Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

No matter where you live or work in Maryland, be it Owings Mills, The District, Annapolis or Columbia, car wrecks, pickup truck crashes and SUV rollovers can happen without notice. In fact, traffic accidents across the state injure hundreds of people every year. Some of those injuries and even a few deaths could likely have been prevented had the occupants been wearing their seatbelts.

As an experienced auto accident lawyer in the Baltimore area, my years of helping others recover from injury accidents have taught me that certain habits can save lives; others, however, can sadly contribute to the loss of life on our public streets and highways. One habit I’m always happy to see is when a person buckles that safety belt. It’s a small part of every driver’s daily ritual, but it’s a significant one.

Seatbelt use is usually pointed at as one of the top reasons why people survive automobile wrecks. There are many out there, I suspect, who feel that airbags and other safety devices do a better job, but that’s not necessarily true -- all of these systems work together to imporve passenger safety. As basic as they may seem, safety belts play a key role in protecting occupants in the case of severe traffic accidents, including head-on collisions, roll-over accidents and other potentially fatal crashes.

It makes little difference what type of vehicle you drive -- SUV, pickup truck, luxury sedan or economy passenger car -- wearing your seatbelt mean the difference between living through a bad car or truck accident and dying in one.

Every week, it’s possible to hear more than one news report that shows a crash survivor was using his or her seatbelt at the time of the collision. Similarly, one can also find instances where the lack of safety belt use most likely played a significant role in the death of a driver or passenger. At best, broken bones or traumatic brain injury have been known to occur when an un-belted person impacts a stationary object within the vehicle during a crash.

Rollover accidents in particular are very dramatic and can happen independently, or as a result of an initial collision. This kind of accident can cause serious bodily injuries including broken bones and lacerations, as well as head and spine trauma and internal injuries. Lack of seatbelt use in a rollover crash can be fatal since the occupants themselves become projectiles, occasionally be ejected from the vehicle altogether during the incident.

While it is true that many car and truck accidents cannot be avoided, being prepared for the worse by wearing your seatbelt is an easy way of increasing the odds in your favor -- odds that can often be stacked against automobile drivers and passengers in our fast-paced and many times highly distracted commuting environment.

Roll-over crashes are often a result of high-speed accidents or overly quick steering maneuvers. Sport utility vehicles (or SUVs) are particularly susceptible to these kinds of accidents. To make things worse, many light trucks, such as SUVs and pickup trucks, are not always designed with enough strength in the roof structure. In the event of a roll-over, the roof can be crushed sufficiently to seriously injure or kill the driver or passengers.

As a Maryland auto accident lawyer, my job is to help people recover the costs of an accident caused by another person’s negligence. This includes not only other drivers who may be at fault, but also the automobile companies who design and manufacture the vehicles whose roofs don’t always protect the occupants.

A recent accident on Northbound I-97 is an example of this kind of accident. It’ also shows how aggressive driving can cause other motorists harm, not to mention injury to the perpetrator as well. According to police, a 39-year-old driver was seriously hurt when his GMC Yukon crashed and rolled over on the interstate after hitting an out-of-control car that had been allegedly speeding moments before.

Based on news reports, witnesses told police that a Mitsubishi Lancer was traveling at more than 90mph on the afternoon of January 12 before the driver apparently lost control and hit a guardrail. Police reports show that the Mitsubishi driver had been weaving in and out of traffic prior to the accident. The driver reportedly lost control of the passenger car near Quarterfield Road.

After striking the guardrail, the vehicle bounced back into traffic and was hit itself by the larger Yukon, which then overturned on the roadway. The Mitsubishi ended up on the left-hand shoulder of the roadway.

After emergency crews arrived, the Yukon driver was taken by ambulance to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with serious injuries. Police said charges are pending against the driver of the Mitsubishi, who was not seriously injured.

Man seriously injured in I-97 accident, Hometownannapolis.com, January 13, 2010

Some have likely heard this said: “That wasn’t such a bad traffic accident; the damage to the vehicle was minimal.” If you haven’t, then you probably have not dealt with an insurance company as a plaintiff in an injury case. Having represented hundreds of victims of car, truck or sport utility vehicle (SUV) crashes, my firm understands that it is quite easy to be seriously hurt in an automobile accident even though the repairs to the vehicle don’t amount to much at all.

