Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Study: Red-Light Cameras Help Reduce Traffic Accident Rates; Contribute to Fewer Car Crash Injuries

May 12, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Human nature being what it is we weren’t surprised to hear some of the latest findings from a recent study conducted by a Florida television news station regarding the use and effects of so-called “red-light” cameras. Since Maryland’s metro areas have their fair share of these devices, it was interesting to read about the latest look into the psychology of drivers when confronted with this kind of passive traffic enforcement.

Now, it goes without saying that any approach to reducing traffic accidents, and by association related fatalities and severe, sometimes life-altering personal injuries, would be met with at least some acceptance. Red-light cameras are supposed to accomplish their job, in part, by being “advertised” by local law enforcement agencies.

Being injury attorneys based in the Baltimore area and serving residents of Maryland and Washington, D.C., we can appreciate the efforts of safety advocates to encourage increased adherence to traffic laws. According to a report from a TV station in Florida, very few drivers will admit to liking these red-light cameras. But since more than 150,000 men, women and children are hurt annually as a result of another driver running or otherwise ignoring a red traffic signal, there is certainly some merit to these traffic control devices.

Maryland Drivers May be Affected following Chrysler Safety Recalls of Charger and 300 Sedans

May 10, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It doesn’t take much to turn a safe vehicle into a dangerous machine. While general neglect, poor maintenance and faulty service procedures can take their toll on the mechanical systems of cars and trucks, improper engineering design or production processes on the part of auto manufacturers can put a vehicle at a disadvantage almost from the get-go. As consumers, we all assume that the products we buy, especially those that we trust our lives to and that of our families, will be designed and built to the highest possible standards. Safety recalls represent the flip side of the argument.

Here in the Baltimore area, as with Annapolis, Gaithersburg, Rockville and The District, tens of thousands of drivers get behind the wheel of vehicles every day in the belief that those cars, trucks and motorcycles are safe and sound. When a traffic accident occurs as a result of a mechanical defect, the victims would be wise to consider speaking to a qualified personal injury attorney about the possibility of a products liability lawsuit.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues understand how an assumption of safety can be rocked by a dangerous oversight on the part of a manufacturer. While some recalls are voluntary, others are ordered by the Government in the interest of public safety. If injuries or traffic fatalities are caused as a result of a possible vehicle defect, the call for action is usually swift.

State’s Licensing Laws Appear to be Working to Reduce Injuries and Deaths of Maryland’s Teenage Drivers

May 8, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As personal injury attorneys here in Baltimore, we’ve seen too articles detailing the tragic results of traffic accidents involving Maryland’s younger drivers. As adults, we can understand the difficulties involved with training and licensing first-time drivers, especially from the standpoint of inexperience and the dangers of youthful indiscretion. As driving has become a ubiquitous part of our American lifestyle, there is no practical way to increase the driving age, but many states including Maryland have instituted legislation that helps to ease teenage drivers into their driving careers with a graduated approach to licensing new drivers.

Any traffic accident that can be prevented is one that parents and family members would surely want to avoid. With the number of severe injury accidents and fatal car, truck and motorcycle collisions across our state, there is much to be said about saving our young people from possible injury or death as a result of a bad traffic wreck.

Whether one lives in Gaithersburg, Annapolis, Rockville or Washington, D.C., no doubt you or someone you know has a family member who may have been hurt in a car or commercial trucking-related roadway accident. In the best of cases, a few minor bumps or bruises may be all that the victim suffered; others may not have been that lucky. With closed-head injuries, compound fractures and spinal cord damage all potential injuries resulting from a car crash, anyone would be happy to avoid a hospital stay and subsequent physical therapy.

How Can Trusting Another Driver Be One of the Deadliest Decision Anyone Can Make?

May 6, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We all do it, and on a daily basis. We entrust certain aspects of our lives to individuals who we believe are competent, trained and conscientious. Now, some of what these individuals do has very effect on anyone of us, at least in terms of our physical safety. But others from whom we contract services do, indeed, have a direct effect on our well-being. This can also extend to family and friends as well. The scary part is that we don’t always consider the potential negative results that a basic lapse in judgment by one person may have on us in the long-term.

