Maryland Accident Law Blog

Looking for Ways to Decrease the Number of Maryland Car Crashes Caused by Drunk Drivers

January 31, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Baltimore personal injury lawyers represent many people that have been hurt in Maryland car crashes because a driver was drunk. It is unfortunate that despite laws that make it illegal for people to drive while intoxicated, and all the efforts to educate people about the dangers of drunk driving, people continue to die in drunk driving accidents.

This isn’t to say that the number of US drunk driving crashes hasn’t gone down. While almost 12,000 people died in auto accidents involving a drunk driver in 2008, 10,839 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in 2009. Our Rockville, injury lawyers hope that this figure continues to go down.

Last week, the transportation safety officials and advocates against drunk driving took a look at technology under development that would stop drunk drivers from driving. The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) technology (DADSS), would prevent drunk drivers from being able to operate their vehicles if they had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or greater. DADDS could be voluntarily installed in new vehicles. One DADSS system uses a breath-based approach, the other system is touch-based.

Owing Mills, Maryland Car Accidents Can Cause Hard to Detect Soft Tissue Injuries

January 25, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Involvement in a Maryland car crash can lead to all sorts of painful injuries, including spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, broken bones, and organ damage. Another common injury that occurs, but can be hard to detect at first, is soft tissue injuries.

The soft tissue is generally the area that surrounds the joints or bones, such as tendons, muscles, and ligaments. Soft tissue injuries usually manifest as strains, sprains, or tears, and it may be hours or days before an Owing Mills car crash victim starts to experience symptoms, including inflammation, soreness, and persistent pain. Whiplash is one of the most common soft tissue injuries.

Unfortunately, many insurance companies will try to minimize the seriousness of this type of injury in an attempt to pay an injured person the least amount of compensation. While soft tissue injuries may not necessarily be easy to detect, the pain and discomfort experienced by the victim is very real. A person suffering from a soft tissue injury may have trouble moving his/neck. He/she may also experience chronic back pain or suffer from muscle spasms in the shoulders or serious headaches. In addition to medical care and physical therapy, a person with a soft tissue injury may have to take time off work to recover.

Because obtaining fair compensation for soft tissue injuries can be challenging, it is important that you work with a Maryland injury law firm that has the experience and commitment to helping you obtain your financial recovery.

Sprains, Strains, and Other Soft-Tissue Injuries, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
Treatment for soft tissue injuries, Brain Mac

Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Maryland Motorcycle Accident Attorney Blog

$270 Baltimore Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages Against Police Officer Charged with Man’s Murder

January 19, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Tyrone Brown is suing Baltimore Police officer Gahiji Tshamba for his Maryland wrongful death. They are seeking $270 million. Tshamba shot Brown dead last summer outside a Mt. Vernon night club. The Baltimore cop is charged with first-degree murder.

Per charging documents, Tshamba shot the East Baltimore man 12 times on June 5, 2010—not just 6 or 9 times, as was reported. Witnesses say that Brown grabbed Tshamba’s female companion in an inappropriate fashion and that was when the officer challenged him with his gun. The Baltimore wrongful death complaint contends that Brown’s hands were already in the air before the off-duty cop shot him.

Also named as defendants are the state of Maryland, Baltimore’s city council, its mayor, and Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld. The plaintiffs say that Tshamba violated department protocol because he was carrying his gun while intoxicated. They contend that Tshamba shouldn’t have been a member of the police force.

$2.4M Maryland Wrongful Death Verdict Awarded to Family of Forklift Driver Who Had Asbestos-Related Cancer

January 15, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A jury has awarded $2.4 million to the family of Daniel Edwards for his Maryland wrongful death. Edwards died from mesothelioma in 2008.

His families said that he developed mesothelioma lung cancer from moving bags of asbestos for six years during the 60’s and 70’s while employed with National Gypsum. They contend that Union Carbide supplied and mined the asbestos and did not warn workers about the risks associated with exposure to asbestos even though they allegedly knew about the link between mesothelioma and asbestos two years before Edwards started working at the product manufacturer. Union Carbide’s lawyers have argued that it was National Gypsum’s job to warn its employees about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

However, a Baltimore City jury found that it was Union Carbide who was responsible for Edwards’ work-related disease. Because of the state’s cap on damages, the Maryland wrongful death award was lowered to $2.2 million.

Man and His 6-Year-Old Son Killed in Maryland Car Accident

January 11, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Kent Island residents Joseph Michael “Mike” Hein and his 6-year-old son Mikey have died from injuries they sustained during a Bowie, Maryland car accident on Route 5. Hein, 52, and his son were reportedly riding their 2002 Hyundai Accent on Friday evening when they crashed into a 2004 Cadillac SRX that was stopped on the road with its taillights and headlights off.

