Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

We're not ones to begrudge anyone their choice of entertainment or mode of personal escape from the daily rigors and stresses of modern life. Certainly it's no surprise that living in cities such as Baltimore, Annapolis, Gaithersburg and Washington, D.C., can push many individuals to seek a pleasant source of diversion from the so-called rat race. But, regardless of the reason for choosing to isolate oneself from the everyday world, a recent study suggests doing just that -- in the middle of a bustling urban environment -- may actually be dangerous to one's health; deadly, in fact.

As Maryland auto injury lawyers, we've represented numerous victims of car, truck and motorcycle accidents in their quest to recover costs associated with traffic accidents caused by another negligent party. Since a percentage of automobile and trucking accident cases involve people either on foot or riding bicycles, we found it interesting that the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine in cooperation with the University of Maryland Medical Center produced a study naming headphones and personal entertainment devices as leading contributors to pedestrian-related traffic injuries.

According to news reports, the study concluded that pedestrians who use various electronic devices that utilize headphones to listen to audio content have experienced a near tripling of their injury rate over the past six years.

Continue reading " Study Points to iPods and Other Entertainment Devices Utilizing Headphones as Source of Pedestrian Injuries " »

Over the years, the American consumer has come to expect a fairly high standard of quality in the products he or she buys. Part and parcel with this is the understanding -- and in many cases explicit promises -- that certain products will be safe at the time of purchase and continue to remain safe for the reasonable life of that product. This is important, because when something large like a home furnace system or automobile malfunctions, there is always a possibility of bodily injury or death.

This is why, over the years, government agencies and other consumer watchdog groups have helped to influence the safety of all kinds of products. From low-tech, yet ubiquitous hand tools to slightly more complex home appliances, all the way up to car, trucks and commercial jet aircraft. As mentioned above, each one of us has come to expect a certain level of safety when operating, riding or even being near potentially dangerous machinery.

In the area of automotive safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is one government agency that is heard from on a fairly regular basis, especially in regard to vehicle safety recalls and other transportation safety issues. Car and truck recalls are sometimes issued voluntarily by auto makers themselves and sometimes ordered by the federal government in a effort to protect the public from injury or death due to a faulty automotive component or part.

Continue reading " Baltimore Auto Safety News: Honda Recalls Multiple Vehicles for Safety Problems Including Leaky Fuel System " »

Anyone who drives here in Maryland has probably seen one or more of the nearly 200 red-light cameras dotting the landscape all around our roadways. The trend toward adding these monitor cameras has no doubt raised drivers’ awareness of the ever-watchful eye of government, but it also begs the question of whether the addition of these devices has really contributed to a meaningful decrease in auto, truck and motorcycle accidents over the years.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my staff represent the victims of traffic wrecks -- as well as the families of those individuals killed as a result of another person’s negligence behind the wheel. As many safety experts have already stated, it is up for debate whether or not drivers and pedestrians alike have benefited in a significant way with the placement of hundreds of red-light cameras in and around the state.

According to news reports, over the past 14 years since Maryland’s state legislature has approved the use of red light cameras, dozens of these electronic monitoring devices have been hard at work issuing traffic tickets for motorists accused of running red lights throughout the state. Based on information from AAA Mid-Atlantic, those nearly 200 cameras mentioned above do not include so-called speed cameras, which are also in use around the state -- AAA does not have complete totals for those kinds of cameras.

Continue reading " Baltimore Traffic Safety News: Has Proliferation of Red-light Cameras Actually Reduced Maryland’s Automobile Accident Rate? " »

Try as they might, parents cannot protect their children from every single risk kids face during their lives. The best we as adults can do is to watch them closely as they grow up and teach them to be cautious and aware of the dangers around them. One of the more common dangers that youngsters face on a regular basis involves automobiles and commercial trucking-related collisions, especially in urban areas and near schools.

