Maryland Accident Law Blog

$1.65 Million Frederick County, Maryland Wrongful Death Award Issued to Parents of Man Who Died in Accidental Shooting

June 28, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Frederick County Circuit Judge John H. Tisdale has awarded the parents of Michael Abraham Brall $1.65 million in their Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against Brian Gregory Stone. Stone accidentally shot Brall on October 25, 2007.

The two men had been drinking at a local bar that night when the decided to go to Stone’s apartment. Stone, then 22, reportedly was showing Brall, 23, his roommate’s gun when it went off, sending a bullet into Brall’s chest. He died at the accident site.

At his 2008 criminal trial, Stone said he didn’t know the gun was loaded when he showed the gun to Brall. He says that Brall had asked to see the weapon. Stone was later found not guilty of reckless endangerment and manslaughter.

Prince George’s County Jury Awards $2.025 Million Maryland Wrongful Death Verdict to Family of Inmate Killed by Dump Truck

June 25, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family and estate of Rodney Jennings has been awarded a $2.025 Maryland wrongful death verdict against dump truck driver Wayne Goss and the state of Maryland, Jennings, 28, died in August 2007 after he was hit by a dump truck on Interstate 495.

At the time, Jennings was an inmate serving time for a drug-related charge. The Prince George’s County dump truck accident happened while he picking up trash. Jennings was part of a work detail working under the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

On the morning of August 23, 2007, Jennings was struck by Goss’s 39-ton dump truck as he and other inmates on the work crew tired crossing the Exit 17 ramp for Route 202. His legs were crushed during the Maryland truck accident and, according to the family’s Prince George’s County wrongful death lawyer, Jennings experienced severe pain for about 45 minutes prior to his passing.

Carroll County Motorcycle Death is Third One This Year

June 21, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Washington Irving Wheeler died in a Carroll County motorcycle crash on June 10. The 41-year-old was riding his bike south on Md. 30 when he was involved in a traffic collision with a Chevrolet Cavalier whose driver was attempting to make a left turn. According to police, Wheeler was not at fault in causing the Maryland motorcycle accident.

His death is the third Carroll County motorcycle fatality this year—an increase from the two Carroll County motorcycle deaths in 2009. On March 31, Westminster resident William Parry was killed after his bike and a motor vehicle that was also making a turn collided. In an unrelated traffic crash, motorcyclist Brian Ecker, died on May 15 when his motorcycle struck a fence and a mailbox.

In another recent Carroll County, Maryland motorcycle accident, two local residents suffered injuries on June 12 when the motorcycle they were riding and a car collided at the intersection of Broadfording Road and Md. 63. The motorcycle struck the driver’s side of the 2004 Chevy Monte Carlo as it pulled out from the stop sign. The two riders were thrown from their bike.

Police are saying that there is a huge tree at that intersection that obstructs the view from both roads, which makes it likely that both drivers couldn’t see each other. The motorcycle driver, 41-year-old Michael Destefano, was flown to University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in critical condition. His girlfriend, 45-year-old Christine Biddinger, was treated for a collapsed lung, chest injuries, and a broken arm.

Carroll County man in critical condition after motorcycle accident, Herald Mail, June 12, 2010
Md. 30 crash is Carroll’s third motorcycle fatality this year, Carroll County Times, June 16, 2010
Related Web Resources:
2010 Maryland Motorcycle Safety Program , Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration
Maryland Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog

Columbia Man Files $50 Million Maryland Police Brutality Lawsuit Against Howard County Police

June 16, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Melvin Yates is suing the government of Howard County, Police Chief William McMahon, and three officers for $50 million. In his federal lawsuit, the 23-year-old is accusing the officers of beating him until he became semiconscious at his father’s memorial party last April.

According to Yates, on April 10 police were called to the memorial party that Yates was holding for his father, who died in a motorcycle crash last year, because a fight broke out. Yates claims he was not involved in the disagreement and that he actually tried to leave the party because he was upset that his guests were disrespecting his father’s memory with their dispute. It was then that a police officer stopped him from leaving, several cops surrounded him, and he was told that he was going to jail.

In his Howard County police brutality complaint, Yates contends that he cooperated with the police officers, who handcuffed him, but that a number of police officers started shoving him against a vehicle, using objects to hit him on the head, and kicking and punching him. The 23-year-old’s allegations are contrary to police claims that he resisted arrest and pushed and grabbed the officers. Their charging documents maintain that they followed police procedure.

Arnold Man Convicted of Hindering Cop Who Shot Him Plans to File Anne Arundel County Personal Injury Lawsuit

June 10, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

An Arnold man who was shot by police during an altercation at his home last July plans to file an Anne Arundel County police brutality lawsuit. Michael A. Housley was acquitted by a jury of the charge that he assaulted police officers and other related charges. He was, however, found guilty of two counts of obstructing a police officer. The 52-year-old defendant plans to seek a new trial.

On July 12, three cops were asked by Anne Arundel Medical Center to go to his home to check on Housley’s wife, Leah Housley, who left the center even though doctors hadn’t discharged her yet. Housley had taken her there because he was worried that had taken too much prescription medication. The couple says that they went home several hours after she was admitted because she was feeling better.

When the police officers arrived at their residence, Housley refused let them in without paperwork and contacted 911. Meantime, Leah told the officers she would come out but that she needed to place the family dog in the bathroom first.

Woman Claims Maryland Fall Accident Left Her with a Russian Accent

June 3, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Robin Vanderlip says she suffers from Foreign Accent Syndrome because she was injured in a Maryland fall accident three years ago. The 42-year-old says that because a handrail at the conference center in Chevy Chase was faulty, she fell backwards down a staircase and hit her head.

