Maryland Accident Law Blog

Simplicity Drop-Side Cribs Linked to Eleventh Infant Death

December 21, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is once again warning parents, adults, and child caretakers about the dangers of using a Simplicity drop-side crib. An 11th child death has been linked to the defective cribs. The crib’s plastic hardware is prone to deformity and breakage. If this occurs and the drop side detaches, a space can open up between the crib mattress and the side of the crib that a toddler or a sleeping baby can fall into, becoming entrapped and suffocating.

The CPSC has recalled all Simplicity drop-side cribs—over 2 million—in the last four years. However, Simplicity is not the only crib maker whose drop side cribs have been recalled. Last month, the CPSC recalled 2.1 million Stork Craft Manufacturing drop-side cribs after reports of four infant suffocations. Two of the other drop-side sleeper recalls: 1.6 million Delta drop side cribs following two infant deaths and about 2000 Playkids USA portable cribs after a 5-month old suffocated when he became entrapped between the drop-side rail and the mattress.

While drop-side cribs are popular with consumers because the side that drops makes it easy for adults to lift their kids into and out of the supposedly secure beds, there have been so many reported child injuries and deaths involving this kind of crib that some crib manufacturers have called for a ban on all drop-side cribs. Broken and missing pieces, poor design, poor assembly directions, and defective materials are some of the product defects that have led to drop-side crib-related entrapment accidents, fall accidents, and strangulation accidents.

Our Maryland injuries to minors and children lawyers handle products liability claims for families seeking damages for a child’s personal injury or wrongful death. We’d be happy to discuss your defective crib case during your free consultation.

Drop-side cribs are not the only child sleepers considered an entrapment hazard. Last month the CPSC recalled approximately 24,000 Amby Baby Motion Beds/Hammocks. Two infants died from suffocation while in an Amby Baby Hammock. The movement of the hammock makes it easy for the infant to roll into and get stuck against the mattress pad and/or fabric.

11 baby deaths now linked to Simplicity cribs, AP/Google, December 17, 2009
Infant Suffocation Deaths Prompt Recall of Amby Baby Motion Beds/Hammocks, CPSC, December 8, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Crib Safety, HealthBanks
Will Drop-Side Cribs Be Banned?, ParentDish

Family Says Maryland to Blame for Faulty Bay Bridge Construction that Contributed to Truck Driver’s Wrongful Death

December 14, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of truck driver John Short has amended their Maryland wrongful death complaint to include the state as a defendant. Short died in a truck crash in August 2008 when he swerved his tractor-trailer to avoid another vehicle, crashed into a bridge wall, and drove off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

In June, the 57-year-old trucker’s family filed a $7 million Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against 19-year-old Candy Lynn Baldwin, who had fallen asleep while driving.

While Baldwin, who had been drinking before the tragic Maryland truck crash, did not have a blood alcohol level high enough for her to be charged with drunk driving, Short’s family says her results would have been different if authorities had tested her BAC right after the truck collision. They have pointed to her MySpace page, which included pictures of Baldwin, a minor, drinking alcohol. One photo shows her holding a bottle of alcohol while she’s seated in the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle.

$70 Million Baltimore Personal Injury Lawsuit Accuses Ravens Linebacker Terrell Suggs of Maryland Domestic Violence

December 11, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Candace Williams is suing Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs for Maryland personal injury. Candace Williams, 26, is seeking $70 million: $50 million in punitive damages and $20 million in compensatory damages.

Williams claims that Suggs physically abused her twice last month. She contends that on November 3, the football player broke her nose when he hit her face. Williams alleges that on November 29, Suggs poured chemical bleach on her body and threatened to drown her in the strong liquid.

She filed a restraining order against him last week. On Friday, a judge granted an order preventing Suggs from contacting Williams.

Psychiatrist Accused of Sexual Misconduct Has Settled Maryland Injury Lawsuits from Alleged Victims

December 5, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Psychiatrist Nelson H. Hendler is defending himself in a case brought by a former patient who says that he sexually abused her. This is not the first accusation against the once prominent physician, who lost his license to practice medicine in February 2006 after the Maryland Board of Physicians determined that he committed sexual misconduct against several patients and gave out medication even though he didn’t have the proper permit.

The woman who brought this case claims that Hendler acted with her the way he did with his other patient victims. He allegedly convinced a number of patients that he was the only person who could help them and then took sexual advantage of them. Hendler is also accused of giving medication to women, even those who didn’t have prescriptions for the drugs, in exchange for sexual favors. Hendler has already settled a number of Maryland injury lawsuits against him from some of the women that are alleging medical malpractice and sexual abuse.

