Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Baltimore Car and Truck Accident Update: Maryland’s Automobile Insurance Minimums for Bodily Injury Raised Again

February 13, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As of the New Year, the minimum liability coverage required by Maryland law for bodily injury in case of a traffic collision has been increased for every Maryland vehicle owners. The rise in bodily injury liability coverage coincides with the ever-increasing cost of medical treatment. As Baltimore auto accident attorneys, we can understand how the price of medical care has continued to rise year after year.

According to news reports, 2011 sees the minimum levels of liability protection, which automobile insurance policies sold in Maryland must have for bodily injury, rise by 50 percent. New policies written in 2011, as well as current policies renewed going forward, must now provide for at least a minimum of $30,000 for bodily injury liability for one person injured as a result of a car crash; and a minimum of $60,000 for two or more individuals injured in a traffic collision. This minimum bodily injury liability requirement will be known as “30/60 coverage.” The previous minimums were $20,000 and $40,000, respectively.

While the newly raised minimum coverage requirements might be expected to hit every Maryland policy holder in the form of increased insurance premiums, according to reports not all motorists will be see an increase in monthly payments. According to news articles, only those drivers with so-called “barebones” police coverage should expect to feel an increase in premiums.

Baltimore Auto Injury News: State and Local Authorities Focus on Over-prescribing of Medication

February 11, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Responsibility for injury accidents can take many forms. For traffic collisions, automobile and trucking-related wrecks the focus is usually on the driver who allegedly caused the accident to occur in the first place. But as many have noticed, news articles and television stories abound with references to bars and restaurants that may have over-served a patron prior to that person getting into a drunken driving-related car crash.

As a Maryland auto accident lawyer and Washington, D.C. personal injury attorney, I have seen instances where a third party may have contributed in some way to a car, commercial truck or motorcycle collision. While personal responsibility is certainly a laudable trait, as consumers and patients we rely on and expect other professionals to provide us with safe products and advice.

A news article that we ran across recently speaks to the growing problem of medications being over-prescribed by some healthcare professionals. Based on that article, doctors who prescribe frequently-abused drugs are facing more and more scrutiny. Considering the number of drug DUI arrests that take place every year, this sounds like a good idea.

The article in question describes one case in which a 30-year-old patient apparently told his physician that he lost his prescriptions for Valium and Percocet on more than one occasion. One time, according to the author, the man said that his pills were scattered across the roadway following a car accident. On another, the same patient was apparently re-prescribed the identical medication after he told his doctor that his initial prescription was “no good” and that he had “returned” the defective meds to the pharmacy. In another instance, the man’s wife called the doctor saying that the couple’s home had been searched by “the authorities” hnd that the medication turned up missing following the visit.

Baltimore Personal Injury News: Rockville Car Wash Employee Killed when SUV Runs Man Over

February 8, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As we have said numerous times before, auto, truck and motorcycle accidents can happen almost anywhere, anytime. Car-pedestrian accidents while generally fewer can also occur randomly, although fatal crosswalk and bus stop accidents are probably the most common. But people have been hit by cars while standing on the sidewalk, walking through a parking lot or even while visiting a local business.

As a Maryland personal injury attorney, I fully understand the severity of such pedestrian accidents and how they can impact a family, not only in cases of tragic and fatal automobile wrecks, but also in terms of pedestrian-car injury accidents where the victim is left with multiple medical complications due as a result of another individual’s negligence.

Broken bones can be the least of one’s problems following a collision between a car or truck and a pedestrian. Spinal damage and brain trauma can cause long-term physical and cognitive issues, with loss of motor skills and trouble with memory that can make an independent and so-called normal life virtually impossible.

Baltimore Injury Accident News: Alcohol Blamed in Fatal I-70 Car Crash that Killed Montgomery County Woman

February 6, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A head-on traffic accident with a semi tractor-trailer along Interstate 70 killed a Damascus, MD, woman early on a Wednesday morning. Police investigating the car-truck collision believe that drinking and driving may have been the cause of the woman using the wrong exit and allegedly driving against traffic on the highway.

The accident reportedly occurred sometime before 3am shortly after Jennifer Shankle Owen’s 2005 Acura entered the interstate from Md. 85 via and exit ramp. The 49-year-old’s vehicle then traveled in an easterly direction in the westbound lanes, this according to eye witness reports provided by police. The Acura was eventually hit head-on by an 18-wheeler operated by 53-year-old Gregory Heavener.

