Maryland Accident Law Blog

Truck Safety Advocates’ Lawsuit Wants to Limit the Number of Hours Truckers Can Work

December 27, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Washington D.C. on Thursday, truck safety advocates asked a federal court to block a ruling by the Transportation Department that lets commercial truckers work longer hours.

The Bush Administration had upped the number of hours that truck drivers could work without going on a break to 11 hours (prior to this rule, truck drivers were required to stop and rest after 10 hours). They are also allowed to drive up to 70 hours a week.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Web site lists the Hours-Of-Service Rules for Truck Drivers:

• Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers can only drive 11 hours maximum after 10 hours off duty.
• CMV Drivers cannot drive after the 14th hour on duty.
• CMV Drivers cannot drive after 60/70 hours on duty within 7/8 workdays in a row.

• CMV drivers with a berth in their truck have to take 10 hours off. They can split the time in the berth in two, although both times must not last less than two hours.

Truck safety advocates convinced a federal court to block the implementation of this rule. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, however, was still able to implement an interim rule, which places the maximum number of hours a day that a trucker can drive at 11 hours. Advocates now want a federal court to block this rule.

Driver fatigue is a primary cause of truck accidents that can lead to serious injuries and the wrongful death of innocent motorists, motorcyclists, passengers, and pedestrians.

Lawsuit seeks to limit truckers’ hours, CNN.com, December 21, 2007
Hours-of-Service Regulations, FMCSA

Related Web Resource:

Truck Safety Coalition

Pedestrian Fatalities Spur Call for Maryland Counties to Implement Safety Initiatives

December 23, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In 2006, 96 pedestrians died in traffic accidents on Maryland’s roads. There are four areas where 70% of the fatalities occurred: Montgomery County, Baltimore County, Prince George’s County, and Baltimore City.

Maryland law mandates that drivers yield to pedestrians. However, this doesn’t always happen, and many pedestrians are injured or killed in car accident, motorcycle crashes, or truck collisions as a result. Out of the four problem areas highlighted, only Montgomery County has a plan to combat the problem of pedestrian accidents.

In Baltimore City, there were 16 pedestrian fatalities in 2006. 14 deaths took place in Baltimore County. 18 pedestrian fatalities occurred in Montgomery County, with 16 deaths occurring so far this year.

Installing new traffic signs, pedestrian traffic signs, and pedestrian countdowns, and adding education initiatives are some of the ways that pedestrian injuries can be reduced.

The high number of pedestrian deaths in Montgomery County inspired an initiative there that will include better pedestrian signals, the construction of several miles of sidewalks, and targeting careless drivers and jaywalkers.

Ways to Implement Pedestrian Safety in Your Area:

• Ask your delegate to create better crosswalk laws
• Teach children to cross roads safely
• Organize a pedestrian safety campaign

Although there are safety measures that all of us can take to avoid becoming injured in a pedestrian accident, there will be times when a negligent car driver, motorcyclist, or truck driver causes an accident that injures or kills a pedestrian. Traffic and pedestrian signs may malfunction or a motor vehicle may be unable to stop in time because of defective breaks.

If you are injured in a pedestrian accident anywhere in Maryland or Washington D.C., you should speak with a pedestrian accident lawyer right away.

Pedestrian deaths spur new initiatives in some counties, Gazette.net, December 20, 2007

Related Web Resource:

Maryland Strategic Highway Safety Plan

Pedestrians, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Family of Slain New York Times Reporter David Rosenbaum Settles Medical Malpractice Lawsuit with Howard University Hospital in Washington D.C.

December 21, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Washington D.C., Howard University Hospital and Daniel and Dorothy Rosenbaum, the adult children of deceased New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum, have reached a settlement in the medical malpractice and negligence lawsuit filed against D.C. emergency workers and the hospital.

