Injuries to Minors

Maryland High School Football Player Killed in Howard County Car Accident

December 1, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 17-year-old high school football player is dead following a tragic single-car accident that occurred early Sunday at around 3am. Steven Dankos and teammate and best friend Thomas Erdman were riding in a pickup truck driven by Edrman’s brother, David Dixon Edrman, when the 22-year-old lost control of the truck, which then struck three decorative stone pillars before overturning.

Dankos was pronounced dead at the Howard County car crash site. Thomas and David sustained injuries. David is charged with homicide by motor vehicle while intoxicated, driving under the influence, and manslaughter by motor vehicle.

Drunk Driving Accidents

Drunk driving crashes are preventable. Yet every year, thousands of people are killed in the US because someone was driving drunk.

NHTSA 2008 Alcohol-Impaired Driving Facts

• 11,773 drunk driver-related deaths
• That’s 1 alcohol-related car crash death every 45 minutes

Drunk driving is a crime and also a form of negligent driving. A person who is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has impaired reflexes and senses and may not realize that he or she is speeding or about to collide with another vehicle or into oncoming traffic. Losing control of an auto when someone is inebriated is easy. It is the consequences and repercussions that follow which can be hard to live with.

A drunk driving conviction usually results in jail time. It can also destroy the lives of any victims, surviving family members, and the drunk driver who likely never intended to harm anyone.

After the season, the greatest loss, Washington Post, November 30, 2009
River Hill football player remembered as ‘great kid’, ExploreHoward, December 1, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Groups press for tougher drunk driving laws, Baltimore Sun, November 1, 2009

Drinking & Driving

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Toddler Dies in Maryland Entanglement Accident Involving Drapery Cord

November 19, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 2-year-old boy has died after becoming entangled in a drapery cord in his Damascus, Maryland home. Thapelo Andre Kwofie’s parents found him unconscious at around 3pm. They administered CPR to him before an ambulance arrived to take him to the hospital. He was pronounced dead soon after his arrival at Shady Grove Hospital.

Montgomery County, Maryland police are investigating the tragic accident.

Window Cord-Strangulation Accidents

Maryland Jury Awards $2.5 Million Baltimore Lead Paint Verdict to Siblings

November 5, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

More than 15 years after Dontae and Searra Wallace’s mother moved them into a City Homes rental in an effort to protect them from additional lead exposure, a Maryland jury has awarded the siblings over $2.5 million for their Baltimore personal injuries caused by lead poisoning.

Searra, 17, and Dontae, 20, sustained permanent behavioral and cognitive disabilities. They are unlikely to graduate from high school or get a GED, and their IQ’s are below average. Dontae dropped out of school four years ago and Searra failed two grades.

Their mother, Tiffini, says that the family moved out of a rental that used lead paint into a City Homes Inc. home. She says the nonprofit group told her the Baltimore City row house was safe.

8-Year-Old Boy Sustains Serious Injuries in Maryland Bicycle Accident

September 9, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A young bicyclist sustained a head injury and leg fractures when he was injured in a Maryland bicycle accident in Washington County on August 30. 8-year-old David Greeley, a 3rd grader at Fountain Rock Elementary School, was admitted to the intensive care unit at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC where he underwent several surgery and received a number of blood transfusions.

The Maryland bicycle crash occurred in the early evening. Reports indicate that the driver, Fairplay resident Meghann Marie Weaver, was going over the crest of a hill when she hit the boy. The 21-year-old motorist is charged with reckless driving, driving at a speed greater than reasonable, and negligent driving.

Greeley’s family is asking for donations to help pay for the costly medical care he has received and will likely need.

According to researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital:

• More than half of the 85 million cyclists in the US are minors.
• About 10,700 children are hospitalized/year for about 3 days for injuries they sustained during bicycle accidents.
• The child recreational sport that results in the most ER visits each year is bicycle riding.

• 1/3rd of child bicycle accident victims suffered from traumatic brain injuries.

Sending your child out into the world on their own at any age is never easy. It can be especially devastating if your son or daughter was injured in a Maryland bicycle accident because a driver was negligent, careless, made a mistake, or wasn’t paying attention.

