Maryland Accident Law Blog

Maryland Driver Convicted for Car Accident that Severely Injured a Police Officer

June 15, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A district judge in Baltimore convicted a man of three traffic violations over a June 2011 car accident that caused disabling injuries to a police officer. The man, 23 year-old Robert Vanderford, admitted to speeding and also failing to control his speed to prevent a collision, according to the Baltimore Sun. The judge also convicted him for a third offense: driving on a suspended license. The officer injured in the crash filed a civil suit against Vanderford about a month before the criminal trial.

The accident occurred in rainy weather on June 21, 2011. Officer Teresa Rigby, a 28 year-old Baltimore police offers only three years out of the academy, was reportedly assisting a motorist whose car had become disabled in the northbound lane of an elevated portion of Interstate 83. As a tow truck driver was hooking up the motorist’s vehicle, Rigby stood on the shoulder of the highway. Vanderford’s Saab collided with Rigby’s parked police cruiser. The cruiser then hit Rigby, causing her to fall over a barrier to a parking lot at least twenty feet below.

Vanderford’s attorney said that his client was driving northbound on I-83 in the middle lane when he saw the lights on Rigby’s cruiser. The defense lawyer said that Vanderford sped up to pass another vehicle and merge into the left lane, but that his rear tires began to spin, and he lost control of the car. The skid sent his vehicle into the police cruiser. Vanderford acknowledged that he was driving above the speed limit when he lost control.

Study Scores States on Injury Prevention, Ranking Maryland High

June 7, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A study released by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), a nonprofit health care policy organization based in Washington, D.C. scores all fifty states and the District of Columbia on their success at implementing recommended programs to prevent injury-related deaths. It also ranks the states and D.C. on the total number of annual deaths from injuries. Maryland scored highly with eight of ten “key indicators” for effective injury prevention. The national average for injury-related deaths is 57.9 per 100,000 people. It ranked Maryland 37th among the states, with 56.1 fatal injuries per 100,000 people.

The study, entitled “The Facts Hurt: A State-By-State Injury Prevention Policy Report,” was conducted by TFAH with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropic organization that supports health care. TFAH sought to bring attention to injury-related deaths, which it called an overlooked but major problem in American public health. Injuries, according to the study, rank third among causes of death for all Americans, and they are the number one cause among people aged one to forty-four. The study directly contrasts deaths from injuries with deaths due to communicable diseases like influenza and noncommunicable diseases like cancer. The lifetime costs of the injuries that occur in a single year in the U.S. now exceed $406 billion, including both medical expenses and lost productivity.

Maryland Gets Touger on Distracted Driving

May 29, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Distracted driving, defined as operating a motor vehicle with one’s attention split between the road and a mobile electronic communication device, is responsible for a significant number of accidents and fatalities on Maryland roads. The Maryland State Highway Administration identified 24,769 automobile accidents in 2008 that involved distracted driving. Those crashes killed thirty-four people and injured 11,578. That year, almost 6,000 people nationwide died in distraction-related crashes, with distraction playing a role in twenty-five percent of all automobile crashes. The total number of fatalities dropped to about 5,500 in 2009 and 3,000 in 2010, but those are still enormous numbers, making distracted driving nearly as big a threat as drunk driving. Recent events and legislative efforts have brought distracted driving into the spotlight again.

An accident in Connecticut demonstrates the danger posed by distracted driving. A jogger, 44 year-old Kenneth Dorsey, died on March 24 after a vehicle driven by a 16 year-old girl struck him. The girl was allegedly talking or texting on a handheld cell phone at the time. Police have not said specifically what she was allegedly doing, except that evidence suggests she had used the phone’s keypad before the accident. Prosecutors in Norwalk, Connecticut charged the girl with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle and with violating the state’s ban on use of a cell phone by novice drivers.

