Maryland Accident Law Blog

Baltimore’s Public Housing Authority Says It is “Not Possible” To Pay Judgments in Maryland Lead Poisoning Cases

April 11, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Housing Authority of Baltimore City says it is “not possible” to pay almost $12 million in existing Maryland lead poisoning judgments. According to City Housing Commissioner Paul T. Graziano says that the agency just cannot afford to pay.

The nearly $12 million is for nine court judgments, and the housing authority is still facing 175 Baltimore lead paint cases, which could up the amount the city owes for these claims to $800 million. Some lawmakers are outraged the city’s response.

Although Maryland’s lead law, which was passed in the 1990’s, has decreased the number of lead poisoning incidents that occur each year—the lead risk reduction law mandates that owners of rental units constructed before 1950 fix them to reduce lead exposure risks—incidents of lead poisoning are still diagnosed on a regular basis. According to a 2010 report by the state’s Department of the Environment, more than 500 kids under the age of 7 were diagnosed with lead poisoning in 2009. 347 of the cases were in Baltimore, the leading city for exposure to lead because of the age of the city’s housing. There are still homes and building that have lead paint on windows, walls, or molding—even if they have been painted over.

Lead paint on a property is a hazard and can be grounds for a Baltimore personal injury lawsuit if injuries or illness result. Young kids are especially at risk of serious harm from exposure to lead paint, which can affect physical and mental development and in certain cases lead to death. Adults are also prone to injuries from lead poisoning.

Serious lead poisoning side effects:
• Learning difficulties
• Developmental problems
• Decrease in mental functioning
• Mood disorders
• Muscular weakness
• Miscarriage
• Lower sperm count
• Memory loss
Baltimore’s Housing Authority Says It Can’t Afford To Pay For Lead Paint Poisoning Claim, CBS Local, April 5, 2011
Officials focus on gaps in lead paint law, Baltimore Sun, August 27, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Lead in Paint, Dust, Soil, Environmental Protection Agency
Lead Poisoning, Mayo Clinic

Baltimore Housing

More Blog Posts:
Maryland Jury Awards $2.5 Million Baltimore Lead Paint Verdict to Siblings, Maryland Accident Law Blog, November 5, 2009
Hundreds of Washington DC Children May Have Been Exposed to High Levels of Lead in City’s Tap Water, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, January 27, 2009
Lead Paint Discovered on Washington D.C. Park Fence Near Where Hundreds of Kids Play, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, September 20, 2007

Johns Hopkins University Student Who Sustained Maryland Brain Injury in Baltimore Bicycle Accident is Not Expected to Recover

April 5, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to an email from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Engineering Dean Nicholas Jane, 20-year-old student Nathan Krasnopoler is not expected to recover from his brain injury that he sustained when he was injured in a Baltimore bicycle accident on University Parkway last month. Krasnopoler has been in a coma since the February 26 traffic crash, when a driver abruptly turned into the marked bike lane where he was riding.

Per a statement by Krasnopoler’s family, his brain damage “appears to be permanent” and it is not likely that he will regain any “cognitive function.” They have filed a $10 million Baltimore brain injury lawsuit against Jeanette Marie Walke, the 83-year-old driver that hit him. Walke has not been charged over the Maryland bicycle accident. However, plaintiffs’ attorneys contend that she violated a number of traffic laws when the collision happened.

Per the complaint, Krasnopoler wasn’t able to prevent his bike from hitting the passenger side of Walke’s vehicle as it turned. Her car then ran over him, pinning him. In addition to his Maryland brain injury, which occurred not from the impact of the crash but because his brain was deprived of oxygen when his lungs collapsed, Krasnopoler sustained serious burns because Walke allegedly left the engine on when her car was on him. Krasnopoler also suffered eye damage, facial fractures, and broke his ribs and collarbone. He went into cardiac arrest while the ambulance was dring him to the hospital.

$10M Montgomery County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Accuses Police of Excessive Use of Force

March 29, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Emmanuel O. Okutuga wants the Montgomery County Police Department to pay them $10 million for his Maryland wrongful death. The 26-year-old Bowie State University student was fatally shot by police in Silver Spring outside the City Place Mall on February 19.

Officer Christopher Jordan had gone to the mall after reports that Okutuga had assaulted a security guard. Police say that Jordan shot Okutuga twice after the latter refused to drop the ice pick he was wielding.

Okutuga’s family contends that the shooting was unjustified. In their Montgomery County police brutality complaint, they say that witnesses testified that he did not advance on the officer or threaten him or any civilians who were there.

7-Year-Old Girl Injured in Dundalk, Maryland Dog Attack Sustained Severe Facial Injuries

March 26, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to the mother of Amanda Mitchell, the 7-year-old girl will likely have to undergo several surgeries for the severe facial injuries she sustained when she was attacked by two American Bull Dogs earlier this month. The two dogs have been put down.

Baltimore County Police say that Mitchell was riding her bicycle when the two dogs got out of a neighbor’s yard and attacked her. On ABC2news.com, her mom Shelda Lambert is quoted as saying that her daughter’s “whole face ripped away.” Lambert also got hurt during the Maryland dog attack as she tried to fight the dogs off her daughter.

