Maryland Accident Law Blog

Anne Arundel County Settles Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit with Family of Naked Glen Burnie Man Shot by Police Officer

December 21, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anne Arundel County has agreed to pay $90,000 to settle the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Donald Coates. The 20-year-old was shot dead by Anne Arundel County Police Officer Tommy Pleasant in 2005.

Earlier this year, Coates’s family members filed federal and state lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages. They claimed that Pleasant, who was a rookie and had been patrolling solo for just a month when the incident happened, acted wrongfully when he shot Coates, who was naked and unarmed at the time.

The shooting incident occurred on May 24, 2005. According to witnesses, Coates had called 911 while he was smoking marijuana in his home. He claimed that someone was trying to kill him. He then fired several shots before leaving the premise.

Maryland Boy is Almost Strangled to Death by Seat Belt

December 17, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 5-year-old Maryland boy sustained critical injuries after the seat belt he was using got caught around his neck. The incident occurred in Prince George’s County on I-95 at around 6p on Monday evening. The child, DeAndre Harris, is in very serious condition at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC.

A Maryland State Police trooper arrived at the scene after DeAndre’s mother, Yuko Harris, contacted 911. The trooper used a knife to cut the seat belt and administered CPR to DeAndre, who did not have a pulse. His heart started beating again while he was being transported to Laurel Hospital. He was later flow to the District.

Maryland State Police have impounded Harris’s vehicle, a Honda CRV. They do not know how the seat belt became wrapped around the 5-year-old’s neck to cut off his circulation. Although DeAndre is just 5, he was not sitting in a booster seat, which is required for kids under age 8 when riding in motor vehicles.

Seat Belt Injuries

Seat belts are supposed to keep a vehicle occupant securely fastened in the event of an auto crash. While seat belt injuries can occur as a result of user error, there are those injuries that can arise because of a defect in the seat belt’s design or an error that occurred during manufacturing. Such defects can pose a serious injury hazard during a motor vehicle crash and be grounds for a products liability claim or wrongful death lawsuit.

Examples of seat belt defects include:

• Latching defects
• Broken or cracked buckle release buttons
• Too much seat belt slack
• Webbing defects
• Skip lock defects

Seat belts can pose a strangulation hazard if used incorrectly or made defectively.

Boy, 5, is critical after seat belt cuts off breathing, Baltimore Sun, December 16, 2008
Boy, 5, Riding With Family on I-95 Is Critically Injured by Seat Belt, Washington Post, December 7, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Maryland’s Child Passenger Safety Laws, Maryland State Highway Administration

Teen Car Accidents May Be Reduced with Later School Start Time, Says Study

December 16, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A new study shows that starting the school day a little later may reduce the chances of teen car crashes, personal injuries, and death. A later school start time allows teens to sleep more in the morning, which, researchers say, leads to more alert driving.

By moving the beginning of classes at local high schools by 1 hour from 7:30 am to 8:30 am, researches saw a 16.5% drop in teen auto accident rates.

Psychologist Fred Danner, who coauthored the study, says adolescents are biologically programmed to stay awake an hour later every night. Danner says teens in general need 8-9 hours of sleep. If teens gets an hour less sleep during school nights, by the week’s end, they can be as impaired as if they had stayed awake for 24 hours in a row.

The study surveyed 10,000 kids, in grades 6 through 12, to determine sleep habits, auto accidents, and daytime functioning. Surveys were conducted twice. In 1998, when the school start time was at 7:30am and in 1999, when school would start at 8:30am. The study appears this week in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

According to the National Sleep Foundation:

• Driver fatigue is the cause of 100,000 motor vehicle crashes each year.
• More than 50% of the drivers involved in these crashes are young drivers, ages 16 to 25.
• 85% of teenagers get less than 8 ½ hours of sleep each night.
• Drowsy driving after not having slept for 18 hours is the equivalent of drunk driving with a BAC of .08% or more.

• Not getting enough sleep can impair a person’s ability to make decisions, think clearly, and pay attention. It can also impair one’s reflexes.

A 2006 survey found that 51% of high school students have driven a motor vehicle when they were drowsy. Out of 262 college students that were surveyed, 17% of them admitted to falling asleep while driving.

Later School Start Time Cuts Teens’ Car Crash Risks, Washington Post, December 15, 2008

National Sleep Foundation

Related Web Resources:

Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine

NHTSA

Maryland Police Targeted in Two Separate Police Brutality Lawsuits

December 15, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Two recent Maryland lawsuits have brought the topic of police brutality to the media forefront. Last week, a judge ruled that teenager Eric Bush can sue the city of Baltimore for Maryland personal injury even though he had missed the deadline for letting the city know he intended to sue. The judge said Bush showed good cause for why his notice that there would be a lawsuit was late.