The 63-year-old reporter, who had just retired after 30 years of working for the Times, was seriously injured during a street robbery in Northwest Washington D.C. on January 26, 2006. Rosenbaum’s son and daughter filed their medical malpractice and negligence lawsuit a year ago last November after the D.C. inspector general’s office found that paramedics, firefighters, police, and hospital personnel failed to treat Rosenbaum.

Emergency workers found Rosenbaum on the sidewalk in a barely conscious state. The report, however, says that they did not realize he was seriously injured. They thought he was drunk. The ambulance he was riding in took Rosenbaum to Howard University Hospital, instead of a hospital located closer to the crime scene, because one of the workers had personal business in that area.

Rosenbaum was placed on a gurney at the hospital where he was left unattended. A doctor did not examine him for over 90 minutes. He was finally given a neurological exam nearly four hours after he arrived at the hospital. He died two days later.

Rosenbaum’s children were also upset that police did not follow up on a lead related to a beating crime that occurred several weeks before their father was assaulted. One of the men convicted of attacking Rosenbaum was also the attacker in the earlier assault.

Rosenbaum’s children say the failures to act by emergency workers, police, and the hospital were partially responsible for their father’s death. Rosenbaum’s children reached a settlement with the District in March. They agreed to forgo financial compensation as long as the city revised the way its emergency medical response system works. The details of the agreement with Howard University Hospital remain confidential.

If someone you love died because of the negligence of a hospital, police, emergency workers, a nursing home staff, or anyone else, you should contact a Maryland or Washington D.C. personal injury lawyer right away.

Hospitals are supposed to administer patients with a reasonable standard of care. Failure to do so is medical malpractice and grounds for a claim or lawsuit.

Rosenbaum Lawsuit Settled, Washington Post, December 21, 2007
Family of slain New York Times reporter settles medical malpractice lawsuit with D.C. hospital, IHT.com/AP, December 21, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Slain Journalist’s Family Files $20 Million Lawsuit, Washington Post, November 21, 2006

Howard University Hospital in Washington D.C.

Runaway Trailers Cause Catastrophic Injuries and Accidents in the United States

December 20, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Los Angeles Times says that there have been some 540 serious motor vehicle accidents involving runaway trailers in the United States since 2000. Hundreds of people have sustained injuries in these crashes, which usually involve at least one helpless victim getting caught in the wake of an out-of-control trailer. At least 164 fatalities have occurred in runaway trailer crashes in the last seven years—although statistics may be higher because news sources don’t always report these types of accidents.

The Times reviewed runaway trailer accidents involving trailers for transporting boats, gardening tools, horses, cars, and household goods. Many of these trailers were medium- or light-duty in size and owned by businesses or individuals.

Causes of runaway trailer crashes included failure to properly secure the trailer or follow other safety precautions due to ignorance, negligence, or carelessness.

Recent tragic trailer accidents include:

• In September, a motorist died in Florida when a runaway trailer struck her car.
• A Montana man was killed in August when a runaway trailer hit his pickup in a head-on crash.

• In 2006, Spencer Morgan and two of his 4-year-old triplets died when a 3-ton wood-chipper on wheels crashed into his mini-van. The third triplet, Ethan, survived his injuries, including a fractured skull.

The Federal Highway Administration says that there were 15.9 million light-duty trailers on U.S. roads in 2005. The Times says that the United States does little to prevent runaway trailer accidents from happening. A driver’s license is all that is required to tow a small or medium-sized trailer. No special training is required.

Accidents involving any kind of truck or trailer can lead to catastrophic injuries. The size and weight of a truck or trailer and the speed that it is going at the time of the collision can result in spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, massive internal injuries, and wrongful death. Drivers whose carelessness or negligence caused a trailer to come loose are liable for any injuries caused to other motorists, car passengers, bicyclists, or pedestrians.

Runaway trailers leave random victims, Los Angeles Times, December 9, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Personal Injury in Maryland
Questions To Ask A Personal Injury Lawyer During Your Consultationw, Buzzle.com

Maryland Girl is Third Attack Victim on an MTA Bus This Month

December 19, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A teenager was stabbed in the arm on a Maryland Transit Administration bus No. 51 in Maryland yesterday. Baltimore police arrested two juveniles in connection to the assault. The assault occurred near Mondawmin Mall when a fight broke out in the back of the bus.