This is a case of major bodily injuries, yet relatively minor vehicle or property damage. Sadly, this familiar, yet deceptive argument is used very frequently by defense attorneys and insurance companies when auto collisions are concerned. And it’s one of the best reasons to consult a personal injury lawyer experienced in the area of auto accident law.

Whether you live in Baltimore, Annapolis, Columbia or the D.C. area, car accidents can occur most anywhere, some of them with devastating consequences. Insurance companies many times will try to downplay the extent of an accident to try to justify a reduced settlement to the injured parties. This is done sometimes by introducing evidence in the form of distorted, grainy or out-of-focus photos showing minor vehicle or property damage.

But this is done without offering any expert testimony regarding the direct and causal relationship between the extent of the property damage and the victim’s bodily injuries. Brain trauma as well as neck injuries can occur even when a vehicle has sustained minimal outward damage itself. Yet every year, hundreds of auto accident victims settle for less than what they deserve due to these kinds of tactics.

The purpose of the defense is to disprove, usually by false implication, what has been proven by medical evidence and expert testimony -- typically by a licensed physician. It’s easy to forget how much energy is released – or inflicted on a victim’s body -- as a result of a traffic accident. Yet insurance company attorneys will usually make no mention of the sudden and very high energy forces that are transmitted throughout a motor vehicle in the milliseconds following a collision.

Continue reading "Maryland Auto Injury Update: So-called Minor Car or SUV Accidents can Cause Serious Personal Injury" »

Everyday, families in and around Maryland lose loved ones who have made a difference in the lives of people throughout their community. Unfortunately, a traffic accident can suddenly and tragically put an end to anyone’s life in an instant. The emotional scars that losing a mother, daughter, friend or colleague can last for years, if not forever. As an injury lawyer practicing in the Baltimore area, I help families of victims recover damages from negligent parties who cause fatal car, truck or SUV crashes.

Sadly, any monetary damages can only alleviate the pain of loss. Nothing can bring a person back who has been killed by a careless motorist, drunk driver or deficient product safety. Recently, I was reminded of the senseless randomness of traffic accidents. According to a news article, Alisha Mae Deneen, young teacher from Washington County died in a single-car accident on I-81 at the railroad crossing north of Maugansville Road.

According to the State Police, the accident happened sometime prior to 5:30pm on New Year’s Day after a passer-by noticed the woman’s vehicle on the railroad tracks. Reports indicate that the 31-year-old Deneen was driving a 2009 Infiniti G37x, which apparently crossed the median, overturned and fell on to the tracks below. The exact time of the accident had not been determined at the time of the news article. Emergency personnel found the driver dead at the scene.

A single-vehicle crash can be caused by any number of reasons, from driver error or defective equipment to an animal crossing in front of the vehicle or even debris on the roadway itself. Whatever the cause, police investigators will determine it in time. Meanwhile, Deneen’s family, as well as the students at Clear Spring Elementary School where she taught, will likely miss her dearly.

Deneen remembered for smile, rapport with students, Herald-Mail.com, January 3, 2010

No matter if you’re from Annapolis, Washington, D.C., Baltimore or anywhere else in Maryland, more than one person has seen the result of a roll-over accident on a highway or rural road. Roll-over crashes are particularly common with sport utility vehicles (or SUVs), which have a high center of gravity and can tip over much more easily than a sedan or other low-slung passenger car. Minivans can also be involved in roll-over crashes in Maryland, meaning multiple passengers can be hurt or killed as a result.

As Maryland car accident attorneys, I and my colleagues have represented dozens upon dozens of victims of motor vehicle collisions, including roll-over accidents. Seatbelts, of course, save lives and I stand by their use. But in a roll-over situation, not even a seatbelt can save a person 100 percent of the time.

A recent article pointed up the danger of driving not only an SUV, but also mixing possible drug or alcohol use with vehicle operation. According to reports, an out-of-state motorist was involved in a single-vehicle accident along U.S. 15 near U.S 40. The accident occurred just after 4pm on January 7 when 37-year-old Michael Edward Brooks apparently swerved his sport utility vehicle off the southbound lane of U.S. 15.

The man’s SUV ended up at the bottom of an embankment near West Patrick Street in Frederick County, according to Maryland State Police. After rescue personnel arrived at the scene, the Pennsylvania resident was treated and then flown to Washington County Hospital with several injuries he received when the vehicle overturned during the accident. Fortunately for the driver, it appears that none of his injuries were life-threatening.

