Maryland Accident Law Blog

On Tuesday, November 2, 2010, Vote For Ballot Question 2

October 20, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

On November 2, 2010, voters across Maryland will be asked to answer an important question regarding Maryland’s Constitution. We encourage the residents of Maryland to VOTE FOR QUESTION 2, IN FAVOR of the Constitutional Amendment question limiting a Trial by Jury to civil cases where the amount in controversy exceeds $15,000.00.

Here’s why:

In the State of Maryland, someone injured in an automobile, motorcycle, truck accident, or any incident where injuries and damages are caused by the negligence or wrong choices of another person or corporation, has the right to file a lawsuit.

Currently, in Maryland state courts, a lawsuit brought by a plaintiff (the injured person) seeking damages in the amount of $10,000.00 or less is guaranteed to stay in the District Court of Maryland. In the District Court, the case will be heard by a Judge, and the advantages include the scheduling of the trial fairly quickly (usually two to four months after filing the lawsuit), and litigation expenses that are kept low because expert witnesses are not required, and filing fees are $38.00.

Currently, a lawsuit filed by a plaintiff seeking damages in the amount of $10,000.01 to $30,000.00 can be filed in the District Court of Maryland, BUT the Defendant’s lawyer may “bump” the case up to the Circuit Court by requesting a jury trial. In many cases, the choice to bump the case up is a Defendant lawyer’s litigation strategy designed only to make it more costly and more time consuming for an injured person to have her day in Court. Cases litigated in the Circuit Court are considerably more costly to the plaintiff because an expert is often required, depositions are taken which require the use of court reporters, and filing fees are between $115.00 and $145.00. In addition, cases in the Circuit Court take approximately twelve to eighteen months to get to trial.

By raising the right to a jury trial to cases where the amount in controversy exceeds $15,000.00, the law would allow injured people who have cases worth $10,000.00 to $15,000.00 to have their cases heard fairly and impartially by a judge in the District Court of Maryland without having to travel through the lengthy and costly Circuit Court of Maryland proceeding.

In addition, if the Constitutional Amendment passes, the Circuit Court civil dockets would be less crowded as more cases would be appropriately handled in the District Court. Finally, the cost of administering the court system borne by the Maryland taxpayer will be reduced because more cases will be tried in the District Court without jurors (who are paid for their service) and with fewer court personnel.

For those people interested in the exact working of Question 2, it will be:

Maryland Wrongful Death Case Seeks Damages for Police Shooting of Off-Duty Cop

October 19, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The widow Baltimore police officer Norman Stamp is suing Officer John Torres, a fellow cop, for Maryland wrongful death. Stamp was shot by Torres outside a strip bar on April 22, 2008.

While police contend that Stamp got into a confrontation with Torres, which prompted him to pull out his gun and shoot the 65-year-old, the Suzanne Stamp’s wrongful death lawyer believes that Stamp “wrongly prejudged” the situation when he shot Torres, who was leaving the Haven Place club in Southeast Baltimore. Stamp was reportedly at the bar to celebrate his 44th anniversary with the police department.

The fatal shooting took place during a brawl involving Stamp’s fellow motorcycle club members. Torres maintains that as he separated Stamp from another man with a Taser, the off-duty cop first fell down the stairs and then approached him with his gun drawn. Stamp also allegedly refused to get rid of the brass knuckles that he had on his hand. However, the plaintiff’s Maryland wrongful death attorney says that a man in the parking lot turned to see Stamp fall down the steps after the shots were fired and that the off-duty cop stayed on the ground until medics arrived at the scene.

Maryland Medical Malpractice and Fraud Alleged in 101 Claims Against Towson Hospital

October 16, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Towson medical malpractice lawyer has filed claims on behalf of 101 patients accusing St. Joseph Medical Center and its former cardiologist Dr. Mark G. Midei of Maryland medical negligence, conspiracy, and fraud. Midei is accused of conducting hundreds of unnecessary cardiac stent procedures. Up to $30,000 is being sought for each count.

Midei is accused of falsifying medical records so that it would seem as if patients were suffering from clogged arteries. He would then insert mesh stents into their healthy veins. The cardiologist, who made $1.3 million from the Towson hospital during the 2009 fiscal year, denies the allegations.