As a pedestrian, being hit by a car or truck can result in serious injuries, not to mention possible death. Adults are at risk when walking in or around vehicular traffic, and this goes double for children. Injuries sustained by children and adults include common bumps and bruises, broken bones and compound fractures, as well as closed-head injuries and spinal damage.

Head, neck and back injuries can lead to weeks or months of medical treatment and subsequent physical therapy, which can be costly for anyone, much less a family struggling to make ends meet during this poor economy. But being injured by a moving car, truck or motorcycle is not the only way that a child may sustain bodily harm; just being near a vehicle can present certain dangers that might cause injury.

Continue reading " Maryland Personal Injury Update: Keep Your Kids Safe from Non-traffic-related Automobile Accidents " »

Car, truck and motorcycle crashes can be horrendous events depending on the circumstances. For many people, a minor traffic accident can shake one up, cause some cuts and bruises, and leave the family vehicle in less than good-running condition; on the other hand, a bad highway collision involving a more than one car or even a commercial truck can result in serious injury and sometimes death.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my staff recognize the extreme physical and emotional damage that likely can occur following a terrible automobile or trucking wreck. In addition to potentially broken arms, legs and other bones, an occupant of a vehicle involved in a high-speed crash can receive head, neck and spinal injuries. In the worst cases, fatalities are not unheard of.

Because most cars and trucks are powered by gasoline and diesel engines, the danger of a fire is quite common, especially if one of the vehicles’ fuel tanks is ruptured during the crash. Although automobile manufacturers attempt to design and build their cars and trucks to withstand certain crash forces, the fact that nearly every car or truck on the road is riding around with the explosive potentail of more than a few sticks of dynamite in our fuel tanks can be quite eye-opening to some.

While car fires do occur from time to time, those that happen during a roadway collision can be even more deadly as the driver and passengers may be too injured to escape the vehicle on their own. If the occupants find themselves trapped in the vehicle during a fire, there is little time in which to act before a tragedy will occur.

Not long ago a multi-vehicle car crash in Glenarden killed two young boys and injured another four people. According to news reports, the crash occurred late on a Friday evening along a stretch of U.S. Rte50 just east of Martin Luther King Highway in Prince George’s County.

Based on reports from the Maryland State Police, the accident happened around 9:30pm as a mother and her two sons, aged 11 and two years old, where riding in their car along in the eastbound lanes of Rte 50. According to news articles, Gloria Vindel’s vehicle rear-ended another car in what apparently was a minor traffic incident. As the woman and the other driver were standing outside their damaged vehicles and exchanging information, a third vehicle driven by a Bowie, MD, resident rammed the back end of Vindel's car, in which the two children were still occupying the back seat.

The force of that second impact apparently caused the gas tank in the woman’s vehicle to rupture and simultaneously ignite. At the same time the car was shoved into a nearby guardrail. The resulting fire quickly engulfed the boys’ vehicle, trapping them in the burning wreck. Sadly, those two youngsters were pronounced dead a the scene before the two young brothers could be removed from the rear seat.

Both Anthony Vindel and his younger brother, Delonte McKie, Jr., were pronounced dead at the scene. At the time of the news report, crash investigators from the MSP’s College Park Barracks was ongoing with the cooperation of the Maryland State Police CRASH Team, however no charges had been filed at the time of the article.

Fiery Car Crash in Glenarden Kills Two Young Brothers, MyFoxDC.com, November 11, 2011

Injury accidents happen all of the time here in Maryland; and there is likely no chance that they will ever completely cease. Save for a complete cessation of driving, which is highly unlikely here in Baltimore or anywhere else around the country, it’s a fair bet that people will continue to be hurt or killed on a fairly regular basis. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, we know how badly a serious traffic accident can impact a household, or entire extended family.

Every day, either in Annapolis or Rockville, Hagerstown or Washington, D.C., individuals receive bodily injuries as a result of car, truck and motorcycle accidents. Some of those injured may not make it to the hospital alive; others may be admitted to the hospital, yet medical treatment may still not be able to save their lives.

