Articles Posted in Car Accidents

Maryland State Police have revealed the names of those who were injured last Saturday in Fruitland, Maryland, when a Hispanic male driving a Pontiac Sunfire GT on Route 13 struck a Pontiac Grand Am and a Honda Ridgeline pickup. The driver is believed to have been driving under the influence. His passenger, also a Hispanic male, was declared dead at the car accident scene.

According to police, the drunk driver had been speeding through the Route 13 and Hayward Avenue intersection, when he struck both the Pontiac Grand Am and the pickup, as he tried to squeeze between the two of them at a stoplight while avoiding police. A police trooper had been chasing after the driver of the Pontiac Sunfire, who was driving his vehicle at a speed of more than 100 miles an hour.

The Pontiac Grand Am, driven by Charles Dvorak Sr., overturned at the median. The car had also been occupied by Dvorak’s wife Doris, and their children Rebecca, 10, and Charles Jr., 12. All of them were treated for non-life threatening injuries and later released from Peninsula Regional Medical Center. The occupants of the Honda Ridgeline, Tyrone and Virginia Strand, were also taken to PRMC where they were later released.

Injuries resulting from the negligence of another driver can be serious and life altering. There may even be injuries that seem minor at the time but later prove to be chronic and long-term—requiring constant medical treatment and care. This is why it is important that you speak with a personal injury lawyer right away if you have been injured in a car accident or any other kind of motor vehicle accident caused by the negligence of another driver or party.

There is a good chance that the negligent party’s insurance company will try to contact you immediately and work out a settlement agreement. There is also a very good chance that you will be offered a settlement that is not the maximum amount that you could receive for your accident.

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Yesterday, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley made it a crime to stage a car accident to steal insurance money. Bill HB1409, signed into law, would also limit the amount of access outsiders had to police reports so that perpetrators wouldn’t be able to secure the names of real crash victims and try to get them to take part in fake injury insurance scams. Conviction for illegally accessing these records could mean a $10,000 fine and up to 15 years in prison.

According to Howard Goldblatt, the government affairs director of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, these kinds of targeted fraud laws help prosecutors convict participants of insurance fraud rings, which are usually well-protected. The new law can convict kingpins directly so that prosecutors won’t have to go through other laws.

The coalition says that the Baltimore-Washington D.C. corridor is a popular target for auto-fraud rings. These kinds of groups usually try to put as many passengers as possible into a motor vehicle which they can then crash into another car with passengers that are either involved in the scam also or are innocent participants. Participating injured parties will then file personal injury claims—usually for injuries that are hard to verify in terms of their extent.

Staging an auto crash scam would carry fines of three times the amount of insurance money stolen and up to 15 years in prison.

Maryland is the second U.S. state to pass this law, which becomes effective there on October 1, 2007.

Injuries from motor vehicle accidents are no joke—whether the injuries were inflicted intentionally or negligently. This is why it is important that you retain the services of an experienced personal injury lawyer who genuinely wants to help you achieve the maximum recovery possible for your legitimate injury so that you can recover from your pain, suffering, or loss.

If you are involved in a car accident, here are a number of steps to take right away:

• If possible, remove your vehicle out of the way of ongoing traffic.
• Check to see whether anyone has been injured. Call 911 if someone is hurt.
• Contact the police so that they can file a report documenting the accident. This could be evidence on your behalf that could protect you from liability if you were not at fault.
• Get the contact information of everyone involved and give them your information also. Make sure you get their vehicle and insurance information.
• Take down the names and contact information of any witnesses.
• As soon as possible, write down as much information and details about the accident.

• If you have been seriously injured or another passenger in your vehicle has sustained a serious injury or is killed in the accident, contact a personal injury attorney immediately.

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A deadly multi-vehicle accident on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Bridge yesterday left three people dead and five others with injuries. The seven-car collision took place on the newer, three-lane span, just after 4pm, when a trailer being towed by an SUV broke loose and other drivers swerved their vehicles to avoid colliding with it. A flatbed truck, two pickup trucks, a working van, a car, and a tractor-trailer tanker rig were the other vehicles involved in the crash.

According to one witness, the tanker tried to stop and served into the middle lane. The one car involved in the collision and one of the pickup trucks were completely totaled. The SUV that had been towing the trailer appeared to not have sustained too much damage.

Police say that one of the injured persons was taken by helicopter to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

The pileup is said to be the worst accident on the bridge in over ten years and the third accident where three people have been killed in the three-lane span. Usually, the three lanes are for traffic going westbound—although sometimes the lanes are for two-way traffic. All three accidents where there were three fatalities took place when the span was accommodating two-way traffic.

If you have been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident in the state of Maryland, it is important that you speak with a personal injury lawyer who represents clients in this state.

Filing an injury claim can be complicated, and you want to retain the services of an attorney who can help you obtain the best results for your case, as well as the maximum recovery possible. If you go directly to an insurance company, they may negotiate a settlement with you that doesn’t fully reflect the extent of financial recovery that you are entitled to.

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David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize winning-journalist known for writing a number of well-regarded nonfiction books, including “The Best and the Brightest,” “The Powers that Be,” and “The Fifties,” died in a car accident on April 23 in Menlo Park, California. The 73-year-old writer was headed to an interview with Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle to talk about the famous 1958 NFL championship game between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts when the car he was riding in was hit by another vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle that Halberstam was riding in and the driver whose car struck Halberstam’s car were both injured. Halberstam was declared dead at the car accident scene from what early reports say were internal injuries.

