Maryland Accident Law Blog

New Maryland Drunk Driving Bills Focus on Underage Drivers and Repeat Offenders

February 12, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, there is a new bill that proposes the automatic six-month driver’s license suspension of any underage driver who is convicted of the illegal possession of alcohol. It would also then take the offender six more months than usual to get his or her license back. According to Maryland State Highway Administrator Neil Pederson, there are studies that indicate that “use and lose” laws compel young drivers to change their behavior so they don’t risk losing their driving privileges.

Another bill addresses the issue of Probation Before Judgment, which lets someone avoid a conviction and accompanying penalty points if he or she fulfills the terms of probation or the required treatment. The proposal would let people arrested and charged with drunk driving to be eligible for probation before a court judgment every 10 years rather than the current every 5 years.

A third bill calls for making it mandatory for Maryland police to ask any driver involved in a catastrophic or fatal auto crash to take a drunk driving test. This information would not be admissible in court but it would allow researchers to determine the role alcohol or drugs play in deadly motor vehicle accidents. Motorists, however, would not be punished for refusing to take the test. Currently, law enforcement officers are supposed to conduct drunk driving tests following serious auto accidents only when they believe a motorist was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

According to Washington Regional Alcohol Program President Kurt Erickson, about 220 people a year died in drunk driving accidents between 2004 and 2007.

Drunk driving is a leading cause of motor vehicle deaths in the United States. The more state and federal governments can do to discourage people from getting behind the wheel and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs the better.

In the event that you or someone you love was injured by a Maryland drunk driver, you may be entitled to receive personal injury compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering, and other losses.

Safety Activists Hopeful About Drunken Driving Bills, Washington Post, February 12, 2009

Maryland Drunk Driving Fines and Penalties

Related Web Resources:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Maryland General Assembly

Maryland Crane Accident Leaves One Worker with Serious Injuries

February 9, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Anne Arundel County, a crane operator suffered serious injuries when he was crushed by falling machinery. The Maryland crane accident occurred last Thursday in Annapolis at a development where another worker got hurt in a similar accident in 2008.

The worker, 46, was sitting in the crane’s compartment and getting ready to lift cooling and heating units onto a gym roof at the Annapolis Towne Centre when a pulley and other components fell. The falling objects smashed onto the operator compartment. Workers rushed to remove the worker from the accident site and he was flown by Medevac to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

Just 10 months ago, Denis Umanzor, a 44-year-old Maryland worker, sustained fatal injuries when part of a crane fell on him. That work accident occurred right by the gym where this latest accident took place. Umanzor became trapped and was suspended some 200 feet in the air where he died.

This latest crane accident comes just as Maryland regulators are getting ready for a public hearing on stricter crane operator safety standards to prevent crane accidents from happening. Currently, the state lacks standardized training procedures and rules for crane operators.

In the last year, a number of people have gotten hurt in US crane accidents. In March, seven people died when a giant crane fell onto a townhouse. Soon after, two other people died and five victims sustained injuries when a portion of another crane fell 30 floors, smashing into a home.

Crane accidents resulting in serious injuries can occur for a number of reasons, including:

• Failed rigging
• Falling loads
• Errors during crane assembly
• Mistakes during dismantling
• Collapsed crane
• Worker inexperience
• Inadequate safety measures
• Operator error
• Overloaded cranes

Crane operators, construction workers, and innocent bystanders who are injured in crane accidents may be entitled to personal injury compensation from liable parties. A worker injured on the job cannot sue his employer, but there may be third parties who can be held responsible in civil court.

Worker critically injured in Arundel crane accident, Baltimore Sun, February 9, 2009
Worker critically injured in Parole crane accident, Hometown Annapolis, February 5, 2009
Related Web Resources:

Crane Accidents

Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration

As Maryland Motor Vehicle Collision Splits Car in Half, One Montgomery County Student Dies and The Other Teen is Critically Injured

February 2, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a deadly Maryland motor vehicle crash that left the vehicle split in two, one Montgomery County high school student is dead and the other has serious injuries. The accident occurred on Sunday afternoon in Rockville.

The driver of the vehicle, 17-year-old Silver Springs resident Johvanny Garmendez, reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which raced down a hill and struck a tree. Garmendez survived the Maryland auto crash with critical injuries. His passenger, 17-year-old Rockville resident Thiago Andrade, was thrown from the 2003 Toyota Camry and pronounced dead at the accident site.

The Camry they were riding in split into two sections after striking a tree. Both parts rolled down the hill separately before landing in an apartment complex parking lot. Another car in the lot was damaged.

Police are trying to determine the cause of the auto crash. According to witnesses, the vehicle was driving at about 45 mph above the speed limit.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2007 Young Drivers (Ages 15 – 20) Traffic Safety Facts

• 6,982 young drivers were involved in auto accidents where there was at least one fatality.
• 3,174 young drivers died in auto accidents.
• 252,000 others were injured.
• 1,631,000 young drivers were involved in auto crashes in which the police became involved.

