Maryland Accident Law Blog

Maryland TBI: Call a Concussion a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Says Researchers

January 23, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A team of researchers are recommending that concussions should be called mild traumatic brain injuries so that this type of condition is taken more seriously. The team is concerned that many people don’t think of a concussion as an injury to the brain.

The researchers looked at the medical records of 300 children with traumatic brain injuries who were treated at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Canada. 102 of them were diagnosed with having a concussion. 385 of the kids diagnosed with a concussion actually had a mild TBI, while 24% in fact had a serious or moderate TBI.

According to Professor Carol DeMatteo of the CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research at McMaster University, in each case involving a child diagnosed with a concussion, the patient and their parents did not think the injury was serious. DeMatteo says this can be a problem.

According to the study’s findings, kids that were diagnosed with having concussion diagnosis spent less time in the hospital than children who were diagnosed with a mild brain injury. They also went back to school and resumed playing sports sooner than kids diagnosed with more serious brain injuries.

DeMatteo notes that if a child isn’t given enough time to recover, more concussions may occur and the risk of permanent brain damage increases.

Brain Injuries to Children

Brain injury is one of the most common causes of death and disability to young children. If your son or daughter suffers an injury to the head, it is important that you get medical help right away. What may appear to be a mild injury to the head may actually be a brain injury.

If your child sustained a TBI in a car crash, fall accident on another person’s property, or another kind of injury accident, you may have grounds for filing a Maryland traumatic brain injury lawsuit involving injuries to minors.

Concussion needs a new name, researchers say, Globe Life, January 17, 2010
Children and Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI Resource Guide, Centre for Neuro Skills
Related Web Resources:
Concussion, Empowered Doctor
McMaster Children’s Hospital

Maryland Medical Malpractice?: 369 Patients May Have Received Unnecessary Stents

January 18, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Following an internal review, a Towson hospital has notified 369 patients that stents may have been unnecessarily implanted in their arteries. St. Joseph Medical Center conducted the probe after a number of patients complained and at the request of federal investigators. The hospital is under investigation for health-care fraud.

According to the Baltimore Sun, there were patients at St. Joseph who underwent the procedure even though the blockage in their arteries was minor. For example, one man who received a stent only had 10% blockage, but the hospital told him that the blockage was 95%. Another woman was wrongly diagnosed with a heart condition and received a stent because she was told her arteries had a 90% blockage. In fact, the blockage was no more than 10%.

Cardiac Catheterization

Coronary stents are used to open up clogged arteries or create a bridge where there is damage. Stents are usually implanted during cardiac catheterization. During this medical procedure, the device can be implanted into the arteries through the leg and via the bloodstream. Cardiac catheterization can be costly, and many insurers, as well as Medicare, require that an artery must have at least 70% blockage before a stent can be inserted. Although generally a safe procedure, serious health complications, such as infection, bleeding, blood vessel damage, allergic reaction, blood clots, heart attack, stroke, arrhythmias, low blood pressure, and kidney damage, can occur.

If you were wrongly diagnosed with an illness or health condition, were advised to undergo a medical procedure you did not need, were given the wrong medication, or if a medical mistake occurred during treatment, you may have grounds for filing a Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit against those responsible.

Undergoing any type of medical procedure can take a physical and emotional toll on a patient. There is no reason to undergo an unnecessary procedures that can place your life at risk, take an emotional and physical toll on you, and require time off for recovery.

Md. heart patients may not have needed stents, Washington Post/AP, January 15, 2010
Patients learn they might have unneeded stents, Baltimore Sun, January 15, 2010
What Are the Risks of Cardiac Catheterization?, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
Related Web Resources:

St. Joseph Medical Center

Cardiac Catheterization, American Heart Association

Baltimore Man Sues Anne Arundel County Police Department and Officer for False Arrest

January 12, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 38-year-old Baltimore man has filed a civil rights violation lawsuit accusing Anne Arundel County police of violating his civil rights when they arrested and imprisoned him without just case. Melvin B. Thomas says he was falsely arrested on January 17 for asking “What about freedom of the press?” after officers apprehended his friend for using a cell phone to videotape cops handcuffing spectators following a Glen Burnie boxing event when some people became rowdy.

Thomas says he and his friend, 32-year-old Pasadena resident Leshon C. Ruffin, were the only two people who were thrown in jail where he stayed for 12 hours. Now, he is seeking $30,000 in damages.

Cpl. Russell Hewitt III, who is a defendant in the Maryland false arrest lawsuit, claims in charging documents that Ruffin was apprehended for trying to approach officers while they were doing their job. He says he arrested Thomas because he was causing a disturbance with his yelling.

