Maryland Accident Law Blog

$7 Million Maryland Wrongful Death: Truck Driver’s Family Sues Teen Driver For Fatal Collision that Caused Trucker to Plunge into the Chesapeake Bay

June 25, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of John Short, the 57-year-old tractor-trailer driver that died when his truck fell into the Chesapeake Bay during a deadly motor vehicle crash last August, is suing 19-year-old Candy Lynn Baldwin for his wrongful death. Their Maryland civil lawsuit is seeking $7 million from the teenager, who swerved into the lane that Short’s truck was in, causing him to drive his truck through a bridge wall before it fell into the water.

Short’s relatives contend that the deadly Maryland truck accident happened because Baldwin had been drinking prior to getting into her car. Just six months ago, prosecutors decided not to criminally charge the teenager with auto manslaughter because her blood alcohol content two hours after the car-truck collision was .036%. Maryland’s legal BAC limit is .08%.

The Maryland wrongful death lawyer representing Short’s family, however, says Baldwin’s BAC would have been higher if she had been tested right after the Maryland truck accident. He also provided a photo taken from the teenager’s MySpace page that shows her holding a bottle of alcohol while seated behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.

Washington DC Metro Train Accident Death Count Goes Up to 9 Fatalities

June 24, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Investigators are working hard to determine the cause of Monday’s deadly DC Metro train accident that officials are calling the worst in Metrolink’s history. The death toll has risen to 9 fatalities—although Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty says emergency officials don’t believe any more bodies will be found in the wreckage from the Red Line collision. More than 70 people were sent to hospitals for their injuries following the rush hour train crash.

According to officials, Train 112, the train that hit another train close to the Fort Totten Station, contained six of the oldest rail cars in the fleet. The train cars belonged to the Series 1000 models from the 1970’s. Several years ago, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Administration replace these cars because their ability to withstand a train crash was uncertain. The transit agency, however, refused to retire the trains or strengthen their frames (which could have decreased the risk that they would collapse during a collision) because of cost concerns. Also, the trains were going to be retired in 2014.

The 290 1000 series cars comprise over 25% of Metro’s 1,126-car fleet. During Monday’s train crash, part of train 112’s lead car ended up on the roof of Train 214’s trailing car. The impact of the crash crushed 2/3rds of Train 112’s lead car.

Train 112 was operating automatically at the time of Monday’s train collision and evidence indicates that train operator Jeanice McMillan, who was among the fatalities, activated the emergency break before the train accident happened. McMillan, 42, had only three months’ experience as a train operator prior to Monday’s devastating wreck. National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman Deborah A.P. Hersman says that investigators are examining whether McMillan was tired, having health issues, or was talking on a cell phone or text messaging when the DC train accident happened.

Based on the current information and evidence that is available, experts say that the train crash may have occurred because of operator error, a faltering computer system, brake failure, or a combination of these factors. The Washington Post is reporting that Train 112 may have been two months past due for brake maintenance.

Unfortunately, because train 112 is an older train, it does not have a “black box.” The train that was struck is a newer train that was carrying a data recording device. Hersman says that the NTSB is examining a number of other issues, including system maintenance, personnel training, and the train tracks’ condition. Search, recovery, and investigation efforts are seriously affecting travel from the Maryland suburbs to downtown Washington DC.

Toll rises to 9 in D.C. rail crash, The Baltimore Sun, June 24, 2009
Train Operator Apparently Hit Brakes Before Crash, Washington Post, June 24, 2009
Related Web Resources:

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

National Transportation Safety Board

Frederick County Settles Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Firefighter Trainee that Collapsed from Heatstroke

June 22, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The parents of Andrew Waybright, a 23-year-old firefighter trainee that died after suffering from heatstroke in 2002, have reached a Maryland wrongful death settlement with Frederick County. Per the terms of the agreement, the County will pay $300,000 to Shirley and James Waybright, as well as install a commemorative plaque at the Frederick County Public Safety Training Center.

Andrew, who at the time was a Harney volunteer in Carroll County, was training for a full-time position in Frederick County when the tragic incident happened. He collapsed on July 3, 2002 while participating in an outdoor workout at the center while taking part in a nearly 4-mile run.

Instructors at the training center performed CPR on Andrew after he collapsed. He was pronounced dead upon his arrival at Frederick Memorial Hospital. Doctors that examined Andrew’s body at the hospital said his temperature was 107.4.

Maryland Personal Injury Lawsuit filed Over Ocean City Escalator Accident

June 18, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, a woman is suing Ocean City, the Ocean City Convention and Visitors Bureau, and ThyssenKrupp Elevator Company for personal injury over an escalator accident that occurred in May 2006. Rebecca Beall filed her Maryland premises liability lawsuit in US District Court.

Beall was a high school student at the time of the escalator accident that injured her and several other students from her school band. The band was in Ocean City to attend the Youth Music Competition taking place at the Convention Center.

On May 5, 2006 the escalator they were riding to the next floor stopped abruptly and began moving in the opposite direction. A number of students fell and some of them were taken to a hospital for treatment of their injuries.

Maryland Premises Liability: Keeping Pools Safe to Prevent Drowning Accidents

June 15, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

If your child is going swimming in a Maryland pool located in a hotel or a public area, you should check to make sure that the pool owners have installed the new pool drains that have been approved by the federal government. The Virginia Graeme-Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007 went into effect last December and by this time public pool owners and spa operators were supposed to have installed these drains that are designed to prevent pool entrapment accidents from happening. Unfortunately, not all pool and spa owners have met this deadline.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that between 1999 and 2008, 83 children were involved in spa and pool entrapment accidents, resulting in 69 injuries and 11 deaths. Just this April, a 38-year-old man drowned in a pool entrapment accident involving a hotel pool drain. And kids, who are smaller in size, are at particular risk of becoming the victim of pool or spa entrapment accidents in the event that their hair, a body part, or swimsuit gets trapped in a drain’s powerful suction.

The CPSC says, however, that defective pool drains are not the only issue of concern for parents when it comes to protecting their kids while they are swimming. Every year, approximately 300 kids drown and 3,000 others sustain serious injuries in pools and spas throughout the US. In addition to pool entrapment injuries and drowning accidents, another cause of injury can occur when a child dives into the water and strikes his or her head on the bottom of the spa or pool.

While drowning accidents can prove fatal, those that do survive are sometimes left disabled for life because they sustained atraumatic brain injury. A child or adult that strikes his or her head against the bottom of the pool can end up with a spinal cord injury, a TBI, or broken bones.

There are steps that public and private pool and spa owners can take to protect adults and kids from getting hurt in a swimming accident. Failure to execute these safety precautions can be grounds for a Maryland premises liability claim or a wrongful death lawsuit.

Safety Concerns to Delay Opening of Some Maryland Pools, WJLA.com, May 23, 2009
CPSC Announces New Report on Child Drownings and Near-drownings in Pools and Spas, CPSC, May 21, 2009
Related Web Resources:

Pool Safety

Virginia Graeme-Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007 (PDF)

Family Plans for Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against the District for Woman’s Murder

June 10, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The father and sister of Erica Peters, the woman who was murdered along with her two children in her apartment on March 21, are planning to sue the District for her wrongful death. The plaintiffs are contending that the 911 dispatcher and police may have botched their handling of an emergency call that was made on the afternoon that Peters, along with her sons, Eric, 11, and Dakota, 10, were killed.

Peters reportedly was stabbed more than 20 times. Her two sons were also stabbed. Joseph Mays, Peters’ live-in boyfriend, has been charged with all three murders.

Her family also believes that he isn’t the only one that should be held liable for the triple slaying. They think that the 911 dispatcher that answered the call made from inside Peters’ apartment may have told a cop that the screams heard over the phone could have been “child’s play.” Her family also thinks that police waited anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half after no one answered the door before breaking into the home.

That is when they found the bodies. Mays, who was also in the apartment, sustained superficial chest wounds. The couple’s 2-year-old girl was also there and alive.

Wrongful Death for Murder

If someone you love was murdered, you may have grounds for filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the person that actually committed the crime. There also may be other parties that can be held liable for your loved one’s wrongful death—even if he or she didn’t commit the actual crime. For example, a wrongful death claim can be brought against a premise owner for the inadequate security that allowed for a crime to occur on a property, or police or a city can be sued for wrongful death if negligence on their part allowed for a murder to occur.

Family Suing Over D.C. Triple Murder, MyFoxDC, June 8, 2009
Charges Are Filed In Triple Stabbing, The Washington Post, March 23, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Wrongful Death Overview, Justia

Recent Maryland Pedestrian Accidents Lead to Fatalities and Injuries

June 9, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Several recent Maryland traffic accidents have led to a number of pedestrian deaths and injuries. In Ocean City, a 44-year-old pedestrian died while trying to cross the Coastal Highway. The man was reportedly not in the crosswalk when he was hit by a 2008 Nissan Altima operated by Russell Charles Mass, Jr. Mass, 18, was charged with drunk driving. Police are investigating whether the pedestrian, who sustained fatal head injuries, had also been drinking.

In Frederick, Maryland, three men were charged last week for the death of pedestrian Elizabeth DiNunzio. The Mount Saint Mary’s University’s college senior was jogging last month when she was struck by a car driven by driver Joshua Cool on Old Emmitsburg Road. According to police, DiNunzio was running against traffic and in compliance with Maryland law.

While Joshua is charged with negligent driving, knowingly driving a vehicle that was uninsured, and not exercising the proper care to avoid striking a pedestrian, passengers Ann Cool and Joseph Cool were charged with knowing that they were riding in a vehicle that was uninsured.

Last month, a Clinton man sustained serious injuries in a Howard County pedestrian accident when he was hit by a car on Route 32 close to 95. Frank Trowell, Jr., 44, was taken to Shock Trauma in critical condition. Police are looking into the cause of the Maryland motor vehicle crash.

Also in May, a pregnant teenager and her friend were hit by a car in Crownsville. Police say that the driver of the vehicle, 23-year-old Karla Wagner, drove her 1999 Jeep off the road, striking the teens. One of the girls, who is 17, is from Crownsville. The other teenager, 19-year-old Melissa Truelove, was 7 weeks pregnant at the time of the Maryland traffic crash. Both pedestrians were knocked unconscious and later taken to a local hospital.

Following the Crownsville pedestrian accident, Truelove complained of bruising on her hip and back, pain in her left side, as well as vertigo. Her friend fractured her neck and both hips and also experienced bleeding in her kidney.

Pedestrian hit by car on Route 32 listed in critical condition, Explore Howard, May 29, 2009
Pedestrian Critically Hurt in Accident, WBAL.com, May 29, 2009
Three Charged In Accident That Killed Local Student, YourState, June 4, 2009
Pedestrian Injured In Late-Night Crash, MDCoastDispatch.com, June 5, 2009
Related Web Resources:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Pedestrian Safety, Maryland State Highway Administration

Maryland Boating Accident: Teenager Seriously Hurt While Trying to Dock a Personal Watercraft

June 7, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 13-year-old was recently rushed to Johns Hopkins Shock Trauma Hospital after he was seriously injured in a Maryland boating accident in West Ocean City’s Herring Creek. The accident occurred while the juvenile was trying to dock the personal watercraft. Instead, the teenager maneuvered the boat under the dock. The force of the crash caused the boy to get tossed from the vessel and into the water.

The Maryland Natural Resources Police Special Operation Division is investigating the boating accident. Meantime, Brian Jay Dalamater was charged with knowingly letting a person younger than 16 operate the boat and of failing to have a valid boat registration.

