Maryland Accident Law Blog

$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

Columbia Man Files Third Lawsuit Against Police Alleging Howard County Police Brutality

February 19, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last year, our Baltimore Maryland accident lawyers reported on the story of Melvin Yates, a Columbia man who filed a $50 million federal lawsuit suing Howard County, Police Chief William McMahon, and three officers for civil rights violations and including police brutality. A federal court dismissed that his case twice—once, says ExploreHoward.com, because Yates’s Maryland injury lawyer did not counter a dismissal motion submitted by Howard County attorneys. The lawsuit was filed again and also dismissed because it was almost identical to the first one and the same complaint cannot be filed twice in federal court.

Now, Yates is trying again. This time, he is filing his Maryland police brutality lawsuit in Howard County Circuit Court.

Yates, who is in his early 20’s, claims that cops beat him at his dad’s memorial party last April. Yates’s dad had died in a Maryland motorcycle accident. Police were called to the party after a fight broke out.

The Fight Against Distracted Driving: Baltimore County Lawmaker Pushes for Tougher Cell Phone Driving Law

February 16, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to Maryland lawmaker James Malone, the state’s law regarding handheld cell phones while driving is not tough enough. Delegate Malone, a Democrat from Baltimore County, is supporting a bill that would make using a handheld cell phone while operating a motor vehicle a primary offense. Hopefully, such a bill will stop more people from distracted driving with their phone or PDA so that they don’t cause a Maryland car crash.

Under the current law, talking on a handheld phone while driving is a secondary offense, which means that the ban can only be enforced if the driver is being cited for another violation. Also, although drivers are banned from sending text messages, they are allowed to retrieve and read them. Malone and others also want to make the text messaging ban tougher. Sen. Jim Brochin, D-Baltimore County is sponsoring a bill in the Senate that would make it illegal to also read texts while driving.

According to the Maryland State Highway Administration, in the past five years, there have been over 380 distracted driving fatalities in the state. Distracted driving, as described by US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, is an epidemic. It was the cause of 5500 fatalities in the US in 2009—yet many people, when they can get away with it, continue to text, talk on the phone, send emails, surf the Internet, or play games on their cell phone while driving. Although talking on a handheld device is not safe either, at least the driver has both hands on the steering wheel.

A distracted driver can be held liable for Baltimore County personal injury or wrongful death if his/her failure to pay attention caused a catastrophic Maryland car accident. There are steps that an experienced Baltimore personal injury law firm can take to prove that a driver was distracted when the Maryland traffic crash happened. For example, there may be phone records that can be obtained to match up when the crash happened and when a call was taking place. A witness may have observed the distracted driver texting.

Md. Bill to Tighten Cell Phone Use While Driving, ABC News/AP, February 16, 2011
Distracted driving epidemic: U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood calls issue a ‘personal crusade’, Sea Coast Online, October 24, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Cellphone Laws, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Distraction.gov

Related Blog Posts:
US DOT Holds Second Annual Distracted Driving Summit in Washington DC, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, September 22, 2010
Maryland Injury News: Distracted Driving Blamed for Increasing Number of Fatal Teenage Automobile Accidents, Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog, July 17, 2010
Maryland Auto Injury News: Distracted Driving Blamed in Baltimore Woman’s Death following Fatal Howard County Crash, Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog, June 26, 2010

Retired Teacher Shot to Death in Glen Burnie Shopping Mall Parking Lot

February 9, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Myra Elizabeth Cason, a retired schoolteacher, was found fatally shot inside her vehicle in a Glen Burnie shopping mall parking lot. According to police, robbery appears to have been the motive. They think that the shooter was in the vehicle with the 63-year-old and made her drive to the parking lot where she was then shot.

Maryland Premises Liability

Inadequate security is one of the more common grounds for filing a premises liability case. Was there adequate lighting on the property? Was there adequate parking lot surveillance? What about security personnel? Does the area where the property is located have a history of violent crimes? What time of day did the crime occur? Could the property owner have prevented the crime from happening?

Obviously, not every violent crime warrants a Glen Burnie personal injury claim but you won’t know for sure unless you start exploring your legal options.

Examples of scenarios where negligent security might have played a role:
• Sexual assault in a public library bathroom
• A mugging in a parking garage
• A robbery at a gas station
• Rape in a campus building
• Molestation in a church
• A shooting in a nursing home
• A physical assault crime in a hotel

If negligence on a property allowed someone to become the victim of a violent crime, the property owner can be held liable for Anne Arundel County premises liability.

63-year-old shot to death in Glen Burnie parking lot, The Baltimore Sun, January 29, 2011
Retired Anne Arundel Co. Teacher Murdered, CBS Baltimore, January 29, 2011
Related Web Resource:
Premises Liability, Justia
Related Blog Posts:
Recent Shootings at Safeway and Walmart Raises the Question of How Liable Premises are for Violent Crimes, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, January 23, 2011
DC Metro Assault Crimes: Does WMATA Provide Adequate Security?, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, August 10, 2010
Family of Murdered Baltimore Woman Files $14 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit, Maryland Accident Law Blog, December 11, 2007

$3.1M Prince George’s County, Maryland Car Accident Verdict Awarded to a Woman Injured in a Collision with an Undercover Cop

February 4, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Maryland jury has awarded $3.1 million to Carlisa Kent, who was injured in a 2008 Calvert County car accident involving an off-duty Prince George’s County undercover narcotics cop. Kent, 45, claimed she was injured when the county-leased car driven by Robert Edward Lee crossed the centerline, after accidentally rear-ending another vehicle, and then hit her auto.