Thomas’s attorney, however, says that Thomas and Ruffin were behaving in a nondisruptive manner while others around them were shouting out profanities. All charges against the two men were dropped. Thomas has said that because he and his friend are black he thinks race was a factor. Two white people that also were handcuffed were released at the scene.

Thomas’s Maryland civil rights violation lawsuit is seeking $30,000 in damages.

Maryland False Arrest Lawsuit

A police officer who has violated a person’s civil rights can be sued for damages. Making false arrests, wrongful imprisonment, excessive use of force, verbal abuse, harassment, torture, intimidating tactics, and sexual assaulting a suspect or prisoner can be grounds for a civil lawsuit against the offending police officer, his/her police department, and possibly even the city or the county where the violation took place.

You don’t have to be afraid about coming forward if you were the victim of Maryland police brutality or were falsely arrested without just cause.

Man sues county police for arrest, HometownGlenburnie.com, January 2, 2010
Related Web Resources:

Anne Arundel County

False Arrests, Convictions and Imprisonments, New York Times

$1.2 Million Maryland Wrongful Death Settlement Reached with Family of Teen Restrained at Carroll County, Reform School

January 8, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Isaiah Simmons III has reached a $1.2 million Maryland wrongful death settlement with Bowling Brook Preparatory School and the state’s Department of Juvenile Services. The Maryland teen died in 2007 after he was restrained at the reform school.

Simmons’ family had accused counselors of holding him face down and sitting on him for about three hours. Simmons, a Baltimore 17-year-old, eventually lost consciousness and stopped breathing. The counselors are accused of waiting 41 minutes after Simmons became unresponsive to contact 911. Simmons was pronounced dead at Carroll Hospital Center. Following the tragic incident, Bowling Brook maintained that its staff followed appropriate procedures and denied that workers knelt or sat on Simmons’ head or torso.

Per the school’s report, on January 23, 2007, a staff member questioned Simmons about threats he allegedly made. The teenager allegedly made more threats and at around 4:45 pm, staff members and students restrained him. An ambulance was called at about 8:15 pm.

Nine-Year-Old Boy Dies from Injuries Sustained from Falling Tree at the Hashawha Environmental Center in Westminster, Maryland

January 6, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Noah Asid, the 9-year-old who was injured on December 29 when a large hickory tree fell on him at the Hashawha Environmental Center has died at a Baltimore hospital. Asid, who was attending a nature camp, was getting ready to go hiking with a group of children and counselors when the tragic accident happened.

According to reports, the 60-foot tree fell against a maple tree. This caused the maple branches to give way and the hickory and a number of large branches to hit the ground, striking Asid and another child. The girl, 10, has been released from Carroll Hospital Center.

The Carroll County sheriff’s office is determining what caused the tree to fall. Winds hitting speeds of up to 35 mph on the day of the accident may have been a factor.

Texting While Driving Increases Maryland Car Crash Risks, Confirm Psychologists

December 30, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

University of Utah psychologists are saying that texting while driving increases a motorist’s crash risk by six times. The study can be found in the latest edition of Human Factors, a journal.

According to the researchers, texting presents a 50% greater car crash risk than talking does. One reason for this is that reading or writing texts takes a driver’s attention completely off the road. Meantime, talking on the cell phone while driving at the same time divides the motorist’s attention between both tasks. However, this is not to say that it is safe to talk on the phone while operating an auto.

The study’s lead psychologist, Frank Drews, says that he and other researchers asked 20 motorists, ages 19 to 23, to drive in a “high fidelity driving simulator.” All of the participant drivers were seasoned texters.

The researchers say that compared to drivers who did not text or talk on the cell phone, motorists’ median reaction time went up 30% while they texted. Drivers’ median reaction time rose by 9% when talking on a cell phone. The study also reports that it is more distracting to read text messages than it is to compose them.

Distracted Driving Accidents

This past year, federal and state transportation safety officials have stepped up their efforts to make sure motorists are aware of how dangerous it is to text while driving. In September, Maryland’s statewide ban on sending texts while driving went into effect. Also that month, federal transportation officials kicked off a two-day distracted driving summit in Washington DC. This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched it’s distracted driving Web site, and President Obama’s executive order banning all federal workers from texting when driving goes into effect today.

Unfortunately, distracted driving continues to be a leading cause of Maryland car crashes. Like drunk driving accidents, distracted driving crashes are preventable.

Research: Texting while driving leads to six-fold increase in accidents, TopNews, December 22, 2009
Texting While Driving Raises Crash Risk Sixfold, BusinessWeek, December 21, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association

Distraction.gov

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

Simplicity Drop-Side Cribs Linked to Eleventh Infant Death

December 21, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is once again warning parents, adults, and child caretakers about the dangers of using a Simplicity drop-side crib. An 11th child death has been linked to the defective cribs. The crib’s plastic hardware is prone to deformity and breakage. If this occurs and the drop side detaches, a space can open up between the crib mattress and the side of the crib that a toddler or a sleeping baby can fall into, becoming entrapped and suffocating.

