource:

The Laci Peterson Case, FoxNews.com

Continue reading "Scott Peterson Wrongful Death Civil Trial to Proceed" »

In Frederick County, Maryland, the family of Jarrel Gray, the 20-year-old man who died last year after he was shocked with a police Taser twice is suing the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, and Corporal Torres for Gray’s wrongful death.

Jeffrey Gray and Tanya Thomas are the plaintiffs in the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit. They are asking for $145 million. Thomas says that Torres and her son knew each other. She is accusing Torres of going too far by using the device on her son.

Gray was legally drunk during an altercation, and Torres was called to the scene to intervene. Maryland’s medical examiner’s office says that Gray’s cause of death was sudden death connected to alcohol intoxication and restraint.

On May 9, a Frederick County grand jury ruled that Torres was justified in using a Taser to apprehend Gray, who did not follow the command to show his hands to the corporal.

Gray’s family and the NAACP, however, remain skeptical. The NAACP wants the Department of Justice and the Maryland Attorney General to conduct a civil rights probe into the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office use of Tasers. The NAACP also wants the Sheriff’s Office to stop using Tasers until after such a review.

Although an independent study by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine found that Taser use by police usually results in a low incidence of serious injuries, there have been numerous incidents across the United States where Taser use to apprehend a suspect has resulted in serious injury or death.

There is also the question of when using a Taser is appropriate and whether in certain incidents, police officers have abused their authority by using the device unnecessarily. A Taser is supposed to be a non-lethal defense device that delivers an electric shock to the target that is supposed to incapacitate his or her neuromuscular system.

If you were injured or someone you love died because a police officer used excessive violence, you may have grounds to file a Maryland police brutality or wrongful death case against the negligent party.

Family seeks $145 million for death of man in Taser case, BaltimoreSun.com, May 29, 2008

Taser probe nears end, but doubt lingers, Gazette.Net, May 15, 2008

Study Suggests Taser Use By US Police Is Safe, Medical News Today.com, October 9, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Taser Concerns Grow As Death, Injuries Mount, The New Standard, February 17, 2005

Frederick County Sheriff's Office

Continue reading "Frederick, Maryland Parents File $145 Million for Son’s Wrongful Death By Taser " »

In Anne Arundel County, Maria J. Lizama-Sanchez, 31, died last week after the minivan she was riding in was struck by a tractor-trailer. Lizama-Sanchez, was about 7 months pregnant, and doctors at Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore had to deliver the baby because of the seriousness of her injuries.

The child died soon after delivery. Doctors say the injuries from the multi-vehicle tractor-trailer crash were the baby’s cause of death. Lizama-Sanchez died about 90 minutes later from her catastrophic injuries.

The accident occurred near Glen Burnie. Maryland State Police say that traffic had slowed on southbound Interstate 97 so that a funeral procession could move through. An approaching tractor-trailer failed to stop, and the truck hit the Dodge minivan that Lizama-Sanchez was a passenger in.

Four other motor vehicles were struck in the collision. Lizama-Sanchez’s husband Walter was driving the van, and he also sustained injuries from the tractor-trailer accident. Five other people were injured in the crash, which involved six-vehicles, as one motor vehicle slammed into another.

The investigation is ongoing. Maryland State Police say that the funeral procession that shut down the roads onto Interstate 97 was for the father of an Anne Arundel County police officer.

Anne Arundel County police say that shutting off roads for funeral processions is a common practice but that the department would review its policies to make sure the shutdown on Friday was performed safely.

If you or someone you love was the victim of a car collision caused by another party’s negligence, contact our Maryland motor vehicle accident law firm immediately. You may be entitled to personal injury or wrongful death compensation, including medical costs, lost wages, funeral or cremation or burial expenses, and other damages.

Procession was for police officer's father, Baltimore Sun, May 27, 2008

Pregnant Woman, Baby Fatally Injured When Truck Hits Van, Washington Post, May 24, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Summary of State Wrongful Death and Intestacy Statutes (PDF)

Continue reading "Pregnant Maryland Woman and Her Baby Sustain Fatal Injuries in Tractor-Trailer Accident" »

The surviving family members of Baltimore Police Officer Norman Stamp say they will file a Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Baltimore. Stamp, 65, was killed after being shot by another Baltimore cop during a brawl outside the Haven Place strip club on April 24.

