Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Anne Arundel Prosecutor’s Office Charges Maryland Driver with Vehicular Manslaughter following Rte 100 Car Crash

April 29, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Here in Maryland the police are fairly strict when it comes to reckless driving and endangering the lives of other on public roads. And why not? Every year hundreds of people are hurt or killed in senseless car, truck and motorcycle accidents in and round cities like Bowie, Cumberland, Rockville and even Washington, D.C. As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, we know how a so-called simple instance of aggressive driving can result in one or more people being sent to the hospital, or worse.

Until and accident occurs, much of the potential collateral damage and bodily injuries from a car or trucking-related roadway collision are just that, potential; unrealized until someone makes the wrong move. It’s difficult enough these days to avoid becoming a part of a random car wreck, much less have a thoughtless motorist up the odds that you or a loved one could be injured or killed as a result of a pointless highway or expressway collision.

Yet, every month, drivers from all around our state face an uncertain future due to serious injuries sustained in traffic accidents not of their own making. For those individuals who act irresponsibly on public roads, they should be held accountable for their actions. Accidents surely happen, but some “accidents” do not need to happen.

Victim of Traffic-related Pedestrian-Car Accident Succumbs to Her Injuries 3 Months Later

April 27, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Representing individuals hurt or injured in automobile accidents, I and my colleagues are more than mildly aware of the potentially deadly results of car, truck and motorcycle wrecks. While injuries received in most traffic accidents may not result in serious medical complications or long-term disability, the possibility still exists. Of course, we also help the families of victims who have been killed in fatal roadway collision.

Whether through extreme negligence or even a lack of proper caution on the part of another person, the injuries sustained by a driver or passenger of a car, SUV, minivan, or vehicle used for public transportation, can be extensive. From cuts and bruises to compound fractures, internal injuries or closed-head trauma, a number of bodily injuries can continue to dog a person weeks or months — sometimes even years — down the road.

Some victims never leave the hospital after being hurt in an automobile or commercial trucking accident. These hapless, innocent victims linger for day, weeks or even months and years before they sadly cannot cope with the medical complications of their injuries. In such instances, the person’s bodily functions begin to ebb regardless of how much treatment is performed on the victim. In the end, the family must cope with the loss of a loved one, who may have continued to suffer in pain and discomfort all during their failed recovery.

Maryland Man Receives Critical and Life-threatening Injuries in Pedestrian Hit-and-Run Traffic Accident

April 25, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Sad to say, but it would be a shock if one day we woke up and there were no more automobile or trucking-related traffic accidents in Baltimore, or anywhere else for that matter. With the number of serious and fatal car, truck and motorcycle collisions that occur every month, it’s no surprise that a significant percentage of our society’s time, energy and financial resources go toward helping people recover from, many times, senseless car accidents.

In a perfect world there would be no single-vehicle, multi-vehicle or commuter-related wrecks anywhere in our state or across the nation. But enough dreaming, because in the real world people make mistakes and others pay for those mistakes by being injured or killed as a result.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, my firm sees first-hand the effects of senseless car and truck collisions on a weekly basis. Not a day goes by that somewhere across the state, someone innocent bystander or vehicle occupant has been hurt by the actions of another individual. In cases where a death has resulted from a negligent act, it’s not uncommon for the family of the victim to file a wrongful death suit against the person responsible for that fatality.

Baltimore Auto Injury News: Several Marylanders Injured in Handful of Anne Arundel Traffic Accidents

April 23, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

For anyone who doesn’t believe that traffic accidents happen on a frequent basis in Baltimore, Annapolis, Rockville and the District, we have news for you: Auto, truck and motorcycle crashes happen all of the time in this state; and a fair number of them involve injuries and a few deaths every week, all through the year. Now, this may surprise a handful of readers, but a percentage of passenger car and trucking-related accidents are caused by negligence on the part of one of the drivers.

We take no pleasure in suggesting that many traffic collisions are caused by thoughtless or negligent actions on someone’s part. This is why we, as Maryland personal injury attorneys, offer our services to victims and their families to help recover the costs related to a severe and sometimes debilitating roadway accident.

We have seen it played out time and time again; an innocent driver and/or his passengers receive serious bodily injury following a bad car crash, which then necessitates days or weeks of hospital treatment followed by many more weeks or months of physical rehabilitation (especially in cases of severe closed-head trauma or spinal cord damage); and that’s just to get back to some level of mobility for a person to try to go on with their daily life. Naturally, there will be more challenges once the physical scars have healed, such as returning to work or trying to get along with a potentially permanent physical handicap.

Columbia, MD, Woman Critically Hurt in Multi-Car Crash on Rte 32 in Howard County

April 18, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Any Marylander who has sustained an injury as a result of another person’s negligence, thoughtlessness or inattention will understand that it is important to consult with a qualified Maryland personal injury attorney before making any decisions going forward. As experienced auto accident lawyers, I and my colleagues are dedicated to representing victims of car, truck and motorcycle accidents.

With years of experience in personal injury lawsuits, as well as having the needed skills and training to handle personal injury cases, we know that people are constantly being exposed to dangers, some of which can result in serious injury and even death. Be aware that any person who is intentional or carelessly injured by a negligent individual has the right to lodge a personal injury suit or claim against the negligent party.

In cases involving an automobile or commercial trucking accident, if a driver, company or other entity is found by a court to be legally responsible for the victim’s injury, the party who is liable for causing a particular injury may be ordered to pay what the law refers to as compensatory damages to cover losses incurred by the plaintiff, such as medical expenses and costs related to work-loss issues. This type of award differs from that of ”punitive damages,” which may also be rewarded under certain circumstances. Punitive damages are levied against a defendant when he court feels the responsible party needs to be punished for causing the injury.