The bus driver pressed the emergency alarm button to alert MTA and Baltimore police. The girl ran away from the bus and was later found by police.

This was the third attack on a Maryland bus this month. Last week, two men were attacked by five others on MTA Bus 64. On December 4, several black teenagers attacked a white couple on an MTA bus in Hampden. The attack left 26-year-old Sarah Kreager seriously injured. Nine juveniles were charged in the December 4 attack.

If you are a victim of a crime on a bus and the bus company did not put in place the proper safety measures to prevent your crime from occurring—especially if similar crimes had recently been committed on other buses in the area—you may be able to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit against the bus company.

You should speak with an experienced Maryland personal injury lawyer right away. That said, filing any kind of personal injury lawsuit against a bus, a bus driver, or a bus company—especially a public bus—can be complicated. This is why you need to work with a personal injury attorney who knows how to handle these types of cases.

Victims of crimes that occur on another person’s property due to inadequate security can be grounds for a premises liability lawsuit against the negligent property owner. The proprietor or owner of a premise or building must take steps to ensure that the property is safe for residents, visitors, employees, and patrons.

A person also may be able to file an inadequate security if he or she was injured due to insufficient security at a shopping mall, amusement park, office building, apartment building, convenient store, restaurant, or on a cruise ship, elevator, or bus.

Teenage girl stabbed on MTA bus, Baltimore Sun, December 19, 2007
Surveillance Photos Released In MTA Bus Attack, WJZ.com, December 15, 2007

Related Web Resource:

Maryland Transit Administration

Deadly Fire Truck Collision in Baltimore, Maryland Leaves Three People Dead

December 12, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Three people died in Baltimore on Sunday when their SUV was hit by a Baltimore City fire truck at the intersection of Clarks Lane and Park Heights Avenue.

The deadly crash happened after 3 am when a ladder truck, rushing to the scene of an apartment building fire struck the Nissan SUV. The force of impact sent the sports utility vehicle careening into a utility pole.

Married couple Mikhail and Iryna Patrov and their friend Igor Saub were taken to Sinai Hospital where they were declared dead. Igor leaves behind a fiancé. A family friend says his body will have to be flown back to Ukraine. The Petrovs are Ukranian. They leave behind a grown daughter and son. The three victims were returning from a party when the fatal motor vehicle crash happened.

The ladder truck, which drove off the road and down an embankment, was carrying four fire officials. All four of them were treated for minor injuries.

If someone you love has died in a car accident caused by another party’s negligence, you may be able to sue the negligent person or entity for wrongful death.

Sources say that a surveillance camera has video footage of the fire truck speeding into the intersection. A second unit may have seen the ladder truck run a red light.

Maryland and Baltimore both require that emergency vehicles stop at red lights and use lights and sirens when rushing to an emergency scene.

Fire officials and police are investigating the scene to determine who caused the accident. The intersection reportedly does not have a turn signal. One resident who lives in the area says that motor vehicle accidents are a frequent occurrence at this intersection.

Surviving family members may be able to recover medical costs, funeral expenses, loss of companionship, loss of support, and other related losses.

Family Plans Funerals after Fire Truck Crash, ABC2news.com, December 11, 2007
Three people killed after SUV, fire truck crash in city, Baltimore Sun.com, December 11, 2007
Investigation Continues Into Fire Truck Accident, WJZ.com, December 11, 2007

Related Web Resource:

Maryland Wrongful Death Statute (PDF)

Family of Murdered Baltimore Woman Files $14 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit

December 11, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Shirley Cooper, a 72-year-old Baltimore resident who was murdered at the Temple Gardens apartment complex, has filed a $14 million wrongful death lawsuit against ETG Associates and Roizman Development because of the inadequate security that allegedly allowed an intruder to kill Shirley on June 2.

