Car Accidents

Two-Vehicle Crash in Montgomery County Claims Two Lives and Leaves Two Injury Victims

August 8, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

On Sunday, two people died and two others sustained serious injuries in a two-vehicle collision in Montgomery County, Maryland at Lori and East Randolph Drives. Residents in the area say this fatal crash is a dangerous corner especially when motorists are driving too fast or speeding.

The deadly crash this weekend happened when a Honda Accord crossed a concrete median and crashed into a Toyota Camry. The driver of the Accord, Jose Reyes-Argueta, and one of his passengers, 19-year-old Kimberly Diaz, were declared dead at the accident scene. The other passenger was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the Camry, Silver Springs resident Jabari Demessa, also sustained serious injuries.

Neighbors in the area want the government to do more to prevent such deadly accidents from happening. In 2003, the Maryland government spent about $500,000 to install median strips. Local residents want more median strips installed and they also want the speed limited reduced from 40 mph to 35 mph.

At least six people have died on the stretch of rode where Sunday’s accident occurred. Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

Speed Limits

Regardless of what the speed limit is for a road, motorists are expected to pay attention to the weather and road conditions and adjust their speed in order to drive safely. The proper speed limits are also supposed to be set for each road. While there are basic speed limits designated for Maryland’s streets and highways, the limits can be adjusted, however, depending on the actual road design and other conditions, such as whether there is a school nearby or motor vehicle crashes continue to occur.

In Maryland and Washington DC, our car crash law firm will send a team to the accident scene to determine the cause of the crash.

Two Killed in Montgomery County Crash, News8, August 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Speed Limits, Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Motorist that Crashed into Crowd at Illegal Street Race in Maryland Charged with Vehicular Manslaughter

August 6, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, a grand jury has indicted Tavon Taylor and Darren James Bullock on eight counts of vehicular manslaughter, as well as charges of engaging in a speed contest and reckless driving. Eight people died in the deadly motor vehicle accident last February in Prince George’s County, while eight others sustained injuries.

The two men are accused of illegally racing each other on Indian Head Highway before they ran into the crowd that was watching another illegal race. The victims were among the many spectators.

While Maryland authorities have accused Bullock of driving his car into the crowd, they have refused to say whether Taylor struck anyone with his car. A surveillance camera shows Bullock and Taylor speeding with their headlights off at speeds as high as 110mph. At Taylor’s bond hearing this week, the prosecution accused Taylor of “repeatedly deceiving” authorities about what happened. The defense attorneys for both men say that their clients never meant to hurt anyone.

If you or someone you love was seriously injured in a motor vehicle crash because a motorist or someone else was negligent or reckless, an experienced Maryland car crash lawyer can investigate the crash scene to determine whether you are entitled to financial compensation for injuries, pain and suffering, and other losses incurred.

Speeding Facts

• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 13,192 people died in speeding-related accidents in 2004.

• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that after a number of states increased their speed limits in 1996, the number of motor vehicle deaths on Interstate highways increased by about 15%.

Driver Who Hit Crowd, Killing 8, Is Charged, WashingtonPost.com, July 30, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Speeding, Saferoads.org

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Six People Are Hurt in Anne Arundel County Car Collision

July 15, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland’s Anne Arundel County, six people were injured on Monday morning in an accident involving a Ford pickup truck and a Honda Accord. Police say the driver of the Accord lost control of the motor vehicle and swerved into the opposite lane where it became involved in a head-on crash with the truck.

Edward Lawrence Paquette, the driver of the Honda, sustained life-threatening injuries. Rescue crews had to extricate him from the wreckage before he was transported to Anne Arundel Medical Center and later to Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

The truck’s front-seat passenger, Christine Oakes, also sustained life-threatening injuries. Gary Oakes and three children, also in the pickup, were taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital for their injuries. Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

According to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, head-on collisions are happening more often and resulting in fatalities.

Data gathered from 2003 shows that there were 366 fatal cross-media collisions on US freeways that year. 2002 statistics report that there were 680 deaths related to these kinds of accidents.

There is no leading cause of head-on crashes. Driver fatigue, driver inattention, speeding, incorrect lane changes, and drunk driving have all been known to result in cross-over accidents.