Vanderlip, who is American, claims that because of her head injury, she had a stroke and now can only speak with a Russian accent. She also suffers from fatigue and memory problems.

The single mother of two is seeking over $1 million in Maryland personal injury compensation from the National 4-H Council. Meantime, she continues to undergo treatment at the University of Maryland and the National Institutes of Health. Vanderlip says that her daughter is embarrassed by her foreign accent.

Harford County Woman Awarded $3.5 Million Maryland Surgical Malpractice Verdict

May 22, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A jury has awarded Victoria Little a $3.5 million Harford County surgical malpractice verdict in her case against Vascular Surgery Associates and two surgeons. The 53-year-old woman claims that she was injured in 2007 when the doctors performed an improper grafting technique during her surgery to treat her blocked arteries.

According to Little’s Maryland medical malpractice lawyers, the doctors’ negligence and improper surgical technique caused her blood pressure to drop for a prolonged period of time, which deprived her organs and tissue of oxygen. She developed a spinal cord injury, lost 5,100 milliliters of blood, and is now a paraplegic. Little says that she still experiences constant pain.

The verdict awards Little $2 million for future medical costs, $1.3 million for noneconomic damages, and over $200,000 for past medical expenses. However, the state’s pain and suffering cap is $680,000.

Maryland Medical Malpractice?: Psychiatrist’s License Permanently Revoked for Alleged Inappropriate Contact with Boy Patients

May 19, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Maryland Board of Physicians is permanently revoking Miguel Frontera’s license to practice in the state. The decision comes after the state board found that the psychiatrist engaged in inappropriate contact with about a dozen pre-teen boys in his care. Baltimore County police say that they are conducting a criminal investigation into the allegations.

The board had initially suspended Frontera’s license last year for alleged improper behavior when conducting physical exams on five boys, ages 10 – 12, between 2000 and 2009. For example one boy, age 17, told a crisis interventionist at his high school that the psychiatrist molested him during several visits when he was 11 or 12. A police report was filed in 2006 over the incidents that allegedly took place in 2000 and 2001. In March 2009, the parent of a second boy filed a police report accusing Frontera of molesting the teenager during a physical exam when he was 10.

Both alleged victims had sought treatment from the psychiatrist for suspected attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They claim that Frontera made them wear hospital gowns so he could look at their genitals. At the time the allegations were first made, police said that they were not considered to be at the criminal level.

However, Baltimore Police say that they reopened the investigation because of new information that they’ve received. Meantime, Frontera is maintaining that all of the allegations against him are false.

Psychiatric misconduct or his/her failure to provide a patient with a minimum standard level of care can be grounds for a Maryland psychiatric malpractice lawsuit. Examples of this type of medical malpractice:

• Wrong diagnosis
• Medication mistakes
• Breach of privacy
• False imprisonment
• Failure to provide the proper treatment
• Emotional abuse
• Mental abuse
• Sexual relationship with the patient
• Sex abuse
Towson psychiatrist loses license over improper contact with boys, The Baltimore Sun, May 18, 2010
Towson psychiatrist’s license suspension upheld, Towson Times, November 20, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Maryland Board of Physicians

Psychiatric Malpractice: Basic Issues in Evolving Contexts, Psychiatric Times

Cecil County Townhouse Fire Kills Three Young Children and Leaves Mother with Maryland Burn Injuries

May 15, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a fatal fire to break out at Cecil County townhouse early Saturday. While 29-year-old Jewel Johnson was able to escape through a second-story window, three of her four young children were not as lucky.

Neighbors say they couldn’t rescue the children, who were screaming for help, because the flames were too high to walk across. Johnson’s oldest son, age 10, wasn’t there that night.

Following her rescue, Johnson was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center where she is being treated for smoke inhalation and burns. She was admitted in critical but stable condition.

According to Maryland State Fire Marshal spokesperson Bruce Bush, the fire started in the first-floor living room. The townhouse, built in 1974, did not have sprinklers. Fire crews have yet to determine whether the smoke detector alarms went off after the blaze broke out.

Maryland Premises Liability

Property owners are supposed to make sure that there are no fire hazards on a premise. Appropriate fire prevention measures and warning systems must also be in place so that in the event a fire does break out, residents, patrons, visitors, and others can attempt to douse the flames and/or escape in time. You may be able to file a Maryland premises liability lawsuit against a negligent landlord, business owner, or another responsible parties.

Burn Injuries

Burn injuries are incredibly painful and disfiguring and can also lead to nerve damage, internal injuries, respiratory injuries, muscle injuries, shock, depression, electrolyte imbalance, infections, physical deformity, and death. The medical treatments required can be extensive and costly.

3 children killed in Cecil Co. townhouse fire, Baltimore Sun, May 15, 2010
3 Children Die In Cecil Co. Fire, WJZ, May 15, 2010
Related Web Resources:

Burn Survivor Resource Center

Smoke Detectors and Sprinkler Systems, Peoples-Law.org

Family of Girl Electrocuted at Druid Hill Park Softball Field Revisits Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against the City of Baltimore

May 12, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Four years after a 14-year-old girl was fatally electrocuted at a softball field on Druid Hill, her loved ones are considering whether to seek a motion asking a court reevaluate its decision to dismiss the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Baltimore. Green, a Deer Park Middle School student, died on May 5, 2006 when she was electrocuted while stretching against a steel fence before a church league softball game.

The fence was in contact with an underground power line. Green grabbed hold of another fence and her body completed completed an electrical circuit. She was knocked down immediately and never regained consciousness.

In 2009, Green’s family filed a Maryland wrongful death complaint against the city of Baltimore, Del Electric Inc., and Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. A judge later dismissed the case against the city and BGE.