Following the Prince George’s County car accident, father and son were taken to different hospitals. The elder Hein was pronounced at Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly. Mikey, who was taken to Children’s National Medical Center, died on Monday.

The 2004 Cadillac SRX involved in the catastrophic Bowie motor vehicle crash had reportedly been stolen. Two men, Hyattsville resident Theophilia Herbert Jarvis Jr. and Lanham local Anthony Demetrius Davis, were taken into custody after they were found walking close to the collision site. They are charged with the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. They also may face charges related to the accident.

In other recent Maryland car accident news, four people were sent to the hospital on Saturday after they were involved in an Anne Arundel County auto crash involving multiple vehicles. According to police, Ryan Galliher, the 21-year-old driver of the Mercury Cougar, was driving recklessly when he crossed over the yellow line on Marley Neck Boulevard and struck a Toyota Corolla. The Toyota collided with a Nissan Murano and a Mercedes SUV, which were following behind it.

Galliher was thrown from the vehicle and admitted to Maryland Shock Trauma in serious condition. Three people in the Toyota, including a 3-year-old girl, were also taken to local hospitals. A preliminary probe into the Glen Burnie car crash indicates that driver error and excessive speed may have been factors on Galliher’s part.

Father, son killed in Bowie car crash, Gazette.net, January 11, 2011
Passengers in critical condition after head-on collision in Glen Burnie, ABC News, January 10, 2010
Related Web Resources:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Carroll County Car Accident Death Caused by Tire that Came Off Truck

January 5, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A woman was killed in a Carroll County auto accident on Tuesday evening when her vehicle was struck by a tire that came off a Chevrolet Silverado truck. Elisabeth Catherine Osorio died at the Westminster, Maryland traffic crash site on Route 30.

Maryland State Police say that the rear tire first struck a Mazda before hitting the windshield of Osorio’s Subaru Legacy. Her auto then went through a fence. According to the York Daily Record, Jason M. Dempsey, the truck’s driver who is from Hanover, and New Oxford resident Andrew Timothy Nulty, who was driving the Mazda, declined medical treatment.

In other recent Maryland traffic accident news, a 24-year-old female driver was killed and her two passengers sustained injuries on Friday afternoon when the truck she was driving went off Interstate 70 and overturned. The woman, Ashley Marie Matthews, was ejected from her auto and died at the Howard County car crash scene. The two male passengers, 27-year-old Brandon Gaskins, who was reportedly critically injured, and 22-year-old Trevell Brookes, were flown to Baltimore and admitted to Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Police are investigating whether alcohol and speed were factors in the Ellicott City, Maryland auto accident.

Meantime, police are trying to determine what caused a deadly Rockville motor vehicle accident at a local car wash. Driver error and mechanical difficulties are some of the reasons under consideration.

On the afternoon of December 29, 2010, a 1998 Jeep that employee Julio Cesar Coreas-Portillo was driving out of the car wash accelerated out of control to pin two workers beneath it. One of the victims, Gavino Euseda, died from his injuries. The other worker, Eusebio Oacan, sustained serious injuries.

Hanover woman killed in Maryland collision, York Daily Record, January 5, 2010
Airborne Tire Blamed For Fatal Highway Accident, WBALTV, January 5, 2010
Police Identify Woman Who Died in New Year’s Eve Crash in Ellicott City, Columbia Patch, January 2, 2011
Fatal crash on I-70: 1 dead, two injured, The Baltimore Sun, December 31, 2010
Police Search For Cause of Fatal Carwash Accident, MyFoxDC, December 31, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Car Accidents Overview, Justia

Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration

No CO Detector in Rowhouse Where Fatal Baltimore Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Occurred

December 29, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to The Baltimore Sun, Department of Housing and Community Development assistant commissioner Eric Booker says the rowhouse that was the scene of a deadly Baltimore carbon monoxide poisoning accident did not have a CO detector even though one should have been installed and working properly. The victims, 40-year-old Vonita Gibbs and 30-year-old Mikeia Lucas, died on Tuesday after a gas oven was left on with the door open. Three others people, two adult males and a child, were admitted to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in serious condition.

City officials are reporting that the lower part of the oven had been covered with aluminum foil, which caused the gas to build before coming out. The gas then entering a heating duct that allowed it to spread to practically every room. According to fire officials, CO readings were as high as 500 parts per million in the unit.

According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, while carbon monoxide poisoning can pose a serious threat, it can be especially deadly during the winter, when people are trying to stay warm. In addition to the Baltimore accident, this week, a couple and their child, age 7, were taken to the hospital in Connecticut on Monday afternoon because of a CO poisoning incident in their apartment that was caused by a defective furnace. That same day, a maid found the bodies of five teenagers in a Florida hotel room. A car that had been left running in the private garage underneath the room is believe to have caused their fatal CO poisoning.

