Maryland Accident Law Blog

Cecil County Townhouse Fire Kills Three Young Children and Leaves Mother with Maryland Burn Injuries

May 15, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a fatal fire to break out at Cecil County townhouse early Saturday. While 29-year-old Jewel Johnson was able to escape through a second-story window, three of her four young children were not as lucky.

Neighbors say they couldn’t rescue the children, who were screaming for help, because the flames were too high to walk across. Johnson’s oldest son, age 10, wasn’t there that night.

Following her rescue, Johnson was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center where she is being treated for smoke inhalation and burns. She was admitted in critical but stable condition.

According to Maryland State Fire Marshal spokesperson Bruce Bush, the fire started in the first-floor living room. The townhouse, built in 1974, did not have sprinklers. Fire crews have yet to determine whether the smoke detector alarms went off after the blaze broke out.

Maryland Premises Liability

Property owners are supposed to make sure that there are no fire hazards on a premise. Appropriate fire prevention measures and warning systems must also be in place so that in the event a fire does break out, residents, patrons, visitors, and others can attempt to douse the flames and/or escape in time. You may be able to file a Maryland premises liability lawsuit against a negligent landlord, business owner, or another responsible parties.

Burn Injuries

Burn injuries are incredibly painful and disfiguring and can also lead to nerve damage, internal injuries, respiratory injuries, muscle injuries, shock, depression, electrolyte imbalance, infections, physical deformity, and death. The medical treatments required can be extensive and costly.

3 children killed in Cecil Co. townhouse fire, Baltimore Sun, May 15, 2010
3 Children Die In Cecil Co. Fire, WJZ, May 15, 2010
Related Web Resources:

Burn Survivor Resource Center

Smoke Detectors and Sprinkler Systems, Peoples-Law.org

Family of Girl Electrocuted at Druid Hill Park Softball Field Revisits Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against the City of Baltimore

May 12, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Four years after a 14-year-old girl was fatally electrocuted at a softball field on Druid Hill, her loved ones are considering whether to seek a motion asking a court reevaluate its decision to dismiss the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Baltimore. Green, a Deer Park Middle School student, died on May 5, 2006 when she was electrocuted while stretching against a steel fence before a church league softball game.

The fence was in contact with an underground power line. Green grabbed hold of another fence and her body completed completed an electrical circuit. She was knocked down immediately and never regained consciousness.

In 2009, Green’s family filed a Maryland wrongful death complaint against the city of Baltimore, Del Electric Inc., and Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. A judge later dismissed the case against the city and BGE.

$10 Million Baltimore Personal Injury Lawsuit Seeks Damages for 9-Year-Old Who Attempted to Hang Himself After Alleged Bullying

May 3, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The grandmother of a Leith Walk Elementary boy is suing the Baltimore public school system, the city school board, the city government, and the Northeast Baltimore school for Maryland injuries to a minor. The child, age 9, tried to commit suicide last September after his teacher refused to pay attention to his complaints that he was being bullied.

The 9-year-old, who attends a special education class and has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, reportedly had been bullied since he started studying at the school. The Baltimore personal injury complaint accuses the boy’s teacher of gross negligence, claiming that before rushing to save the boy, who was hanging from the classroom door coat hanger with the chair kicked from underneath him, she first stopped to take photos of him with the camera on her phone.

Bullying

$15 Million Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed by Family of Paramedic Killed During 2008 Prince George’s County Medevac Crash

April 30, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Mickey Lippy has filed a $15 million Maryland wrongful death complaint against the federal government. Lippy, a paramedic, died during a 2008 medevac crash in Prince George’s County. The helicopter was transporting two teens from a Waldorf car crash site when the catastrophic aviation accident happened.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the deadly Maryland helicopter crash that claimed four peoples lives was caused by pilot error/inexperience, increased workload, and possible fatigue, as well as mistakes made by air traffic controllers, who gave the flight crew outdated weather data.

Per the family’s Maryland wrongful death lawsuit, the weather information given to the medevec pilot was “hours old” and suggested significantly better visibility than what actually existed at the time. The complaint accuses Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers of not paying proper attention and “unresponsiveness.”

Baltimore County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Accuses Westminster Assisted Living Facility of Maryland Nursing Home Neglect

April 28, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Rose Sarah Cangelosi Derrickson is suing Summerville at Westminster Assisted Living for Maryland wrongful death. The 90-year-old resident died on June 30, 2009 at Carroll Hospice’s Dove House.

According to a the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality. Report, nursing home workers did not cut Derrickson’s meat on June 19, 2009 even though it was known that the Parkinson’s patient, whose ability to chew and swallow were impaired, needed help cutting up her food and using her utensils. After she fell into a “severe hypoxic [deficiency in oxygen] state,” Derrickson was transported to an emergency room. Forceps had to be used to remove a chunk of meat from her throat. Because the obstruction prevented her from breathing, a breathing tube was inserted in her and she was placed on a ventilator.

According to the family’s Baltimore nursing home negligence lawyer, Derrickson did not recover and moved into a hospice on June 23, 2009 She died seven days later from aspiration pneumonia.

Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed by Families of Two Coal Miners Killed in 2007 Mine Collapse

April 21, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The families of Michael Wilt and Dale Jones have filed their Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against Tri-Star Mining Inc., its owner George Beener, the land owner of the mine, BTC Trucking, BTC Developments, consulting firm Dugan Associates, Western Maryland Associates, Bituminous Safety Services, Inc., and Highland Engineering and Surveying Inc. The plaintiffs are seeking $8 million for the wrongful deaths of coal miners Jones and Wilton during a mine collapse.

The two men were fatally crushed on April 17, 2007 when one of the mine walls at Tri-Star Mining Inc. collapsed. The wall was comprised of thousands of tons of rock.

The plaintiffs contend that the Maryland mine collapse happened because of recklessly unsafe conditions at the workplace. They are accusing the defendants of negligence, including telling miners that it was safe to work at the bottom of the 275-foot high wall.

Crofton Family to File $10 Million Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Anne Arundel County School Board and Parents of Teens Convicted of 14-Year-Old’s Fatal Beating

April 15, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The parents of Christopher Jones are filing a $10 million Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against the Anne Arundel County School Board, five teenagers, and one adult. Jones, 14, sustained a fatal head injury last May when he fell to the ground during a beating. Police say the incident was a youth gang beating.

Jones did not belong to any gang. His mother accused gang members at the school he attended of assaulting her son.

Two teens were convicted of manslaughter in Jones’s beating death. Jones’ family is to seek $8 million in Anne Arundel County wrongful death compensation from the teens’ parents and $200,000 from the school board.

$1.44 Million Baltimore County Medical Malpractice Verdict Over Man Who Died From Sepsis at a Towson Hospital

April 13, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Maryland jury has awarded the family of Thomas Murphy $1.44 million for his Baltimore County wrongful death. Murphy died of sepsis on June 11, 2007, one day after he was admitted to St. Joseph Medical Center.

Murphy’s family is alleging Maryland medical malpractice. They claim that the 59-year-old did not receive the proper medical care.

According to ABC-2.com, despite having Murphy undergo several tests, including a CAT scan and an X-ray, doctors did not diagnose him as suffering from sepsis. Instead, Dr. Richard Murphy, one of the defendants, thought the patient was suffering from an infection and prescribed a broad-spectrum antibiotic before admitting him to the hospital.

Prince George’s County and Frederick County Settle Maryland Injury Lawsuits

April 5, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

If you’ve been the victim of police brutality or police negligence, there are legal remedies that allow you to seek Maryland personal injury compensation. Many victims of police violence or negligence are too scared to report the incident for fear of repercussion or because they are unaware that what happened to them was wrong. As with other negligent parties that cause injuries or deaths, law enforcement officers can be held liable for their reckless actions.

Recently, the family of Justin Lihvarcik settled its Maryland wrongful death lawsuit accusing Frederick County police of negligence. On June 10, 2009, Lihvarcik, who was 26 at the time, was placed in a holding cell at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center at around 2:30am after he was charged with second-degree assault during a dispute with his girlfriend. At around 5:30am, correctional officers found him hanging from the top bunk. He had used his shoelaces to make a noose.

In her Frederick County wrongful death complaint, Lihvarcik’s mother, Nancy Fether, accused the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office of neglect.

$100 Million Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Alleges Baltimore Police Brutality

March 29, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

On Thursday, the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit trial against Baltimore police officers Michael Riser and Sendy Ferdinand began. The relatives of Dondi Johnson, Sr., are suing the cops for $100 million. They claim that the two men, and possibly other officers, were negligent and committed Baltimore police brutality, including battery, assault, fraud, concealment and conspiracy.

Johnson, Sr. was arrested on November 23, 2005 for allegedly urinating in public. He was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police van. However, no one fastened the 43-year-old’s seat belt. Over the course of the drive, his spine became dislocated and fractured, which caused him to become a quadriplegic. He died on December 7, 2005.

The plaintiffs are alleging that the defendants acted maliciously when they didn’t secure Johnson with a seat belt and then drove aggressively so that he would get hurt.