Other Kinds of Vehicle-Related Crashes:

• Single car crash
• Rear-end collision
• Rollovers
• Multi-vehicle accidents
• Side collisions

In Maryland and Washington DC, our car crash lawyers have helped many motor vehicle crash victims obtain recovery for the injuries and losses they have suffered.

6 injured in accident on Ritchie Highway, BaltimoreSun.com, July 14, 2008

Freeways: Severe, head-on crashes and deaths are increasing

Related Web Resource:

National Cooperative Highway Research Program

NHTSA Examines 2.7 Million General Motors SUVs and Trucks for Potential Fire Hazard

June 27, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is taking a closer look at 21 General Motors truck and SUV models that were made between 2006 and 2008 over concerns of a potential fire hazard.

Over 2.7 million GM vehicles are part of the probe to see if a fire might ignite inside the engine when the ignition is turned on. According to the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), there have been 41 reports of non-crash engine compartment fires, with 8 of these incidents resulting in substantial property damage.

Investigators are looking at the engine, the electrical system, the battery cables, the circuit breakers, the fuses, wiring, and the engine cooling system as part of their probe.

Car Fires

Car fires can be deadly. In 2004, 520 people died as a result of a car fire in the United States, and there were 266,000 motor vehicle fires overall. While poor maintenance or involvement in a traffic collision can sometimes cause a car fire, fluid leaks, loose wiring, cracked insulation, or other defects can also lead to auto fires.

The burn injuries that can result when someone is hurt in a car fire can be excruciatingly painful, and a fire victim may need to undergo painful surgeries to recover.

If you were injured or your property was damaged in a car fire, our Maryland products liability lawyers can determine whether your injuries were caused by a defect in the car. A product can become defective if its design was defective or because of mistakes made during manufacturing. Your product also may have a defect as a result of negligent marketing.

Feds Investigating Engine Fires in GM Trucks, SUVs, US News and World Report, June 19, 2008
NHTSA Investigates 2.7 Million GM Trucks, SUVs, Consumer Affairs, June 17, 2008
New Warning to Be Issued About Deadly Car Fires, ABC News, October 12, 2005

Related Web Resource:

General Motors

NHTSA Wants to Delay Deadline for New Auto Roof Standards

June 25, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration needs more time to revise its auto roof standards. The deadline to toughen the current regulation setting standards, which are 35 years old, is July 1, but the NHTSA is allowed to ask the US Congress for an extension.

The NHTSA’s current proposal, introduced in 2005, requires new roofs to be able to endure a force equal to 2.5 times the weight of a vehicle, while allowing for enough head room protection for the average adult male. It also calls for testing both sides of a roof. The current standard calls for a roof to withstand 1.5 times it’s vehicles weight and the testing of only one side of the roof.

The auto strength regulations are designed to provide safety protection for people that are involved in rollover accidents, which account for 1/3rd of all motor vehicle fatalities. About10,000 people are killed in rollover accidents each year.

The NHTSA has said that increasing the weight standard to the proposed regulations should save 13-44 lives and prevent some 800 injuries annually. Opponents of the current proposal, however, say that the new proposed standard is not enough. Some critics also want the NHTSA to get rid of a provision in the new proposal that prevents injured plaintiffs from filing state injury lawsuits if the vehicle involved in the accident had met the new roof safety standards.

While motor vehicle rollover accidents can happen because of driver negligence, there are rollover crashes that do occur because of defects in the design or manufacture of a motor vehicle, including a poorly designed roof structure, an auto designed with a gravity center that is too high, and defective tires.

Our Maryland and Washington DC law firm has helped drivers and passengers injured in accidents obtain compensation from negligent auto manufacturers. We have the resources and experience to successfully take on your case.

New auto roof rules delayed, DetNews.com, June 23, 2008
`Roof Crush’ Rule for Rollovers Faces Deadline, Bloomberg.com, June 17, 2007
Related Web Resource:
Roof Crush Resistance Proposal, NHTSA

Prince George County Residents Calling for Speed Bumps After Car Hits Child Bicyclist

May 23, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a South Laurel neighborhood in Prince George County, Maryland, residents are renewing their efforts to get officials to install speed bumps after a 7-year-old bicyclist was hit by a speeding motor vehicle earlier this month. The boy sustained serious head trauma.

