Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Advice for Well-intentioned Maryland Pedestrians: Traffic Accidents can be Equal-opportunity Killers

August 25, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As a Maryland automobile accident lawyer and motorist myself, I see examples daily of people exposing themselves to unnecessary personal injury — and sometimes death — from traffic-related accidents. The summer especially is a time of increased car-pedestrian accidents. In fact, just the other day while driving down a well-traveled four-lane street, I noted a homeowner pulling weeds from around a light pole just inches away from the curb. With her back to oncoming traffic, this person was apparently unaware of or unconcerned with the cars and trucks passing barely three feet away at 35 miles per hour, sometimes faster.

This incident reminded me of a recent news story about a man, a Good Samaritan of sorts, who was critically injured while observing another unrelated vehicle collision. Having represented people injured by a motor vehicle while on foot, I see this kind of scenario many times over in the courtroom. According to reports, a 44-year-old Clinton, MD, man was hit by a car earlier this summer on Route 32 near I-95 in Howard County.

Police reports showed that Franklin Trowell Jr. was on the eastbound shoulder of the road checking a vehicle accident that had just occurred at around four o’clock in the morning. Perhaps the victim should have exercised more caution, due to the darkness at that hour, however he apparently was more concerned about the other people involved in the earlier accident.

Fatal Car Crash in Maryland’s Washington County Won’t Move Authorities to Install Traffic Signal

August 22, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

For anyone has had a loved die in a senseless traffic accident as a result of poor roadway design or traffic signal placement, it’s hard to imagine that local governments would be slow to remedy even the least dangerous traffic hazards. Still, as Maryland automobile accident lawyers, we at Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers have represented clients who even the most casual observer would say had a legitimate claim against a local or state government for not doing its utmost to protect motorists.

In Washington County, MD, just such a situation is brewing. Although a reduced speed limit, as well as other changes have been made on Eastern Boulevard since June, news reports suggest that traffic safety in the area near a local YMCA entrance is not nearly what it should be.

According to reports, there had been three accidents on that stretch of road in the span of two months, one of them fatal. On June 16, four days after that fatal accident, the county’s highway department reportedly reduced the speed limit on Eastern Boulevard from 40 mph to 30 mph for about 600 feet on either side of the intersection in an effort to cause drivers to slow down.

Fatal Car Accident in Anne Arundel County, MD, Claims Two Lives, Injures One

August 19, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Speaking for myself, as a Maryland auto accident attorney, one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do in this job is try to comfort family members who have lost a loved on in a car or truck accident. Any accidental death is traumatic for those close to the victim, but automobile crashes are violent events and it’s so hard for the survivors to deal with the untimely death of a spouse, parent, child or sibling.

In Boston, Annapolis, Washington, D.C., or anywhere across this great state, our car accident lawyers come up against the harsh reality wrought by others’ mistakes. Recently, three members from the same family were involved in a horrendous single-vehicle crash that left two dead and a third in serious condition at a local hospital.

According to reports, a 57-year-old woman was driving her bother and her son eastbound on Maryland Route 4 near Lothian, MD, during the early evening hours of August 3. Police reports indicate that the vehicle was near Lower Pindell Road when it inexplicably left the roadway, struck a sign post, then rolled down an embankment and overturned into a stand of trees.

Maryland Boating Deaths Exceed Last Year’s Total with Three Months Still Remaining

August 16, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

There are still three months left in Maryland’s boating season, and yet we have already exceeded last year’s total maritime deaths. As Maryland auto accident and personal injury lawyers, we at Lebowitz-Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers see this as a potentially alarming trend. Just like with automobile accidents, boating injuries and fatalities are typically a result of one or all of the following:

1) Driver inexperience or error
2) Drunken driving, or boating while intoxicated
3) Unfavorable water and/or weather conditions
4) Equipment failure

Injuries or fatalities that result because of the first three of these usually point to negligence on the part of the captain and/or the owner of the boat. The last one, equipment failure, could be attributable to the captain/owner, a repair or maintenance facility, or the manufacturer of the boat or specific piece of equipment. Whatever the reason for such as failure, if you or a loved one has been injured as a result of defective watercraft equipment, you should retain an attorney experienced in this type of personal injury law.