The attacker stabbed Shirley Cooper multiple times at her home. Her son, Leo Cooper, found her body. No arrests were made and police in Maryland closed the case when their number one suspect was discovered dead. The $14 million figure was chosen to symbolize the number of times Cooper’s assailant stabbed her.

The wrongful death lawsuit claims that the intruder was able to enter Cooper’s apartment because of lax security. The entryway through which the murderer came in was not monitored and security cameras in the building were either not operating correctly or were improperly installed.

The owners and managers of apartment complexes, senior residents, hospitals, shopping malls, parking lots, banks, restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, motels, hotels, office buildings, and other privately and publicly owned premises are supposed to ensure that proper safety precautions are in place to prevent visitors, patrons, customers, or residents from getting hurt while on their premise.

Failure to do so can be grounds for a premises liability claim or lawsuit if someone is injured in a crime that was committed due to inadequate security—especially if the owner of the property had been warned of potential problems before the crime occurred. A wrongful death lawsuit may result if the crime victim dies.

Crimes leading to injuries that occurred on a premise due to inadequate security include robbery, physical assault, sexual assault rape, assault involving a deadly weapon, and murder. Stab wounds, gunshot wounds, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, bruises and scratches, sexual assault-related injuries, mental trauma, emotional anguish, and wrongful death are some of the injuries that can result in an inadequate security-related crime.

Family files $14M lawsuit over security, Examiner.com, November 15, 2007
Suing the Landlord: Negligent-security suits present problems of proof, causation, The Daily Record, December 9, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Inadequate Security: The New Liability Crisis

Maryland Woman Dies in “Freak” Tractor-Trailer Crash in Montgomery County

December 10, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Silver Spring resident Norma Almeraya-Soria, 35, died on November 21 after she was hit by a tractor-trailer in Montgomery County, Maryland. Almeraya-Soria was on the curb near the sidewalk at the intersection of Columbia Pike and Stewart Lane in Silver Spring when the axle of a tractor-trailer trying to make a turn broke.

Almeraya-Soria ended up under the trailer and died at the accident scene. Her body remained under the truck for a number of hours before it could be recovered. Police in Maryland are investigating whether a mechanical failure was responsible for the freak accident. The tractor-trailer, owned by Pet Valu, a Canadian pet store with branches in Maryland, was carrying pet supplies.

If you were injured in a tractor-trailer crash caused by another party’s negligence or carelessness or if someone you love died in a motor vehicle accident that was someone else’s fault, you should contact a Maryland or Washington D.C. truck collision lawyer right away to find out of you have grounds for filing a truck accident or wrongful death claim or lawsuit.

Mechanical failures and defective truck parts are among the most common causes of accidents involving large trucks. It is important to hire an experienced truck accident lawyer who knows how to determine whether a personal injury or wrongful death accident occurred because the breaks, the steering wheel, a tire, the engine, or another vehicle part was defective.

The owner of the truck is liable for making sure that the vehicle is properly maintained and operational before taking it out on the road.

A mechanical failure may be the fault of the truck driver, the truck owner, the maintenance shop, or the manufacturer. There may be more than one party that can be held liable for the truck accident injury or death.

2006 Truck Accident Statistics:

• 4,732 large trucks were involved in deadly accidents.
• 4,995 people died in accidents involving large trucks.
• There were 57,213 big trucks involved in injury accidents.

• 85,984 people were injured in accidents involving huge trucks.

Woman Hit, Killed In ‘Freak’ Tractor-Trailer Accident, MSNBC.com, November 22, 2007
2006 National Crash Facts, Ai.volpe.dot.gov

Related Web Resource:

Trucking Industry Statistics and Causes of Truck Accidents, Road Safe America.org

Woman Infected with HIV from Organ Transplant Did Not Know Donor Was High-Risk

December 4, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A woman infected with HIV and hepatitis from the kidney she received from a donor says she was not notified that her donor was high-risk. She also says that she previously turned down another donor due to his “lifestyle.”