According to the Montgomery County, Maryland Web site, 214 people died in speeding-related accidents in 2005—accounting for 35% of all Maryland motor vehicle deaths. That same year, 85% of all speeding-related deaths in the United States occurred roads other than US highways.

Residents say that this injury incident is just one more example of why measures need to be taken to slow down speeding drivers. They want speed bumps installed close to the residential areas—especially because so many pedestrians are students going to and from school. In some areas where there is heavy student traffic, there are no sidewalks to keep kids safe.

Briarwood Civic Association President Katrina Meza says that her efforts to have speed bumps installed have been rejected by the Department of Public Works and Transportation.

A Public Works department spokesperson says that a 2004 survey found that no speed bumps are necessary even after taking into consideration the amount of pedestrian traffic, the general speed of traffic, rush hours, and the hours of student commute.

If you or someone you love was seriously hurt in a Maryland injury accident, do not hesitate to contact our personal injury law firm right away. We can prove if a driver, a property owner, your municipal or state government, a doctor, a nursing home, a product manufacturer, or anyone else was negligent and could have prevented the injury accident from happening.

Accident revives push to slow speeding cars, Laurel Leader, May 22, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Speeding Facts

Speed Bumps

Survey Shows that 1 out of every 3 Motorists in Maryland Text Message While Driving

May 22, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A survey by Vlingo, the voice recognition software company, found that one out of every three drivers in Maryland text messages when driving.

Maryland ranks fourth among US states with the worst text messaging driver offenders. 36% of all Maryland drivers reportedly send and receive messages via their cell phones while on the roads. Washington DC was not ranked in the survey.

According to University of Utah psychology Professor Frank Drews, motorists have a 50% greater chance of becoming involved in a motor vehicle accident while talking on cell phones and driving at the same time. A driver has a six-fold chance of getting into a car accident when text messaging. Professor Drews’s study involved college students in controlled driving situations.

Across the United States, 28% of people that use cell phones say they send text messages when driving their automobiles. 50% of teen drivers say they text message while on the road. 52% of 20 to 29-year-olds are also guilty of this bad habit.

Currently, Maryland bans teen motorists from using cell phones at all while driving. The Insurance Information Institute Report cites that the two dangers associated with cell phones while driving is that 1) people inevitably take their eyes off the road and 2) their driving ability is seriously impaired because they are not concentrating on the road or observing the other vehicles and pedestrians.

A 2006 study released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that driver inattention within three seconds of an accident affected 80% of motor vehicle crashes and 65% of near collisions.

Please contact our Maryland auto accident law firm if you or someone you love was seriously injured in a car collision involving driver negligence.

More than 1 in 3 Md., Va. drivers text message while on the road, Examiner.com, May 22, 2008
Cell Phones and Driving, Insurance Information Institute, May 2008

Related Web Resource:

State Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association
Driving While Texting: A Clear Danger, CBS News, November 22, 2006

Vlingo

Howard County Residents Says Stretch of US 1 in Jessup Where Four People Died in Car-Truck Collision is Scene of Many Maryland Auto Accidents

April 23, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A deadly Maryland car accident during yesterday’s rush hour on US 1 in Jessup involving a truck and a Nissan Altima has left four people dead and a 4-year-old girl and two adults injured. The fatalities are an infant girl, two women, and the driver of the car.

The 4-year-old was reportedly in critical condition when she was transported by air to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. The truck driver and his passenger, both employees of a liquor company, sustained minor injuries and were transported to Howard County General Hospital for medical attention.

According to witnesses, the Altima crossed over the double yellow-line in the middle and ran head-on into the truck. Howard County Police say they do not expect to file criminal charges against the truck driver.

Residents in the area say that this stretch of US 1 is a common site for car accidents. One Brentwood Manor resident says that at least seven motor vehicle crashes have occurred in less than two years. Others in the area say that crashes and rear end accidents occur monthly.

Other residents cited heavy traffic and the 50 mph speed limit as reasons for why the strip of freeway is a common scene for auto collisions. Other residents say that installing a traffic light could decrease the number of motor vehicle accidents at the intersection.

The State Highway Administration says that it has not received any requests to examine the stretch of road.