Due to the nature of the crash, police investigators checked the interior of the vehicle and found some type of illegal paraphernalia, however charges were still pending at the time of the news report. Emergency workers also rescued the man’s injured dog, which was trapped inside from the SUV. Rescue workers attached to the Independent Hose Company turned the dog over to the Frederick County Animal Control.

SUV driver injured in crash, FrederickNewsPost.com, January 08, 2010

Single-vehicle traffic accidents can be both serious and deadly. In Maryland, we see numerous car crashes involving just one vehicle, and many times a rollover is involved. Sad to say, but many passenger vehicles, such as pickup trucks and SUVs, do not always provide the necessary protection in the case of vehicle rollover. Being experienced auto accident lawyers, we are able to represent victims and their families in cases where a car or truck crashes due to defective equipment or poorly-maintained roadways.

In a recent news article, a Walkersville man was killed this past Friday in the late afternoon. According to Maryland State Police, officers responded to a single-car crash along MD-194 at Stauffer Road. Initial police reports indicate that the driver, Roger Robinette, was speeding along that stretch of road when he apparently and lost control of the vehicle.

According to reports, Robinette’s car went airborne then rolled over on impact, coming to rest in a nearby cornfield. During the crash, the driver was thrown from the vehicle, which caused him to sustain life-threatening injuries.

First responders on the scene administered first aid then transported the driver to Frederick Memorial Hospital where doctors worked to save his life. Unfortunately, the man died some time later from the injuries he received in the accident.

At the time of the report, authorities were still investigating the crash but they said alcohol was not a factor in the accident. Although it appears speed and driver error may have been the main cause of the automobile accident, there is a chance that defective equipment may have played a part. In such as case, there could be grounds for a wrongful death claim against the vehicle manufacturer or parts supplier(s).

We always recommend that families of victims contact a qualified auto accident lawyer to assess the facts and determine if there are grounds for a case. Having an attorney on your side to represent you and look out for your best interests during a potentially difficult time will make all the difference in the world.

Walkersville Man Killed In Car Crash, 4YourState.com, October 2, 2009

A teenage driver was severely injured and his two passengers killed when the vehicle they were riding in crashed off Maryland’s Route 4 in Anne Arundel County last month. According to reports, the Bradley Buta, 19, was at the wheel and driving near Lowell Pindall Road when the incident took place.

The crash happened just before 6pm not far from the Calvert County line. Police investigators believe that the young driver somehow lost control of the 2003 Toyota Highlander he was driving, after which the vehicle went off the road and struck a traffic sign. The impact then caused the SUV to flip and roll into the nearby woods.

After emergency crews arrived, the driver was taken to Prince George's Hospital Center with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. His two passengers were not as lucky. Katherine Marie Buta, 57, and Douglas Donald Houglund, 67, were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Lebowitz-Mzhen, LLC has represented numerous clients who have been injured in a car, light truck or SUV accident. We also help the families of victims who cannot speak for themselves due to fatal injuries sustained during an automobile accident. In this case, the vehicle was an SUV. At the time of the news report, the police had not yet determined a cause of the accident, but driver error could have contributed. Considering the age of the driver, this may be the situation, but only time will tell.

SUVs are especially prone to roll-over accidents, but this may have been a result rather than the cause of the initial loss of control. Defective vehicle or component design (such as defective tires, brakes, suspension parts, etc.) can also be contributing factors.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury from an automobile accident, we strongly advise you to speak to a qualified personal injury attorney who is experienced in handling personal injuries resulting from negligence in auto accidents. At Lebowitz-Mzhen, LLC, our personal injury lawyers have years of experience in handling motor vehicle injuries and accidents, and we will be happy to advise and properly represent you, should you decide to file a personal injury claim.

2 Die In Route 4 Crash In Anne Arundel Co., wbaltv.com, August 4, 2009

Whether you’re from Baltimore, Annapolis, Columbia or anywhere else in Maryland, as an experienced auto accident lawyer I have a good idea what saves lives and limits injuries when it comes to traffic accidents. Seatbelts would be at the top of my list. It doesn’t matter what kind of vehicle you drive – SUV, pickup truck, luxury automobile or economy car, wearing your seatbelt can make the difference between life and death in the case of a car crash.