According to news reports, 10 people have died on Maryland’s waterways, 11-percent more than last year, and despite safety campaigns and concentrated enforcement by Natural Resources Police. In the majority of the accidents — including one last month involving an 11-year-old girl — the victims were reportedly not wearing life jackets.

It is a general rule of law that the captain and/or the boat owner must exercise the utmost level of caution to prevent injuries from occurring to swimmers, passengers in the boat, or anyone else who may be in the surrounding area. This responsibility can extend to requiring passengers to wear floatation devices as required by law.

The current death toll in Maryland apparently also concerns NRP officers because of its geographical sweep, from Deep Creek Lake to Eastern Shore rivers. As is unfortunately too common, the most recent fatality in Baltimore County involved alcohol, according to police. Drinking and piloting a boat can be a deadly combination, as the current statistics indicate.

Since the 2004 and 2005 boating seasons, when the state recorded a total of 27 fatalities, NRP officers have lowered this total using increased patrols, especially on weekends and holidays. The combined total in 2007 and 2008 dropped to 19, which reportedly put Maryland in line with trends elsewhere. Part of the increase in fatalities this season may be lower gas prices, which encourage more boaters to go out on the water.

Three Women and Unborn Child Killed in Fatal Baltimore County Traffic Accident

August 13, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It seems there has been a spate of tragic car accidents in Maryland of late. The recent death of a well-known doctor in the Salisbury area is one such example, but also in the headlines was a very sad car crash that took the life of three women and an unborn baby. As Maryland automobile accident lawyers, Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers has represented many accident victims and their families in cases just like this one.

According to reports, 19-year-old Katrina Morrison, Lori Cardwell and Darlene Cardwell were all killed in a fiery traffic accident in Blatimore County as they were driving home from a visit down south where they attended the recent graduation of Morrison’s fiancé from Army basic training. News reports state that Morrison was carrying her fiancé’s baby, which also died in the crash.

It all happened in the early morning hours of July 27 as the three women were traveling in a Chevrolet Aveo through White Marsh, MD. At the intersection of Honeygo and White Marsh boulevards, the Aveo crossed into the path of a large street-sweeper and was hit T-bone style and pushed down the road for about 100 yards. According to Baltimore County fire officials, the three adults were all killed instantly in the collision as the car burst into flames.

Salisbury Doctor Killed in Car Crash on Route 50 near Pittsville, Maryland

August 9, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Practicing in the Baltimore area, our Maryland auto accident lawyers see numerous victims of car, truck and SUV crashes caused by faulty equipment or driver error. While every fatal automobile accident is tragic, it is all the more heartbreaking when the victim is well know in the community. Recently, the chief of pediatrics at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury was killed when his Mercedes unexpectedly left the roadway and hit a disabled truck and trailer on the shoulder of Route 50.

The accident occurred last Wednesday around 2:25 in the afternoon, when 50-year-old Dr. José Alvarado was driving east along Maryland’s Route 50 close to Sixty Foot Road near Pittsville, MD. Suddenly, and apparently without any warning, the man’s convertible went out of control and left the road. It hit a 21-foot long trailer that was hitched to a disabled truck on the roadside. The force of the crash was such that the trailer lost two of its axles in the collision.

According to reports, the Mercedes was terribly mangled in the crash that left Alvarado in critical condition. Emergency crews treated and transported him to the Shock-Trauma Center at University of Maryland Hospital. He died later that night.

Police had not yet determined a cause for the accident, however since the incident occurred in the daylight hours and did not, according to reports, involve any other moving vehicles on the road, it is possible that a blown tire or defective vehicle component may have resulted in the vehicle going out of control.