If someone you love has died in Maryland or Washington D.C. in an auto accident that you believe was caused by a negligent driver or because the proper traffic signs and signals or other safety measures were not put in place, one of our Maryland auto accident lawyers can explore the merits of your case. You may be entitled to personal injury compensation.

Examples of hazards on a road that can be remedied:

• Fixed objects on a road, such as trees and open culverts
• Potholes
• Roads that need resurfacing
• Confusing traffic signs
• Improperly designated construction zones
Jessup crash on U.S. 1 kills 4, Baltimore Sun, April 23, 2008
Howard Co. Police Investigate Fatal Jessup Crash, WJZ.com, April 23, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Howard County, Maryland

1 Toddler and Several Others Injured When MTA Train and Van Collide in Baltimore, Maryland

March 20, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

An 11-month girl was injured after she was struck by a van that collided with an MTA light rail train on Thursday in Downtown Baltimore, Maryland. She was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital’s pediatric center.

The driver of the van was a U.S. Naval Academy midshipman. He also was taken to a local hospital but did not sustain any serious injuries. Several light rail passengers are reporting injuries from the accident.

The motor vehicle collision occurred early in the morning. The van reportedly ran a red light and was struck by the MTA light rail train. The force of the collision caused the van to spin onto the sidewalk and strike the stroller with the toddler in it.

If you believe that someone you love was seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident, you should contact our Maryland personal injury law firm right away. Our motor vehicle accident attorneys also handle cases involving injuries to minors.

Running a Red Light

Running a red light is a commonly occurring traffic violation that can lead to serious injuries for other drivers and pedestrians and cause serious property damage to motor vehicles involved in any related collisions.

According to the NHTSA, there were over 3,500 traffic accidents in Maryland involving red light violations in 1995—resulting in 34 fatalities and 4,256 injuries. Maryland is one of a handful of U.S. states that use red-light cameras in a few areas—including Montgomery and Prince George’s counties—in an effort to prevent people from running red lights.

Types of Accidents from Running a Red Light, include:
• Colliding with cars coming from the left or ride side of the driver’s path that now have green light authorization to move forward.

• Striking a pedestrian.

Rail commute delayed, several injured in downtown collision, Baltimore Sun, March 20, 2008
Red Light Violations in Maryland, NHTSA

Related Web Resources:

D.C. Red-Light Cameras Fail to Reduce Accidents, Washington Post, October 4, 2005
Red Light Running, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

General Motors Settles Auto Defect Injury Claim Involving GMC Yukon

March 19, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

General Motors Corporation will pay an undisclosed settlement amount to California resident Michael Samardzich, whose left eye was ruptured and became permanently blind when the GMC Yukon that he was a passenger in collided with another motor vehicle on July 7, 2006. The teenager filed a products liability claim against the auto manufacturing giant for his injuries.

The force of the crash shattered the side passenger window of the SUV and the pieces of glass damaged Samardzich’s eye. Police reports indicate that he was wearing a seatbelt when the auto accident occurred.

Personal injury attorneys for Samardzich say that the teenager would not have suffered the permanent loss of vision if GM had made the passenger window with laminated glass instead of tempered glass, which is less costly and is known to break and shatter more easily.

The fragility of tempered glass can be a problem when a motor vehicle crash occurs. Not only can pieces of glass cut the victim’s skin or get into their eyes or other organs, but passengers in a vehicle have a greater chance of being thrown from the vehicle if the glass in the side windows is shattered.

Auto manufacturers know that laminated glass is the stronger glass, which is why this type of glass is used in the windshields of all motor vehicles sold in the United States.

In Maryland and Washington D.C., our personal injury law firm represents clients that have been injured in motor vehicle accidents caused by negligent drivers, defective auto parts, and other negligent parties.

Defective auto parts cases may involve:

• Defective tires
• Seat back failure
• Auto recalls
• SUV rollovers
• Faulty air bags
• Roof crushes
• Gasoline tank explosions
• Defective door latches
• Defective seat belts
General Motors Agrees To Settle Automobile Defect Claim For Undisclosed Sum, RTT News, February 20, 2008
General Motors Settles in Auto Defect Claim; Plaintiff Claimed Laminated Sidelites Would Have Protected Him, GlassBytes.com

Related Web Resource:

Coalition for Auto Glass Safety and Public Awareness