Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Baltimore Auto Accident News: Could Text-to-Voice Cellphone Services Reduce Car Crashes in Maryland?

September 29, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Nearly anyone who operates a motor vehicle on our interstates or in urban centers will agree that traffic safety is a primary concern. Whether you live, work or travel in and around Frederick, Hagerstown, Cumberland or Washington, D.C., you have likely seen examples of bad driving habits, poor traffic safety, or dangerous vehicle operation; some have maybe even been involved in a collision with another passenger car, SUV, motorcycle or commercial truck.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, our job first and foremost is to represent the victims of auto accidents and motorcycle wrecks, as well as their families. One area that has gained attention over recent years is the problem of distracted driving exacerbated by cellphone and now smartphone usage. Texting in particular has become a very dangerous pastime for a percentage of the driving public; endangering the lives of most everyone on the road.

A driver can be distracted by a variety of things on the road, but holding a smartphone while trying to text or reading a message off a small screen is one of the more dangerous driving activities. Traffic accident statistics are peppered with cellphone use as one of the contributing factors to accidents involving passenger cars, commercial delivery trucks and 18-wheel tractor-trailer rigs.

Depending on the conditions at the time of the crash, injuries can be serious to life-threatening, not to mention instantly fatal. Occupants of smaller vehicles are particularly at risk, due in part to the huge difference in mass between larger trucks and standard-size automobile. Fatal traffic accidents are known to be caused by distractions involving cellphones and other PDA devices.

Maryland Rollover Accidents Represent One of the Most Dangerous and Catastrophic Roadway Crashes

September 27, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Few would argue that most any car, truck or motorcycle accident has the potential for serious personal injury or even death. Certainly, even the most minor of automobile wrecks has the capability of causing a fair amount of bodily injury, if the circumstances are right. In fact, there should be no surprise to know that seatbelt usage and well-designed airbag systems can be life savers in low to medium speed accidents.

Striking one’s head on a hard automotive interior surface during a medium- to high-speed road accident can result in not only deep cuts and blood loss, but may also cause traumatic brain injury that can potentially lead to temporary or permanent disability. Emergency responders arriving at the scene of a mild to severe auto, bike or commercial trucking crash will usually recommend that victims be treated by a doctor to rule out any serious complications from a bump to the head.

Traumatic brain injury, also referred to as closed-head trauma, can result in a number of problems, some immediate and others that may develop over time. Along with head and neck injuries, damage to a person’s spinal cord can also have deleterious effects on one’s current and future health, not to mention the ability to hold a job and make a living for one’s family.

Of course, when considering any possible traffic wreck, preventing injury would be the first line of defense, which includes avoiding accidents altogether, or at the very least lessening the effects of a crash.

Baltimore Auto Injury News: Maryland Driver Gets 20 Years for Fatal DWI-related Traffic Accident

September 25, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

If you handle automobile accident cases such as those that occur every week here in Maryland, it doesn’t take long before one sees a drunk driving-related injury accident. And while serious traffic collisions are not uncommon, fatal car, truck and motorcycle wrecks happen frequently in and around Baltimore, Rockville, Gaithersburg and Washington, D.C.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys and car accident lawyers, I and my staff represent individuals and families who have been adversely affected by the negligence of other drivers. Whether through inattention, carelessness or malicious motivation, innocent victims of highway or urban automobile and commercial trucking crashes can be permanently disabled or killed as a result of a traffic wreck.

As mentioned in these pages on numerous occasions, the human toll from car and truck accidents can range between mild and severe, sometimes even fatal. Not only can passengers receive painful injuries such as broken bones, compound fractures, deep lacerations and dislocated joints, internal injuries as well as closed-head and spinal cord injuries can result from medium to high-speed collisions.

Trucking-related crashes can be some of the more intense wrecks and cause serious and sometimes fatal injuries to the driver and other occupants riding in a smaller passenger car that is hit by a big rig or commercial delivery vehicle. Of course, even collisions between smaller passenger cars can have serious repercussions for the occupants of sedans, minivan and sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

In particular, drunken driving accounts for a significant percentage of traffic fatalities here in Maryland and across the nation. State and local law enforcement agencies are constantly watching for intoxicated drivers, however many of these inconsiderate drivers go months or years without being involved in a serious car, truck or pedestrian accident. However, when a collision does occur, the results can be catastrophic for the occupants of either vehicle.

Fatal Pedestrian Traffic Accident Involving Maryland State Trooper Leaves Woman Dead in Queen Anne’s County

September 23, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pedestrian-automobile traffic accidents; this is a common topic in these pages and for good reason. In any urban area where foot and vehicular traffic mix there are bound to be serious and sometimes fatal collisions between walker, jogger and bicyclists and the larger passenger cars, light trucks, SUV and commercial vehicles. The fact of the matter is, pedestrian injuries and deaths happen with alarming frequency in Baltimore, Annapolis, Washington, D.C., as well as many other towns and cities throughout the state.

