Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Personal Injury News: Could Maryland Motorists be Some of the Worst Drivers in the Country?

November 28, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Here in the Baltimore area one has many opportunities to observe, or sometimes be involved in a variety of accidents that cause some kind of personal injury. The trick, it would seem, is to not be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As Maryland auto and trucking accident attorneys, my firm is experienced helping those people who have become victims of someone else’s negligent or thoughtless actions.

When it comes to roadway collisions, it could be said that Maryland drivers are right up there in terms of being involved in mild to severe car-, trucking- and motorcycle-related wrecks on a fairly regular basis. Of course, nobody asks to be involved in any kind of traffic-related accident situation. And on a similar note, no one would ever want to be sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries as a result. Regardless, every month dozens of innocent men, women and children are hurt or killed as a result of a bad car, SUV or minivan crash.

As the people at the Allstate insurance company have illustrated with their annual report of cities with the worst drivers, many Marylanders live and work in the epicenter of national car accidents. In a way, Washington, D.C., is the capital of more than just our nation; the District is also number one, according to Allstate, in traffic wrecks. Anyone who might be thinking that only D.C. residents have to worry about increased rates of car accidents just has to look at the number two position: Baltimore City.

Maryland State Police See Road Rage as Possible Cause of Fatal Harford County Traffic Accident

November 26, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Once you have seen the aftermath of as many car, truck and motorcycle wrecks as we have, you too might be all the more cautious on the road as we would like all of our friends and family member to be. While most people never expect to become victims of a bad traffic collision here in Baltimore (or elsewhere across the state and in the District of Columbia), it’s a sad fact that many people who become involved in severe or life-threatening car or trucking-related roadway crashes never would have imagined their day ending on such a terrible note.

As Maryland auto accident attorneys and personal injury lawyers, our main concern is for those who have been injured or killed in a car accident caused through the negligence, and sometimes because of the deliberate actions of another driver. Placing blame is one thing, but understanding that a severe or fatal auto accidents are something that can affect anyone at one time or another might be a better course to alleviating the frequency — and hence the suffering — of many individuals in the future.

While it is true that many traffic accidents are just that, accidents, if there is anything we have learned through our years of litigation in courts throughout the state of Maryland it is that a lot of accidents could possibly have been avoided if one or the other driver was paying more attention to the road. Furthermore, knowing how accidents materialize on the street can make for some serious introspection on the part of many people who work in personal injury law. What is truly disconcerting is that a percentage of car and truck crashes are actually caused by drivers intent on causing some kind of damage or injury to another person.

Traffic Accident News: Maryland Woman Survives Multiple-Car Crash on Interstate 95 near Baltimore

November 25, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Baltimore personal injury lawyers we understand quite well that anyone who follows us on this venue has a very good chance of being involved in some kind of accident involving bodily injury during the span of their life. This is not to say that one should expect to be hurt as a result of a car, truck or motorcycle crash, just as nobody should look forward to being hit by a car while walking to the store or being injured as a nursing home resident in the distant future. But our statement is purely to illustrate the extremely high odds of such events.

Of course, being automobile accident attorneys, I and my staff know that with the millions of vehicle miles traveled every year by residents of Maryland and surrounding states, the chances of anyone being hurt as a result of a car or commercial trucking wreck may be very good. We’ll say, up front, that if you or someone you love has been injured as a result of another driver’s negligence, it is always a good idea to consult with a qualified personal injury attorney. For our part, we help accident victims in this state, as well as the District of Columbia.

Of more than five million roadway collisions annually across the U.S., many of these are of the minor, so-called fender-bender variety. But there are a large percentage of car and trucking-related crashes that result in both property damage and bodily injury. A percentage of these more serious collisions can result in death or life-threatening injuries.

Danger is Everywhere, But When a Roadside Car Accident is Evident, Extra Caution is Advised

November 21, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We have spoken of distractions on many occasions and we’d like to reiterate the potential for severe bodily injury when the warning signs just outside a driver’s windshield are not heeded because one is too fixated on reading or sending a text message or doing some other highly distracting activity. Automobile and commercial trucking wrecks occur daily, both on our highways and along city streets. There are few men or women out there who can multi-task on a superhuman basis to the point that driver distraction is not a deadly threat to both driver and passengers.