It’s a cruel fact of life that good people die in car and trucking-related traffic wrecks. Another rule, not one anybody would be find of, is that doctors can’t always change that main fact. However, we can all make inroads to reducing the chances of becoming just another statistic; but everyone must play an active role if it is to become even close to reality.

Continue reading " Auto Injury News: Maryland Driver Hurt as Pickup Collides with Tractor-trailer Rig along U.S. 50 " »

Hundreds of people are killed every year in head-on traffic accidents all across the United States. Here in Maryland, we certainly have our share of tragic collisions where a vehicle crosses over the centerline of a two-way street or highway and collides with another car or truck. Depending on whether one is riding in a passenger car, commercial truck, city bus or motorcycle, the results of a head-on wreck can range from severe to downright deadly.

Fatal head-on collisions can occur for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is drunken driving; however, cellphone use, texting, fiddling with the radio, carrying on distracting conversations and other in-vehicle disturbances can draw the driver’s attention from the singly important task of operating a 3,000-pound vehicle on a public road. Especially at highway speeds, a moment’s distraction can easily turn out to be fatal. Being personal injury lawyers here in Maryland, as well as auto accident attorneys, I and my colleagues know the dangers that distracted driving can present.

While every driver has likely considered the almost unthinkable results of a head-on crash while traveling along an undivided highway or surface street, the odds of having a head-on wreck when driving on the interstate or other divided roadway seems rather remote. Yet, as we were reminded not long ago, this kind of potentially fatal car, motorcycle or commercial truck accident is possible, and does happen from time to time.

Continue reading " Annapolis Traffic Accident News: Four People Die in Deadly Head-on Collision on Maryland Rte 50 " »

Being hit by another vehicle can, without a doubt, by a shocking and nerve-shattering event for anyone in a passenger car. Few traffic accidents are uneventful experiences, though fatal car crashes are, thankfully, not as common as those causing minor to severe injuries. Nevertheless, fatal and near-fatal roadway collisions are a sad fact of life these days; which can make driving in Baltimore, Gaithersburg and the District a nail-biting way of life for many commuters.

Injuries from car, motorcycle and trucking-related accidents abound and include a range of injury from minor cuts and bruises, abrasions and first-degree burns, to spinal cord damage, closed-head trauma and life-threatening nearly full-body burns. Motorcycle riders injured as a result of a car- or truck-collision make up one of the most at-risk groups when it comes to fatal traffic wrecks; even those who survive horrendous car crashes can face weeks or months of medical treatment, not to mention months of physical rehabilitation and possibly years of continuous care.

News of a couple traffic accidents caught our eye a while back. These two multi-vehicle collisions resulted in one death and a number of injuries. In Howard County, according to news reports, a three-vehicle collision out in Ellicott City, resulted in one person being critically injured along a stretch of Rte 100. The victim, a 31-year-old local woman, was taken to the hospital in condition following a Monday evening wreck.

Continue reading " Baltimore Auto Accident News: Two Multi-car Crashes in Maryland Result in One Fatality, Several Injuries " »

Few events are as heart-rending as the death of a young person on the cusp of life. A person who has yet to experience the full breadth of adulthood deserves better than to die too soon and certainly not as a result of another’s negligent actions. Sadly, fate can be both cruel and indiscriminate when it comes to fatal accidents. Car, truck and motorcycle wrecks claim the lives of hundreds of young children and teens every year, not through a selective process, but on a roll of the dice.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, we know that every automobile or trucking-related traffic accident cannot be prevented; but there are instances where a driver or another individual makes a conscious decision that results in injury or death of another individual. In cases that involve negligence, an experienced personal injury attorney can help the victim or his estate to be compensated for their loss.