As Baltimore automobile / motorcycle accident lawyers and personal injury attorneys, we are hardly surprised anymore that Maryland residents traveling on foot or cycling tend to be struck by passenger vehicles and delivery trucks more often than those elsewhere around the nation. These kinds of accidents can result in closed-head trauma and other potentially fatal injuries.

If there is anything good about the situation, it is that added coverage of these mostly senseless accidents has hopefully raised public awareness to the point that people are taking more precautions when crossing city streets or other high-risk intersections and crosswalks. The same goes for bicyclists who not only must be aware of the dangers of the roads themselves, but also of the car and truck traffic with which they share the roadway.

We’ve mentioned it here before, but the statistics for pedestrian-car accidents are simply jaw-dropping, with an average of three individuals struck daily — that’s people every day — by a car or commercial truck in Washington, D.C., alone. Add to that figure, the more than 80 pedestrians and cyclists who were killed in fatal traffic collisions in 2010 across the District, Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland.

Nationwide, literally thousands of people die every year across this country after being hit by a car or truck. Sadly, many of these deaths that came at the hands of a negligent individual could possibly have been prevented with the proper awareness training or safer crosswalks and bike lanes.

Maryland Traffic Accident News: Baltimore and D.C. Motorists Ranked at Bottom of Allstate “Best Drivers” List

September 21, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

If this seems familiar, unfortunately it is; Baltimore, MD, has been ranked as one of the cities with the worst drivers. Placing near the very bottom of the Allstate Insurance annual “Best Drivers Report,” residents who drive here are more likely to have an accident than almost any of nearly 200 metropolitan areas across the U.S.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we are not surprised by the findings, since our own experience from the standpoint of auto, truck and motorcycle accident law, as well as being motorists ourselves. Apparently not many Marylanders disagree with the results either, based on the comments coming from the public following the publishing of Allstate’s survey results.

According to news reports, the Allstate report lists 193 cities all across the United States and all but one of those ranked better than Baltimore. And, not only is Baltimore apparently a haven for bad drivers, Washington, D.C., is not much better. But then again, more than one person has likely pointed out that driving in the District is a risky venture, at least from the standpoint of being caught up in a traffic accident.

This report only confirms what many resident of this state already know, which is to always use extreme caution when operating a motor vehicle along any of Maryland’s numerous publics road. As we know ourselves, single- and multiple-vehicle collisions involving car and commercial trucks are not uncommon in places like Rockville, Annapolis, Columbia, and Bowie, MD.

According to the report, Baltimore finished almost dead last, just ahead of Washington, D.C., the worst city for avoiding a roadway wreck. Even Newark came out ahead of Baltimore and the District.

Maryland Pedestrian Accident News: Pasadena, MD, Man Killed on Roadside by Hit-and-Run Driver

September 18, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As motorists ourselves, we and the rest of the driving public here in Maryland can quite often the dangerous situations in which police officers and emergency responders find themselves on a daily basis. While patrolmen, firefighters and EMS personnel immediately come to mind when thinking about roadside car, motorcycle and trucking accidents, it’s easy to forget the sometimes overlooked tow truck driver.

As Baltimore auto, truck and motorcycle accident lawyers, as well as personal injury attorneys, we know that there are dozens of occupations that could be termed hazardous. And while it’s no surprise that high-iron construction workers and electrical linemen live their working lives on the edge, tow truck drivers and other roadside emergency personnel sometimes go unsung.

Over the past few years, police agencies have issuing policy changes to help their officers survive potential highway collisions while making traffic stops, attending to stranded motorists and controlling traffic at automobile and tractor-trailer crash scenes. The tow truck driver, many times on his own, is exposed to a high volume of vehicular traffic just scant feet away and whizzing by at 70mph or more.

It’s not surprising that these individuals make up a percentage of all roadway injuries and fatalities every year, across this state and the nation. Not long ago, a tow truck driver from the Pasadena area was killed by an alleged hit-and-run driver. According to news reports, 38-year-old James Schreiber, Jr. was helping the driver of a sewage hauler along a stretch of Rte 100 just before the Oakwood Rd. exit when he was reportedly hit by a Nissan sport utility vehicle that left the scene without stopping.

State of Maryland Bills Deceased Driver for Damage to Guardrail following Fatal Rte 32 Car Accident

September 17, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Some things that occur in this life are just not right, and everybody knows it. When an individual is seriously hurt or killed in a traffic accident, there are no words that one can say to the family of that victim, yet as friends, relatives and neighbors we try to offer some measure of comfort and condolence. Large organizations, while comprised of living, thinking and feeling persons, are less adept at providing a sympathetic ear or shoulder on which to cry.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers who serve the residents of Baltimore, Frederick, Hagerstown and the District, we see on a regular basis the pain and suffering that families and individual experience following horrendous trucking accidents, automobile collisions and motorcycle wrecks. The fact is, there are no words that can adequately ease the grief of a mother or father that has lost a son or daughter to a tragic roadway accident.

