The police officer responsible for the accidental shooting of a police academy trainee during a training exercise was convicted last month for his role in the accident. (For information regarding the civil lawsuit, see this blog post). The accident occurred during a simulation, when the officer drew his live gun,…
A Baltimore judge recently refused to toss out a lawsuit against Morgan State University surrounding a violent attack by a student against a visitor. The school urged the judge to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that the beating was not foreseeable given the student’s behavior, and noted that the student didn’t…
Several news outlets have reported that a man who was shot in the head during the course of a police training exercise in Maryland earlier this year has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Baltimore and the Baltimore Police Department. The victim was working as a campus police trainee for…
A 29-year-old Maryland man was tragically killed last week when he was ejected suddenly from the all-terrain vehicle he was riding and hit a concrete barrier It happened last Wednesday evening, on West Road in Salisbury. According to police, the man was operating a 2004 Suzuki Quad runner four-wheel drive…
A Chicago pharmacy is liable for the alleged acts of its employee that resulted in a man’s death, according to a lawsuit filed by the victim’s mother. The employee allegedly choked the man to death after chasing him outside the store, suspecting him of shoplifting. Police did not prosecute the…
Class action lawsuits have long provided a means for large numbers of claimants to consolidate their claims into a single action, when they might not have the resources to pursue individual lawsuits. This has allowed countless people to seek compensation in cases involving products liability, bad faith insurance practices, and…
A man and his son sued the District of Columbia for injuries sustained in a bus accident in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The lawsuit asserted vicarious liability against the District for the alleged negligence of its employee, the bus driver. The Court of Appeals of Maryland affirmed the trial court’s…
Recreational trampolines, particularly the kind found in backyards, pose a serious risk of injury to children, according to a paper published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) this month. The AAP has long advocated against the recreational use of trampolines, citing the high risk of fractures, spinal cord injuries,…
An injury caused by a collapsed soccer goal has led the Maryland Supreme Court to reconsider the state’s longstanding doctrine of contributory negligence. Four states and the District of Columbia still follow this doctrine, which holds that plaintiffs may not recover damages in a lawsuit if their own negligence contributed…
A standoff involving a suspected criminal, his hostage, and a police officer in March 2012 ended with the suspect dead, the hostage rescued, and the officer hailed as a hero. In an unusual twist, the woman who was held hostage that evening has indicated that she plans to sue the…