Every year I and my legal staff consult with individuals who were victims of a personal injury accident. These people, or their loved ones, could have been hurt by a doctor’s medical mistake, pharmacy error or even a simple slip-and-fall mishap on the job. Still others may have been permanently disabled due to a car, truck or motorcycle-related traffic wreck. Whatever the cause, as Maryland personal injury attorneys, my firm is dedicated to helping those victims and their families recover costs for medical care, rehabilitation, future long-term care and even compensation for financial loss or emotional distress.

Most every person that we see had no idea that they would soon be facing a life-changing event when they woke up on the morning of their accident. This is the nature of personal injuries; one can almost never see them coming, otherwise we would do all we could to avoid them. One category of injury accident that can take a huge toll on an individual’s health and future physical well-being is a highway or roadway automobile or commercial trucking accident.

Two Maryland Residents Killed in Deadly St. Mary’s Co. Car Crash; Speeding, Alcohol Blamed

May 4, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When it comes to fatal car, truck and motorcycle accidents, it’s a said commentary when the signs point to drinking and driving as one of the possible causes. There is no winner when a driver takes his or her own life in a senseless roadway collision, much less the lives of the passengers as well.

As Baltimore car and trucking accident attorneys, I and my legal staff find it difficult to reconcile the possibly thoughtless act of driving while intoxicated with the deaths of innocent individuals. Whatever the reason, a preventable car accident — fatal or otherwise — is a tragedy. As occupants in another person’s vehicle, we as passengers assume a fair amount of risk. Trust is a precious commodity; sometimes one that is spent all too quickly on the wrong person.

As personal injury lawyers in Maryland, we see numerous stories of men, women and children who are injured or killed in traffic accidents that might have been avoided had a passenger spoken up or the driver exercised some discretion. Driving under the influence of alcohol is not only illegal, it is dangerous and can be life-altering. For those who survive a car or truck crash, whether here in Maryland or over in Washington, D.C., the road to recovery can be long and hard.

Baltimore Auto Injury Update: Poor Legal Decisions Can Limit One’s Ability to Recover Medical Costs, Damages

May 2, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Choosing the right lawyer following a serious injury-related traffic collision is an important step toward bringing a successful personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against a negligent party. As Maryland auto, bike and trucking accident attorneys, we have the training and legal skills to represent victims of car, truck and motorcycle accident here in Maryland.

Whether one is injured in Baltimore, Bowie, Annapolis or the District, there is nothing enjoyable about being hurt, laid up in the hospital and then having to foot the bill for another person’s thoughtless or negligent act. More than one family has been hurt physically, emotionally and financially by a reckless or inattentive driver. With medical treatment costs going through the roof, it only makes sense to choose the right attorney when planning one’s strategy to recover medical, rehabilitation and other costs following a roadway accident.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, we have seen enough post-accident carnage to know how shaken a victim of a car or truck collision must feel in the aftermath of a serious highway wreck. The same goes for cyclists and pedestrians who are hurt as a result of being struck by a car or commercial delivery truck. In cases where a victim is incapacitated or even killed, the family may need to bring a suit on their behalf to compensate for possible long-term care costs brought on by a careless driver.

Harford County Officials Note Heavy Increase in Fatal Traffic Accidents in February

April 30, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

If there’s one thing that Maryland families shouldn’t have to worry about, it’s being killed in a traffic accident. But the fact of the matter is, all manner of accidents happen to good people, regardless of how safe they feel or what they do to avoid becoming statistics. This is especially poignant in light of a news article we ran across not long ago, which stated that fatal roadway accidents had taken a huge leap back in February.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, as well as auto and trucking accident attorneys, I and my colleagues are painfully aware of the odds that an individual, perhaps someone’s mother, father, spouse or child, will be killed as a result of a highway collision caused by a negligent driver. If this wasn’t sobering enough, the shear randomness of some traffic accidents can be very nerve-wracking to some people.

Here in Baltimore, as in other cities like Gaithersburg, Howie and even Washington, D.C., car, truck and motorcycle accidents take place on a shockingly frequent basis. Protecting one’s family from a potentially life-altering and sometimes deadly occurrence can weight heavily on some parents. With not rhyme or reason to many automobile and trucking-related wrecks, all one can say is be aware of the potential dangers and drive defensively.

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.