Her attorney in Illinois asked the Cook County Circuit Court to prevent the organ procurement center and the hospital where she received her transplant from modifying or destroying any records related to her case. He claims that both the University of Chicago and the Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network were aware that the kidney belonged to a patient who was at high-risk of getting HIV.

The CDC’s guidelines mandates that gay men who are sexually active should not be allowed to donate their organs unless the patient is in danger of dying immediately.

Officials at the University of Chicago claim that they followed the proper guidelines when arranging for the transplant. The woman’s attorney, however, claims that guidelines were not followed when the woman was not notified of the patient’s status and she wasn’t tested for HIV immediately after the transplant. She was also told that her donor was a healthy male.

The woman received a new kidney in January. She was diagnosed with HIV and hepatitis on November 1. Her HIV medical treatment is negatively affecting her kidneys.

Gift of Hope was also involved in the donor process of the four other patients who were diagnosed with HIV following their transplants. All four of them received their transplants from a donor who died following a traumatic brain injury. An initial HIV test on the donor had come back with a negative result.

Over 300,000 people receive transplants in the United States every year.

If you or someone you love has became injured or ill because of a medical error, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit against the hospital, doctor, surgeon, medical center, or anyone else who can be held liable for causing your injuries or sickness.

Failure to follow proper procedures, failure to obtain informed consent, performing the wrong surgery, mistakes during surgery, failure to diagnose, or providing a patient with the wrong treatment are some of the many errors that can result in a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit.

Chances of infection low, organ donation official says, The Jeffersonian.com, November 27, 2007
Lawyer: Woman who got HIV wasn’t told organ donor was risk, USA Today, November 16, 2007
Four Transplant Recipients Contract HIV, Hepatitis C From High-Risk Organ Donor, The Body Pro, November 14, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network

The Living Legacy Foundation, MDTransplant.org

Maryland Family Files Class Action Injury Lawsuit Against Constellation Energy After Husband Dies From Drinking Contaminated Water

December 3, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anne Arundel resident Gayle K. Queen filed a class action lawsuit against power company Constellation Energy last week. Constellation Energy is the largest power company in Maryland.

Queen says her husband David died of kidney failure in 2006 because he drank water with traces of arsenic, lead, and other pollutants. At least five other people have died from suspicious reasons in the same area.

For the last 12 years—until early this fall—Constellation and a contractor dumped billions of tons of waste ash from smokestacks into an unlined former gravel mine pit located close to the neighborhood where Queen resides. The waste ash, also called fly ash, came from Constellation’s coal-fired power plant in Brandon Shores.

The claim filed in Baltimore circuit court is a class action lawsuit intending to represent dozens of residents seeking unspecified damages from Constellation Energy in personal injuries and property value loss.

Before reports exposing the contamination surfaced, Gayle Queen had been considering offers on her house for up to $750,000. The offers disappeared once the information about the contamination surfaced.

Tests conducted by Anne Arundel County discovered that 23 wells tested positive for dangerous metals, including thallium, arsenic, and cadmium (all components of waste ash). Constellation Energy just recently stopped burying ash in that area.

Queen’s lawsuit alleges that even though Constellation knew as early as 1999 that the dump was contaminating the water in the neighborhood, the power company did not warn local residents. The lawsuit claims that Constellation Energy even purposely engaged in a campaign to prevent neighbors from knowing about the waste materials.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured because of exposure to a hazardous or toxic substance, a personal injury lawyer can help you determine whether you have grounds to file a claim or lawsuit against the negligent party.

Gambrills Family Suit Claims Water Fouled by Dump, Baltimore Sun, November 30, 2007
MD Family Sues Power Co. Over Well Contamination, Water Technology Online, November 30, 2007
Homeowners Sue Over Dumping of Chemicals, Washington Post, November 30, 2007

Related Web Resource:

Constellation Energy Group