Maryland Accident Law Blog

Midwife Accepts Responsibility for Her Role in Infant’s Death and Pleads Guilty to Several Charges, Family of Child Not Satisfied with the Sentence

September 22, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in North Carolina, a judge sentenced a woman to 6-17 months in jail for assisting in a delivery that resulted in the child’s death. According to one local news report, the woman was holding herself out to the public as a midwife, although she was not licensed under state law to practice midwifery in North Carolina.

Evidently, the woman did attend some schooling for midwifery, but that institution was not accredited. The family who retained her services was aware of this and decided to hire her nonetheless. However, at some point during the delivery, the child died.

The woman was initially charged with murder of an unborn child, assault, theft by false pretenses, and obstruction of justice. After some discussion between the woman’s attorney and the prosecutor, she was offered a deal of 6-17 months incarceration for pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and unauthorized practice of midwifery. The judge, hearing that the woman had already spent almost 300 days in jail at the time of sentencing, suspended her sentence.The family has expressed their disappointment in what they believed to be a lenient sentence.

Family Brings Suit Against Department of Transportation in Failure-to-Maintain Case

September 15, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Mississippi decided a case that was brought by a family who was involved in a serious car accident that they attributed to the negligence of the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT). In the case, Logan v. MDOT, the Supreme Court of Mississippi determined that the plaintiffs should have been able to submit an affidavit of a family member who talked to several MDOT employees after the accident and was told that they had received complaints of the dangerous condition earlier that day.

According to court documents, the family was driving over a bridge that had recently undergone some asphalt repair work. MDOT, the organization responsible for the repairs, placed several thick metal planks over the asphalt as it cured. However, according to the plaintiffs, some of the planks were laying on top of one another in a way that made them stick up, creating a danger to passing motorists.

Indeed, as the plaintiffs’ car traveled across the bridge and over the planks, it got caught and spun out, injuring several family members inside. The family filed suit against MDOT, claiming that its failure to maintain the road was negligent. The family also claimed that MDOT’s failure to warn passing motorists of the dangerous condition was negligent.

Alcohol a Factor in Fatal Prince George’s County Head-On Collision

September 8, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Prince George’s County, a head-on collision claimed the life of one man and seriously injured two others. According to one local news report, the accident took place on a Saturday afternoon on Maryland Route 231.

Evidently, the driver of a pick-up truck was driving on Route 231 when he inexplicably veered over the center median and into oncoming traffic. As he did so, the truck he was controlling crashed into another vehicle head-on. The truck was only occupied by its driver, but the other vehicle had two people inside.

The driver of that other vehicle, a 59-year-old man from Chesapeake Beach, was fatally injured in the accident and was pronounced dead on the scene by emergency responders. The passenger in the other vehicle, as well as the driver of the pick-up truck, were both taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Both, however, are expected to make a full recovery.

Baltimore Motorist Runs Red Light, Crashes into Building, and Then Flees on Bike; One Seriously Injured

September 1, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier last month in Baltimore, one man was seriously injured when his vehicle was hit by another motorist who was allegedly fleeing from police after they found out he was operating what they believed to be a stolen vehicle. According to one local Baltimore news source, police were first flagged down by a civilian who reported that a car was stolen. Police began following the car but had to stop because traffic conditions were heavy, and the pursuit became too dangerous.

Evidently, a few moments later, a different police officer who was stopped at a red light saw the same car run a red light and then crash into a building around Fallsway and Gay Streets. Sometime between the time when the first officer lost sight of the man and when the second officer saw the man run the light, the fleeing motorist collided with another vehicle. Details of that collision are not known at this time, but that man was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Once the red-light-running motorist crashed his vehicle into the building, he allegedly got out, stole a bicycle from a nearby cyclist, and began to flee the scene. It was not long until police were able to catch up to the man and arrest him.

Maryland Woman Reunites with Paramedic Who Saved Her Life 30 Years Earlier

August 24, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, a woman was reunited with the paramedics who saved her life after she was involved in a serious car accident back when the woman was in high school almost 30 years ago. According to one local news report, the woman, who is now a yoga instructor, was providing a free class to a group of firefighters. As she was arranging the class, she mentioned to the coordinator that she would like the opportunity to thank those who saved her life almost 30 years before.

As it turns out, the coordinator was able to locate the men responsible for saving her life back when she was in high school. In fact, one of the men was still working in his capacity as a paramedic. The paramedics responsible for saving her life told reporters about the terrifying accident. Evidently, when they arrived on the scene, a car with three high-school students inside had been crushed by a dump truck. Two of the girl’s friends were pronounced dead at the scene, and she was trapped inside the car until emergency responders were able to cut her out of the vehicle and take her to the hospital.

The paramedics told reporters that the accident spurred change both in Maryland and across the country in how commercial driver’s licenses are provided to truck drivers.

Summary Judgment Not Appropriate in Lawsuit Against City Alleging Dangerous Roadway

August 17, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of California heard a case that was brought against the City of Los Angeles, alleging that the negligent design in the city’s roadway led to injuries and deaths that were preventable had proper care been taken in the road’s design. In the case of Cordova v. City of Los Angeles, the negligent driving of a third party caused the plaintiffs’ vehicle to crash into a magnolia tree that had been planted in the center median by the City of Los Angeles. The case proceeded not against the negligent driver whose actions led to the accident, but against the City itself for the allegedly dangerous condition.