Bush became a YouTube star after footage of Officer Salvatore Rivieri putting the then-14-year-old skateboarder in a headlock and chastising him for calling the cop “dude” was posted on the popular Web site. The altercation took place in 2007 at the Inner Harbor.

Bush says he never heard Rivieri give him an order about skateboarding. Rivieri, a police veteran, was suspended after the video footage of the incident was brought to the Baltimore police Department’s attention.

Roche Loses Drug Litigation Lawsuit and Is Ordered to Pay Almost $13 Million to Three Accutane Users

December 11, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A jury in the United States has ordered drug manufacturer Roche to pay $12.9 million to three Accutane users who say they developed chronic bowel disorders from using the popular acne drug. The jury determined that the Swiss drug maker failed to properly warn of the side effects that can result from using Accutane.

The patients began using Accutane more than 10 years ago when they were teenagers to treat their acne. As a result of using the acne drug, two of the patients say they now require long-term drug rehabilitation and the third patient has to have his colon removed.

This is not the first drug litigation lawsuit filed against Roche that links Accutane to inflammatory bowel disease. This is the fourth IBD civil trial the Swiss Drug maker has lost.

Baltimore Police Department Sued for $10 Million in Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit

December 9, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Owings Mill mother of Damon D. Smith, the Maryland man who committed suicide by jumping from the top of Mercy Hospital, is suing the Baltimore Police Department for wrongful death. Hazella White’s lawsuit seeks $10 million in damages from the police department, the city of Baltimore, and Officer Wilbert Perez.

On October 26, 2007, Smith crashed his motor vehicle on Interstate 795 and was picked up by Maryland state police. A police check determined that Baltimore police were looking for the 27-year-old in connection to his ex-girlfriend Veronica Fludd’s murder. Smith also appeared to have self-inflected injuries.

According to White’s Maryland wrongful death lawsuit, Officer Perez knew that Smith was suicidal yet loosened his restraints before he went to the bathroom. The complaint also contends that Perez had been working too many hours in a row and should have called medical workers.

Washington DC Man Dies After Paramedics Diagnose Acid Reflux

December 8, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Washington DC, a 39-year-old man died at his home on Wednesday, just hours after paramedics told him that he was suffering from acid reflux and didn’t need to go to the hospital. Now, authorities are trying to determine whether Emergency Service workers misdiagnosed Edward Givens’s condition and if this contributed to his death.

Givens’s mother, Lolitha, says that on Tuesday night, Edward told family members to contact 911. He was on the floor complaining of pains in his chest. He also said he was having problems breathing. At 11:40pm, an ambulance and fire truck from Engine 30 arrived at the home carrying three firefighters, who had emergency training, and a firefighter-paramedic.

The firefighters reportedly checked Givens’s vitals and conducted an electrocardiogram. Findings were normal. When the EMT’s found out Givens had eaten a burger, they recommended that he take antacid. They left soon after.

Lolitha says the paramedics refused to take her son to the hospital because they didn’t think his symptoms required additional care. Not even six hours later, however, family members contacted 911 again after they saw that Edward had stopped breathing.

Givens’s relatives say that the father of two might still be alive if EMT’s had followed procedures and taken him to the hospital. The DC Medical Examiner’s Office is expected to conduct an autopsy and issue its findings into his cause of death. According to DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services protocol, paramedics are supposed to take any patient who wants to go to the hospital.

Wrong Diagnosis

If a medical professional gave the wrong diagnosis of your loved one’s condition or failed to give him or her the proper care, your loved one may have grounds to file a medical malpractice claim for damages. If your loved one died because of medical negligence, you may have grounds to file a Washington DC wrongful death lawsuit.

Man Dies at Home After Paramedics Diagnose Acid Reflux, Washington Post, December 4, 2008
Misdiagnosis May Have Been Death Sentence for District Man, WJLA, December 3, 2008

Related Web Resources:

DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services

Rosenbaum Lawsuit Settled, Washington Post, December 21, 2007

Mother Sues Crocs for Personal Injury After Son’s Right Toe is Mangled While Riding Baltimore Aquarium’s Escalator

December 4, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The mother of a six-year-old boy whose right big toe was mangled when his Crocs clog got caught in an escalator at the National Aquarium in Baltimore is suing Crocs Inc. for products liability. Kerry Burdick filed her federal lawsuit in court on Monday. She is seeking over $7.5 million in damages.

The accident occurred last April. Burdick’s lawsuit alleges that Crocs was aware that the popular clogs posed a hazard on escalators yet failed to warn consumers.

This is not the first incident where a person got hurt while using Crocs shoes. Over 200 people around the world have been involved in similar escalator entrapment accidents while using the popular clogs. Children especially appear more prone to injuries while wearing Crocs.

