Maryland Accident Law Blog

U.S. Supreme Court Discusses Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act in Recent Decision

December 8, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court decided a case that gave the court occasion to discuss the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (the “Act”). The Act is an agreement among nations that limits the liability of foreign governments. The Act generally gives foreign sovereign countries immunity unless the alleged conduct falls within one of the Act’s several exceptions.

In the case, OBB Personenverkehr AG (OBB) v. Sachs, the plaintiff was a California woman who purchased a Eurorail pass over the internet through a U.S.-based travel retailer. In Austria, the plaintiff was attempting to board a train when she fell through a gap between the rail car and the boarding platform. After she fell, a train ran over her legs, requiring the amputation of both her legs. The woman filed suit against OBB, which is wholly owned by the Austrian government.

At trial, OBB sought to dismiss the case against it based on the Act, which generally grants foreign governments immunity from lawsuits. The plaintiff, however, claimed that her case met an exception to the Act’s grant of immunity, specifically that her case “is based upon a commercial activity carried on in the United States by [a] foreign state.”

Court Holds Slip-and-Fall Plaintiff “Assumed the Risk” of Injury When Visiting Haunted Attraction

December 1, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in California, an appellate court heard a case brought by a young man who was injured when he tripped and fell after being startled at a haunted attraction. The court ultimately decided that the plaintiff assumed the risk of such an injury by participating in an activity known to be inherently dangerous.

In the case, Griffin v. The Haunted Hotel, Inc., the plaintiff visited the defendant’s haunted attraction with a group of friends. As they group was waiting in line, an announcement was made, warning those before they entered the attraction that, while no one was going to intentionally touch them, they would be chased, scared, and tormented by staff. There was a sign near the entrance warning, “Due to natural surroundings of the park, the ground may be uneven with some obstacles such as tree roots, rocks, etc. Be careful.”

The plaintiff and his friends made it through what they believed to be the entire attraction, and they were waiting in a “well-lit, even surface” when a man with a chainsaw jumped out and began pointing the saw at the plaintiff and his friends. The plaintiff, feeling that the attraction was over and that the man was singling him out, began to back up, away from the employee. The employee was persistent and would not leave the plaintiff alone, and the plaintiff eventually started to run away. As he was running, the plaintiff tripped and fell, injuring his wrist. The plaintiff sued the Haunted Hotel under a premises liability theory.

Family Receives $9.6 Million after Eight-Day Birth Injury Case

November 23, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, a California family was awarded $9.6 million after an eight-day trial culminating in the judge finding that the doctor was negligent in the delivery of their child. According to one local California news source, the young girl, who is not three years old, will never be able to walk, talk, or care for herself.

Evidently, back in 2012, the family’s doctor was called to the hospital to assist in the delivery of the child. The doctor, who was employed by a federally funded clinic at the time, failed to deliver the child in a timely manner, waiting too long to perform the necessary Cesarean section procedure.

The young girl was born with serious and permanent injuries, including blindness. She will also require the use of a feeding tube for her entire life and suffer from unexpected seizures. The bulk of the $9.6 million award was designated as compensation for the payment of a 24-hour live-in nurse, as well as for the continued medical care that the girl will need throughout the duration of her life.

Court Dismisses Plaintiff’s Case Based on Recreational Use Statute

November 16, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, an appellate court in Vermont decided a case implicating the state’s recreational use statute. In the case, Symonds v. City of Pawtucket, the plaintiff was the mother of a young girl who was injured while she was playing on a playground on city property. The mother filed a premises liability lawsuit against the City, claiming that the City’s negligent maintenance of the property caused her daughter’s injuries.

The Facts of the Case

According to the court’s written opinion, the girl got a splinter while playing on a wooden jungle gym. The mother testified that the condition of the jungle gym was so poor that it “had deteriorated to the point where the wood was frayed, split, and slivered.” After her daughter’s injury, the plaintiff called the Parks and Recreation Department to file a complaint and let them know of her daughter’s injuries. A short time later, she filed a premises liability lawsuit.

At trial, the City asked that the court dismiss the case based on the state’s recreational use statute. A recreational use statute is a law that grants immunity to property owners who open their land up to the recreational uses of others, when others are injured on their land. There is an exception to the recreational use statute when there is willful or malicious conduct. In such cases, there may no longer be immunity, and liability may arise.

Court Opts Not to Apply Medical Malpractice Requirements in Hospital Slip-and-Fall Case

November 9, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Texas decided a case that illuminated the intersection between two different areas of personal injury law. Ultimately, the court determined that a slip-and-fall accident that occurs at a hospital does not fall within the hospital’s provision of health care and therefore should not be held to the heightened requirements of a medical malpractice action.

In the case, Reddic v. East Texas Medical Center Regional Health Care System, the plaintiff was a hospital visitor who slipped on a floor mat a few feet after entering the hospital. The plaintiff suffered injuries as a result and sued the hospital under a premises liability theory.