Kent sustained a number of injuries, including fractures to her left hip, right foot, and pelvic areas. She was hospitalized for three months and spent another two months using a wheelchair. Per her Prince George’s County, Maryland personal injury lawsuit, Kent will never completely recover. Lee also sustained serious injuries.

The jury awarded Kent $3,091,291.67. However, the state’s damage caps reduce the amount to just over $2 million. Police spokesman Cpl. Evan Baxter says that Lee was violating police rules when he drove the car while outside Prince George’s County.

Looking for Ways to Decrease the Number of Maryland Car Crashes Caused by Drunk Drivers

January 31, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Baltimore personal injury lawyers represent many people that have been hurt in Maryland car crashes because a driver was drunk. It is unfortunate that despite laws that make it illegal for people to drive while intoxicated, and all the efforts to educate people about the dangers of drunk driving, people continue to die in drunk driving accidents.

This isn’t to say that the number of US drunk driving crashes hasn’t gone down. While almost 12,000 people died in auto accidents involving a drunk driver in 2008, 10,839 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in 2009. Our Rockville, injury lawyers hope that this figure continues to go down.

Last week, the transportation safety officials and advocates against drunk driving took a look at technology under development that would stop drunk drivers from driving. The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) technology (DADSS), would prevent drunk drivers from being able to operate their vehicles if they had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or greater. DADDS could be voluntarily installed in new vehicles. One DADSS system uses a breath-based approach, the other system is touch-based.

Owing Mills, Maryland Car Accidents Can Cause Hard to Detect Soft Tissue Injuries

January 25, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Involvement in a Maryland car crash can lead to all sorts of painful injuries, including spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, broken bones, and organ damage. Another common injury that occurs, but can be hard to detect at first, is soft tissue injuries.

The soft tissue is generally the area that surrounds the joints or bones, such as tendons, muscles, and ligaments. Soft tissue injuries usually manifest as strains, sprains, or tears, and it may be hours or days before an Owing Mills car crash victim starts to experience symptoms, including inflammation, soreness, and persistent pain. Whiplash is one of the most common soft tissue injuries.

Unfortunately, many insurance companies will try to minimize the seriousness of this type of injury in an attempt to pay an injured person the least amount of compensation. While soft tissue injuries may not necessarily be easy to detect, the pain and discomfort experienced by the victim is very real. A person suffering from a soft tissue injury may have trouble moving his/neck. He/she may also experience chronic back pain or suffer from muscle spasms in the shoulders or serious headaches. In addition to medical care and physical therapy, a person with a soft tissue injury may have to take time off work to recover.

Because obtaining fair compensation for soft tissue injuries can be challenging, it is important that you work with a Maryland injury law firm that has the experience and commitment to helping you obtain your financial recovery.

Sprains, Strains, and Other Soft-Tissue Injuries, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
Treatment for soft tissue injuries, Brain Mac

Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Maryland Motorcycle Accident Attorney Blog

$270 Baltimore Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages Against Police Officer Charged with Man’s Murder

January 19, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Tyrone Brown is suing Baltimore Police officer Gahiji Tshamba for his Maryland wrongful death. They are seeking $270 million. Tshamba shot Brown dead last summer outside a Mt. Vernon night club. The Baltimore cop is charged with first-degree murder.

Per charging documents, Tshamba shot the East Baltimore man 12 times on June 5, 2010—not just 6 or 9 times, as was reported. Witnesses say that Brown grabbed Tshamba’s female companion in an inappropriate fashion and that was when the officer challenged him with his gun. The Baltimore wrongful death complaint contends that Brown’s hands were already in the air before the off-duty cop shot him.

Also named as defendants are the state of Maryland, Baltimore’s city council, its mayor, and Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld. The plaintiffs say that Tshamba violated department protocol because he was carrying his gun while intoxicated. They contend that Tshamba shouldn’t have been a member of the police force.

$2.4M Maryland Wrongful Death Verdict Awarded to Family of Forklift Driver Who Had Asbestos-Related Cancer

January 15, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A jury has awarded $2.4 million to the family of Daniel Edwards for his Maryland wrongful death. Edwards died from mesothelioma in 2008.

His families said that he developed mesothelioma lung cancer from moving bags of asbestos for six years during the 60’s and 70’s while employed with National Gypsum. They contend that Union Carbide supplied and mined the asbestos and did not warn workers about the risks associated with exposure to asbestos even though they allegedly knew about the link between mesothelioma and asbestos two years before Edwards started working at the product manufacturer. Union Carbide’s lawyers have argued that it was National Gypsum’s job to warn its employees about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

However, a Baltimore City jury found that it was Union Carbide who was responsible for Edwards’ work-related disease. Because of the state’s cap on damages, the Maryland wrongful death award was lowered to $2.2 million.