In 2007, a 10-year-old girl hurt her toe after her Crocs clog got stuck on an escalator at the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. This year, a 3-year-old Croc wearer had two of her toes partially amputated because of injuries she sustained while also riding an escalator at the Atlanta airport. The parents of another 3-year-old sued Crocs for $7 million after her toe was mangled in an accident at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

In April, Japan’s Trade Ministry asked Crocs Inc. to redesign its popular clogs. The ministry said that over a six-month period last year, it had received 65 complaints of escalator injuries involving Crocs clogs. In May, the US Consumer Products Safety Commission warned that it had received 75 injury reports between January 2006 and May 2007 about people who got hurt in escalator accidents while using Crocs.

Last July, Crocs Inc. said it would add warning tags about possible escalator entrapment-related injuries to its shoes. While the shoes that come with these warnings will become available in 2009, there are still millions of Crocs clogs out in the marketplace for sale or that have already been purchased that lack the entrapment warning.

Son hurt, Pa. woman sues Crocs firm, Baltimore Sun.com, December 4, 2008
Pa. mother sues Crocs over son’s escalator injury, Examiner.com, December 4, 2008
Related Web Resources:

Crocs

Crocs and similar soft shoes linked to escalator entrapments, Consumer Reports, May 20, 2008

Wal-Mart Customers File Personal Injury Lawsuit

December 2, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Two Wal-Mart shoppers are suing the retail store for personal injury. Fritz, 51, and 19-year-old Jonathan Mesadieu say they sustained back and neck injuries after they got caught in the crowd of people stampeding into a Wal-Mart store during last week’s Black Friday shopping rush.

Some 2,000 shoppers reportedly broke through the glass door and rushed into the building at around 5am on November 28. The Mesadieus’ personal injury lawyer says the two men were carried from where they were standing by the throng of people. They are now are experiencing back and neck pain.

Also, temporary Wal-Mart employee Jdimytai Damour died in the same stampede after he was crushed to death while he and other workers tried to open the store doors for the shoppers. Autopsy results indicate that the 34-year-old died of asphyxiation. Video footage shows up to a dozen people getting knocked to the ground as shoppers pushed their way into the Wal-Mart store. Damour was reportedly stepped on by hundreds of people.

The Mesadieus’ personal injury lawsuit accuses Wal-Mart of recklessness, carelessness, and negligence. The father and son have also filed a claim against local police. They are saying that their injuries is causing them to suffer monetary damages in the form of legal and medical expenses in the range of $2 million.

Their personal injury attorney says that Wal-Mart failed to exercise reasonable care, including putting up barriers, improved police presence, and bringing in more security, that could have prevented the Mesadieus’ injuries from happening, The Mesadieus say they saw police at the scene but that they left. Lt. Kevin Smith, however, says it was the store’s responsibility to provide security on Black Friday.

There have been other personal injury lawsuits filed by customers against Wal-Mart in the past. Five shoppers sued the retail chain in 1999 for injuries they say they sustained because other shoppers were rushing to buy Furby dolls. Another shopper sued Wal-Mart three years ago because she said that two other customers pushed her and pulled at her neck when she tried to cut in line.

Customers injured in crush suing Wal-Mart, CNN.com, December 2, 2008
Experts: Trampling death may be hard to prosecute, Newsday.com, December 2, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Unidentified ER Doctor Accuses Washington DC Nursing Home of Severe Neglect

December 1, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to ABC 7/NewsChannel, an emergency room doctor who wishes to remain anonymous claims that he regularly sees patients from the Grand Park Care Center who are on the verge of death due to nursing home neglect. The nursing home residence is located in Washington DC’s NE.

The ER doctor says that a number of the DC nursing home’s residents have come to him with acute kidney problems, severe pneumonia, malnutrition, and dehydration. The doctor says these conditions are signs that the patients are being neglected.

Following his nursing home neglect allegations, the ABC 7/NewsChannel looked at the D.C. Department of Health’s inspection reports from February and May 2008 and found that a number of deficiencies were noted at the Grand Park Care Center, including the failure to tell a physician that a resident was suffering from dehydration. There were also residents who were reportedly suffering from anemia and weight changes.

According to DC Long Term Care Ombudsman Jerry Kasunic, his team has filed over 100 complaints against Grant Park and says the DC nursing home is one of the “worst” he has encountered. He says dehydration and unattended wound care have led to malnutrition.

Grant Park Executive Director Sandra Durham says the nursing home staff remains committed to improving the quality of service that it provides residents. The home has also reportedly retained the services of a new compliance officer and nursing home director.

Malnutrition and Dehydration

Nursing home residents suffering from malnutrition and dehydration can be prone to serious side effects and illnesses, including a weakened immune system, memory loss, pneumonia, bedsores, muscle mass loss, infection, organ function impairment, anemia, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and death. Malnutrition and dehydration often occur at care facilities because of nursing home neglect.

Doctor Gives D.C. Nursing Home Failing Grade, WJLA.com, November 26, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Grand Park Care Center, Hospital-Data.com
Washington DC Department of Health