Car accidents can lead to serious injuries, even death. Injuries in a car accident can include neck injuries, back injuries, head injuries, broken bones, fractures, severed limbs, burns, as well as minor injuries. If you are injured in a car accident, it is important that you seek medical help right away so your injuries can be treated. You should also document as many details of the accident as you can remember.

A good personal injury lawyer can help you get your injuries assessed so that you can claim the maximum recovery possible from the liable party.

Common Types of Recovery in Personal Injury Suits:

An injured party may seek to recover their losses in a civil lawsuit. Additionally, a victim’s family members may also be eligible to recover for losses suffered as a result of the victim’s injuries.

General Damages. General damages compensate losses related to the injury that are not easily quantifiable. General damages include compensation for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

Loss of Consortium. The spouse of an injured party may bring a claim for loss of consortium. Loss of consortium damages compensate the spouse for any lost affection, solace, comfort and sexual relations which may result after an injury. In some jurisdictions, parents may also recover for loss of consortium of a child.

Lost Earning Capacity. If an injury has interfered with a party’s ability to earn money in the future, the injured party may be entitled to damages for lost earning capacity. The court will consider a number of factors in determining how much the individual would have earned in ensuing years but for the injury.

Lost Wages. An injured party may recover any wages lost from the date of the injury to the date of settlement or judgment.

Medical Expenses. An injured party may recover medical expenses incurred in connection with the injury.

Punitive Damages. The goal of punitive damages is not to compensate the plaintiff, but to punish the defendant. Punitive damages may be awarded any time the defendant engages in reckless or intentional wrongdoing.

Wrongful Death. If a victim dies from their injuries, family members may bring a wrongful death action that will compensate them for the loss of the victim.

A personal injury attorney can also file a wrongful death claim if you are someone whose loved one was killed because of another’s negligence in a motor vehicle accident.

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In Frederick County, Maryland, a man and woman in a Chrysler Sebring died last Wednesday in a car crash resulting from a road rage incident.

Maryland State Police say that according to witnesses, the driver of a green pickup truck and the man and woman in the Sebring exchanged obscene gestures on southbound I-270 (about three miles from Frederick). Following the hostile exchange, the driver of the pickup truck reportedly pulled in front of the Sebring and stepped on the brakes.

This caused the driver of the Sebring to swerve, strike the guardrail, and flip the vehicle. Both the man and woman were thrown from the vehicle. They were declared dead at the accident scene. The driver, Christian M. Luciano, and his passenger, Lindsay L. Bender, are both from Pennsylvania. Both were not wearing seatbelts.

The driver of the pickup truck, described as a white male, fled the scene of the accident.

According to an AAA Mid-Atlantic Survey, 42% of Maryland drivers who were surveyed say that they believe that aggressive drivers are the biggest danger on the roads today.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety offers a number of facts related to aggressive drivers:

*At least 1,500 men, women, and children are seriously injured or killed each year in the United States as a result of senseless traffic disputes and altercations. The incidents reported in this study are only those caught by the reporting network of Mizell & Company. Beyond question there are many more that are not reported in the media or for which the traffic altercation aspect is not mentioned.

*There are thousands of mentally and emotionally disturbed individuals on the highway. Charged with anger, fear, and personal frustration, and often impaired by alcohol or other drugs, motorists in all 50 states have murdered and maimed other motorists for seemingly trivial reasons. Explanations such as “He stole my parking space,” “She kept honking her horn,” “He wouldn’t let me pass,” and “She gave me the finger” abound in published reports.

*Without exaggeration, millions of motorists are armed with firearms, knives, clubs, and other weapons. There are more than 200 million firearms in circulation in the United States, and many motorists are carrying guns. It is also important to remember that every driver on the highway is armed with a weapon more deadly and dangerous than any firearm: a motor vehicle.

*Anyone can become an aggressive driver! People who have maimed and murdered motorists during traffic disputes have been old and young, males and females, rich and poor, well dressed and poorly dressed. They have been white, black, Asian, and Hispanic. Do not underestimate the potential for violence in any driver.

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Shawn Wayne Gibson, 37, has been ordered by an Cecil County Judge to serve a nine-year prison term (three of those years have been suspended). He will also serve three years of supervised probation. Gibson is being held responsible for striking teenager Christopher Donovan Snyder with his 1996 Nissan Quest last September, when his van strayed off the westbound lane of Route 40 and hit the 16-year-old from behind. The teenager was killed instantly. Gibson also just barely missed Tony Rojas, Gibson’s best friend.

According to police, Gibson left the scene of the car accident. There was also no evidence that he attempted to stop and avoid Snyder, who was 12-15 feet away from the roadway. Gibson had initially tried to blame someone else for committing the hit-and-run, saying strangers had carjacked his van and killed Snyder. Empty and full beer cans were found in the “extensively damaged” van.

Cecil County Circuit Court Judge O. Robert Lidums said “Although this was an accident, in many ways it was more than an accident. By virtue of (Gibson’s) history, he’s in a position to recognize that this accident could have been prevented.” Gibson already had been involved in numerous traffic and drug-related cases prior to the deadly accident.

Gibson has now accepted full responsibility for his role in the fatal accident. He pleaded guilty to negligent manslaughter by motor vehicle.

If you are involved in a car accident, it is important that you stop your vehicle, assist anyone who has been injured, contact the police if someone has been hurt or there has been extensive damage to one of the vehicles, and exchange contact, vehicle, and insurance information with the other drivers. You will also want to document the details of the accident, the time the accident occurred, road conditions, weather conditions, and other specifics.

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