• 4% of young drivers involved in auto accidents resulting in injuries had been drinking.

Driver distraction, drunk driving, and driver inexperience are just some reasons why young drivers are involved in auto accidents.

According to the Choose Safety for Life Web Site:
• Nearly 20,000 Maryland auto accidents in 2006 involved young drivers.

• That same year, there were 102 auto accidents involving young Maryland drivers that resulted in fatalities.

1 Student Killed, 1 Hurt In Crash That Halved Car, Washington Post, February 2, 2009
Young Drivers, Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA
Young Drivers, Choose Safety for Life
Related Web Resources:
Latest on New Driver Issues, NHTSA
Maryland Teen Drivers, DMV.org

Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Orders Man Convicted of Motorcyclist’s Manslaughter Death to Pay Her Family $2 Million Restitution

February 1, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, a Washington County Circuit Court judge has ordered the man convicted of Debra Reed Fields-Jordan’s manslaughter by vehicle death to pay her family $2,084,076.31 in restitution. Fields-Jordan died in a May 2008 motor vehicle accident when a pickup truck ran a stop sign and struck her motorcycle on Md. 77.

The driver of the pickup truck fled the motorcycle accident scene. Police, however, apprehended Harry W. Shrader a few days later because the truck was registered in his name. In November 2008, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter and is now being held at the Maryland Correctional Training Center. Shrader was intoxicated at the time of the deadly traffic crash.

In August 2008, Fields-Jordan’s husband, Stephen J Jordan, sued Schrader for his wife’s wrongful death. Jordan sought $2 million in punitive damages and $4 million in compensatory damages. He accused Schrader of causing emotional trauma, mental anguish, loss of companionship, society, marital care, comfort, protection, advice, attention, training, guidance, counsel, education, and his wife’s love. Last month, Jordan filed documents accusing Schrader of trying to defraud his family from any wrongful death compensation they could be owed when the inmate transferred more than 44 acres of land to his girlfriend.

Bill Proposes Maryland Reckless Driving Law

January 30, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A bill that is calling for a Maryland reckless driving law would make it easier to prosecute reckless drivers if passed. The proposal calls for drivers who were responsible for causing a motor vehicle fatality because they exhibited negligence leading to “substantial risk” of safety to be charged with a misdemeanor crime. The penalty would be up to three years in jail.

Maryland Delegate Luiz R.S. Simmons (D-Montgomery) has been pushing for this law for five years. He claims that the state’s standard for proving vehicular homicide is too high.

Currently, some 30 US states have laws that allow reckless driving charges even if the driver did not exhibit “gross negligence.” The bill has died every year so far because the House Judiciary Committee chairman, Del. Joseph F. Vallario, has not called for a vote on the matter.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Over Elderly Nursing Home Resident’s Salmonella-Related Death from Allegedly Eating Peanut Butter

January 29, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Shirley Mae Almer is suing Peanut Corporation of America and King Nut Companies for her wrongful death. The 72-year-old nursing home resident allegedly died after she ate the peanut butter that was served to her at the facility where she was staying. A tub of peanut butter found at the nursing home contained Salmonella typhimurium, the same strain of salmonella that has made a number of other people in the US sick.

The Centers for Disease Control says there have been at least 501 reports of Salmonella typhimurium-related food poisoning. 108 people required hospitalization. 8 of the cases resulted in deaths. Over 280 cases involved minors.

Almer died on December 21, 2008. Her family’s wrongful death lawsuit accuses the defendants of failure to safely manufacture, package, and transport the peanut butter, failure to properly train and supervise employees, failure to maintain hygienic conditions at the peanut butter plant, failure to test the peanut butter before sending the products off, and failure to prevent cross-contamination.

Hundreds of Washington DC Children May Have Been Exposed to High Levels of Lead in City’s Tap Water

January 27, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A new peer-reviewed study to be published in the Environmental Science and Technology raises worries that some 42,000 Washington DC kids, now ages 4 to 9, may have been exposed to high levels of lead during the 2001 water crisis. Many of these children were two years of age or in their mothers’ wombs at that time. According to experts, toddlers and fetuses are most at risk of suffering permanent brain damage from lead poisoning.

The study is based on findings from an analysis of thousands of kids’ blood tests from 2000 to 2003. In some DC neighborhoods, the number of infants and toddlers with blood-lead concentrations that could lead to developmental delays and a permanently lowered IQ more than doubled after record breaking levels of lead began entering the city’s tap water supply.

The addition of a new chemical to the water treatment is what caused the increase in lead concentration. In 2003, DC residents were warned about this problem and were advised to use alternative sources of drinking water.