Thirty-one states prohibit use of handheld cell phones while driving for all drivers, including Connecticut and Maryland. Distracted driving laws vary from state to state, but no states have banned use of cell phones entirely. Maryland drivers may use a cell phone with a hands-free device like a headset, although use of a cell phone in any manner by drivers under the age of eighteen will be prohibited beginning October 1, 2012. School bus drivers are currently prohibited from using a handheld cell phone while working. All drivers are prohibited from writing or sending text messages while driving, except for the purpose of contacting a 9-1-1 emergency system.

City of Baltimore Approves $340,000 in Settlements for Traffic Accidents Involving City Vehicles

May 21, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The City of Baltimore approved settlements in three civil claims filed against the city, totaling $340,000. The city’s Board of Estimates, a five-member board that includes the mayor, the president of the City Council, and the city comptroller, approved the settlements by a unanimous vote. The three claims all involved traffic accidents with city vehicles, including a 2007 collision between a fire truck and a car that killed three people.

Sovereign immunity, the legal principle that the government cannot be sued unless it consents to the lawsuit, governs claims made for accidents involving public vehicles, and requires that injured persons or their representatives file claims with a designated government agency before attempting to file suit. In Baltimore, for example, claims go through the city’s Law Department.

The fire truck accident occurred early on Sunday, December 9, 2007, when a fire engine ran a red light on Park Heights Avenue and struck a vehicle. The fire truck was reportedly responding to a report of smoke in an apartment building, and had its emergency lights and siren activated at the time. The smoke turned out to be from burning food in an apartment unit. Traveling at forty-seven miles per hour, the fire truck hit a Nissan Murano traveling at twenty-three miles per hour.

Parents of Students Killed in 2010 Boat Accident Settle Federal Lawsuit

May 15, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The parents of two students who died in a July 2010 boat accident settled their wrongful death lawsuit a few days into its trial in a Philadelphia federal court. The lawsuit included eighteen survivors from the accident, which occurred on the Delaware River when a city-owned barge collided with a tour boat. The plaintiffs had faced a possible cap on damages for their claims in the lawsuit based on federal maritime law. The parties reached a settlement at the urging of the judge.

The accident occurred in July 2010 on a stretch of the Delaware River in view of downtown Philadelphia. Thirty-seven passengers and crew were on board an amphibious duck boat, a vehicle that can drive on land and in water, commonly used for sightseeing tours. The duck boat had overheated due to a misplaced radiator cap. In the 103-degree heat, the duck boat’s captain reportedly thought the steam off the engine was fire. The captain dropped anchor immediately, leaving the boat stranded in a busy channel.

At the same time, an eighty-yard barge pushed by a tug was coming through the channel.The tugboat captain reportedly had a family emergency and was busy on his cellphone. He moved to a part of the tugboat where he could not see the river. He therefore failed to see the barge bearing down on the duck boat. The barge collided with the duck boat, causing it to capsize. Two passengers, 16 year-old Dora Schwendtner and 20 year-old Szabolcs Prem, both students from Hungary, died in the collision. Twenty-six passengers were injured. The tugboat captain is now serving a one-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

Mother of Murdered UVA Lacrosse Player Files Wrongful Death Lawsuits

May 4, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Sharon Love, the mother of Yeardley Love, has filed two lawsuits related to her daughter’s 2010 murder. Yeardley Love was a lacrosse player at the University of Virginia when her ex-boyfriend, George Huguely, killed her in May 2010. Huguely was convicted of second-degree murder in February 2012 and awaits sentencing. Sharon Love sued Huguely for wrongful death, and has now filed a separate lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Virginia, the university, and several athletic officials in connection with Yeardley Love’s death.

Yeardley Love was found unresponsive in her Charlottesville, Virginia apartment in the early morning of May 3, 2010. Emergency responders pronounced her dead at the scene and noted that she had signs of physical injury, particularly blunt-force head trauma. Police arrested Huguely, whom Love had briefly dated, the following day and charged him with murder. Huguely reportedly had a history of domestic violence complaints with Love. Huguely waived his Miranda rights and told police his account of what happened that night. He said that he entered her apartment and kicked her locked bedroom door open. He shook Love, causing her head to hit the wall repeatedly. He took her laptop when he left in order to dispose of it.