Whether one lives in Maryland or Washington, D.C., our firm understands injury law and has the skills to represent victims of fatal or serious roadway collisions; rear-end crashes, pedestrian accidents and head-on traffic accidents are just a few of the typical incidents that occur every month across the state. If a person is killed as a result of a car or truck crash caused by another individual, a wrongful death lawsuit is sometimes filed on the deceased behalf by the victim’s family.

Continue reading " Baltimore Personal Injury News: Maryland Women Die in Fatal Silver Spring, MD, Single-car Crash " »

While it may seem trite to say that automobile and truck accidents happen all of the time, it’s nonetheless true. Whether one drives in Annapolis, Rockville, Bowie or the District, it’s a sure bet that any one of us will drive past the site of a car, truck or motorcycle accident sometime in the coming year.

Hope, as we all do, that serious and fatal traffic collisions will be reduced, we all know that the only way to eliminate collisions would be to eliminate vehicles on the road and driving as a means of getting around. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my legal staff know how easily a person can be caught up in a serious injury accident on the roads in and around our cities and towns.

Earlier this winter, a cab driver apparently ignored a red traffic signal causing a multi-vehicle wreck along a stretch of Western Ave in Friendship Heights. The crash happened on a Tuesday near the D.C.-Maryland border. According to police, the taxi cab was moving eastbound along Western Ave. when it reportedly ran through the intersection against a red light.

Continue reading " Maryland Auto Accident News: Taxi Cab Runs Red Light; Damages Four Vehicles, Injures One Person " »

Being injured through the negligence of another individual can be a painful, costly and sometimes life-changing event. Because we as adults have the advantage of many years of life experience, we can see the world for what it is -- an often dangerous place filled with pitfalls and potential risks. On the other hand, children -- especially those very young -- are generally unaware of many perils that surround them and their parents almost every day.

As relative innocents, very young children can be seen as being more or less blameless in their actions. When a child injures himself while playing with his friends or family, we immediately feel empathy for the youngster; hoping that he both recovers quickly from his injuries and that he learns from the incident, if only that he or she doesn’t repeat it in the future.

However, when a child is injured due to another person’s negligent or thoughtless actions, our reaction tends to be somewhat different. We may feel anger or resentment toward the individual who caused the incident. While the child may not know what occurred or who is to blame, the parents and society take it upon themselves to protect the child’s interests. Depending on the severity of the accident and extent of the child’s injuries, this is the point at which adults may retain the services of a personal injury attorney.

Continue reading " Maryland Injury Accident News: Young South Baltimore Boy Dies in Multi-vehicle Beltway Traffic Collision " »

Although it is common to assume that the negligent party in a traffic accident personal injury case is usually the other driver, it is not uncommon to find the passengers of a vehicle filing a personal injury claim against the driver of the car in which they were riding. In such cases, while the potentially injured driver and occupants of a second vehicle may file a suit against the negligent driver of the first vehicle, the focus of the occupants riding with the negligent driver may also be to reclaim medical and other costs resulting from injuries sustained in a car or trucking-related crash.

While we all put our trust in the individual behind the wheel of the vehicle in which we are riding, that trust can sometimes be misplaced, especially if the trusted individual causes and accident that injures you or your family. As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, I and my colleagues know from experience that not every personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit comes from a stranger. Although it can be the sad end to a long-term relationship, if a wrong has been committed to the injury or damage of one or more parties, then sometimes there may be no option.

One common scenario is the friendly carpool. As an example, let's say a number of friends or neighbors decide to save costs by taking only one car to a local or out-of-state event. If, in the course of the road trip, an accident ensues that is determined to be the fault of the driver of the carpool vehicle. If injuries are sustained by one or more occupants, such that associated medical costs and other expenses become a burden to the victim(s), it would not be surprising to see a personal injury suit arise from the incident.

Continue reading " Baltimore Personal Injury News: Maryland Residents Injured following Out-of-State Traffic Accident with Big Rig " »