Highway accidents involving stationary vehicles, such as the truck and trailer combination with which Alvarado’s vehicle collided, can be very deadly. Couple that with the fact that the doctor was driving a convertible, which has much less protection for the driver and passengers, and you have a large opportunity for a tragic outcome. Head injuries and traumatic brain injures are also possible with open-topped vehicles, versus sedans and other closed-type models.

Potentially Fatal Calvert County, Maryland, Auto Accident Highlights Benefit of Seatbelt Use

August 6, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

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.

One Fatality, Many Injuries Prompt Honda to Recall Accord, Civic Models in Maryland and Elsewhere

August 3, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Automotive safety equipment is not supposed to hurt or kill you, yet that is what appears to be the risk with nearly half a million Honda and Acura models being driven in Baltimore and other cities in and around Maryland. According to reports, the defective component is part of the vehicles’ steering wheel airbag system and could cause serious injury or even death to the driver or passengers of these sedans.

Already one fatality and several other lesser injuries have been tied to the airbag defect. Honda announced back in November 2008 that it would be recalling some of its 2001 model year Accord and Civic sedans, but has recently added an additional 440,000 vehicles to the recall.

The potentially life-threatening defect is part of the airbag inflation system in these top-selling Japanese sedans. According to news reports, the inflator assembly can rupture as a result of excessive air pressure, which then can cause metal fragments to shoot through the airbag and possibly hit the occupants.

Calvert County, MD, Teenage Driver Killed in Police-related Crash on Maryland Route 4

July 31, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The recent fatal vehicle crash involving a Dunkirk, Maryland, teen is a sad reminder of how quickly a young life can be lost in a traffic accident. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that the young girl’s vehicle was hit by a Calvert County Sheriff’s cruiser on the way to what authorities term a priority assignment. The accident occurred on MD Route 4, also known as Southern Maryland Boulevard, in the late morning of July 24.

Being an automobile accident attorney practicing in Maryland, I respect the dedication of our state’s law enforcement professionals when it comes to protecting the public. At the same time, I cannot help but feel sadness for the family of this 18-year-old girl who died so tragically.

Because the accident involved one of their own deputies, the Calvert Country Sheriff’s office requested that the Anne Arundel County Police Department and the Maryland State Police to conduct an independent investigation into the events leading up to the crash.

Potomac Man Dies Following Single-vehicle Crash in Bethesda, MD

July 29, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Law enforcement officials and accident investigators had been combing the site where a 22-year-old Potomac resident received fatal injuries following a recent single-car accident on Bradley Boulevard in Bethesda, Maryland. The automobile crash occurred just after 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning, according to police, when Pedro Pedro Ivo Sobral Canuto apparently lost control of the car he was driving. The 1999 Audi crossed the centerline, left the roadway and hit a tree on the driver’s side, which caused severe injuries to the driver.

As a Maryland auto accident and personal injury attorney, I have worked on cases involving fatal and non-fatal single-vehicle accidents. Barring driver error, many of these types of accidents are the result of defective equipment.

In this instance, a person nearby the crash scene said that the sound of squealing brakes could be heard moments before the impact. According to reports, the driver was wearing his seatbelt. When rescue personnel arrived, they were able to extricate Mr. Canuto, who was subsequently transported to Suburban Hospital with critical and life-threatening injuries. Sadly, the man died around noon the next day.

Vehicle defects can be very dangerous, especially when they are related to a car or truck’s steering equipment or braking system. In this case, police still don’t know the cause, however, it sounds as if the braking system may have been involved. This was a ten-year-old vehicle and older vehicles can have excessive wear in certain components including the braking system.

Depending on the speed and road conditions, if the vehicle’s brakes failed to operate correctly, it may have caused the car to go out of control and leave the roadway. But this is simply speculation, and until a definitive report comes from police accident investigators, no one can know for certain what caused this fatal crash.

It is not uncommon for poorly designed or improperly maintained vehicle systems to be the root cause of a crash that results in serious injury or death of the driver, passengers or bystanders. If someone you know has been involved in a vehicle accident due to defective equipment, there may be grounds to recover medical costs and other damages.