Police and emergency personnel responded to the crash scene at around 2:45am. Based on news articles, Owen was pronounced dead at the scene; her body was transported to the Baltimore medical examiner’s office to undergo autopsy. According to police, the trucker was unhurt following the crash.

Baltimore Auto Accident News: Howard County Man Dies after Losing Control of Car, Hitting House

February 3, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 20-year-old Maryland man died after he apparently lost control of the vehicle he was driving and then crashing into a house along a stretch of Rte 103. Although there was no specific cause given by police at the time of news report, accidents like this can sometimes be the result of defective vehicle equipment such as a faulty steering or braking system.

As Maryland auto accident lawyers, I and my colleagues represent victims of car and motorcycle accidents, as well as victims’ families in cases where a collision results in the death of the driver or occupants. Single-car accidents like the one discussed here can range from minor injuries, such as cuts and bruises, to serious injuries, like compound fractures, internal injuries and spine/head trauma.

According to police, the man who died was a resident of Elkridge, MD. Bryan Thomas Bolster, who apparenlty died at the scene of the accident, was reportedly the only occupant of a BMW he was operating, which left the roadway a little before 11pm and hit a house. The force of the wreck caused the car to burst into flames, which then spread to the house, catching the structure on fire as well.

Annapolis Man Gets 6 Months for Head-on Car Crash that Killed Anne Arundel Grandfather

January 31, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to news reports, Anne Arundel prosecutors’ arguement that the death of a 73-year-old Howard Wright of Gambrills, MD, was likely the result of aggressive driving was apparenlty not sufficiently persuassive. As a result, the court recently sentenced an Annapolis resident to just six months in jail for killing the grandfather of six when his Toyota crashed head-on into the older man’s classic car two years ago. The two-car crash, which happened along a curved portion of Defense Highway near Nob Hill Dr., was caused when the the Toyota driver crossed the centerline. Prosecutors claimed that the defendant, Savvas Andres Pantelides, was going 80mph in a 45mph zone when the vehicles collided.

Pantelides’ defense attorney said his client was going no faster than 55 mph in the 45 mph zone when his vehicle struck Wright’s 1936 Ford 5-window coupe on June 25, 2009. According to news reports, the now-20-year-old Pantelides entered an Alford guilty plea to one count of auto manslaughter. For those unfamiliar with the term, an Alford plea allows a defendant to maintain his innocence while at the same time admitting to the court that the prosecution has sufficient evidence to convict him or her (the Alford plea carries the same consequences as that of pleading guilty).

In an earlier report, during the entering of the defendant’s plea, court records showed that the judge in the case would likely sentence Pantelides to six months for his part in the fatal car wreck. While this garnered disbelief from the victim’s family members, others believed it to be a fair sentence. Maintaining that the crash was an accident, Pantelides’ father reportedly said that his son was sorry and that he never meant to hurt anyone.

According to news reports, Pantelides was allegedly traveling eastbound on Defense Highway just before 8pm when his 2003 Toyota Corolla collided head-on with Wright’s westbound Ford coupe. As a result of the wreck, Wright died at the scene and Pantelides was flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center with serious injuries. The younger driver was reportedly in a coma for five days following the crash and spent another 55 days in the hospital; he has had to undergo nearly a dozen reconstructive surgeries on his legs and abdomen over the past year and a half.

Baltimore Auto Accident Update: Westminster, MD, Driver Returns Home following 3-Month Hospital Stay

January 28, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Ask almost any survivor of a serious injury car crash and you’ll probably find that he or she went through extensive medical treatments and may have avoided life-threatening injuries such as head trauma, spinal cord damage or internal injuries. As personal injury attorneys serving the Maryland and Washington, D.C. area, we understand the pain, discomfort and financial cost that can be the inevitable consequence of a car, truck or motorcycle crash.

A while back, a story caught our eye regarding the long-awaited homecoming of a Westminster woman who was severely hurt during a traffic accident last September. According to news reports, 29-year-old Mary Medicus was involved in a terrible head-on collision with a drunk driver along a stretch of Interstate 795. At the time of the accident, Medicus and her father were reportedly traveling home from a music concert in Baltimore in the early morning hours just before the crash on September 10.

At about 3am, the family members’ vehicle was struck head-on by a drunken motorist driving his vehicle in the wrong direction on the interstate with no headlights. That man, Davis E. Patterson of Reisterstown, MD, was killed as a result of the wreck. Medicus was transporter to University of Maryland Shock Trauma after the crash and then spent the first of her three-month recovery in a coma.