The medical costs for surgery, physical therapy, and other recovery services can be daunting—especially when coping with your child’s pain and suffering, as well as your own.

Driver of vehicle that struck boy is charged, The Herald-Mail, August 31, 2009
Pediatric Bicycle-related Injuries Result in Nearly $200 Million in Hospital Charges Annually, Newswise, October 15, 2007
Bicycles, Department of Transportation Highway and Safety Administration

Maryland File $40 Million Baltimore County Personal Injury Lawsuit Over Son’s Traumatic Brain Injuries From Alleged Near Drowning Accident

July 24, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Yesterday, the parents of James Becker filed a $40 million Maryland personal injury lawsuit against the Woodcroft Swim Club and D.R.D. Pool Management Inc. They are accusing the defendants of failing to recognize and respond in timely manner to their son’s near drowning accident on July 29, 2006 and of neglecting to properly resuscitate him.

According to plaintiffs Mary Becker and William J. Becker III, James, then 15, was deprived of adequate oxygen to his brain for approximately 10 minutes. Paramedics arrived at the scene 13 minutes after the teenager was discovered without a pulse. By the time that they could feel James’s pulse, he had already sustained a traumatic brain injury.

The Becker family is seeking $36 million for James, who will require special care for the rest of his life, $3 million for expenses his parents have incurred as a result of his traumatic brain injury, and $1 million for Mary Becker, who experienced the trauma of seeing her son almost drown in the pool.

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)

Maryland Injuries to Minors: Family Settles Personal Injury Lawsuit Over Acid Burn Injuries Sustained by Boy on Playground Slide

May 28, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, the family of a young boy who sustained serious burn injuries from sulfuric acid that two teenagers poured on a playground slide have settled their injuries to minor lawsuit. Payton Potochne was just 2 when he went down the slide that had industrial strength drain cleaner on it. The injury accident occurred at Victory Villa Elementary School.

It wasn’t until he was taken to Franklin Square Hospital that doctors determined that there was sulfuric acid on the boy’s legs and he had sustained second- and third-degree burns. The hospital had to evacuate the emergency room and the toddler was taken to Johns Hopkins Burn Center. Since the tragic playground incident, Payton has had to undergo over six surgeries, including numerous skin grafts. He will also need medical care for life because of his injuries.

A hazmat team poured thousands of gallons of water onto the slide to remove the chemical from the playground. A Baltimore County Police Department spokesperson says the dangerous liquid had been poured onto all the different playground rides, including the monkey bars and the jungle gym.

18-Year-Old Gets $2 Million Maryland Lead Paint Award for Injury Lawsuit

May 20, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A jury has awarded 18-year-old Lakia Roberts $2 million for her Maryland lead paint lawsuit. Roberts was exposed to lead paint during the first six years of her life at the Baltimore rental where she lived.

Her Maryland personal injury lawsuit, filed along with her mother, Learland D. Clark, contended that she suffered from lead poisoning after she ingested paint flakes and chips in their Baltimore rental. As a result, they claim that the teenager experienced a 10 to 12 point loss in IQ and suffers from severe cognitive deficits. The two of them filed their lawsuit in Baltimore City Circuit Court.

The jury found that the home’s landlord, Attsgood Reealty, failed to remove the toxic paint that was peeling off the plaintiffs’ home walls, as well as failed to properly maintain the property. They awarded Roberts and Clark $1.5 million in non-economic damages and $500,000 in economic damages. Maryland’s cap on damages, however, reduces the plaintiffs’ non-economic damages to $350,000—the maximum amount that was allowed under state law in the early 90’s when the plaintiffs had their cause of action. This reduces the plaintiffs’ total judgment to $850,000.

Maryland Pharmacy Error Injury Attorneys: Fatal Error that Killed Toddler Could Send Pharmacist to Prison

May 14, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

This week, pharmacist Eric Cropp pleaded no contest to an involuntary manslaughter charge involving the death of a two-year-old patient in 2006. The toddler, Emily Jerry, died after she was administered an overdose of sodium chloride while undergoing chemotherapy at a hospital.