A recent police report made it quite clear that seatbelt use is not just a good idea, it’s essential to protecting yourself as a driver or passenger. An object lesson would be the single-vehicle crash that happened last month in Prince Frederick, MD.

According to reports, a man and woman were seriously injured on Sandy Point Road when the vehicle in which they were riding went out of control and hit a tree. The accident happened in the early morning hours of July 1. The Calvert County Sheriff's Office Patrol Division and Crash Reconstruction Team (CRT) responded soon after to the scene.

A 1997 Mazda Protégé 4-door sedan, driven by 29-year-old Jason Louis Copsey was traveling westbound on Sandy Point Road in the area of Sixes Road. As the vehicle entered a sweeping right turn in the roadway, Copsey apparently lost control of the car and failed to make the turn. Leaving the road, the Mazda crashed into a tree to one side of the road. The impact caused the vehicle to roll over several times.

Rollover accidents are quite dramatic and can result in serious injuries to the occupants, including broken bones and lacerations, as well as head and spine trauma and internal injuries. The results can be worse if the occupants are not wearing their seatbelts. For those who think that airbags do the same job as a seatbelt, this is not usually the case.

In this instance, the front-seat passenger, 38-year-old Heather Lynne Hutchins of Prince Frederick, was wearing her seatbelt and came out of the accident with just minor injuries. However the driver, who was not using his seatbelt at the time of the crash, was partially ejected from the vehicle as it rolled. As a consequence, the man received life-threatening injuries and was transported to Prince Georges County Shock Trauma.

Although alcohol is a suspected factor in this particular crash, the condition of the two occupants shows that wearing a seatbelt will improve your chances of avoiding serious injury during an automobile accident. I always remind my friends and family to buckle up regardless of whether it’s a short trip to the grocery store or a weekend getaway out of state.

Calvert County Sheriff's Reports, SoMd.com, July 25, 2009

A Capitol Heights woman was killed in a recent car crash when the vehicle in which she was riding left the road, rolled and hit a stand of trees. The car accident occurred in the late evening of June 7 on a stretch of Suitland Parkway near Forrestville, MD.

The front seat passenger, identified as Keyanna Bowser, 19, was pronounced dead at the scene. The two male back-seat passengers, who received slight injuries, were helped from the vehicle by Prince George’s County fire crews and transported to Prince George's Hospital Center. The impact was so powerful it took rescue personnel two hours to extricate the female driver, who received much more severe injuries.

After leaving the parkway between Suitland Road and Forestville Road, the vehicle ended up on its side between some trees. This made the driver’s rescue extremely time consuming. According to reports, the driver’s legs were pinned underneath the vehicle’s dashboard. Once removed from the vehicle, she was airlifted to Washington Hospital Center for treatment.

Rollover accidents can cause very serious injures due to the vehicle’s roof structure being crushed and intruding into the passenger compartment. This particular crash may be similar, and if so, head, brain and spinal injuries are also very common. For the most part, the two rear-seat passengers were lucky, since the front seat passenger died at the scene and the driver had numerous serious injuries herself.

News reports indicate that the accident was still under investigation. Nevertheless, the causes for a crash of this type can range from driver error or inattention to defective steering equipment or poorly maintained tires. No matter the cause, we always recommend that victims contact an automobile accident attorney to find out what their rights are in cases like this.

Continue reading "Maryland Woman Killed in Fatal Single-vehicle Crash on Suitland Parkway" »

A single-vehicle rollover accident in southern Maryland quickly turned into a two-car fatality with multiple bystander injuries during the early morning hours of May 2. Through a series of unfortunate events, the driver of a pickup truck that crashed and rolled over on Hurley’s Neck Road was killed when a second car hit the truck just as several Good Samaritans were trying to save the man.

The incident occurred, according to police reports, around 3 a.m. early Saturday morning when Christopher J. Atkinson of Mardela somehow lost control of his pickup truck, causing the vehicle to roll over, ending up with a section of the vehicle remaining in the darkened roadway.

Reports out of the Wicomico County Sheriff's office said a second Mardela resident, Mike T. Brown, and two juvenile female passengers stopped their car and attempted to provide assistance. As the three were trying to free Atkinson from his Dodge pickup, a 2008 Honda Civic driven by 22-year-old William R. Morgan of Salisbury slammed into the passenger side of the pickup truck.