After finding out about the allegations of Towson medical medical malpractice against Midei, St. Joseph removed him from duty and began investigating. The hospital also issued warning letters to approximately 600 patients letting them know that they may have undergone an unnecessary medical procedure to insert a stent that they didn’t need.

New Laws to Prevent Maryland Bicycle Accidents Take Effect

October 11, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Maryland has several new bicycle laws that are now in effect. Lawmakers are hoping that this will decrease the number of traffic that occur each year. According to preliminary data, Maryland State Police says that 10 people were killed in Maryland bicycle accidents in 2009. Over 650 bicyclists are injured in the state each year.

Per the new laws:
• Except for on roads that are too narrow, drivers must give cyclists three feet of clearance when passing them.
• Bicyclists do not have to ride on the shoulder of the road.

• Bicyclists can use crosswalks in areas where they are allowed to use the sidewalk.

Also, bike paths or sidewalks in areas that are currently considered a safety risk will be added or enhanced when necessary. Balanced funding for pedestrian and cycling facilities will be provided.

It is important that drivers and bicyclists remember that they share the roads with one another. A bicyclist is often at a disadvantage and at high risk of injury during a traffic crash. A bike helmet and protective clothing often are not enough to prevent a cyclist from sustaining broken bones, a head injury, a back injury, a traumatic brain injury, a spinal cord injury, or some other serious injuries. Our Baltimore injury lawyers are familiar with the toll that getting hurt in a Maryland can have on the victim and their families.

Steps that drivers can use to avoid becoming involved in a Baltimore bicycle accident:

• Obey the laws.
• Be on the look out for bicyclists while driving and when getting out of a parked car.
• Slow down when overtaking a bicyclist.

• Be extra careful when there are child bicyclists.

New Maryland bike and cycling laws, Examiner, October 4, 2010
New Bicycle Laws Take Effect Friday, October 1, Southern Maryland Online, October 1, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Bicycle Safety, Choose Safety for Life
Traffic Safety Laws, Department of Transportation: State Highway Administration

Montgomery County Jury Awards Silver Spring Woman $2.35M Maryland Medical Malpractice Verdict Over Wrong Diagnosis

October 4, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A jury has awarded Yesenia Rivera $2.35 million for Maryland medical malpractice. Rivera, now a 28-year-old Silver Springs woman, had to have part of a leg and a portion of a foot amputated after doctors wrongly diagnosed a kidney blockage.

Rivera had first sought treatment at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital for severe stomach pain on August 1, 2006. She was diagnosed with a kidney stone and given pain medicine. Two days later she was back. This time, doctors thought she was either experiencing an ectopic pregnancy that had ruptured or a gallbladder problem. According to the Washington Post, the septic infection that she was suffering from went untreated for hours and spread through her body.

Rivera would go on to develop gangrene. Part of her right foot and part of her left leg had to be removed. She also lost her fingers, which fell off on their own because of a syndrome called “autoamputation.”

Maryland Mental Hospital Patient Charged with Murder of Fellow Patient

September 27, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Maryland State Police have charged El Soudani El-Wahhabi, also called Saladin Taylor, with first- and second-degree murder. El-Wahhabi, who is a patient at the at the Clifton T. Perkins mental hospital, is accused of killing Susan Sachs, who was also a resident at the Jessup facility.

According to the Washington Post, Sachs’ dead body was discovered on Sunday morning by her roommate. There was string around the 45-year-old woman’s neck. State investigators later arrested El-Wahhabi, who authorities say admitted to strangling and kissing Sachs.

Sachs had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. She and El-Wahhabi lived in separate rooms in the same hallway in a medium-security wing of the hospital.

Maryland Upholds Non-Economic Damages Cap in Anne Arundel County Wrongful Death of Boy Who Drowned

September 24, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Court of Appeals has upheld a state law that limits how much plaintiffs can receive for pain and suffering. They issued their decision regarding Maryland’s damages cap in the Anne Arundel County wrongful death case involving Connor Freed, the 5-year-old boy who drowned in a swimming pool at the Crofton Country Club in 2006.

A jury had awarded Connor Freed’s parents, Thomas Freed and Debbie Neagle-Freed, about $4 million against DRD Pool Service Inc., the company that provided lifeguards to the pool. However, because of Maryland’s cap on non-economic damages, the payment was reduced to about $1 million. The Freeds then filed a claim contending that the cap was unconstitutional since it does not give equal protection to all people.