While no criminal charges are being filed against Tina Baker, the dog’s owner, she has been fined $3,600 over numerous citations.

Facial Injuries and Dog Bites

According to the California Surgical Institute, dog bites are the cause of about 44,000 facial injuries annually. 60% of the victims are usually small kids. Because of their small size and height, kids’ faces are easy for dogs to reach. Examples of dog bite injuries to the face:

• Fractures
• Eye damage
• Puncture wounds
• Nerve damage
• Jaw injuries
• Scarring
• Disfigurement

Each state has its own law when it comes to holding a dog owner liable for injuries inflicted by an animal. Dog owners can be held liable for a Maryland dog attack by a dog considered dangerous. A dog doesn’t need to have injured anyone before to fall under the dangerous dog category. Aggressive behavior alone can be a sign that the animal may pose a danger to others.

Dogs Attack Baltimore County Girl, WBALTV, March 13, 2011
Dog owners defend pit bulls after an attack on a 7-year-old girl, ABC, March 14, 2011
Related Web Resources:

Dog Bite Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dog Bites, Nolo
More Blog Posts:
Maryland Dog Bites off Part of Anne Arundel County Police Officer’s Ear, Maryland Accident Lawyer, November 3, 2008
Pit Bull Attacks 18-Month-Old Maryland Boy at Day Care Home in Aberdeen, Maryland Accident Lawyer, August 20, 2008
East Baltimore Woman Is Victim of Pit Bull Attack, Maryland Accident Lawyer, June 26, 2007

$5M Maryland Tractor-Trailer Accident Lawsuit Seeks Damages for Man’s Wrongful Death

March 21, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of King W. Mungai has filed a $5 million Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against trucker Gordon Scott Barnes and his employer Cargo Transporters. Mungai, a College of Southern Maryland student, was killed in January 2009 when the Toyota Corolla he was driving was struck by the truck driven by Barnes.

While police initially said that Mungai failed to yield to the truck driver, the Maryland tractor-trailer accident lawsuit claims that it was Barnes who was negligent. The family’s wrongful death lawyer says that they now have information that wasn’t in that report.

In their Maryland wrongful death complaint, the plaintiffs claim that just before the semi-truck crash, Barnes ran a red light and that this was when the Freightliner hit the Toyota from the side, pushing it off the road. They want compensation for funeral costs, lost wages, and emotional suffering.

$3.3M Prince George’s County Pedestrian Accident Awarded Over Woman’s Maryland Wrongful Death

March 14, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A jury has awarded the family of Kelay Smith $3.3 million against the state of Maryland for her Prince George’s County pedestrian accident death. Kelay, 26, died when she was hit by a driver while walking on the 5700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, which is also called Route 4, on August 12, 2008. At the time Kelay, who was five months pregnant, was walking home with her sister Krystal Fletcher, 22, who was not injured. She and her unborn child died at the hospital.

The Maryland pedestrian deaths happened when a car driven by Petrello Cabbagestalk drove onto the shoulder of the road, striking Kelay and pedestrian Derrick R. “Mooky” Jones. The 30-year-old Forestville resident died at the accident site. Cabbagestalk, whose car slammed into a tree, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

The family’s Maryland wrongful death lawyer contends that the pedestrian deaths were preventable. He says there is a 200 feet gap on the street where there are no guardrails or sidewalk. That is where the Prince George’s County traffic crash happened. He believes that the state could have done more to make that area of the road safer for pedestrians.

Preventing Maryland Car Crashes: State Senate Approves Ban on Reading Text Messages While Driving

March 9, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Two years after Maryland lawmakers banned drivers from writing text messages while operating a motor vehicle, the state Senate gave its final approval to a bill banning the reading of texts while driving. Considering that, according to the National Safety Council, 28% of traffic crashes now involve drivers that were texting or talking on a cell phone, this added restriction should hopefully help decrease the number of Maryland car accidents that happen each year.

According to Senator James Brochin, who led the charge against the reading of texts, not only does reading electronic messages require attention and time, causing a driving distraction, but also they are interactive and require the reader’s involvement. The latest bill on texts also extends the ban to drivers who are texting while stopped at traffic lights. They can, however, still use their phones to access GPS, Google maps, music, or other applications.

Dangers of Texting

Texting while driving is dangerous and can cause serious Baltimore personal injury and wrongful deaths. Nationally, a Consumer Reports National Research Center survey found that 30% of respondents under the age of 30 admitted to texting while driving. 9% of those surveyed in the older age group admitted to texting while behind the wheel.

A person who is reading a text while driving likely has one hand off the steering wheel to hold the phone or PDA device. He/she may not be thinking about the road, the other vehicles, the speed he/she is going at, or the driving conditions. It takes just seconds for a Maryland car crash to happen.