Stamp was off duty that night. According to the police report, he was seen wearing brass knuckles as he left the club. Baltimore Police Officer John Torres, who was trying to prevent customers from leaving the bar during the brawl, tried to stop Stamp from leaving.

Stamp reportedly ignored Torres’s request, so the on-duty officer Tasered him. Stamp then drew his gun and Torres shot him. Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III has said that Torres did what he’d been taught to do when faced with this kind of situation.

Stamp’s family and friends are disputing the account. They say there is no way that he could have pulled his gun if he was wearing the knuckles.

If you believe that your loved one was died because of the careless, reckless, or negligent actions of another party in Maryland or Washington D.C., our Baltimore wrongful death lawyers would like to talk to you.

Although you have three years from the date of death to file your Maryland wrongful death claim, it is important that you hire a wrongful death lawyer immediately to begin gathering evidence and investigating your case. Our Maryland wrongful death attorneys have helped many family members recover compensation for their loved one’s wrongful death.

We will investigate all evidence related to the wrongful death and interview witnesses that can confirm what happened to your loved one. We will work with top wrongful death, injury, and crime experts that know how to determine when recklessness or criminal actions led to your loved one’s untimely demise.

Baltimore cop’s slaying of fellow officer prompts lawsuit, Examiner.com, May 15, 2008

Off-duty Baltimore officer killed by police during bar fight, AP, April 24, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Maryland Wrongful Death Intestacy Statutes (PDF)

Continue reading "Family of Baltimore Police Officer that Was Shot By Fellow Cop Will File Maryland Wrongful Death Case" »

In Baltimore, the family of Isaiah Simmons III, 17, has filed a $207 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, the Bowling Brook Preparatory School, and seven counselors at the now-closed private reform school.

Simmons died in January 2007 following a confrontation with counselors at the juvenile offenders’ school located in Carroll County, Maryland. Simmons’s family is accusing all the defendants of negligence leading to the 17-year-old’s “slow, agonizing, and excruciating death.” The East Baltimore teen had been sent to the reform school after he was found guilty in juvenile court for armed robbery.

The lawsuit alleges that on January 23, 2007, seven counselors threw Simmons to the floor and sat on him for “multiple” hours despite hearing him complain that he could not breathe and that he was in pain. The Carroll County Sheriff's Office said that the counselors reportedly restrained him after he threatened to hurt staff personnel and other students at the school.

The lawsuit says that the school did not follow the accepted protocols and practices to restrain their son and that he suffocated to death. When the paramedics arrived, the boy was in cardiac arrest.

His family is asking for $207 million for every minute that Simmons was restrained. They are calling the method used to restrain him cruel and unusual.

Five counselors have been charged with reckless endangerment for waiting 41 minutes after the teenager became unresponsive to call a 911 operator for help. The FBI is still probing into whether more criminal charges and civil rights violations must be filed.

In Maryland and Washington D.C., our wrongful death lawyers can explore your legal options with you during a free consultation.

Family sues over teen's death at reform school, Examiner.com, May 15, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Sun coverage: Teen dies at Bowling Brook, Baltimore Sun.com

Continue reading "Maryland Family Files $207 Million Federal Lawsuit For Teen’s Wrongful Death at Reform School" »

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office and the family of a Randallstown man that died after being beaten by correctional officers inside Baltimore’s Central Booking and Intake Center in 2005 have reached a $500,000 wrongful death settlement.

Smoot, the father of four children—three of them under 18 years of age—was arrested in May 2005 on a minor theft charge and his failure to appear in court. At Central Booking, the state-run correctional facility, he was beaten and stomped to death during a brawl involving at least 25 correctional guards. Smoot had reportedly refused to enter his detention cell.

Following his beating, photos showed bruises all over his face and a blood-soaked gauze in his mouth. A family member had reported that his skull was cracked.

Three officers were charged for his second degree murder—with one of the men convicted of the charge and sentenced 20 years in prison.

Smoot’s family agreed to drop its $130 million wrongful death lawsuit in exchange fro the settlement. Maryland’s Board of Public Works still has to confirm the agreement.

One of the reasons for accepting the settlement is that Maryland has a liability cap of $200,000—so even if the family had won its lawsuit in court, the state of Maryland may have been able to lower the award.