Federal Port Investigators Block Importation of Nearly 650,000 Allegedly Dangerous Products in Last Quarter of 2011

April 26, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the federal agency that monitors most consumer goods sold or imported in the U.S., recently reported on a collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to monitor shipments of goods arriving at international ports from abroad. The CPSC says that it either seized or blocked over 647,000 units of goods deemed dangerous, according to federal safety standards, in the last three months of 2011. The report offers interesting information on how the government assesses the safety of consumer products and monitors shipments from abroad.

The CPSC is an independent federal agency that regulates all consumer goods not specifically assigned to a different agency. For example, federal law gives authority over the safety of pharmaceutical products to the Food and Drug Administration. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms regulates guns, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulates the safety of automobiles. The CPSC has the authority to ban products it deems dangerous, keeping them out of the marketplace entirely. It can also issue recalls of products that have already reached consumers if it determines that the product poses a risk to the public.

The CPSC determines the safety of products by drawing on several sources. A national system that collects data from hospitals regarding injuries caused by consumer products allows the CPSC to estimate the probability of injuries from specific products. A consumer hotline and website, known as SaferProducts, allows consumers to report injuries or concerns directly to the agency. The CPSC began operations in 1973 and commenced product screenings at U.S. ports that same year. It states that it “intensified its efforts” in 2008, when it launched its import surveillance division.

During the fourth quarter of 2011, investigators with CPSC and CBP screened at least 2,900 shipments at U.S. ports of entry. CBP monitors ports of entry in all fifty states, D.C., and the major U.S. overseas possessions. It identifies Baltimore as the port of entry in Maryland. CPSC’s report does not indicate how many ports of entry were included in its screening.

Maryland’s Graduated Driver’s License Law Helps Prevent Teen Fatalities in Car Crashes

April 19, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Graduated driver licensing laws (GDL) in Maryland contribute to one of the lowest rates of automobile accident fatalities involving teen drivers, according to a recent study. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), working with State Farm Insurance, reviewed data on nationwide traffic accidents involving teenagers between 2009 and 2010. The study defined “teens” as people ages 15 to 19. Maryland has one of the lowest rates of teen-driver-related fatalities in the nation, and the rate has substantially declined in the past five years. Robust GDL laws, in which teen drivers initially receive highly-restricted driver’s licenses and gradually earn additional privileges, show a strong correlation with low rates of fatal automobile accidents involving teen drivers.

CHOP’s report, entitled “Miles to Go,” provides a “yearly snapshot of teen driver safety for the nation.” The study found over 55,000 serious injuries among teens due to car accidents in the period from 2009 to 2010. Thirty percent of those injuries involved head trauma, such as skull fractures or traumatic brain injuries. Head trauma is the leading cause of death for teens in traffic accidents.

A total of 3,413 car crash fatalities involving teen drivers occurred in 2010. Fatalities include teen drivers, passengers of teen drivers, people in other vehicles, and people not in a vehicle (e.g. pedestrians). The report notes that three out of ten teen fatalities in 2010 involved people outside the teen’s vehicle. The total number of fatalities involving teen drivers nationwide declined by over thirty-five percent between 2005 and 2010.

Nationwide, the fatality rate for auto accidents involving teen drivers was 9.5 per 100,000 people. Maryland had the fifth-lowest rate in the country, with 5.8 per 100,000 people. This is a decline of more than forty-eight percent from 2005. The study’s authors credit strong GDL laws in the states with the lowest fatality rates.

Maryland’s GDL law, known as the “Rookie Driver” program, issues a driver’s license to teens in three stages: a learner’s permit, a provisional license, and a full driver’s license. A teen can apply for a learner’s permit at age 15 years and 9 months. A learner’s permit holder can only drive with a person age 21 or older, who has had a full license for at least three years (known as a “qualified supervising driver”), in the front passenger seat with them.