The impact from the Honda resulted in fatal injuries to Atkinson, who was declared dead at the scene by the medical examiner. The Honda driver and the three Good Samaritans were all transported by ambulance to Peninsula Regional Medical Center where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries received at the scene of the crash.

According to authorities, this accident remains under investigation guided by the Maryland State Police Crash Team, but the eventual outcome will define the next steps. Whether the initial rollover was a result of driver error or defective equipment, the subsequent death of the pickup driver and the personal injuries received by the people trying to help could possibly have been avoided.

Continue reading "Pickup Truck Rollover Crash in Wicomico County, MD, Kills Driver; Injures Others" »

Deaths and injuries in Maryland, as well as across the country, caused by collapsed SUV and passenger car roofs as a result of vehicle collisions and rollover accidents could be reduced in the future thanks to new federal government requirements for greater roof-crush protection. For the first time in more than 30 years, automobile manufacturers will have to engineer their vehicles’ roof and body structures to meet a higher standard -- the roofs of future vehicles will have to bear three times the curb weight of a vehicle.

Nearly a decade in the making, will this new requirement save the lives of auto accident victims? Unfortunately, the rules only cover vehicles with gross vehicle weight ratings up to 6,000 pounds (curb weight plus maximum passenger and cargo weight), which will leave out some full-size SUVs and pickup trucks. Still, it is a step in the right direction to reduce vehicle injuries.

Our experience as Maryland Auto Accident Attorneys tells us that there will always be accidents that threaten the lives and well-being of drivers and passengers. At Lebowitz–Mzhen, LLC, our skilled legal professionals have seen the results of roof crush injuries and deaths. We can only hope that the new standards will make a difference.

Based on the previous, three-decade-old standards, a vehicle’s roof was required to withstand a force equal to only 1.5 times the vehicle’s curb weight, but NOT TO EXCEED 5,000 pounds. This last point was the fatal flaw in the old standard, especially for victims of rollover accidents and other vehicle crashes where the roof collapsed into the passenger space. This type of structural failure during a vehicle accident can cause great bodily harm, including traumatic brain injury.

Over the years, the mass of SUV’s, light trucks and other passenger vehicles has increased, while the 5,000-pound maximum has remained unchanged. Comparing the old standard to the new, the roof of a current 3,700-pound SUV is required to hold up under a maximum of 5,000 pounds, even though 1.5 times the curb weight is 5,550 pounds. Under the new standard, with no maximum, the roof of a future 3,700-pound SUV will be required to withstand 11,100 pounds of force -- more than twice the previous 5,000-pound maximum.

Also of benefit will be a change in testing procedures. The new standards call for crush pressure to be applied first on one side and then the other side of the roof. According to reports, some safety advocates have for years asked for a two-sided test, arguing that it better duplicates what happens when a vehicle rolls. In a roll, pressure is applied to one side, weakening the roof. Then, as the roll continues, more pressure is applied to the other side.

Government Improves Roof-Crush Standards, NewYorkTimes.com, May 5, 2009

Three Maryland residents were injured in a recent automobile accident on Route 4 after the SUV they were traveling in was involved in a single-vehicle crash. All but one of the four occupants were hurt when the vehicle went out of control and then rolled at least twice, according to police.

Although multiple-car accidents can result in very serious injuries, especially in front-end collisions, a single-vehicle accident can be just as dangerous, especially in rollover situations. In this case, two of the four people were ejected from the truck as it rolled over several times. It was unknown at the time if the accident was caused by a defective component or if it was driver error.

The accident occurred at about 6 p.m. on April 17, when Nikia C. Wallace, 22, was driving her Chevy Blazer southbound on Route 4 near White Sands Drive. The Hyattsville resident was transporting three other passengers when she apparently lost control of the vehicle. No other vehicles were involved in the incident, although traffic in the southbound lanes was backed up for more than an hour as police and emergency crews helped the victims.

One of them, Sharday N. Redmond, 22, was flown by medevac helicopter to the shock trauma center at Prince George’s Hospital Center more than 40 miles away. The driver and another passenger, Charlton L. Jackson, 22, were transported to Calvert Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Continue reading "Single-car Injury Accident on Maryland’s Route 4 Sends Three to Hospital" »