Police Brutality
Unfortunately, police brutality is a far more common occurrence than we’d like for it to be. If you have been the victim of violence by a police or a correctional officer—even if you have been arrested for a crime—you still have civil rights.

Our Baltimore personal injury lawyers represent clients that have been injured because of the negligent, reckless, or violent acts of other parties. Over the years, we have successfully represented clients in Maryland and Washington D.C.

State to pay in death of Central Booking detainee, Baltimore Sun, May 7, 2008

$500,000 settlement accepted in Central Booking beating death, Examiner.com, May 7, 2008

Prisoner dies after altercation with guards, Baltimore Sun, May 16, 2005

Related Web Resources:

End brutality behind bars, Baltimore Sun, April 24, 2008

Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services

Continue reading "Maryland Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed By Family of Fatally Beaten Detainee " »

Norman C. Penn, Jr., the father of 16-year-old Brittany Jacks, is suing the District for $25 million following her death. Brittany decomposing body was discovered last January, along with the bodies of her three sisters, ages 5, 6, and 11, in her mother Banita Jacks’ southeast Washington rowhouse.

Penn is alleging that the city’s agencies failed to properly handle the complaints that his daughter’s life was in danger and that because of this negligence, his daughter endured physical, mental, and emotional injuries before her death.

He accused the District of failing “to properly train, supervise, control, direct, and monitor its employees in their duties and responsibilities” and wants to know why the D.C. government did not do more to make sure that the girls were living in a safe environment. Penn filed his wrongful death lawsuit in District of Columbia Superior Court.

Banita is being held without bond on murder charges after she was accused of killing her four girls. U.S. Marshalls discovered the decomposing bodies when they went to Banita’s house on January 9 to serve her an eviction notice.

According to investigators, the bodies were so badly decomposed that they have been unable to determine their cause of death or when the deaths happened—although they believe that the girls died months before their bodies were discovered.No one has reported seeing the girls alive since spring or summer last year.

Jacks, 33, told police that her children were possessed by demons and they passed away in their sleep.

D.C. Mayor fired six Child and Family Services Agency workers soon after, accusing them of not doing enough to investigate complaints regarding the quality of care that Jacks was giving her daughters.

In Maryland and Washington D.C., our personal injury and wrongful death lawyers have helped many injured parties recover their losses.

Father of Girl Found Dead in D.C. Home Sues District, Washington Post, April 9, 2008

Forensic Expert to Aid In Review of Evidence In Children's Deaths, Washington Post, April 5, 2008

Related Web Resource:

D.C. Woman: "Demons" Possessed Slain Girls, CBS News, January 11, 2008

Continue reading "Father Sues Washington D.C. After His Daughter’s Decomposing Body is Found in Her Mother’s Home" »

The wife and parents of James E. Dean, 29, and Afghanistan combat veteran, has filed a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Maryland State Police, St. Mary’s County, Calvert County, and Charles County.

A Maryland state trooper shot Dean in 2006 following a 14-hour standoff between the veteran and SWAT teams and armored vehicles outside his father’s house in St. Mary’s County.

Dean’s family says that Dean had been suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and that 16 individual officers, the state, and the three counties acted maliciously and with “callous disregard” for his life during the altercation. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of “needlessly provoking Dean.”

Dean was diagnosed with PTSD and serious depression after he spent a year leading a small infantry division in Afghanistan. He was instructed by the military to head to Iraq for a tour in January 2006.

The night before his death, Dean drank large quantities of alcohol and started throwing plates around the house. His wife, Muriel says she ordered him to leave because she was afraid he would hurt himself.

Dean went to his father’s house. His sister Kelly called police because she heard a gunshot and feared that he would try to kill himself.

Police began arriving. Following several hours of negotiation, police fired tear gas into the house to force Dean out. Dean eventually opened the door and pointed his gun at a state police vehicle. He was shot and killed by a single bullet fired by State Police Sgt. Daniel Weaver.

In 2007, St. Mary's state's attorney issued a report that said Dean’s death could have been avoided if police officers had used less aggressive tactics.

The lawsuit says state officers failed to let family members talk to Dean, used paramilitary tactics against a man who was traumatized from war, and neglected to bring a psychiatrist in to diffuse the standoff.

If someone you love has died because of the negligent actions of another party, you should contact our Maryland wrongful death law firm immediately.