University of Maryland Study Shows Increased Risk of Pedestrian Injuries with Electronics Use

April 11, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center has found that the number of pedestrians killed or injured in traffic accidents while wearing headphones tripled over a six-year period beginning in 2004. The researchers examined records of accident reports maintained by online news archives like Google and Westlaw, as well as data obtained from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). The study was published in the January 16, 2012 online edition of the medical journal Injury Prevention.

The study identified 116 reported injuries or fatalities of pedestrians wearing headphones. They found that sixty-eight percent of the victims were male. Sixty-seven percent were under thirty years old. Fifty-five percent of the vehicles involved were trains, while most of the rest were automobiles. Only seventy-four percent of the reports explicitly stated that the victim was wearing headphones at the time of the accident. The remainder of the reports noted that the vehicle honked or sounded some sort of warning before the accident, suggesting that the pedestrian could not hear the warning. Seventy percent of the pedestrian accidents reviewed by the researchers resulted in the pedestrian’s death.

The number of pedestrians injured or killed in traffic or train accidents while wearing headphones tripled during the time period reviewed by the researchers. They found that sixteen injuries or deaths occurred in 2004, the first year reviewed. The last year reviewed, covering the period from 2010 to 2011, had forty-seven such accidents.

Two primary risks associated with headphone use by pedestrians became clear from the statistics. First is the risk of distraction, causing a pedestrian not to notice an imminent threat like an approaching car or train. The other is what the authors called “sensory deprivation,” or the inability of the pedestrian to hear an approaching vehicle or its warning sounds. The original inspiration for the study was reportedly the case of a Maryland teen who died after being struck by a train while crossing the tracks. Reports indicated the teen was wearing headphones and did not respond to warning sounds.

Sheriff’s Deputy Not Liable in Maryland Stun Gun Death, Jury Says

April 4, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A federal jury in Baltimore returned a verdict in late January in favor of former Sheriff’s Deputy Rudy Torres, finding that he was not liable in the 2007 death of 20 year-old Jarrel Gray. While responding to a report of a fight, Torres used his electric stun gun on Gray twice. Gray died while waiting for an ambulance at the scene.

In the early morning of November 18, 2007, multiple people in a neighborhood just south of Frederick called police to report a fight. Torres responded to the call. One witness said he heard someone say “Get on the ground” and then heard a “pop noise” he recognized as a stun gun. Another witness at trial said that Gray was complying with Torres’ instructions when he used the stun gun the first time. A witness testified that he heard Gray say that his hands were on the ground.

After the first shock from the stun gun, Gray reportedly fell to the ground and did not move. He reportedly had his hands on the ground in front of him. Torres used the stun gun on Gray a second time, which Gray’s family’s attorney called “sadistic.” All parties agree that Gray was already dead by the time the ambulance arrived. The medical examiner reported that Gray died from “sudden death associated with restraint and alcohol intoxication.” According to Baltimore’s CBS affiliate WJZ, the medical examiner did not specifically identify the stun gun as the cause of death, but the stun gun was the only means of restraint included in the report.

Gray’s parents sued Torres, the Sheriff’s Department, and Frederick County for wrongful death. They alleged that Torres used excessive and unnecessary force. The suit demanded $145 million in damages.

A trial occurred in January that only addressed the Grays’ claims against Torres. Another trial against the sheriff’s office and the county may proceed at a later date. Torres argued that the use of force was reasonable and necessary under the circumstances. He testified that Gray had his hands in his pants and was behaving erratically, although other witnesses reportedly contradicted that account. Torres said that the second use of the stun gun was necessary because Gray refused to show his hands.

A “law enforcement expert” retained by Torres’ defense team testified that Torres was reasonable in viewing Gray as a threat both times he used the stun gun. The expert reportedly told jurors that Gray’s lack of response after the first shock could have been an act.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of Torres on January 25, 2012. According to CBS News, the jury concluded that although Torres assaulted Gray, his use of the stun gun was a reasonable use of force to defend himself or others. Because they concluded that Torres used a reasonable amount of force, he was shielded from liability.