In 2007, Hendler submitted an Alford plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute drugs. The psychiatrist acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict him but did not plead guilty. He received a probation sentence before judgment, which caused a conviction to be staved off.

Maryland High School Football Player Killed in Howard County Car Accident

December 1, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 17-year-old high school football player is dead following a tragic single-car accident that occurred early Sunday at around 3am. Steven Dankos and teammate and best friend Thomas Erdman were riding in a pickup truck driven by Edrman’s brother, David Dixon Edrman, when the 22-year-old lost control of the truck, which then struck three decorative stone pillars before overturning.

Dankos was pronounced dead at the Howard County car crash site. Thomas and David sustained injuries. David is charged with homicide by motor vehicle while intoxicated, driving under the influence, and manslaughter by motor vehicle.

Drunk Driving Accidents

Drunk driving crashes are preventable. Yet every year, thousands of people are killed in the US because someone was driving drunk.

NHTSA 2008 Alcohol-Impaired Driving Facts

• 11,773 drunk driver-related deaths
• That’s 1 alcohol-related car crash death every 45 minutes

Drunk driving is a crime and also a form of negligent driving. A person who is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has impaired reflexes and senses and may not realize that he or she is speeding or about to collide with another vehicle or into oncoming traffic. Losing control of an auto when someone is inebriated is easy. It is the consequences and repercussions that follow which can be hard to live with.

A drunk driving conviction usually results in jail time. It can also destroy the lives of any victims, surviving family members, and the drunk driver who likely never intended to harm anyone.

After the season, the greatest loss, Washington Post, November 30, 2009
River Hill football player remembered as ‘great kid’, ExploreHoward, December 1, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Groups press for tougher drunk driving laws, Baltimore Sun, November 1, 2009

Drinking & Driving

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Maryland Pedestrian Accidents: US 40 Considered a Leading Danger Zone for Injuries and Deaths

November 23, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to the Baltimore Sun, since January 2003 at least 29 Maryland pedestrian fatalities have occurred in the 52-mile section of US 40 where it merges into Interstate 70 in Western Howard County. At least 8 of the pedestrian deaths occurred in Baltimore City, and except for 2 fatalities, the other pedestrian deaths occurred in West Baltimore. 21 pedestrian fatalities occurred in Baltimore County, Howard County, and Harford County, with the 3-4 fatalities that took place in the Maryland cities of Rosedale, Ellicott City, and Aberdeen occurring within a few hundred feet of each other.

Maryland State Highway Administration spokesperson Dave Buck says US 40, a main arterial highway, was constructed before pedestrian safety was considered a priority. A recent report by Surface Transportation Policy Project and Transportation for America recently pointed to highway design as one of the main causes of pedestrian deaths.

The report noted that 56% of pedestrian fatalities occur on roads that weren’t designed with pedestrian safety in mind. The report says arterial roads usually have multiple lanes, high speed limits, and few (if any) crossing signals or crosswalks.

Other arterial loads linked to Baltimore pedestrian accidents include Ritchie Highway, US 1, Reierstown Road, Liberty Road, and Mountain Road. With so many pedestrians continuing to die and get hurt in US traffic crashes each year—4,378 US pedestrian fatalities, 69,000 pedestrian injuries, and 116 Maryland pedestrian deaths in 2008—local, state, and federal entities must make sure that roads are properly designed to limit the number of pedestrian injuries and deaths.

U.S. 40 among top danger spots for pedestrians, Baltimore Sun, November 23, 2009

Pedestrians, NHTSA (PDF)

Related Web Resources:

Read the Report (PDF)

Maryland Department of Transportation

Toddler Dies in Maryland Entanglement Accident Involving Drapery Cord

November 19, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 2-year-old boy has died after becoming entangled in a drapery cord in his Damascus, Maryland home. Thapelo Andre Kwofie’s parents found him unconscious at around 3pm. They administered CPR to him before an ambulance arrived to take him to the hospital. He was pronounced dead soon after his arrival at Shady Grove Hospital.

Montgomery County, Maryland police are investigating the tragic accident.

Window Cord-Strangulation Accidents

Maryland Man Dies from Burn Injuries Sustained in Frederick Gas Station Fire

November 16, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 26-year-old Germantown, Maryland man has died from burn injuries he sustained in a fire at a gas station pump in Frederick. Ainsley Gordon caught fire, as did his sport utility vehicle and the gas pump that was next to the vehicle. Gordon was filling up a gas can when the fatal burn accident happened.