According to the court’s opinion, the case arose after the driver of a Nissan Maxima was hit by another motorist and pushed off the road. As the car left the roadway and entered the median, it struck a large magnolia tree that was in the median. Four of the five people inside the car died as a result of the collision, and one was seriously injured. The parents of three of those inside the car brought a lawsuit against the City, alleging that the tree was dangerously close to the road.

At Trial and On Appeal

The issue at trial was whether the magnolia tree constituted a “dangerous condition” on public property. Both the trial court as well as the appellate court determined that the tree was not a dangerous condition because, among other things, it did not cause the accident. The appellate court noted that there was no allegation that the tree made an accident more likely by obstructing the view of motorists or anything along those lines. The courts both looked at what caused the accident, rather than the added danger that the tree may have presented.

Federal Appellate Court Reverses Lower Court’s Evidentiary Ruling, Allowing Plaintiff’s Expert Witness’ Testimony

August 10, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided a case that deals with an evidentiary issue common in many personal injury lawsuits: the admissibility of expert testimony. In the case of Sorrels v. NCL (Bahamas), the plaintiff was a customer on one of NCL’s cruise ships. At some point during the cruise, the plaintiff slipped and fell on the deck of the ship and fractured her wrist. At the time, the deck was wet from a recent rainfall. She filed suit against the cruise line, alleging its negligence in maintaining the ship’s deck.

The Issues at Trial

In this slip-and-fall case, one of the critical issues was what the ship deck’s coefficient of friction (COF) was. COF is a scientific term experts use to describe how much force is necessary to move one surface over another. In this case, the relevant surface was the ship’s deck; the higher the COF, the less slippery the surface will be.

The plaintiff called an expert at trial to testify to the ship deck’s COF. The expert tested the ship’s deck, although it was 520 days after the slip-and-fall accident. The expert also was going to testify to what he believed that the “normal” COF for a ship deck on a commercial cruise line should be. Specifically, the expert had four conclusions:

Court Determines Lifeguard’s Failure to Save Drowning Child Wasn’t the “Cause” of the Boy’s Death

August 3, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, the Michigan Supreme Court heard a case brought by a grieving mother against the lifeguard she claimed was responsible for her son’s death. In the case, Beals v. State of Michigan, the plaintiff’s 19-year-old son who suffered from severe learning disabilities drowned while at a state-run swimming pool designed for children with learning disabilities.

The evidence at trial showed that there were 24 others in the pool at the time of the boy’s death. The lifeguard, who was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, was on duty but didn’t see the young man become submerged. In fact, no one in the pool saw the woman’s son go under water. It wasn’t until minutes later that another swimmer who had goggles on saw the boy at the bottom of the pool. Swimmers yelled for the lifeguard, but he didn’t respond for another several minutes. When emergency personnel arrived, they pronounced the boy dead.

The boy’s mother filed suit against the State of Michigan, as the operator of the pool, as well as the lifeguard, as a state employee. The lifeguard asserted “sovereign immunity” as a defense and asked the court to dismiss the case against him.

Federal Appellate Court Discusses Presumption of Negligence in Rear-End Accident Cases

July 22, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided a case that discussed the presumption of negligence that arises when one driver rear-ends another driver in the context of a personal injury suit. In the case of Lopez v. United States, Lopez, the plaintiff, sought monetary damages from the United States government after an accident that she was involved in with a postal employee.

According to the court’s opinion, Lopez was traveling as a passenger in a vehicle being operated by a friend. The lane in which they were traveling came to an end at the intersection that was quickly approaching. The driver of the vehicle switched lanes into the lane that was occupied by the postal truck. The truck rear-ended the vehicle that the plaintiff was inside and pushed it a short distance into the intersection. The airbags did not deploy, and the vehicle was able to be driven home by its owner.

A short time later, Lopez filed suit against the United States government, claiming that the postal employee was negligent in rear-ending the vehicle in which she was riding. Lopez pointed to a presumption under Missouri law that arises in rear-end accident cases and states that the driver who crashes into the rear of another driver is presumed to be at fault. However, the court failed to apply the doctrine and found in favor of the defendant.

Pick-Up Truck Driver Charged with Attempted Murder after Crashing into 20 Vehicles

July 15, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this week in Cambridge, Maryland, several people were injured when a pick-up truck towing two jet skis caused an accident involving roughly 20 other vehicles. According to one local news source, the accident took place on a Monday evening, just before nine o’clock, on Locust Street.

Evidently, the truck was driving with a trailer in tow when it started colliding with several other cars on the road, both occupied and unoccupied. Eventually, the truck lost control and ended up striking a marked police car head-on. The driver of the truck did sustain serious injuries and was flown to Peninsula Medical Center in Salisbury. The police officer whose car was hit was also taken to the hospital, and he is expected to make a full recovery with time. Those seem to be the only serious injuries.

After police caught up with the truck’s driver, they arrested him. He has since been charged with attempted murder and several other charges relating to the accident. Police are also awaiting toxicology reports to see if drugs or alcohol may have been a factor in what certainly seems to be an odd accident.