With over 400 people killed and thousands ending up in emergency rooms in the US each year from carbon monoxide poisoning, it is important that product manufacturers and premise owners make sure that they do not create or fail to remedy any type of hazard that could cause a CO poisoning accident to occur. The risk of carbon monoxide leaks go up in the wintertime with people using heating appliances and ovens to stay warm.

Open oven determined to be culprit in carbon monoxide poisoning, The Baltimore Sun, December 29, 2010
Family rushed to hospital after carbon monoxide poisoning, CT Post, December 27, 2010
Carbon monoxide poses a real, and needless, threat, USA Today, December 28, 2010
5 found dead in Florida motel room, CNN, December 28, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Carbon Monoxide May Be Greater Threat in Winter, US News, December 27, 2010

A Guide to Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

$3.25M Montgomery County, Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Bar Over 2008 Drunk Driving Crash that Killed 10-Year-Old

December 21, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Jazmine Warr is suing Dogfish Head Alehouse owner JMGM Group LLC for her Maryland wrongful death. The 10-year-old girl died from injuries she sustained during a Montgomery County car accident in on Interstate 270 August 2008. Her half sister Cortovia Harris, then 11, survived the crash with injuries, as did William J. Warr Jr., 53 and Angela T. Warr, 45.

Warr was fatally injured when the 1995 Jeep Cherokee that she was riding was struck by a vehicle driven by Michael D. Eaton, who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a vehicle and failure to remain at an accident scene where the defendant should have known or knew that death occurred. Eaton was reportedly driving his auto at speeds of 88 to 99 mph when he rear-ended the car that the Warrs were in.

Maryland State Police reports state that Eaton, a known drunk, spent at least two hours at the Dogfish Head Alehouse before the catastrophic collision. More than a dozen empty beer bottles were found in hisvehicle following the 2008 accident.

20-Year-Old Survivor of 2008 Maryland Medevac Crash Sues FAA for $50M

December 16, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

20-year-old Jordan Wells is suing the Federal Aviation Administration for Maryland personal injury. The Waldorf resident is the only one to survive the 2008 Medevac crash involving a Maryland State Police helicopter in District Heights. She is seeking $50 million.

According to Wells’ Maryland aviation accident lawsuit, FAA traffic controllers gave Maryland State Pilot Stephen J. Bunker dated information about the weather conditions on September 27, 2008. She also claims that they failed to guide Bunker into a safe landing when the navigation equipment started to fail and that they did not notify paramedics about the last-known coordinates of the aircraft.

The chopper was transporting Wells and her friend, 17-year-old Ashley J. Younger, to the hospital after they had been involved in a Waldorf car accident. Wells contends that if she hadn’t been stuck in the woods for two hours with the helicopter on her body, her leg could have been saved.

Baltimore County Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Incident Kills 2 People and Sickens At Least 10 Others

December 14, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to Baltimore County Fire Department Divisional Chief Michael Robinson, the rental house in Pikesville where Nelvin Salguero and Enael Lemus died from carbon monoxide poisoning on Sunday was not equipped with a CO detector. County ordinance requires that a rental property come with the device. Firefighters said the carbon monoxide levels at the home was over 11 times greater than the level of CO there would have to be for a detector to go off.

Salguero and Lemus were construction workers who boarded with the family that rented the home. They each leave behind a wife and kids. Eight other people, including two children, fell ill during the Maryland CO poisoning, as did three of the police who responded to a 911 call and arrived at the scene. At least 10 of the Pikesville injury victims were treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center or University of Maryland Medical Center.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Winter is a time for carbon monoxide leaks to commonly occur. Many CO leaks happen because an active furnace is improperly vented is turned on or because of result of improperly vented hot water heaters or generators run with kerosene or gasoline.

As our Baltimore personal injury lawyers have reported in the past, carbon monoxide poisoning is the number one cause of accidental poisoning in the US. The Journal of American Medical Association attributes 2,100 deaths annually to CO poisoning, which can also cause brain injury, heart damage, endocrine damage, and cellular injuries.

There are steps that premise owners can take to reduce the chances that a carbon monoxide incident will occur, including:

• Installing a carbon monoxide detector in the building
• Making sure that the central heating system, appliances, vents, and chimneys are properly maintained and cleaned
• Ensuring that the flues are open when using a fireplaces,
• Making sure the appropriate fuel is used in paraffin space heaters
• Not using paint remover containing methylene chloride
2 dead, 10 sick in Pikesville carbon monoxide poisoning, The Baltimore Sun, December 13, 2010
Pikesville CO victims identified, ABC2News, December 13, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, eMedicineHealth
Protect Your Family and Yourself from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, US Environmental Protection Agency