A while back, in May of this year, a young woman died in a fatal single-vehicle car crash along a stretch of Rte 32 in Columbia, MD. At the time, 21-year-old Sarah Stebbins was planning to enter Howard Community College in the fall. A 2008 graduate of Howard High School, Stebbins was a racing enthusiast and, according to news account, an award-winning equestrian rider; on the day of her death, Stebbins was coming home from her job at the Gray Pony Saddle and Tack Shop in Highland, Maryland.

According to news reports, the woman died when her vehicle crashed into a guardrail on Rte 32 after she apparently lost control of the vehicle. No mention was made in this latest news item whether or not the accident was a result of driver error or defective vehicle equipment. However, that is not the crux of the story.

Maryland Auto Accident News: Fatal Car Wreck on Baltimore-Washington Pkwy Kills Infant, Two Others

September 15, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When it comes to personal injury, nobody wishes for it to happen, yet there are worse scenarios that can occur to a person or an entire family. As most every parent, grandparent or adult relative will tell you, it is hard to see a young child, sibling or grandchild injured in a senseless accident. Most parents would gladly take the place of an injured girl or boy rather than have that innocent person suffer the pain of injury for days or weeks, much less for a lifetime.

As Baltimore automobile and trucking accident attorneys, we can attest to the grief felt by family members following a terrible car, truck or motorcycle crash. And while most injuries heal over time, a fatal accident can be one of the most emotional events that a family can experience, especially when it involves the death of a youngster who hasn’t even known the world for long.

Nothing can bring back a life lost to a traffic collision; that is a fact. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues can only hope to help the survivors cope with the loss of a child through legal means, if necessary. It goes without saying that cases involving a lost loved one are probably the most difficult, due to the wide range of emotion and the anger that the victim’s family tends to hold against the individual who may have caused the accident to begin with.

Whether one lives or works in Annapolis, Gaithersburg, Rockville or the Washington, D.C., area, personal injury cases, as well as those involving wrongful death, are more common than one might expect. Following a road accident or car wreck, medical bills must be paid, as do other recuperative therapies, if the victim is to be returned to health as soon as possible, if at all possible. Even when it comes to loss of life, the victim’s family may still be responsible for any hospital costs.

Maryland Personal Injury News: Pickup Truck Driver Hospitalized after Fatal St. Mary’s County Traffic Accident

September 8, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

If you follow the news long enough, some traffic accident reports stick out as being either incredibly unlikely or based in a reality that most of the driving public hopefully has never experienced. Chronic drunk drivers, for example, can operate their vehicles in an inebriated state completely without incident for what seems like years, while a first-time drunken driver may hit another vehicle minutes after leaving the bar, causing a traffic accident with sometimes fatal results.

Other drivers just seem to have very poor judgment when operating their cars, trucks or motorcycles and seem to be involved in fender-benders on what seems like a recurrent basis. These people, whose insurance rates must surely go through the roof after several occurrences, might end up causing a serious accident themselves; sometimes one of these drivers tangles with an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer rig on the highway and causes a tremendous wreck, from which he or she might not walk away.

For the rest of us, we must exercise extreme caution when plying congested urban thoroughfares of cities like Annapolis, Washington, D.C., and Gaithersburg, as well as the high-speed expressways that connect them. From time to time, even the most competent drivers meet up with one of those so-called bad drivers with tragic consequences.

As Baltimore car accident attorneys and Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my staff know what it means to have a family member killed by a drunk, inattentive or otherwise negligent driver. There really are no words that can ease the suffering of a family that has lost a father, mother or sibling in such a senseless traffic collision.

Not long ago, a resident of St. Mary’s County, MD, was involved in two traffic accidents along Rte 5 both within minutes of each other; the second of which left two Maryland women dead. According to news reports, the apparently negligent driver was a 34-year-old man from Callaway who was behind the wheel of a 2007 Chevy pickup truck.

Maryland Car Accident and Personal Injury Update: What Follows a Serious Car or Truck Crash

September 3, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

For motorists here in Maryland who find themselves in the unenviable position of being caught in a serious injury accident involving another vehicle, such as a passenger car, city bus or commercial delivery truck, the pain of one’s injuries can be just the beginning of a long road to recovery — both physically and financially.

Whether one lives in Rockville, Annapolis, Gaithersburg or the District, a percentage of drivers will likely find themselves in a car or trucking accident sometime in the course of their driving career. The extent of that car, truck or motorcycle accident will depend on numerous factors, but those of a serious nature may have a significant impact on the victim and his or her family.

As Baltimore automobile accident attorneys and personal injury lawyers, my firm has a well-grounded knowledge of the law as well as the experience to know that most any car, truck or cycle wreck can result in an uphill battle with insurance companies and negligent parties.

When it comes to negligent individuals, such as a livery driver, commercial trucker, or even another passenger car driver who might have been distracted while talking or texting on their cellphone, these people already have their own representation through their insurance companies.