Maryland Accident Law Blog

In Maryland, According To AAA Mid-Atlantic Report, Motorcycle Accidents Have Increased By 70% Since 2001

November 16, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A recent AAA Mid-Atlantic Report says that the number of motorcycle accidents have increased over 70 percent in the last five years and have tripled over the last decade.

The recent increase in motorcycle accidents is due, in part, to the increase in motorcycle riders taking the street. In the last ten years, millions more people have joined the ranks of registered motorcyclists.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers the following national statistics regarding motorcycle riders:

In Baltimore, A Police Officer And Another Driver Are Injured In A Car Collision

November 14, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland last week, Baltimore police officer Channon Rankin sustained a concussion and a fractured leg when the police car that she was driving collided with another vehicle at Belvedere and Beaufort avenues in the Pimlico section in Northwest Baltimore. The driver of the other vehicle, Omar Mooring, sustained the same types of injuries. Ranking was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment, while Mooring was attended to at Sinai Hospital. Both cars were severely damaged.

According to Baltimore police, Officer Rankin had been rushing to a call at the time of the accident, and her car lights and police siren were activated.

Whether you were involved in a vehicle-related accident where someone was injured or if you witnessed an accident where someone was injured, here are some suggestions for what you can do.

In Maryland, Car Accident Involving Ambulance Injures Patient And Ambulance Workers

November 10, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last week, two Crisfield ambulance attendants and their patient were injured on the way to Peninsula Regional Medical Center when the ambulance they were riding in was hit by another vehicle at the Cedar Lane intersection on U.S. 13.

Lower Somerset County Ambulance and Rescue Squad’s ambulance 802 had just come from Marion Station where they had picked up their patient who had been involved in a vehicle-related accident. The ambulance workers, Angela Cvetko and Tim Collins, were also treated at Peninsula Regional Medical Center.

Common causes for vehicle-related accidents:

In Maryland, Family Of Mother Hit By A Police Car Fear They Could Loose Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against The City of Baltimore

November 8, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Mary Jones, a mother who was killed when a police officer ran a red light on Northern Parkway on November 13, are worried that they could lose a lawsuit they filed against the city of Baltimore.

Police reports say that Baltimore City Police officer Antonio Reyes-Rodriguez was traveling between 62-82 miles per hour in a 30-mile zone when he ran a red light. Witnesses say that they did not hear a police siren during this time. The report concluded that Officer Reyes had violated Maryland Criminal Law by driving in a grossly negligent manner, which caused Jones’s death.

Just two months ago, however, the Assistant State Attorney wrote Jones’s family to say that there wasn’t any negligence involved on the part of Reyes-Rodriguez—who had been dismissed from the police force after the incident—and that the manslaughter charges were being dropped against him.

Hit-And-Run Accident In Anne Arundel County Sends A Pedestrian To Maryland Shock Trauma Center

November 6, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Anne Arundel County’s Maryland City, a white pickup truck hit a pedestrian at the corner of Brock Ridge Road and Route 198 on the night of Monday, October 30 and fled the scene soon after. The victim was taken to The University of Maryland R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

According to a USA Today analysis, the number of pedestrians killed in hit-and-run accidents since 2005 is now 20% greater.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that in 2005, 974 out of 4881 pedestrians who were killed died in hit-and-run accidents.

In Maryland And Other U.S. States, New AAA Report Says 3 to 5 P.M. on Mondays Through Fridays Are Among The Most Deadly Driving Hours For Teen Drivers

November 3, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Crash data from a new AAA Mid-Atlantic report says that licensed, underaged drivers, ages 16-17, are just as likely to get into deadly car crashes from Monday through Friday between 3 and 5 p.m. as they are between 9 p.m. 2 a.m on weekend nights.

Data shows that between 2002 and 2005:

· 1,100 underaged, teen drivers were killed in the hours right after school.

In Maryland, Both Sides Rest Their Case In The Baby Caleb Birth Injury And Wrongful Death Suit

November 1, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland last week, attorneys for both sides in the wrongful death suit of Baby Caleb rested their cases. Caleb Taylor’s obstetrician, Dr. Jason Evans, is accused of negligence during the baby’s delivery in 2004. The prosecution claims that Dr. Evans waited too long before performing a c-section on Caleb’s mother Casey. A jury will be asked to determine the amount of compensation for the suffering and loss caused by Caleb’s death. He was born with severe complications and died nine days after his birth. The defense claims that Evans could not perform the c-section until the anesthesiologist arrived at the hospital.

The state of Maryland has a wrongful death cap of $885,000.

A birth injury or trauma is an injury that happens to a baby during birth. A delay in delivery of a baby can cause profound injury to a child due to oxygen deprivation. These injuries include damage to the brain, cerebral palsy, erbs palsy, and other physical and neurological injuries.

School Bus Accident In Sykesville, Maryland Ends With Nine Kids Treated In A Carroll County Hospital

October 30, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last week, nine school kids were treated and released at the Carroll Hospital Center in Sykesville, Maryland, after their school bus and a 1992 Buick collided with one another near Linton Springs Elementary School. The bus had been 100 yards away from the unloading zone at the elementary school when the Buick pulled out in front of the bus from a side parking lot. About 50 school kids were on the bus at the time of the accident.

· There are 585,000 school buses in the U.S.

· 20 students are killed in bus accidents each year (5 while on the bus and 15 are run while getting off or on buses).

Maryland Transportation Authority Says Pink Panels On Bay Bridge In Stevensville Are Reducing Rear-End Collisions And Causing Drivers To “Pace Your Space”

October 27, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Maryland Transportation Authority says that, according to the latest statistics, the bright pink panels that have been placed along the eastbound span of the Bay Bridge are decreasing auto accidents by helping drivers keep their distance from one another.

According to the MdTA, previous studies had shown that:

· 58% of the auto accidents that occured on the Bay Bridge were rear-end collisions.

Maryland Says Allstate Must Repay $17.5 Million To More Than 20,000 Auto Insurance Policy Holders

October 26, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The state of Maryland says that insurance company Allstate must refund $17.5 million to more 20,000 auto insurance policy holders. According to the Maryland Insurance Commissioner’s office, the administration had received numerous complaints after the property and casualty insurer had sent premium increase notices to policyholders between January 2003 and March 2005 without detailing the violation or accident that each policyholder had committed which led to the premium increase. Refunds will average $850, and Allstate is being fined $100,000 for not complying with state law by sending the premiums without the required information.

A spokesperson for Allstate says that every policyholder who received the notice of a premium increase had a past violation or accident that justified the increase. They admit, however, that the specific statutory language was missing and have expressed their regret for the error.

Auto insurance laws in the State of Maryland require that all drivers must have: