Maryland Accident Law Blog

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Drug Litigation Lawsuit Pitting Wyeth Against Woman Who Lost Her Arm After Taking Anti-Nausea Drug Phenergan

November 7, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

This week, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a drug litigation lawsuit pitting a musician, whose arm was amputated after she was given an anti-nausea drug, and drug maker Wyeth. Diane Levine’s arm had to be removed after a physician’s assistant accidentally injected the anti-nausea drug Phenergan into her artery in April 2000. She was administered the drug at a clinic where she was treated for migraine headaches.

Levine sued the clinic, the supervising physician, and the physician’s assistant who injected the drug into her artery for medical malpractice and settled with all parties out of court. She sued Wyeth for its alleged failure to warn clinicians that they should use the safer IV drip, instead of the intravenous “push” method, to administer to Phenergan to her.

A civil jury awarded Levine $7.4 million million, and a judge reduced the amount to $6.7 million. The Vermont Supreme Court upheld the verdict.

Maryland Dog Bites off Part of Anne Arundel County Police Officer’s Ear

November 3, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, an Anne Arundel County cop lost part of his ear on Thursday when he bitten by a neighbor’s dog. Officer Michael McDermott, who was off-duty, was rescuing the dog when the unfortunate incident happened.

McDermott had pulled the dog out from under a fallen tree when it slipped its snout from from a makeshift muzzle and bit off part of the police officer’s ear. The dog died soon after of its injuries. McDermott was treated for his injuries at Anne Arundel Medical Center.

According for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 4.7 million people are the victims of dog attacks each year, with nearly 800,000 of these bites serious enough to require medical care. 368,000 people a year will visit a hospital emergency room for treatment of injuries sustained in a dog attack or mauling.

Examples of serious dog bite injuries:

• Facial disfigurement
• Severed limbs
• Internal injuries
• Mental or emotional trauma
• Death

Depending on the victim’s injuries, reconstructive surgery and other painful procedures may be warranted. The victim may also have to undergo additional trauma, such as having to go out in public with a disfigured face or other severe scars that may not fully heal.

In Maryland, dog owners can be held liable for personal injury caused by their pets. However, the degree to which the owner knew or should have known that a dog could hurt someone is a factor in determining whether reasonable care was exercised to prevent the pet from causing injury.

Arundel officer loses part of ear to dog he pulled from under tree, Baltimore Sun, October 31, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Cat and Dog Bites, Family Doctor.org
Dog Bite Liability, Insurance Information Institute

Family of Maryland Wrongful Death Victim Calls on Governor O’Malley to Suspend State Police Trooper Involved in Deadly 2006 Traffic Crash

October 29, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Randy Rakes, a Finksburg man who died in 2006 in a Maryland motor vehicle crash involving a State Police trooper car on Md. 140, is calling on Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to remove trooper Dale Derr from the force. Their demand comes following a confrontation between Derr and Rakes’s half-brother, Joseph Blizzard, earlier this month.

According to the Rakes family’s Maryland wrongful death lawyer, other troopers had detained Blizzard in Carroll County on October 12 when Derr arrived at the scene and verbally and physically assaulted him before throwing him to the ground, allegedly causing the suspect to break his thumb. Blizzard was arrested over allegations of check forgery.

Police say they are investigating the allegations against Derr. The Rakes family wants him suspended from the force pending the probe’s outcome.

Lexington Park Couple Dies in Maryland Motorcycle Accident

October 28, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Maryland State Police are investigating a deadly motor vehicle crash in St. Mary’s County that left a newlywed couple dead. Phillip Brian Natalie died at the crash scene, while his wife, Jessica Laurel Natalie, was pronounced dead at St. Mary’s hospital following the crash. Jessica and Laurel, who were both 26, were married this summer.

The collision took place at the intersections of Crimson Drive and Willows Road. Police reports indicate that the Maryland motor vehicle collision happened after a Toyota Camry, driven by 25-year-old Lateesha Shonte Cooper, made a left turn and drove into the path of the motorcycle that the couple was riding. Cooper, who is also a Lexington Park resident, was treated at a hospital for her injuries and later released.

According to Lt. Michael Thompson, preliminary findings made it appear to him as if the motorcycle was trying to avoid Cooper’s car. He noted the possibility that Cooper might have failed to yield the right of way.

