Maryland Accident Law Blog
An Ocean City pedestrian has filed a personal injury lawsuit against the pizza delivery driver who was operating the truck that hit him, the pizza delivery company, and the state of Maryland.
In 2003, Kevin Houck was crossing the Coastal Highway with friends near 93rd street when Houck and a woman were hit by a delivery truck. Andrew Caldwell, the driver of the pizza delivery truck ,who was employed by Domino’s Pizza at the time, is named as one of the defendants in the lawsuit. Houck is seeking $1 million in damages from Caldwell for allegedly negligent driving. Houck is also asking the pizza delivery company for $1 million. In addition, Houck is suing the state of Maryland, The State Highway Administration (SHA), and the Department of Transportation for $1 million because of the allegedly faulty design of a median located in an area of the highway where it is allegedly not safe for pedestrians to cross the road.
The State Highway Administration (SHA) offers the following Pedestrian Statistics from 2003:
· 4,749 pedestrians were killed in the United States.
· 119 pedestrians were killed in Maryland.
· 70,000 pedestrians sustained injuries due to a motor vehicle-related incident.
· In Maryland, the costs associated pedestrian traffic crashes exceeded $759 million.
Profile of a pedestrian traffic crash in Maryland – 2003
Who:
· Men are over represented in pedestrian traffic crashes. (60 %)
· The age groups with the highest number of pedestrian traffic crashes were the 21-34 year olds (599 crashes – 47.4 % of total crashes).
Where:
· Baltimore City was over represented in pedestrian traffic crashes. The City comprises less than 7 % of the state’s vehicle miles traveled, yet accounts for 32.9 % of the state’s pedestrian crashes.
· Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Baltimore counties had the next highest number of crashes (490, 449, 426 respectively).
· The majority of pedestrian traffic crashes occur within the City and on county roads.
When:
· The highest number of pedestrian traffic crashes occurred in October (312).
· Pedestrian crashes are highest on Fridays (566), but almost as likely to occur on a Wednesday or Thursday (481 each)
· The highest percentage of pedestrian traffic crashes occurs between 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
If you or someone you love has been injured while on the street as a pedestrian due to the negligence of a driver or someone else, contact the personal injury lawsuit of Lebowitz and Mzhen for a free consultation.
SHA Sued For Coastal Highway Median Design, mdcoastdispatch.com, August 31, 2006
Pedestrian Safety, Maryland State Highway Administration
Related Web Resources:
Maryland Department of Transportation
Adult Pedestrians, Loyola University Health System