Restricted to a hospital bed even now that she is home, Medicus said that she can’t believe she survived the ordeal. Her recovery has apparently been amazing since her injuries were so serious; following the crash, the woman’s skull was starting to separate from her spinal column, her legs were broken and she had a split breast bone. Her other injuries included shattered knees, crushed right heel and broken ribs on her right side.

Her medical treatments included 17 operations, yet doctors expect that she will need additional surgeries in the future. Medicus was told that she could have lost her right foot if it hadn’t been for the efforts of the Pikesville volunteer fire company, who rescued her from her smashed vehicle.

Maryland Auto Injury Update: Beware District Roads and Chance of Car Accidents Caused of Drugged Drivers

January 27, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Drivers who attempt to operate their vehicles while under the influence of alcohol have been a source of pain and heartache for decades. Not only do these motorists cause countless injury accidents, they also contribute the unacceptably high traffic death toll on our nation’s roadways. As a Baltimore personal injury lawyers and automobile accident attorneys, we have seen this first-hand over the years.

But alcohol-related accidents are not the only problem. According to published statistics drugged driving could probably become much more common. Add this trend to the already significant amount of alcohol DWI-related accidents and you have a recipe for the continuation of senseless and potentially tragic car and commercial truck wrecks. It’s a problem that is fast becoming a concern for law enforcement authorities and proponents of traffic safety.

As a law firm that represents victims of car collisions and motorcycle accidents in Maryland and Washington, D.C., we are hardly surprised by the hardly inconsequential figures that show drivers in the District are very likely to encounter another motorist driving under the influence of prescription medication or other controlled substance. Known as drug DUI, this dangerous phenomenon if left unchecked could lead to increased instances of fatal single-car accidents and multiple-vehicle traffic wrecks as time goes by.

Based on a news article, three out of 10 motorists who die in car accidents in Washington, D.C., test positive for some type of drug, including over-the-counter medicines and illegal drugs. In Maryland, that number is even higher at about 25 percent. Sadly, the statistics show that drivers in this state are more likely to be driving under the influence of drugs than the rest of the country, which the article states averages around one in five.

It’s important to point out that not every victim testing positive for drugs had significant amounts of a drug in his or her system, according to reports. Nevertheless, this should certainly be a wake-up call for every driver who values safe travel on our public roads and who wishes to protect their family and loved ones from harm due to the possible negligence of another motorist.

Baltimore Auto Accident Update: What to Expect Following a Serious Traffic Wreck with Occupant Injuries

January 24, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

For Maryland drivers who find themselves caught up in a sudden and possibly serious injury accident on one of the state’s highways, rural roads or urban streets, the pain of injuries sustained during a car crash are sometimes equaled only by the cost of medical treatment for same. As Baltimore personal injury lawyers and car, motorcycle and trucking accident attorneys, I and my staff understand the uphill battle that injured parties can sometimes face.

From the standpoint of the negligent party, be it a taxi or livery driver, a trucker behind the wheel of an 18-wheel rig, or a passenger car driver who may have been texting or otherwise impaired by drugs or alcohol, they already have representation, their insurance company. That’s right, many a negligent driver — the man or woman who caused the collision and subsequent serious injuries to others — is almost always represented by a lawyer on behalf of an insurance company.

As an auto accident attorney, I know that negligent drivers have the strength of a large insurance company on their side. The job of corporate attorneys is to keep the plaintiff from receiving fair compensation for any injuries the victim(s) may have sustained as a result of the negligent driver’s actions.

24-Year-Old Woman Dies in Fatal Single-car Crash along I-70 in Howard Co.

January 21, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Single-vehicle accidents can be caused by a number of factors, not the least of which is human error. While lapses in judgment or loss of concentration on the highway can lead to a serious auto wreck, mechanical problems can also cause a driver to lose control of a vehicle. In those types of cases, defective vehicle equipment is a likely reason for a crash.

As a Maryland car accident lawyer, I realize that every traffic wreck has its own characteristics, which means that no two accidents can be treated quite the same. All the more reason to enlist the services of a qualified legal professional, especially in situations where someone has lost their life in tragic wreck possibly caused by another individual’s negligence.

A short time ago, a young woman was killed on I-70 in Howard County when she apparently lost control of her vehicle while trying to avoid another, slower moving vehicle. According to police reports, 24-year-old Ashley Marie Matthews was driving a Ford Explorer carrying her and two other passengers. The sport utility vehicle (SUV) was traveling west on I-70 in Ellicott City when it came upon an unidentified white-colored SUV, which was reportedly going slower than Matthew’s Ford.