Investigators are trying to figure out what happened. They are saying that the victim wasn’t smoking or using his cell phone when the fire broke out.

Gasoline Burn Accidents:

• 1.1 million burn injuries a year occurred because of gasoline fires.
• 4.500 gasoline fire-related fatalities are a result of burn injuries while 10,000 other deaths involve infections from the burn wounds.

• Approximately 4,700 gas fires occur in the US each year.

If you or your loved one sustained serious burn injuries from a gasoline fire that was caused by another party’s negligence, you may have grounds for filing a Maryland injury lawsuit.

A gas station is one of the worst locations for a fire to happen. Unfortunately, gas station fires are not as uncommon as we’d like to think. Just last March, a woman died when a pickup truck crashed into gas pump, causing the pump to explode. The woman, who was pumping gas, became trapped between the pump and another vehicle.

In another gas fire accident earlier this year, a man who accidentally lit a match caught fire, as did the SUV that his friend was pumping gas into. Fortunately, the driver was able to retrieve his baby from the back seat and another passenger, a woman, was able to exit through the back window. The burn victim sustained injuries on 20% of his body.

Some fires at gasoline stations are a result of customer carelessness or driver negligence. There also may be certain hazards at the station, which the station owner or gasoline company should have remedied, that caused a blaze to break out.

Man fatally burned in Md. gas station fire, Washington Times, November 5, 2009
Man Catches Fire At Gas Station, KPHO, March 30, 2009
Woman Killed After Gas Station Pump Explodes, Fox, March 17, 2009
Gasoline Safety, Mass.gov
Related Web Resources:
Burns, Medline Plus
Service Station Safety, National Fire Protection Association

Multiple Human Errors Cited in Maryland Aviation Accident Involving Medevac that Crashed, Killing Four

November 10, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to federal transportation safety officials, multiple human errors contributed to the Maryland medevac crash that claimed the lives of four people in Prince George’s County on September 27, 2008. One of the people who died was 17-year-old Ashley Young, one of the Maryland car accident victims with low-level injuries who was being flown to a hospital. The other Waldorf, Maryland car crash victim, 19-year-old Jordan Wells, survived the Maryland medevac accident has undergone over 20 surgeries.

The helicopter Trooper 2, had bypassed Prince George’s Hospital Center because of fog. It crashed in Walker Mill Regional Park.

According to investigators, air traffic controllers were not very helpful, not paying proper attention, and sloppy. The troopers who were monitoring the air rescue did not realize in a timely enough manner that the chopper was lost and did not conduct a thorough enough search. However, pilot error is considered the probable cause of the helicopter accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board says pilot Stephen Bunker brought the helicopter down too fast, crashing into the ground. The board says the 59-year-old may not have had the skills to safely land the chopper when having to rely solely on aircraft instruments during poor visibility.

Bunker, volunteer medical Tonya Mallard, and paramedic Mickey Lippy also died in the Maryland medevac accident.

Aviation Accident Lawsuits

Plane crashes, helicopter accidents, and commercial airliner collisions seldom leave survivors. When anyone does survive such a catastrophic accident, the injuries are usually quite serious.

Pilot error, aircraft malfunction or defect, air traffic control negligence, ground crew mistakes, and poor weather conditions are some causes of plane crashes.

Extensive failures found in medevac crash, Washington Post, October 28, 2009
NTSB: Several factors contributed to fatal Md. medevac crash, Baltimore Sun, October 27, 2009
Related Web Resources:

National Transportation Safety Board

Medevac Helicopter Crash Kills 4 in Maryland, Fox/AP, September 28, 2009

Maryland Jury Awards $2.5 Million Baltimore Lead Paint Verdict to Siblings

November 5, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

More than 15 years after Dontae and Searra Wallace’s mother moved them into a City Homes rental in an effort to protect them from additional lead exposure, a Maryland jury has awarded the siblings over $2.5 million for their Baltimore personal injuries caused by lead poisoning.

Searra, 17, and Dontae, 20, sustained permanent behavioral and cognitive disabilities. They are unlikely to graduate from high school or get a GED, and their IQ’s are below average. Dontae dropped out of school four years ago and Searra failed two grades.

Their mother, Tiffini, says that the family moved out of a rental that used lead paint into a City Homes Inc. home. She says the nonprofit group told her the Baltimore City row house was safe.