Studies find adults and teens web surf, send emails behind the wheel: Effort launched to combat distracted driving, mlive, March 7, 2011
Senate passes ban on reading texts while driving, The Baltimore Sun, March 7, 2011
House OKs ban on stoplight texting, Washington Examiner, March 3, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Map of Texting Bans, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

National Safety Council

Consumer Reports National Research Center

More Blog Posts:
Maryland Injury News: Distracted Driving Blamed for Increasing Number of Fatal Teenage Automobile Accidents, Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog, July 17, 2010
Maryland Lawmakers Want Texting While Driving Ban to Block Drivers From Reading Messages, Maryland Accident Law Blog, February 20, 2010
Preventing Maryland Car Accidents: Law Making Texting While Driving Illegal Goes Into Effect on Thursday, Maryland Accident Law Blog, September 28, 2009

Maryland Wrong Death Lawsuit in 2008 Medevac Crash Blames FAA for Traffic Control Negligence

March 4, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

17-year-old Ashley Younger’s mom is seeking Maryland wrongful death damages from the Federal Aviation Administration. Younger was one of four people that died in the September 27, 2008 medevac helicopter crash in District Heights. At the time of the Prince George’s County aviation accident, Younger and Jordan Wells, 20, were being transported by medevac for treatment of injuries they sustained in a car crash. Wells, who survived with serious injuries and had to have her right leg amputated, filed her $50 million Maryland personal injury lawsuit against the FAA last year.

In her Prince George’s County wrongful death complaint, Younger’s mother, Stephanie, is claiming that traffic controllers gave the Trooper 2 helicopter’s pilot incorrect and outdated weather information and were negligent when communicating with the medevac chopper’s pilot. She also contends that they were inattentive and unresponsive when he asked for guidance as he got closer to the runway. The helicopter ended up crashing in a wooded area.

Also killed in the accident were state police Pilot Stephen J. Bunker, state police flight paramedic Trooper 1st Class Mickey C. Lippy, and EMT Tonya Mallard. Lippy’s widow is suing for $15 million, while Mallard’s widower wants the FAA to pay $7 million for her Prince George’s County wrongful death.

$10M Prince George’s County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages Over Man’s Fatal Stabbing

February 28, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The mother of George Harrison Cooper III is suing Prince George’s County officials and the owners and operators of the CFE Event Center for his Maryland wrongful death. The 25-year-old Washington DC man was murdered last August during a stabbing incident at the Forestville club. Now, Tracy Cooper is seeking $10 million on behalf of her son’s estate.

The stabbing took place on August 22, 2010 at around 3:30 in the morning. No arrests have been made.

In her Prince George’s County wrongful death complaint alleging Maryland premises liability, Cooper accuses CFE owners Bernida Williams and Kevin Darby of running the club as if it were a dance hall, even though its permit prohibits this. She also contends that the defendants provided inadequate security even though there had been other violent incidents outside and inside the club.

Staff Was Inattentive on The Night of Patient Murder at Jessup Psychiatric Hospital, Says Maryland Health Investigators

February 22, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

An investigation by Maryland health investigators into the September 2010 murder of psychiatric patient Susan Sachs by fellow patient El Soudani El-Wahhabi at the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center has revealed that employees at the maximum-security psychiatric facility may have inattentive and sleeping on the job that night. El-Wahhabi, who has admitted to strangling and kissing the 45-year-old victim, is charged with Sachs’ murder.

As the murder was taking place, video surveillance shows one hospital staffer sitting on a couch from where there was no view of the patients’ rooms. Another worker, who was at the nursing station, exhibited no signs of movement.

Among the report’s findings:

• The door-locking system to the ward was not activated, which means that on the night of September 25, 2010, the doors to patients’ rooms were unlocked for most of the night. This allowed El-Wahhabi to enter Sachs’ room undetected and without permission.

• After 9:15pm that night, the workers stopped conducting half-hour checks on the patients. They filled out forms to make it appear as if the checks had occurred.

• Video footage shows two of the hospital workers watching TV and sleeping a few hours before Sachs was murdered.

Remedies to such lax behavior at the hospital have reportedly been implemented since then. However, advocates continue to criticize the hospital for not doing enough to protect patients—especially women—from becoming the victim of assault. Meantime, Sheilah Davenport, the hospital’s chief executive, is to step down at the end of the month.

Maryland Medical Negligence

Hospitals and nursing homes can be held liable for Jessup County medical malpractice or nursing home negligence if poor quality care or inadequate security allowed a patient to become a victim of a crime. Sexual assault, physical assault, patient abuse, and patient violence are serious problems that occur in facilities throughout the US. There must be preventive measures and administrative procedures in place to so that such tragic incidents stop happening.

Report: State hospital staff sleeping, watching TV after woman strangled, Gazette.net, February 16, 2011
Staff at hospital partly criticized in patient killing, Baltimore Sun, February 11, 2011
Related Web Resources:

Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center

Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

More Maryland Accident Law Blog Posts:
Maryland Mental Hospital Patient Charged with Murder of Fellow Patient, Maryland Accident Law Blog, September 27, 2010
Maryland Medical Malpractice and Fraud Alleged in 101 Claims Against Towson Hospital, Maryland Accident Law Blog, October 16, 2010
Baltimore County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Accuses Westminster Assisted Living Facility of Maryland Nursing Home Neglect, Maryland Accident Law Blog, April 28, 2010