Maryland State Police records show that there were 96 motorcycle deaths in Maryland in 2007. Police say that although only 2% of all registered motor vehicles in Maryland are motorcycles, these vehicles were involved in 16% of the state’s deadly traffic collisions. While Maryland motorcyclists are responsible for 50% of these auto accidents, the other 50% of traffic crashes are caused by other motorists.

2007 NHTSA US Motorcycle Crash Statistics:

• 5,154 motorcyclists died.
• 103,000 others were injured.
• 1,784 lives were saved because of helmet use.
• 2,332 two-vehicle crashes involved collisions between a motorcycle and another vehicle.

• 25% of all motorcycles involved in deadly accidents were in collisions with fixed objects.

Lex. Park Couple Killed in Motorcycle Crash, Southern Maryland Online, October 20, 2008
2 killed in crash with car, Southern Maryland Newspapers, October 15, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Motorcycle Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA

NHTSA Reports That 22 Children, Age 14 and Under, Died in Maryland Traffic Fatalities in 2007

October 24, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1,670 of the 41,059 traffic fatalities that occurred in the United States in 2007 were child victims, age 14 and younger. 22 of those fatalities occurred in Maryland. 3 of the child traffic deaths occurred in Washington DC.

The National Center for Health Statistics says that auto crashes are the number one cause of death for children ages 8 to 14 and 3 to 6. Last year, 385 child vehicle occupants, age 4 and under, died in motor vehicle crashes.

More 2007 NHTSA Traffic Accident Statistics About Children, Age 14 and Under:

• 245 of the 1,670 child motor vehicle deaths involved at least one drunk driver.
• 130 of the 245 children that died in drunk driving accidents were riding with a drunk driver.
• Children, age 14 and under, made up 306 of the 4,654 pedestrian deaths last year.
• Drunk drivers killed 29 of these child pedestrians.
• 14,000 child pedestrians sustained injuries in traffic accidents.
• Young pedestrians were most likely to sustain fatal injuries between 4 and 8pm and noon and 4pm.
• 80% of pedestrian deaths involving this age group took place at non-intersections.
• 91 child pedalcyclists died last year.
• 10,000 child pedalcyclists were injured in motor vehicle crashes.

• Each day last year, 5 children in this age group were killed in traffic accidents, with 548 others injured.

Children are prone to catastrophic injuries anytime they are involved in a serious auto collision. While there are steps that parents can take to protect their young children from the impact of colliding with a motor vehicle—whether as an auto occupant, a pedestrian, or a pedalcyclist—accidents caused by negligent drivers or because an auto manufacturer designed a defective car or motor vehicle part do happen.

Children, 2007 Data Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA

Related Web Resources:

Preventing Injuries to Children in Motor Vehicle Crashes, Safe Kids Worldwide
Kids and Cars.org

Baltimore Sun’s Review of 26 Deadly Medevac Crashes Indicates that Not All Victims Needed Air Transport

October 23, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Baltimore Sun recently looked through crash records and other key documents related to 26 deadly medevac crashes that have occurred In the US since 2003. The newspaper’s findings indicate that many of the cases involved victims that were being transported by air even though they weren’t “minutes-from-death.”

The Baltimore Sun chose to review the medical helicopter crash findings after last month’s medevac crash that killed four people in Prince George’s County, Maryland raised questions about whether medical helicopter travel was necessary to save two auto crash victim’s lives. The Maryland chopper used to transport the two victims lacked the terrain-awareness system that could have allowed the pilot to detect that he was flying too close to trees. One of the teen victims died in the aviation crash.

While there are many instances where air travel saves the lives of victims who are very sick or seriously injured in accidents, not all of the 26 medevac helicopters that crashed appeared to have been carrying victims whose lives could only be saved if they were transported by air.

Findings include:

• In eight cases, patients actually waited longer for a helicopter than they would have waited if an ambulance drove them to a hospital.
• In six cases, patients were discharged soon after the chopper left them at hospitals or they were transported in long ambulance rides after the helicopter dropped them off.
• 13 of the 26 medevac crashes happened while patients were being flown to hospitals.
• Many of the patients had to wait for hours for a helicopter to arrive and while it was readied for take off.