Being personal injury attorneys here in Baltimore and serving greater Maryland and the District of Columbia, we understand how easy it is to become sidetracked by a phone call or enticing email from a friend or relative. But when these interruptions happen from the driver’s seat of a passenger car, or worse, a commercial delivery vehicle or semi tractor-trailer, the ingredients for a potentially deadly traffic collision are all there.

We’ve already seen what a possibly distracted teen driver wrought out in Worcester County a while back. But it is incumbent on every driver to maintain 100 percent of his or her attention to the job at hand: operating a two-ton motor vehicle on public roads while maintaining to the best of their ability the safety of their car, themselves and the innocent people all around them. To paraphrase a now well-known saw, “It takes a village to maintain a peaceful roadway.” And while that may seem a little silly, the fact is a highway or crowded city street is a kind of rolling village, and we are all, for a time, responsible for the harmony or chaos at any one moment.

A Word to the Wise: Being Alert on the Road is No Accident for Maryland Drivers

November 18, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Would it be so difficult to remind your friends and tell your driving-age kids that being distracted behind the wheel is more than just a minor safety concern? Could it be that hard to speak to them as a concerned friend or parent that allowing oneself to be distracted on the road can be tantamount to driving while impaired by alcohol or prescription drugs? Would you be willing to trade the momentary glares and indignant scowls for loved ones to understand, once and for all, that you believe no distraction, regardless how small, is worth anyone’s life?

When it comes to traffic safety, we know the downside that errors in judgment and thoughtless actions can cause on our roadways. As Maryland automobile accident and personal injury lawyers, my firm sees numerous people every month who have become victims of a roadway accident, hurt or maimed as a result of another individual’s negligence. Whether a crash occurs in Bowie, Rockville, Baltimore or Washington, D.C., our firm is dedicated to providing legal representation in the event that a driver, passenger, pedestrian, cyclist or motorcycle rider is injured or killed in a traffic collision.

Aside from the normal bumps and bruises, cuts and lacerations, and other relatively minor injuries received in a car, bike or trucking-related road accident, many people can end up with long-term, debilitating conditions resulting from closed-head trauma, neck and spine injury or damage to vital internal organs. Considering that most traffic accidents are likely preventable or, at the very least, could have been lessened to a great degree, isn’t it worth a moment of indignation from a loved one to remind them how dangerous distracted driving can be?

Baltimore Auto Safety Recall News: Toyota Says 2.8M Vehicles May Have Steering-related Problem

November 15, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As consumers we all expect the products we buy to work as advertised and to be safe for us and our families. When it comes to cars, minivans, sport utility vehicles and other light trucks and passenger vehicles, admittedly the complexity of these products makes safety a much more involved effort, however for the prices that automakers charge for many new motor vehicles, buyer should expect that the quality of safety-related compounds is more than up-to-snuff.

In months past we have heard about numerous safety-related recalls, both from the manufacturers themselves and from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in Washington, D.C. These recalls have involved products from Honda, General Motor and Toyota, to name a few. Most recently, Toyota has announced a new campaign that could affect drivers in Maryland as well as over in the District.

Now, as Baltimore personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues keep an eye out for these kinds of safety issues, since any one of them could result in a car, truck or motorcycle crash. Whether a roadway accident involves a single vehicle, multiple cars, or a passenger car and a large commercial truck, the lives of the driver and passengers may be compromised depending on the type of collision and the circumstances surrounding the wreck.

Are Maryland’s Older Drivers Safe On the Road, Or Is Stricter Licensing Needed for Seniors?

November 12, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

While it may seem discriminatory to suggest that some older motorists could constitute a danger to the driving public based solely on their age, the question is one that many traffic safety experts grapple with on a regular basis. The problem is that the older we get there is opportunity for reductions in physical strength, mental ability and reaction time, all of which can conspire to increase the chances of a traffic accident for senior citizens of advanced age. When it comes to cutting the frequency of injuries caused by auto, truck and motorcycle accidents, shouldn’t every avenue be explored?