The Case Goes to Trial

At trial, the defendant hospital petitioned the court to dismiss the lawsuit because the plaintiff failed to submit an expert report validating her claims, as is required in medical malpractice cases. The plaintiff’s position was that a slip-and-fall accident taking place in a hospital is not so related to the hospital’s business of providing health care as to mandate the heightened requirements.

Two Killed in Glen Burnie Head-On Collision; Alcohol Suspected To Be a Factor

November 2, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Late last month on Halloween, two vehicles collided head-on in Glen Burnie, killing both drivers. According to one local news source, the accident occurred on Solley Road near where it meets Chestnut Springs Lane. The fatal accident claimed the lives of both drivers, and the three passengers involved in the accident were also seriously injured.

Evidently, three teenage friends were driving in a Nissan on Solley Road, heading to a Halloween party. At some point, another Nissan approaching in the opposite direction inexplicably crossed over the center line and collided with the Nissan carrying the three teens. After the initial collision, the vehicle that crossed over the center line flipped on its roof and continued to slide down the highway until it collided with a third vehicle.

In the end, both drivers of the Nissan vehicles were dead. Two teenage passengers in one of the vehicles, as well as the woman’s husband in the other Nissan, were all taken to the hospital. Since the accident, all of the injured parties have been released from the hospital.

Man Recovers $9.1 Million in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

October 26, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Minnesota, a former auto mechanic who filed a medical malpractice action against a treating physician received a jury verdict in his favor, awarding him over $9 million in damages. According to one local news source reporting on the case, the man sued his anesthesiologist after he sustained spinal cord damage and subsequent paralysis after a 2012 surgery.

Evidently, the man went to the doctor with flu-like symptoms. While attempting to determine what the cause of the symptoms was, doctors discovered that the man was dangerously dehydrated. He was treated for the dehydration. It was ultimately determined that the man had suffered from a perforated bowel and would need to undergo surgery to repair the bowel. However, according to the court’s written opinion, the doctors failed to continue treatment for dehydration as he was started on the anesthesia in preparation for the surgery.

As a result of the dehydration, the man’s blood pressure dropped, resulting in his spinal cord receiving inadequate blood flow. The final result was that the man permanently lost the use of his legs. He filed suit against the treating physicians and recently recovered a sizable $9.1 million award.

Doctrine of “Intervening Cause” Used to Excuse Truck Driver from Liability in Multi-Truck Accident

October 19, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this year, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided a case that excused two semi-truck drivers from liability because the negligence of a third truck driver was deemed to be an intervening cause of the injuries complained of by the plaintiffs. In the case of Baumann v. Zhukov, the plaintiff was a personal representative appointed to represent the interests of an entire family who died as a result of a multi-vehicle accident.

According to the court’s written opinion, the accident took place back in September 2012. The facts of the case are a bit confusing but illustrate the “intervening cause” doctrine nicely.

The Facts of the Case

Zhkov was traveling in his truck on the highway when he experienced an equipment malfunction, and his truck would no longer run. He pulled over to the side of the road and waited for assistance. However, before assistance could arrive, Johnson approached in his semi-truck and slammed into Zhukov’s parked truck. Evidence adduced at trial suggested that the safety cones placed on the road to warn passing motorists of Zhukov’s truck were not properly placed.

State Supreme Court Refuses to Hold City Liable in Slip-and-Fall Case on City Property

October 14, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, the Idaho Supreme Court decided a case brought by a man who was injured when he slipped and fell while attending a Pop Warner football game in Plummer, Idaho. In the case, Hayes v. Plummer, the plaintiff sued the city who owned the park where the injury occurred, but he was prevented from recovering damages because the court determined that the City of Plummer enjoyed sovereign immunity from this type of lawsuit.

The Facts of the Case

The plaintiff was attending his grandson’s Pop Warner football game back in September 2011 when he slipped on some uneven ground that was covered by a tuft of grass. The man did not pay any admission to get into the park nor to watch the game. The man sustained injuries and filed a premises liability lawsuit against the city, seeking monetary compensation.

As it turns out, back in 1976, the park was conveyed to the City from a local school district. Park of the agreement was that the school district would continue to pay for the utilities and make improvements on the land, as needed.

Marine Struck and Killed in Thurmont by Hit-and-Run Driver

October 7, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Thurmont, Maryland, one man was hit and killed by a hit-and-run driver as the man was pulled off to the side of the road to assist another motorist whose car had broken down. According to one local news report, the man was a Marine who had served since 2013 and was recently promoted to the rank of corporal.

Evidently, the Marine had pulled over on the side of Route 15, near where it meets Auburn Road, at around 10:50 in the evening, to help a stranded motorist. While he was on the side of the road, not far from where his vehicle was parked, a truck towing a car veered off the highway and into the median, striking the Marine and his vehicle.

While the driver has yet to be located, and an investigation is still underway, police believe that the driver of the truck came to a stop about 100 yards from the scene of the accident. However, as good samaritans arrived to help the accident victim, the driver of the truck sped off. Police told reporters that they found track marks in the grass near the scene that they believe belonged to the truck, and they are confident that the vehicle is a dual axle truck that was towing a smaller vehicle.