Auto Injury News: Maryland Driver Arrested by Police Following Multiple Hit-and-Run Collisions in Annapolis

April 17, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Arguments for increased personal responsibility are always encouraging, whenever they crop up; however, human nature being what it is, there are numerous situations when individuals will “opt-out” of the civilized world and hide themselves for fear of being discovered by the police and society as a whole. Actions, as the saying goes, speak louder than words.

As Baltimore auto and trucking accident lawyers, we have been witness to numerous individual victims of passenger car, commercial truck and motorcycle collisions. What never ceases to amaze is how these victims manage to press on with their lives following what are typically violent and painful incidents that interrupt and sometimes permanently change the course of these individuals’ lives. Despite the pain and discomfort, victims of bike, truck and motorcycle accidents must persevere if they are to have a hope of returning to a normal semblance of life, at least as they knew it before the tragedy of a serious roadway wreck.

The other side of the coin is, of course, the negligent individuals whose actions placed their victims in a particular physical or medical situation. Many of these people do, in fact, own up to their mistakes or negligent acts that cause injury to another person. But there are certainly others who fail to admit fault and who, through the legal system, must be forced to account for their deeds. Of these individuals, there are some who run from their responsibility as well as the law. A few are never caught; others are arrested, eventually.

Three People Hurt in Alleged Road Rage Traffic Collision in Anne Arundel County, MD

April 13, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

While we’ve said it here numerous times in the past, it is tragic enough for someone to be injured or killed in a traffic accident, but to be hurt or die as the result of a preventable roadway wreck, that is something no family should ever experience. This is why car, truck and motorcycle wrecks that are caused by out and out negligence or reckless behavior are all the more egregious in the eyes of those who enforce our laws.

It must be said that road rage incidents fall into this area of preventable accidents. Unlike a situation where a car or truck has a mechanical problem that prevents a driver from avoiding a potentially deadly crash, a person who is bent on causing injury through threatening or unadvised driving behavior has it within their power NOT to carry out a possibly life-threatening act on the highway.

Of course, this is not a perfect world and there are, sadly, individuals who for no other reason than personal anger or lack of emotional control can turn on fellow motorists who they perceive as “the problem.” While many road rage incidents do not result in bodily harm, there are a percentage of occurrences involving “driving while angry” that do result in injuries and sometimes roadway deaths.

NHTSA Delays Latest Ruling for “Rear-View” Cameras in Production Passenger Vehicles

April 9, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my legal staff keep ourselves up-to-date on the latest federal and state legislation affecting car, truck and motorcycle accident law, as well as traffic safety and enforcement issues. Understanding that traffic accidents take the lives of many thousands of Americans ever year, as well as injuring, maiming and permanently disabling many more individuals whose only mistake was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Automobile and commercial trucking accidents are without a doubt a continuing threat to the health and safety of many Maryland motorists and their families. One of the more common accidents, this time involving pedestrians hurt by cars and trucks, is the typical reversing collision with a person on foot or injuring a bicycle rider. These sometimes fatal collisions can happen almost anywhere; from supermarket parking areas and multi-level parking structures to church parking lots and residential driveways.

As many of our readers may already have noticed, a number of automobile companies have had rear-view “backup” cameras from several years or more on selected vehicle models. And while more and more companies are including these devices as part of their multi-media hardware and software systems, there remain many cars that do not offer the feature.

Anne Arundel, MD, Accident News: Three Sent to Maryland Shock Trauma following Edgewater Car Accident

April 6, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Surviving a car, truck or motorcycle accident can involve more than just luck; age, physical stamina and pre-existing conditions can all be factors that influence the outcome of a severe automobile injury. Just as young children can be hurt in a car crash, older individuals and the elderly can be injured or killed in a serious traffic collision. This is not to say that young, healthy adults have super-human qualities over the other age groups, but their bodies may have a higher tolerance for pain and injury.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my legal staff have seen the effects that car and trucking-related wrecks have had on the old and infirm. It’s one thing to have a slip and fall accident at a nursing home; it’s a something quite different when an elderly man or woman receives a traumatic blow in an auto wreck. Roadway collisions can take a toll on these individuals and may send them to the hospital for the rest of their lives, depending on the victim’s age and the seriousness of their injuries.

Older individuals are hurt in all types of accidents every week in Baltimore, Rockville, the District and Annapolis. Those who are sent to the emergency room following a traffic accident may face an uncertain future, with broken bones and head injuries that may never heal sufficiently for that person to return home.

Traffic Safety Advocates Raise Concerns Over Rental Car Safety; Call for Federal Regulation

April 4, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Years after a terrible automobile accident on the West Coast, auto safety advocates and traffic safety experts are starting to push hard for federal regulation of rental cars and the companies that rent vehicles to the public. According to various news articles and other media outlets, this latest drive stems from a 2004 car crash that resulted in the death of two sisters who were killed when their rented Chrysler PT Cruiser had a mechanical problem, which led to a collision with an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rig.

That crash eventually led to a wrongful death lawsuit brought against Enterprise Rent-A-Car by the mother of the two women, 24-year-old Raechel Houck and her 20-year-old sister, Jacqueline. According to court records, the vehicle the two rented on that fateful day was part of a recall campaign involving the car’s defective power-steering system; however, at that time the rental company had yet to make any repairs to the car.

As a matter of fact, those two women were not the first to have rented the vehicle while it was under the recall order. Based on reports, Enterprise had rented the vehicle to three prior customers following the recall notice being issued. The resulting failure of one of the steering components precipitated the eventual crash that killed the two young women.