In its ruling, Maryland’s highest court said that the cap’s existence has a legitimate purpose as it keeps liability insurance affordable. The court did, however, side with the Freeds regarding their claim that the original jury should have been given the opportunity to consider additional damages for their son’s conscious pain and suffering prior to his death.

Baltimore Medical Malpractice Lawsuit for Gallbladder Surgery Injuries Results in $1.1M Award

September 22, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A jury has awarded a 79-year-old woman a $1.1 million Baltimore medical malpractice verdict over injuries she sustained while undergoing gallbladder surgery. In her Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit, Phyllis Rode accused Dr. Chiau-Wen Hsiao of cutting her hepatic duct while taking her gallbladder out. Hsiao is a general surgeon at Franklin Square Hospital.

Rode says that because her bile duct was severed, she had to undergo more surgeries. Also, not only did she spend 10 days in intensive care, but also, she had to wear tubes to drain the ducts for 10 months.

Hsiao had argued that a severed duct is a known complication that can result from a gallbladder procedure. He argued that Rode had given her consent. However, Rhode’s Maryland malpractice lawyers claimed that consent doesn’t matter when a physician fails to provide a patient with at least standard of care.

John Hopkins Shooting Claims Two Lives and Injures One in Baltimore, Maryland

September 18, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

At John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Thursday morning, a gunman who became distraught about his mother’s medical care shot and injured a doctor before turning the gun on his mom and himself. Paul Warren Pardus the alleged shooter, and his mother Jean did not survive their injuries.

According to police, Pardus, 50, shot orthopedic physician David Cohen in his upper abdomen and chest. Cohen, who specializes in scoliosis, scoliosis, and osteoporosis, had to undergo surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

A little over two hours after Cohen was shot, a SWAT team determined that Pardus, who was in his mother’s hospital room, had fallen to the ground. When they entered the room, they saw that both he and his mom were dead from gunshot wounds to the head.

NHTSA Reports 547 Maryland Traffic Fatalities and 29 Washington DC Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths in 2009

September 15, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently issued its 2009 Traffic Safety Facts Research Note, which includes its motor vehicle traffic crash statistics for the year. According to the NHTSA, 33,808 people were killed in auto collisions in the US, which was a 9.7% drop from the 37,423 people that died in traffic crashes in 2008. This is the lowest number of US highway deaths to occur in a year since 1950.

The drop in traffic deaths happened even as estimated vehicle miles traveled went up by 0.2% in the past two years. NHTSA also says that the lowest injury and fatality rates at 1.13 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled occurred last year.

Locally, our Maryland motor vehicle crash lawyers and Washington DC car accident attorneys are happy to report that there also was a decline in the number of traffic deaths for the year. There were 549 Maryland traffic fatalities last year—down from the 591 motor vehicle deaths in 2008 and 29 Washington DC auto crash deaths in 2009—a drop from the 34 Washington DC motor vehicle traffic deaths the year before.

The nation also saw a reverse in the yearly increase in motorcyclist deaths, which has been on the rise for 11 years. In 2009, there were 4.462 US motorcyclist fatalities. Compare that to 2008 when there were 5,312 motorcyclist deaths.

More 2009 US Traffic Facts:
• 23,382 passenger vehicle deaths
• 503 large truck crash fatalities
• 4,092 pedestrian accident deaths
• 630 pedalcyclist crash fatalities
• 2,217,000 traffic crash injuries
• 1,976,0000 passenger vehicle injuries
• 17,000 large truck injuries
• 90,000 motorcyclist injuries
• 59,000 pedestrian injuries
• 51,000 pedalcyclist injuries
• 10,839 drunk driving deaths
• 162 Maryland drunk driving deaths
• 10 Washington DC drunk driving deaths

Highlights of 2009 Motor Vehicle Crashes, Traffic Safety Facts (PDF)

2009 Data Show Major Across-the-Board Declines in all Categories
Despite a Slight Increase in Road Travel, NHTSA, November 9, 2010
Related Web Resources:

Maryland Department of Transportation

District Department of Transportation

Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Maryland Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog

Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog