Maryland Accident Law Blog

Rep John Murtha Dies Surgical Complications After Doctors “Hit His Intestines”

February 9, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

What should have been a routine laparoscopic surgery has proved fatal for Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania. The 77-year-old died from complications when doctors “hit his intestines” during the minimally invasive gallbladder procedure at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. His intestine was damaged and an infection developed.

Murtha has been the Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District Representative since 1974 and was number eight in the chamber in terms of seniority. He was the first Vietnam War veteran elected to the US Congress. In 2005, he shocked Washington when he called for the US to withdraw from Iraq.

Murtha leaves behind his wife and three children.

Maryland Surgical Malpractice

If doctors made a medical mistake that caused Murtha’s health complications, the congressman’s family may have grounds for filing a Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital and the medical professionals involved in the gallbladder surgery.

Laparascopic gallbladder surgery

Laparascopic gallbladder surgery involves the removal of the gallbladder without having to open the abdominal cavity. During this minimally invasive procedure, a small incision is made and a trocar is inserted. A video camera and small surgical tools are inserted using the trocar so the surgery can be conducted. Surgeons can watch the surgery on a monitor that airs what the video camera inside the body is recording.

It is important that a surgeon cut or clip in the right places in order to safely remove the gallbladder. Cutting the wrong anatomical part can cause serious injury or death. Other serious side effects include bile peritonitis, bile leakage, abscess, cholangitis, and infection.

Surgeons can be held liable for Maryland surgical malpractice if their medical mistake, carelessness, or recklessness causes personal injury or wrongful death to a patient.

Congressman: Murtha’s intestine damaged in surgery, Washington Post, February 8, 2010
Rep. John Murtha dies after surgery complications, CNN, February 8, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Laparascopic gallbladder surgery, FamilyDoctor.org
Medical Malpractice, Justia

Maryland Police Say Frederick County Car Accident Caused by Teen on Cell Phone

February 6, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 17-year-old driver is accused of causing a serious Frederick County, Maryland car accident while talking on a cell phone on Wednesday. The young driver was merging onto Interstate 70 when he allegedly rear-ended a 1999 Jeep Cherokee driven by Norman Hayter, Jr., a Middletown resident. Police say that the juvenile did not realize that road work had caused traffic to slow down.

Hayter, 58, was seriously injured in the Maryland auto accident. He was transported by air to Washington County Hospital.

Meantime, the teen driver sustained minor injuries. He is charged with negligent driving.

Distracted Driving

Teen drivers, who are more easily distracted and less experienced than their older motorist counterparts, are already at greater risk of being involved in a motor vehicle collision. Add the additional distraction of talking on a phone or texting while driving, and the consequences can prove fatal.

In Maryland, drivers younger than age 18 with a provisional or a learner driver’s license are prohibited from using any kind of cell phone while driving. All other motorists are allowed to drive and use a cell phone at the same time. Sending text messages while driving in Maryland is banned.

Although it now has been confirmed that talking on any kind of cell phone is dangerous—there is no US state that completely bans this distracted driving habit and there are only six US states that ban the use of handheld cell phones—it is impossible to ignore the fact that at least 1.6 million US motor vehicle accidents a year are caused by texting and cell phone using drivers.

If a motorist causes a car accident while talking on a cell phone, he or she can be charged with negligent driving, and injury victims may choose to file a lawsuit for Maryland personal injury or a wrongful death.

Police: Teen on Cell Phone Causes Bad Accident, Your4State, February 4, 2010
Teen motorist talking on cell phone strikes stopped SUV, The Herald-Mail, February 3, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association, February 2010
National Safety Council

Harford County and Its Sheriff’s Office are Defendants in $145 Million Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Alleging Police Brutality

February 3, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Dwight Jerome Madison is suing Harford County and the Harford County Sheriff’s Office for Maryland wrongful death. Madison, 48, died after police threw him in jail last June. His family is alleging wrongful arrest and police brutality. They are seeking $145 million from the defendants.

According to the Maryland police brutality lawsuit, Madison was arrested on June 11, 2009 just hours after police stopped him in Bel Air. The 48-year-old was let go after he told them he was looking for a friend in the area. Police officer followed him and arrested him for trespassing. He was transported to the Harford County Detention Center.

Police claim that Madison asked to be arrested so he would have some place to go. They then contend that while in custody, he became uncooperative and grabbed and choked one of the guards. Police TASERed Madison, who fell and struck his head.

State’s Board of Public Works Approves $1.5 Million Lutherville Train Accident Settlement in Maryland Wrongful Death of Two Teenagers

January 27, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Maryland’s Board of Public Works has given the green light to a $1.5 million Baltimore County wrongful death settlement over the fatal train accident that killed two teenagers last year. Kyle Patrick Wankmiller and Jarrett Connor Peterson were walking along tracks that are usually used by trains headed southbound in Lutherville on July 5 when a northbound train hit the two 17-year-olds. The Maryland Transit Administration had switched the direction of traffic on the tracks.

Following the deadly Maryland train collision, the MTA said the two teens had their backs to the trains when they were hit from behind. A spokesperson says the two boys thought the train was using the other track as it approached them. The public is not allowed to be on the tracks unless they are at designated crossing areas.

The train’s operator reportedly did not notice that the train had hit the two boys and did not stop. The operator of a second train that later passed through also failed to see the teenagers. It wasn’t until a third train came through that a fare inspector saw their severely injured bodies.

Maryland TBI: Call a Concussion a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Says Researchers

January 23, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A team of researchers are recommending that concussions should be called mild traumatic brain injuries so that this type of condition is taken more seriously. The team is concerned that many people don’t think of a concussion as an injury to the brain.

The researchers looked at the medical records of 300 children with traumatic brain injuries who were treated at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Canada. 102 of them were diagnosed with having a concussion. 385 of the kids diagnosed with a concussion actually had a mild TBI, while 24% in fact had a serious or moderate TBI.

According to Professor Carol DeMatteo of the CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research at McMaster University, in each case involving a child diagnosed with a concussion, the patient and their parents did not think the injury was serious. DeMatteo says this can be a problem.

According to the study’s findings, kids that were diagnosed with having concussion diagnosis spent less time in the hospital than children who were diagnosed with a mild brain injury. They also went back to school and resumed playing sports sooner than kids diagnosed with more serious brain injuries.

DeMatteo notes that if a child isn’t given enough time to recover, more concussions may occur and the risk of permanent brain damage increases.

Brain Injuries to Children

Brain injury is one of the most common causes of death and disability to young children. If your son or daughter suffers an injury to the head, it is important that you get medical help right away. What may appear to be a mild injury to the head may actually be a brain injury.

If your child sustained a TBI in a car crash, fall accident on another person’s property, or another kind of injury accident, you may have grounds for filing a Maryland traumatic brain injury lawsuit involving injuries to minors.

Concussion needs a new name, researchers say, Globe Life, January 17, 2010
Children and Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI Resource Guide, Centre for Neuro Skills
Related Web Resources:
Concussion, Empowered Doctor
McMaster Children’s Hospital

Maryland Medical Malpractice?: 369 Patients May Have Received Unnecessary Stents

January 18, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Following an internal review, a Towson hospital has notified 369 patients that stents may have been unnecessarily implanted in their arteries. St. Joseph Medical Center conducted the probe after a number of patients complained and at the request of federal investigators. The hospital is under investigation for health-care fraud.

According to the Baltimore Sun, there were patients at St. Joseph who underwent the procedure even though the blockage in their arteries was minor. For example, one man who received a stent only had 10% blockage, but the hospital told him that the blockage was 95%. Another woman was wrongly diagnosed with a heart condition and received a stent because she was told her arteries had a 90% blockage. In fact, the blockage was no more than 10%.

Cardiac Catheterization

Coronary stents are used to open up clogged arteries or create a bridge where there is damage. Stents are usually implanted during cardiac catheterization. During this medical procedure, the device can be implanted into the arteries through the leg and via the bloodstream. Cardiac catheterization can be costly, and many insurers, as well as Medicare, require that an artery must have at least 70% blockage before a stent can be inserted. Although generally a safe procedure, serious health complications, such as infection, bleeding, blood vessel damage, allergic reaction, blood clots, heart attack, stroke, arrhythmias, low blood pressure, and kidney damage, can occur.

If you were wrongly diagnosed with an illness or health condition, were advised to undergo a medical procedure you did not need, were given the wrong medication, or if a medical mistake occurred during treatment, you may have grounds for filing a Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit against those responsible.

Undergoing any type of medical procedure can take a physical and emotional toll on a patient. There is no reason to undergo an unnecessary procedures that can place your life at risk, take an emotional and physical toll on you, and require time off for recovery.

Md. heart patients may not have needed stents, Washington Post/AP, January 15, 2010
Patients learn they might have unneeded stents, Baltimore Sun, January 15, 2010
What Are the Risks of Cardiac Catheterization?, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
Related Web Resources:

St. Joseph Medical Center

Cardiac Catheterization, American Heart Association

Baltimore Man Sues Anne Arundel County Police Department and Officer for False Arrest

January 12, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 38-year-old Baltimore man has filed a civil rights violation lawsuit accusing Anne Arundel County police of violating his civil rights when they arrested and imprisoned him without just case. Melvin B. Thomas says he was falsely arrested on January 17 for asking “What about freedom of the press?” after officers apprehended his friend for using a cell phone to videotape cops handcuffing spectators following a Glen Burnie boxing event when some people became rowdy.

Thomas says he and his friend, 32-year-old Pasadena resident Leshon C. Ruffin, were the only two people who were thrown in jail where he stayed for 12 hours. Now, he is seeking $30,000 in damages.

Cpl. Russell Hewitt III, who is a defendant in the Maryland false arrest lawsuit, claims in charging documents that Ruffin was apprehended for trying to approach officers while they were doing their job. He says he arrested Thomas because he was causing a disturbance with his yelling.

Thomas’s attorney, however, says that Thomas and Ruffin were behaving in a nondisruptive manner while others around them were shouting out profanities. All charges against the two men were dropped. Thomas has said that because he and his friend are black he thinks race was a factor. Two white people that also were handcuffed were released at the scene.

Thomas’s Maryland civil rights violation lawsuit is seeking $30,000 in damages.

Maryland False Arrest Lawsuit

A police officer who has violated a person’s civil rights can be sued for damages. Making false arrests, wrongful imprisonment, excessive use of force, verbal abuse, harassment, torture, intimidating tactics, and sexual assaulting a suspect or prisoner can be grounds for a civil lawsuit against the offending police officer, his/her police department, and possibly even the city or the county where the violation took place.

You don’t have to be afraid about coming forward if you were the victim of Maryland police brutality or were falsely arrested without just cause.

Man sues county police for arrest, HometownGlenburnie.com, January 2, 2010
Related Web Resources:

Anne Arundel County

False Arrests, Convictions and Imprisonments, New York Times

$1.2 Million Maryland Wrongful Death Settlement Reached with Family of Teen Restrained at Carroll County, Reform School

January 8, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Isaiah Simmons III has reached a $1.2 million Maryland wrongful death settlement with Bowling Brook Preparatory School and the state’s Department of Juvenile Services. The Maryland teen died in 2007 after he was restrained at the reform school.

Simmons’ family had accused counselors of holding him face down and sitting on him for about three hours. Simmons, a Baltimore 17-year-old, eventually lost consciousness and stopped breathing. The counselors are accused of waiting 41 minutes after Simmons became unresponsive to contact 911. Simmons was pronounced dead at Carroll Hospital Center. Following the tragic incident, Bowling Brook maintained that its staff followed appropriate procedures and denied that workers knelt or sat on Simmons’ head or torso.

Per the school’s report, on January 23, 2007, a staff member questioned Simmons about threats he allegedly made. The teenager allegedly made more threats and at around 4:45 pm, staff members and students restrained him. An ambulance was called at about 8:15 pm.

Nine-Year-Old Boy Dies from Injuries Sustained from Falling Tree at the Hashawha Environmental Center in Westminster, Maryland

January 6, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Noah Asid, the 9-year-old who was injured on December 29 when a large hickory tree fell on him at the Hashawha Environmental Center has died at a Baltimore hospital. Asid, who was attending a nature camp, was getting ready to go hiking with a group of children and counselors when the tragic accident happened.

According to reports, the 60-foot tree fell against a maple tree. This caused the maple branches to give way and the hickory and a number of large branches to hit the ground, striking Asid and another child. The girl, 10, has been released from Carroll Hospital Center.

The Carroll County sheriff’s office is determining what caused the tree to fall. Winds hitting speeds of up to 35 mph on the day of the accident may have been a factor.

Texting While Driving Increases Maryland Car Crash Risks, Confirm Psychologists

December 30, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

University of Utah psychologists are saying that texting while driving increases a motorist’s crash risk by six times. The study can be found in the latest edition of Human Factors, a journal.

According to the researchers, texting presents a 50% greater car crash risk than talking does. One reason for this is that reading or writing texts takes a driver’s attention completely off the road. Meantime, talking on the cell phone while driving at the same time divides the motorist’s attention between both tasks. However, this is not to say that it is safe to talk on the phone while operating an auto.

The study’s lead psychologist, Frank Drews, says that he and other researchers asked 20 motorists, ages 19 to 23, to drive in a “high fidelity driving simulator.” All of the participant drivers were seasoned texters.

The researchers say that compared to drivers who did not text or talk on the cell phone, motorists’ median reaction time went up 30% while they texted. Drivers’ median reaction time rose by 9% when talking on a cell phone. The study also reports that it is more distracting to read text messages than it is to compose them.

Distracted Driving Accidents

This past year, federal and state transportation safety officials have stepped up their efforts to make sure motorists are aware of how dangerous it is to text while driving. In September, Maryland’s statewide ban on sending texts while driving went into effect. Also that month, federal transportation officials kicked off a two-day distracted driving summit in Washington DC. This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched it’s distracted driving Web site, and President Obama’s executive order banning all federal workers from texting when driving goes into effect today.

Unfortunately, distracted driving continues to be a leading cause of Maryland car crashes. Like drunk driving accidents, distracted driving crashes are preventable.

Research: Texting while driving leads to six-fold increase in accidents, TopNews, December 22, 2009
Texting While Driving Raises Crash Risk Sixfold, BusinessWeek, December 21, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association

Distraction.gov

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society