Veteran's Family Sues Police, Counties, Washington Post, April 9, 2008

Reservist Due for Iraq Is Killed in Standoff With Police, Washington Post, December 27, 2006

Related Web Resources:

Maryland State Police

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, National Institute of Mental Health

Continue reading "Maryland State Police and Three Maryland Counties Sued For Veteran’s Wrongful Death" »

A Florida jury has ordered Mitsubishi Motors to pay almost $11 million in wrongful death damages to the parents of a man who died when he was partially ejected from a Nativa SUV—marketed in the US as the Montero.

Peter and Donna Laliberte had accused the auto manufacturer of knowing that there were problems with the seat recliner and the seat belt in the SUV and selling the motor vehicles despite this information. Because of these product defects, the Lalibertes contend that Scott,25, ended up being partially ejected from the back window of the 2000 Nativa when the SUV rolled over in September 2004. They had asked the jury to award them over $25 million.

Scott’s head was crushed against the SUV and the ground after he smashed into the rear window.

The almost $11 million award is compensatory damages for the loss of the Lalibertes' son. $10 million is for pain and suffering and the rest of the amount is to cover funeral expenses and other costs.

Part of the case made against Mitsubishi was that auto maker tried to correct the design flaws on the 2000 model by bring out a revised model halfway through the model year without letting anyone know that there had been problems with the original version.

Mitsubishi, however, argued that the redesigned model did not address flaws with the seat or seat belt and instead fixed issues with the SUV’s front structure, which did not perform well during accident tests.

Mitsubishi has been working hard to rebuild its reputation after the public found out that the auto giant had tried to cover up auto defects by fixing them without issuing recalls even though many accidents had occurred.

Our Maryland and Washington D.C. law firm represent injury and wrongful death clients in SUV accident claims and lawsuits involving negligent drivers and/or defective auto parts.

Seat belt defects include:

• Problems with the seat belt latch
• Problems with the seat belt retractor
• Defects with the seat belt geometry
• Defective seat belt webbing

Mitsubishi must pay $11 million to family of man ejected from SUV, Palm Beach Post, February 26, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Defective Seat Belts are a Big Problem

Mitsubishi Motors

Continue reading "Mitsubishi Ordered to Pay $11 Million in Products Liability SUV Wrongful Death Case" »

At least eight people are dead and five others injured in Accokeek, Maryland, after a car accidentally plowed into a group of people watching an illegal car race on the side of Route 210—also known as Indian Head Highway—at around 3:30 in the morning in Prince George’s County.

One woman who was in the crowd, Crystal Gaines, was able to grab her daughter out of the way. Her father, William Gaines Sr., 61, had a broken leg. He was unable to move away in time and is among those who died.

While CNN is reporting that there were 50 people in the crowd, one witness told Newsday that about 200 to 300 people had gathered to watch two cars speed racing down the road. The people moved into the road as the cars drove away and that was when the accident happened.

Some people that were struck in the crash flew as high as 15 feet in the air. Police had to circulate photos of the dead bodies so that family and friends could identify their loved ones.

The driver, in a Ford Crown Victoria, says he did not see the crowd because the smoke from the cars racing away made visibility difficult. Crystal Gaines, however, claims that the driver did not have the headlights of the car on.

Her brother, William Gaines Jr. said the Ford was moving so fast that he didn’t see the car until it had struck the crowd. Another person may have been injured when a tractor-trailer, trying to avoid the accident scene, have also hit someone. The victims ages range from 20s to 60’s.

Street races are a common occurrence on Indian Head Highway—although the races usually involve motorcycles. Police have placed speed traps and radar in the area.

Car accidents can lead to fatal injuries for pedestrians—especially when someone is struck by an auto, bus, truck, or motorcycle that is moving at a fast rate.

Our Maryland motor vehicle accident law firm can determine who is liable for your injuries or the death of your loved one and help you deal with insurance companies and the other party or parties so that you can recover for your losses.

Missing 8 killed by car at illegal racing site in Maryland, Newsday, February 17, 2008

Missing Street-race crash kills 8 in crowd, CNN, February 16, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Missing Should you pursue a personal injury claim? Nolo

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Continue reading "Eight People Killed in Maryland After Being Hit By Car During Street-Race" »

Jury selection in the wrongful death of actor John Ritter began in Los Angeles County Superior Court today. Ritter died at age 54 in September 2003 after he was treated in a Burbank emergency room for a heart attack when he actually had an aortic dissection. His family claims that the TV star would have lived longer if only he had undergone the correct procedure; they say that the treatment he received for a heart attack was the “exact opposite” kind of care that he needed.