• One patient was transported by air just 10 miles to a hospital.

Since last month’s accident, the state of Maryland has defended its approximately 4,500 medevac flights a year, saying that they are needed to save lives. It also has implemented a change that will limit the number of flights that are not medically necessary. While patients with serious injuries will be flown by helicopter when air travel will help save their lives by reducing travel time, doctors will have to be consulted before patients with less severe injuries can be transported by medical helicopter.

Meantime, doctors are calling for a review of medevac flights from a medical perspective and whether new guidelines need to be put in place to make sure that a person’s injuries or illness warrants the urgency of air travel.

Unnecessary flight risks?, BaltimoreSun.com, October 23, 2008
Doctors question use of medevac helicopter, UPI.com, October 23, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Copter lacked equipment, BaltimoreSun.com, October 24, 2008
Medevac helicopters under scrutiny, USA Today, September 29, 2008

Former Patient Files $77 Million Maryland Personal Injury Lawsuit Against Sinai Hospital and Security Guard for Assault

October 21, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, a man who previously sought medical treatment at Sinai Hospital for depression is suing the hospital and security guard Timothy Hough for $77 million. The former patient, Gerrod Lewis, says that Hough assaulted him in the hospital emergency room on Labor Day.

Sinai Hospital acknowledges that an unfortunate altercation happened but maintains that Hough was “defending himself” against Louis, who they accuse of being “violent and out-of-control.” Hough continues to work at the hospital.

According to Lewis’s Maryland personal injury lawsuit, Hough started beating him on the head after he refused to remove his earring. Lewis maintains that the assault occurred in an exam room after an emergency technician left him alone with Hough. Lewis, who sustained head and eye injuries from the incident that occurred on September 1, alleges that Hough struck him about 20 times until he was on the ground in “puddles of blood.”

Maryland Judge Refuses to Dismiss Entire Sex Abuse Lawsuit Against Former Howard County Teacher

October 13, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Howard County Circuit Court, Judge Joseph Manck dismissed two out of five civil claims against former teacher Kirsten Kinley in the Maryland sexual abuse lawsuit against her. Kinley, a former teacher at Hammond Middle School, had asked that the entire lawsuit be dismissed.

Kinley pleaded guilty to a third-degree sex offense for having a sexual relationship with the plaintiff in 2004 when he was 15. She is serving her 18-month sentence in the Howard County Detention Center.

The student, now 18, who never studied directly under Kinley, sued the former teacher for sexual abuse in February. The plaintiff’s lawsuit alleges negligence, battery, and emotional distress.

Maryland Attorney Sues Baltimore For Burn Injuries Caused By Fall Accident into Construction Hole

October 10, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, a North Baltimore attorney that sustained serious personal injuries after falling into a construction hole is suing the city, a number of Trigen-Baltimore Energy Corp. entities, Ligon & Ligon Inc., and Johnson Controls Inc. Arianne Spaccarelli sustained serious burn injuries to nearly half her body in the fall accident that occurred in 2005.

In her Maryland personal injury lawsuit filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court, Spaccarelli and her husband Robert Galassi blame the party’s negligence for her fall into the steam pit. The accident occurred at the intersection of Saratoga Street and Guilford Avenue when the couple was walking back to her car after dinner.

Spaccarelli had been walking next to a fenced off construction area, when she fell into the pit. The lawsuit maintains that the construction hole existed beyond the fence. Her husband pulled her out of the hole, but not before she sustained second-and third-degree burns on more than 43% her of her body.

Mother Files $10 Million Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Security Guard Company that Employed Her Daughter’s Boyfriend

October 8, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The mother of Latasha Harris, a 31-year-old Baltimore City woman that was murdered in her apartment, is suing the security guard company for wrongful death. The lawsuit, filed in a Maryland court against US Protect Services, is seeking $10 million dollars and accuses the company of not doing enough to stop one of its employees—who happened to be Harris’s live-in boyfriend—from shooting her.

The deadly shooting took place in March in Southwest Baltimore when Harris’s boyfriend, Jerry Bennett, shot her before shooting himself. Bennett had a gun because he was a security guard employed by US Protect Services.

According to the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit, the security guard company should have taken the company-issued weapon away from Bennett after he became violent at work and attacked a coworker.