The new study’s results are counter to what federal and DC officials have said since 2004 when they admitted that although the levels of lead in the city’s water were very high, they did not think that this would significantly impact people. Now, public health officials are claiming that they just didn’t have the information at the time to show that there could be a problem.

According to studies, lead poisoning can cause kids to experience a decrease in IQ, as well as exhibit aggressiveness. One reason that babies in the womb and toddlers are highly succepetable to injuries from lead poisoning is that their brains are not yet fully developed. They can also more easily absorb and ingest more toxic metal than older children and adults.

According to FamilyDoctor.org:

• Excessive levels of lead in a child’s body can lead to problems with kidneys, brain, or bone marrow.

• Lead poisoning can lead to behavioral problems, attention difficulties, learning problems, and a drop in IQ.

High Lead Levels Found in D.C. Kids, Washington Post, January 27, 2009
Lead Poisoning in Children, FamilyDoctor.org
Related Web Resources:

Environmental Science and Technology

Kids’ Pages, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Federal Government Settles VA Wrongful Death Lawsuit with Family of Iraq War Veteran who Committed Suicide

January 24, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The federal government has settled a VA wrongful death lawsuit with the family of an Iraq war veteran who killed himself soon after he was denied mental health care. The family will receive $350,000.

Jeffrey Lucey was a corporal in the US Marines who was based in Iraq in 2003. When he came back to the United States, family members says he was having nightmares, behaving erratically, suffering from insomnia and serious depression, and drank a lot. The 23-year-old was involuntarily committed to a VA medical center’s psychiatric unit but was discharged from the hospital after four days following a diagnosis of mood swings and alcoholism.

Two days later, Lucey’s family readmitted him to the hospital after he crashed a car in an attempt to kill himself. He was turned away by a VA hospital nurse who failed to have a psychiatrist examine him.

Baltimore County Woman Dies After She is Struck by Flying Truck’s Tire on Capital Beltway

January 22, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 21-year-old Baltimore County woman is dead after a tire that broke off from a truck being towed landed on her car on Wednesday. The deadly motor vehicle accident took place on Interstate 495 in Prince George’s County.

According to Maryland State Police, tow truck driver Roger Smith was towing a delivery truck when one of the tires with a metal wheel broke off the vehicle, rolled across lanes, struck two guardrails, rolled across a grassy median, and hit a tractor-trailer. The impact of this collision caused the tire to fly back across the median and land on Channing Quinichett’s Honda Civic, crushing the windshield and roof of her vehicle. The 21-year-old Maryland resident was pronounced dead at the crash scene.

If you have been injured in a Maryland traffic accident because a party’s negligence caused flying or falling debris to strike you and/or your motor vehicle, you may have grounds to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

For example, last September, the family of 39-year-old Milena Del Valle, who died after part of the Big Dig tunnel ceiling in Massachusetts fell on her car, received a $28 million wrongful death settlement. In another personal injury lawsuit, the wife of Pawel “Paul” Swierczynski sued five companies after her husband was struck by a 250-pound grate that crashed through his windshield. Swierczynski sustained numerous injuries, including a traumatic brain injuries.

Just this month, a 6-year-old boy died and a man sustained injuries after they were struck by flying metal chunks at a monster truck rally. The catastrophic accident occurred when a truck’s driveline malfunctioned, causing the fragments to fly toward the crowd. Witnesses have expressed anger that the show was not stopped even after both victims started bleeding.

While freak accidents do happen, there may have been steps that a liable party could have taken to prevent the personal injury accident or wrongful death.

Tire kills Baltimore Co. woman on Capital Beltway, Baltimore Sun, Associated Press, January 22, 2009
Boy, 6, killed by flying debris at Tacoma monster truck rally, Komonews.com, January 17, 2009
Boy, 6, killed by flying debris at Tacoma monster truck rally, Komonews.com, January 17, 2009
Settlement Reached In Big Dig Death Suit, CBS News, September 30, 2008
Related Web Resource:
Wrongful Death Overview, Justia

Maryland Multi-Auto Crash on I-70 Involving 42 Motor Vehicles Results in Multiple Injuries and at Least 2 Fatalities

January 20, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A deadly multi-auto collision on I-70 in Washington County on Monday has resulted in multiple injuries and at least two fatalities. Maryland State Police say at least 7 tractor-trailers and 35 passenger cars were involved in the midday accident.

About 45 people were taken to a Red Cross shelter following the crash, which police are partially attributing to the snowy weather. Many of the accident survivors sustained bumpers and bruises. Some 12 people who were seriously injured were transported to Washington County Hospital.

The 40-plus auto pileup was just one of several Maryland multi-vehicle accidents to occur on icy roads. In Harford County, some 20 auto accidents had occurred by yesterday night, including a four-auto collision and another accident involving a car striking a guardrail.