Maryland Accident Law Blog

Charles County Police are looking into a multi-vehicle accident that occurred last Thursday on the 2800 block of Crain Highway in Waldorf, Maryland.

Initial reports say that on the morning of October 12, a 1989 Cadillac driven by Shirley Ann Watson, 69, is believed to have drifted into the lane where Indian Head resident Charles Hurbert Posey, 79, was driving a dump truck. The Cadillac reportedly hit the truck’s front right tire. The dump truck is then said to have gone over the median, hit a Charles County Sheriff’s Office cruiser, and struck a pickup truck driven by Fort Washington’s Donald Raymond Lloyd,60. The pickup truck is said to have flipped over as a result. A Toyota matrix driven by Waldorf’s William Curry Peel, 74, hit debris from the cruiser, while a sixth vehicle managed to avoid the multi-vehicle collision and hit a curb instead.

Lloyd was taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center by a Maryland State Police helicopter and treated for injuries. Posey and his passenger were treated for minor injuries at Southern Maryland Hospital Center.

Beginning October 1, 2006, underage drivers who are charged with drunk driving will lose their driver’s license for 12 months. According to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, there were 9,090 motor vehicle-related accidents caused by drunk drivers in 2003. 12% of those accidents involved teen drivers. The previous penalty for underage drivers arrested for drunk driving was the revocation of their license for 6 months.

The tougher penalties were approved by the Maryland General Assembly in April 2006.

In 2003, according to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

In Washington County Circuit Court last week, attorneys for Elisa Devore filed a personal injury lawsuit against The Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Inc., Orchestra Manager Sharon Ahrens, and Ahren’s insurance company.

Devore says that on April 19, 2005, she was forced to swerve into a guardrail after Ahrens crossed a median on Interstate 70, west of Md. 66, and hit another car in a head on collision. Devore says she swerved into the guardrail to avoid hitting the two-car collision. She is also suing the MSO because Ahrens had just returned from a rehearsal with the symphony. Devore claims that she injured most of her body parts in the accident and that Ahrens’s insurance policy did not cover all the injuries she sustained. She is asking for $100,000.

According to the Maryland DMV.org, the state of Maryland requires three types of insurance coverage:

In Maryland City last week, three people were injured on September 27 when a stolen Dodge Durango that was being chased by police hit two vehicles on Brock Bridge Road. Police say the truck hit a Honda minivan and a Mercury minivan. The driver of the Honda minivan, Lavinia Ann Solan and her passenger Beverly Gales sustained critical injuries. The driver of the Mercury Minivan, Monalisa Gribble, was treated for her nonfatal injuries at Laurel Regional Hospital.

The driver of the Durango, a 17-year-old male, has been charged with multiple traffic violations and felony theft. Anne Arundel County police say he was speeding at 46 mph in a 25 mph zone.

A person who has been critically injured in a car accident due to the negligence of another driver may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. Involvement in a hit and run accident or drunk driving incident may also make you eligible to file a claim.