Cropp made the fatal pharmacy error while working as the supervising pharmacist at a hospital. On February 26, 2006, Cropp neglected to catch the pharmacy technician’s preparation error and properly verify whether the contents and composition of the solution were correct before approving a mix that was 23% salt-based when it should have only been 1%. The technician, Katie Dudash, later testified that she had warned Cropp that she didn’t think the mixture was correct.

Following the medication overdose, Emily slipped into a coma before dying on March 1.

Prosecutor James Gutierrez says that Cropp admitted to the mistake and says that he could have or should have seen the warning signs and caught the deadly mistake. Following the pharmacy misfill incident, another pharmacy hired Cropp, who made 15 more pharmacy errors until his license was revoked.

As part of Cropp’s plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the reckless homicide charge against him. Cropp’s sentencing is scheduled for July 17. He could end up serving a maximum five-year prison sentence.

Pharmacy misfills can be catastrophic for the patients that take the wrong medicine or dosage. This is why it is so important that the pharmacy or the pharmacist supervisor double check a prescription or mix to make sure that the dose and/or medication is correct.

In an unrelated incident in another US state, baby Lindsey Lindberg could have died last month if her mother hadn’t noticed that she gave her the wrong medication more than once because of a labeling error.

Lindsey was born in November with a heart defect. Her mother, Courtney Lindberg, had been giving her a number of prescriptions that she would get filled at a Walgreens. Right before the Lindsey was supposed to undergo open heart surgery, she began to act fussy. It wasn’t until she spit up that Courtney realized that Walgreens had put the correct label for Lindsey’s medication on a bottle containing the wrong medicine.

A 2-year-old. A death. A pharmacist facing jail. What will spur lasting change?, MedCity News, May 14, 2009
Pharmacist Could Get 5 Years For Fatal Chemo Error In Toddler, Newsnet5.com, May 13, 2009
Mom gives baby wrong drug after labeling error, SeattlePI.com, May 6, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Unreported Pharmacy Errors, ABC News
20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors in Children, AHRQ.gov

Maryland Teen Driving Bill Proposes Extending Time New Drivers Must Hold Learner’s Permit and Provisional License

April 11, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, Delegate Andrew A Serafina is cosponsoring a bill calling for extending the period of time that new drivers must have their learner’s permits and provisional licenses before they can receive an official driver’s license. The bill calls for increasing the age that a teen driver can get his or her provisional license to 16 years and 6 months and delaying when they can get their full driving privileges to age 18.

The legislation also includes a ban that would prevent drivers younger than 18 from driving around other minors for the first 9 months of having a license. At that point, the teen driver would only be allowed to have one minor in the car with him or her for the next nine months or until turning age 18.Current state law prevents minors with provisional licenses from having for the first 151 days any occupants in the vehicle who are under 18 that are not family members.

Following the enactment in 2005 of the latest passenger restrictions for teen drivers, there was a decrease in the number of passengers injured in teen driving accidents from over 1,000 annually (from 2003 – 2005) to less than 800 a year (from 2006 – 2007). The number of passengers killed in Maryland teen driving accidents went down from about 13 a year to approximately 8 annually.

Studies show that teen drivers are more likely to engage in aggressive driving or speeding when they are accompanied by other teenagers. Teens are also more likely to get easily distracted.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Says:

• Teen drivers make up the majority of teens that are killed in auto accidents.
• Many teenagers also have died as vehicle occupants.
• 39% of 16-19 year olds killed in Maryland traffic accidents from 1998 to 2007 were motor vehicle passengers.

• 76% of the 16-year-old vehicle occupants that died in Maryland motor vehicle accidents were teen drivers.

Measure would restrict new drivers in Md., March 28, 2009
Deciphering Details Might Necessitate a Map, The Washington Post, March 28, 2009
Related Web Resources:

Passenger and Nighttime Restrictions for Young Drivers, IIHS.org (PDF)

Senate Bill 265

House Bill 303