Maryland Accident Law Blog

Family To File Wrongful Death Suit In Shooting Of Unarmed Man By Baltimore Police

August 14, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of a Brooklyn man who was shot and killed by a police officer in Baltimore earlier this month say that they plan to file a wrongful death suit.

Ernest Oliver, 39, was shot in the 600 block of Roundview Road in Cherry Hill on August 5 after he allegedly fled the scene of a suspected drug deal. Oliver was shot multiple times by Police Officer David Diener. Police say that Diener saw Oliver reach for his pockets and thought that his life was in danger. Oliver was pronounced dead after he was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Drugs, but no weapon, were found on him. Police are continuing to search for a weapon in the area where he was apprehended.

Oliver’s relatives say that police used excessive force to apprehend him. He leaves behind four children and a fiancé. Oliver had been arrested previously on drug charges, robbery charges, possession of a deadly weapon, and battery.

28-Year-Old La Plata Woman Arrested In Hit And Run Accident

August 9, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 28-year-old La Plata woman was arrested on August 1, 2006, for driving while intoxicated, driving while impaired, negligent driving, fleeing and eluding, hit and run, and failure to drive on right side of the road.

Sabrina Rae Cutlip was apprehended by police who followed her after she became involved in a hit and run accident in the parking lot of the CVS Pharmacy on Crain Highway in La Plata.

A hit and run incident is a failure by a driver involved in an vehicle-related accident to stop and remain at the scene of the accident.

Sample Of Interrogatories Form Filed In Nursing Home Negligence Case

August 8, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Interrogatories are written questions sent to the opposing party in a personal injury lawsuit. Like a deposition, an interrogatory gives each side the opportunity to pose questions to the opposing party. Although the party who is served the interrogatory does not have to appear in court to respond, they are required to respond to the questions in writing as if they were under oath and under penalty of perjury.

In the state of Maryland, each party in a personal injury lawsuit can serve up to thirty interrogatories to the opposing side.

Below is a sample of an interrogatory that we, the personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen, filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County on behalf of our client, the plaintiff, who fell down a stairwell while staying at a nursing home facility. We have redacted the names of those involved for purposes of confidentiality.

12-Year-Old Frederick Boy Dies After His Bicycle Crashes Into A Moving Car

August 3, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Frederick, Maryland, a 12-year-old boy died on Sunday after his bicycle crashed into a moving car. Thomas Cline was riding his bike near the intersection of old Middletown Road and Route 180 when he crashed into the front passenger side of a car being driven by a 16-year-old Middletown girl. Cline was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police are investigating the accident.

The Insurance Institute For Highway Safety Offers The Following Statistics Related To Bicycle Fatalities That Took Place From 1975-2002:

– 660 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles in 2002. This is 9 percent fewer than in 2001 and down 34 percent since 1975.

In Anne Arundel County, Parents File $20 Wrongful Death Suit After 5-Year-Old Drowns In Pool At Crofton Country Club

August 2, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The parents of Connor Freed, a 5-year-old Davidsonville boy who drowned at the Crofton Country Club, are suing the club and DRD Pool Service, Inc, the Hunt Valley-based company that trains the club’s pool staff, for $20 million. The wrongful death lawsuit claims that there was not enough properly trained staff at the pool when their son drowned on June 22.

The complaint says that there was only one lifeguard at the pool that day and that this person allegedly froze when an unidentified woman pointed out that a boy was floating facedown in the water. After the boy was pulled out of the water, two different lifeguards are said to have improperly performed CPR on him. They also neglected to use the club’s defibrillator to revive him. During a 911-recorded phone call, a lifeguard can be heard telling the 911 operator that they are not allowed to use the club’s electronic device.

Freed was taken to Anne Arundel County Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The lawsuit, filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, alleges gross negligence and claims that the boy would not have died if there had been enough properly trained people at the pool that day.

Arlington Man Killed After Being Hit By Boat On The Severn River In Anne Arundel County, Maryland

July 28, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Anne Arundel County, the body of an Arlington man was pulled from the Severn River on Sunday night. Daniel Pemsler, 24, was killed in a boating accident this weekend. Maryland Natural Resources say that Permsler had just let go of a tube he had been riding and was waiting in the water to get picked up by a boat when he was hit and killed by another boat.

Some Safety Tips To Consider When Swimming In A Natural Body Of Water:

– Never swim alone.

In Maryland, Two Recent Motorcycle Crashes Are Investigated By Police

July 27, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Maryland State Police are investigating a fatal motorcycle crash that took place last weekend in Oxon Hill. On Sunday night, Cornell Riddick was pronounced dead at the scene after his motorcycle spun out of control and hit a guardrail while he was approaching a ramp from Interstate 295 South onto Highway 210. The passenger riding on the back of his motorcycle survived the crash.

Just the day before, Sandra Lundregan, 62, sustained head injuries, despite wearing a helmet, when she lost control of her bike while driving on Pysell Crosscut Road in Garrett County, Maryland. Lundregan landed in a ditch where she was thrown off her bike. Loose surface on the road is said to have caused the accident.

Some common causes for motorcycle accidents:

Sample Document Of Notice To Take Deposition Duces Tecum

July 21, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Below is a sample document of Notice To Take Deposition Duces Tecum. We filed this on behalf of our client in circuit court. This notice indicates that an expert for the opposing side, in this case a physician, will be deposed by the personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen in court. We included a list of documents that the deponent had to bring with him on the day of his deposition:

SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS:

1. All cases, by case name, court and case number, in which you have testified for a plaintiff at trial.

Maryland To Launch Statewide Campaign Focusing On Highway Safety

July 20, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Linthicum Heights last week, Maryland State Police, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the State Highway Administration, and people from the private sector gathered at the Maritime Institute of Technology to come up with a plan to reduce the number of fatalities, injuries, and motorist crashes that occur on Maryland’s highways as a result of vehicle-related accidents.

The Strategic Highway Safety Plan will include initiatives focusing on seven emphasis areas:

1. Prevention of impaired driving

In Maryland, A Delaware Man Is Arrested After Injuring Another Driver In Car Accident On Route 50

July 19, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Delaware man was arrested for driving under the influence this weekend in Maryland. Maryland State Police say that Frederick Neil Cline was speeding and driving eastbound on Route 50 in a westbound lane when his car collided with Gavin Jay Bayline’s car. Bayline, a Salisbury resident, sustained non-life threatening injuries and was taken to the Peninsula Regional Medical Center for treatment.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that due to alcohol-related car accidents in 2001:

-nearly 18,000 people were killed.