With summer fast approaching, this Maryland boating accident is a reminder of why it is so important for people to follow the proper safety precautions when riding a boat. In 2008:

• 9 people died in Maryland boating accidents.

• 222 people were arrested for operating a vessel while impaired.

Common causes of Maryland boating accidents:

• Boating under the influence
• Boater negligence
• Boater misconduct
• Operator inexperience
• Defective watercrafts
• Bad weather

Common kinds of Maryland boating accidents:

• Boating collisions
• Falls overboard
• Capsized boats
• Getting lost at sea
• Sinking boats
• Fires on boats
• Boat blasts

An all too common cause of boating accidents is ignorance—not being aware of boating laws and safety regulations and failing to understand that operator inexperience or carelessness can lead to catastrophic if not fatal consequences.

BOAT ACCIDENT: 13-year-old seriously injured in docking attempt, DelmarvaNOW.com, May 25, 2009
Our Say: Boating safety based on knowledge and basic rules, Hometown Annapolis, June 7, 2009
Related Web Resources:

US Coast Guard

Maryland Natural Resources Police

Catastrophic Car Accident Victims and Their Families Ask Capitol Hill to Guarantee Products Liability Payments from Bankrupt General Motors and Chrysler

June 4, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A number of catastrophic car accident victims and their families went to Capitol Hill in Washington DC on Wednesday to call on the Obama Administration and Congress to ensure their ability to obtain medical reimbursements from the now bankrupt General Motors and Chrysler. Both auto manufacturers have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcies, which places car accident victims waiting for medical reimbursements from products liability settlements and verdicts into the category of “unsecured creditor” waiting along with everyone else for their payouts.

On Monday, a bankruptcy judge overruled the Ad Hoc Committee on Consumer-Victims of Chrysler LLC when he approved the sale of the company to Fiat. The group had asked for a retroactive insurance policy or a fund that would cover the costs of medical treatment and lawsuits. Last year alone, Chrysler paid more than $250,000 in medical settlements. Now, anyone that gets involved in a catastrophic or fatal car crash while riding in one of the approximately 10 million Chrysler cars will not be able to pursue products liability compensation if a motor vehicle was responsible for causing the defect. The vehicle occupants of about 30 million General Motor vehicles are facing the same dilemma.

About 500 to 1,000 serious injuries or fatalities involving defective car parts occur every year. The bankruptcies filed by the two car manufacturing giants prevents injured parties from holding them financially accountable for making cars that are defective enough to cause catastrophic injuries or death.

Examples of common kinds of car defects that can lead to catastrophic injuries:

• Defective tires
• Faulty engine
• Defective windows
• Faulty seat belt or safety restraint system
• Structural defects
• Seat back defect
• Design defects
Car accident victims fight for payouts, Washington Times, June 4, 2009
Families and Severely-Injured Victims of Defective GM and Chrysler Cars Travel to Washington to Seek Urgent Help, RedOrbit, June 3, 2009
Related Web Resources:
GM and Chrysler’s bankruptcy cases at a glance, AP, June 4, 2009

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Basics

$3,991,000 Million Maryland Cerebral Palsy Verdict Awarded to Family

June 3, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, a jury awarded the family of Ryan Dineen $3,991,000 for their cerebral palsy lawsuit. Ryan is now 9.

His family’s Maryland cerebral palsy lawsuit accuses medical staff members at Frederick Memorial Hospital of medical malpractice related to Ryan’s birth in May 2000. Named as defendants in the civil complaint were the hospital, three nurses, and three doctors. However, the jury found only two doctors, Dr. Brian Raider and Dr. Edward Chen, negligent for Ryan’s birth injury.

According to the Maryland birthing malpractice lawsuit, Suzette Dineen, an Adamstown resident, was 36 weeks pregnant with Ryan when she was admitted to the Maryland hospital for vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. She claims that after she arrived at the hospital, staff members failed to properly monitor her baby’s fetal heartbeat.