Plaintiffs in the wrongful death lawsuit are Ritter’s wife, actress Amy Yasbeck, and his four children. They are suing two doctors for $67 million—the high sum is based in part on what Ritter, a successful television star, would have earned had he survived.

At the time of his death, Ritter was the star of the hit television show "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.” He also worked in movies and other television projects.

The two doctors named as defendants in the wrongful death lawsuit are cardiologist Joseph Lee and radiologist Matthew Lotysch. They are being sued for negligence and their alleged failure to properly diagnose and care for Ritter.

Lotysch is the doctor who performed a body scan on the actor in 2001. Lotysch detected nothing wrong with Ritter’s aorta, but referred him to a cardiologist because he noticed calcifications in the actor’s coronary arteries. Ritter did not see a cardiologist after his visit with Lotysch.

In 2003, Ritter was rushed from the set of his TV show to the emergency room of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. He complained that he was experiencing chest pain, nausea, and vomiting.

A chest x-ray that was ordered was never conducted for some unknown reason. Lee is the doctor who treated him for the heart attack. The aortic dissection was not identified until right before the actor died.

An aortic dissection is a tear in the aorta that can imitate a heart attack.

Yasbeck and Ritter’s kids have already received about $14 million in settlements from nine medical entities, including Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, which settled with Ritter’s family for $9.4 million.

If you were seriously injured or someone you love died because a doctor made a medical error, failed to diagnose your illness, or provided you with the wrong type of medical care, you should speak with our Maryland or Washington D.C. medical malpractice law firm immediately.

John Ritter's diagnosis at center of $67M lawsuit, CNN.com, February 5, 2008

Ritter's family says he didn't have to die, Los Angeles Times, January 24, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Settlement Reached in John Ritter Wrongful Death Lawsuit, 6abc.com, March 16, 2006

John Ritter, IMDB.com

Continue reading "John Ritter’s Family Takes $67 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit to Court" »

Daniel Griffin Jr. may be physically recovering from the injuries that he sustained in a deadly car crash involving a drunk driver in Ohio on December 30, but his life will never be the same.

Griffin lost his wife 36-year-old wife Bethany and four of his children, Jordan Griffin, 10, Vadie Griffin, 8 weeks, Haley Burkman, 10, and Lacie Burkman, 7 in the fatal crash. Two of Daniel’s other children, Sidney Griffin, and Beau Burkman, both age 8, were taken to St. Vincent Mercy Children's Hospital in Toledo, Ohio and later released.

Griffin and his family are from Parkville, Maryland. They were driving home after a holiday trip to Michigan when the minivan they were riding in was hit by a pickup truck driving the wrong way on Interstate 280.

The truck driver, 24-year-old Michael P. Gagnon, has been indicted on two counts of vehicular homicide and five counts of aggravated vehicular assault charges. Ohio police say that he blood-alcohol level was three times above the legal limit.

If convicted, Gagnon faces up to 50 years in prison.

Drunk driving is reckless, negligent, and dangerous behavior that can lead to serious injuries and the deaths of friends, family members, and strangers.

When a drunk driver injures or kills another person in a motor vehicle accident, not only will he or she face criminal charges, but the injured party or the family of the deceased can sue the driver for personal injury or wrongful death.

Don’t Drink and Drive
Obviously, if you are going to drink alcohol, the best way to avoid driving drunk is to not drive at all. In the event that driving is unavoidable, consider the following:

• Know your drinking limit.
• Accompany your drinking with food.
• Pace yourself.
• Avoid drinking anything if you are on any type of medication.

If your attempt to drink moderately fails, or when in doubt, consider taking a cab or asking someone else to drive you home.

Hundreds mourn Parkville family killed in crash, Baltimore Sun, January 11, 2008

Mich. man indicted in crash that killed 5, Baltimore Sun, January 11, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Impaired Driving, CDC

Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention

Continue reading "Injured Maryland Father Mourns the Deaths of his Wife and Four Children in Drunk Driving Accident" »