The CPSC has recalled all Simplicity drop-side cribs—over 2 million—in the last four years. However, Simplicity is not the only crib maker whose drop side cribs have been recalled. Last month, the CPSC recalled 2.1 million Stork Craft Manufacturing drop-side cribs after reports of four infant suffocations. Two of the other drop-side sleeper recalls: 1.6 million Delta drop side cribs following two infant deaths and about 2000 Playkids USA portable cribs after a 5-month old suffocated when he became entrapped between the drop-side rail and the mattress.

While drop-side cribs are popular with consumers because the side that drops makes it easy for adults to lift their kids into and out of the supposedly secure beds, there have been so many reported child injuries and deaths involving this kind of crib that some crib manufacturers have called for a ban on all drop-side cribs. Broken and missing pieces, poor design, poor assembly directions, and defective materials are some of the product defects that have led to drop-side crib-related entrapment accidents, fall accidents, and strangulation accidents.

Our Maryland injuries to minors and children lawyers handle products liability claims for families seeking damages for a child’s personal injury or wrongful death. We’d be happy to discuss your defective crib case during your free consultation.

Drop-side cribs are not the only child sleepers considered an entrapment hazard. Last month the CPSC recalled approximately 24,000 Amby Baby Motion Beds/Hammocks. Two infants died from suffocation while in an Amby Baby Hammock. The movement of the hammock makes it easy for the infant to roll into and get stuck against the mattress pad and/or fabric.

11 baby deaths now linked to Simplicity cribs, AP/Google, December 17, 2009
Infant Suffocation Deaths Prompt Recall of Amby Baby Motion Beds/Hammocks, CPSC, December 8, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Crib Safety, HealthBanks
Will Drop-Side Cribs Be Banned?, ParentDish

Family Says Maryland to Blame for Faulty Bay Bridge Construction that Contributed to Truck Driver’s Wrongful Death

December 14, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of truck driver John Short has amended their Maryland wrongful death complaint to include the state as a defendant. Short died in a truck crash in August 2008 when he swerved his tractor-trailer to avoid another vehicle, crashed into a bridge wall, and drove off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

In June, the 57-year-old trucker’s family filed a $7 million Maryland wrongful death lawsuit against 19-year-old Candy Lynn Baldwin, who had fallen asleep while driving.

While Baldwin, who had been drinking before the tragic Maryland truck crash, did not have a blood alcohol level high enough for her to be charged with drunk driving, Short’s family says her results would have been different if authorities had tested her BAC right after the truck collision. They have pointed to her MySpace page, which included pictures of Baldwin, a minor, drinking alcohol. One photo shows her holding a bottle of alcohol while she’s seated in the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle.

$70 Million Baltimore Personal Injury Lawsuit Accuses Ravens Linebacker Terrell Suggs of Maryland Domestic Violence

December 11, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Candace Williams is suing Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs for Maryland personal injury. Candace Williams, 26, is seeking $70 million: $50 million in punitive damages and $20 million in compensatory damages.

Williams claims that Suggs physically abused her twice last month. She contends that on November 3, the football player broke her nose when he hit her face. Williams alleges that on November 29, Suggs poured chemical bleach on her body and threatened to drown her in the strong liquid.

She filed a restraining order against him last week. On Friday, a judge granted an order preventing Suggs from contacting Williams.

Psychiatrist Accused of Sexual Misconduct Has Settled Maryland Injury Lawsuits from Alleged Victims

December 5, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Psychiatrist Nelson H. Hendler is defending himself in a case brought by a former patient who says that he sexually abused her. This is not the first accusation against the once prominent physician, who lost his license to practice medicine in February 2006 after the Maryland Board of Physicians determined that he committed sexual misconduct against several patients and gave out medication even though he didn’t have the proper permit.

The woman who brought this case claims that Hendler acted with her the way he did with his other patient victims. He allegedly convinced a number of patients that he was the only person who could help them and then took sexual advantage of them. Hendler is also accused of giving medication to women, even those who didn’t have prescriptions for the drugs, in exchange for sexual favors. Hendler has already settled a number of Maryland injury lawsuits against him from some of the women that are alleging medical malpractice and sexual abuse.

In 2007, Hendler submitted an Alford plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute drugs. The psychiatrist acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict him but did not plead guilty. He received a probation sentence before judgment, which caused a conviction to be staved off.