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my team of legal professionals are dedicated to assisting victims of traffic accidents in the Baltimore area, Rockville, Annapolis and even the District of Columbia. What is common for this state, as well as our nation’s capital and the balance of the U.S. is that tens of thousands of people are killed, maimed and injured in roadway collisions, many of which could be avoided or lessened in severity through improved traffic safety efforts, driver training, or vehicle maintenance.

Since injuries to victims of car and trucking-related crashes include some extremely debilitating conditions caused by closed-head trauma, neck and back injury, trauma to internal organs and other critical medical complications, efforts to reduce or eliminate the incidence of car and truck collisions should continue to be a priority.

Maryland Auto Safety Alert: Some Jeep Owners May Be Driving Around with Defective Airbag Systems

November 9, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Products liability is an area of law that handles merchandise and other goods that have injured or killed an individual or group of people as a result of using or being in contact with those items. It includes holding those entities, such manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, responsible for injuries sustained by people who have purchased or used a company’s products. As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, my firm works to help clients who have been hurt, maimed or killed as a result of an unsafe or defective product.

Here in the U.S., product liability claims most often entail negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty, and other consumer-related claims. When it comes to the law, products liability looks at three major areas of liability claims, including defects in manufacturing, poor or faulty design, as well as failure to warn the consumer about shortcomings in a product. This last area involves what is sometimes referred to as marketing defects.
As Maryland automobile and trucking-accident lawyers, our aim is to assist victims of traffic accidents that have been caused by another individual’s negligence. In some instances of car, truck or motorcycle wrecks, the cause can occasionally be traced to failure of a safety-related component or part that failed and resulted in a roadway crash. It’s not unheard of to have a car or truck part, such as a steering arm, wheel bearing or suspension component break or fail and cause a loss of control for the driver.

Maryland Woman Critically Hurt in Pedestrian Hit-and-Run Traffic Accident, Say Baltimore Police

November 8, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anyone who walks in or near traffic must understand that they run a risk, no matter how small, of being struck by a passenger car, clipped by city bus, or hit by a commercial delivery truck. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 4,000 pedestrians were killed across the county in 2009 in traffic incidents involving car-, truck- and motorcycle-related collisions. And while several thousand persons on foot are typically killed each year, almost 20 times that number are injured, either severely or with only minor bodily injuries.

From the perspective of a Maryland personal injury law firm like ours, our experience tells us that lion’s share of pedestrian accidents result from driver distraction. This can be caused by a number of activities, including talking or texting on a cellphone or smartphone, changing the radio station or adjusting a navigation system; even eating or putting on makeup have been known to be direct causes of pedestrian traffic collisions.

Because most everyone assumes the role of pedestrian at least once a week, if not once a day, it’s important to remind anyone who walks near traffic to be especially careful when crossing at intersections. Dangerous intersections, something that is quite common here in Baltimore as well as in other busy metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C., can include the following attributes that make them more dangerous for pedestrians than other roadway crossings:
— Improperly design, which presents a danger to both cars and pedestrians
— Lack of necessary traffic signals/signs
— Poorly timed traffic lights
— No vehicle merging lane

Speed Blamed in Double-Fatality Single-Vehicle Traffic Accident in Baltimore County

November 5, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We’ve all hear a lot about road rage here in Maryland, but that’s just one of many conditions that people can become involved in on our streets and highways, many times to someone’s ultimate detriment. While road rage can usually be accompanied by bouts of aggressive driving, driving in an aggressive manner is not necessarily accompanied every time by anger on the road. This may sound as if we are describing a medical condition, which would be for the healthcare community to decide; what we mean to discuss here is that aggressive driving on its own can cause serious and sometimes deadly traffic accidents.

As Baltimore area personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have enough experience with car, truck and motorcycle accidents to know that, for lack of a better phrase, speed kills. While the auto and traffic safety community is generally in agreement on this subject, many sports car enthusiasts and racing devotees would likely argue that speed doesn’t necessarily kill, but it makes a car or trucking-related collision that much worse, all things being equal that is.

Speed limits are established for one main reason: to keep speeds on public roads to a reasonable level while also maintaining quick, efficient and economical travel for members of the public who use the roadways. As we have said before, however, having laws and regulations in place is no guarantee that people will obey them, which is why we have police to enforce the laws and a judicial system to provide an unbiased forum for citizens who have been accused of a violation of those laws.