Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Baltimore Automobile Accident News: Kent Island Father and Young Son Die in Rte 50 Car Crash

February 22, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Tragedies still abound in our modern world and despite our desire to be in control of our destiny from one day to the next there are situations that arise — traffic crashes, for example — that seem beyond our ability to avoid certain fateful events. As Maryland auto accident lawyers and personal injury attorneys, we empathize with those whose lives are interrupted, sometimes violently as a result of another person’s negligence or thoughtless actions.

Highway collisions and rural road mishaps between automobiles or commercial vehicles can turn a normal day into a milestone of pain and suffering. Fatal car, truck and motorcycle wrecks do not discriminate between young or old, rich or poor. These events are random, yet not unusual. But one common thread is the havoc these accidents can wreck on an individual’s life and that of his or her family.

Not long ago, a 52-year-old father and his six-year-old boy were killed in a crash along a darkened stretch of Rte 50 in Bowie, MD, when their 2002 Hyundai smashed into an abandoned vehicle apparently sitting in the roadway. According to news reports, Joseph Hein and his young son, Mikey, were headed eastbound on a Friday evening around 9:30pm when the accident occurred. Based on police reports, as the Hyundai was approaching Rte 301, it ran into a 2004 Cadillac SRX that had no headlamps or taillamps operating.

Baltimore Car Injury News: Reckless Driving Suspected Injury Accident in Anne Arundel County

February 20, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A head-on collision and subsequent multi-car crash along Marley Neck Boulevard in Glen Burnie sent four individuals to the hospital in what police believe was a case of reckless driving. As a Maryland personal injury attorney, even I am shocked at the number of highway accidents and traffic deaths attributed to reckless or aggressive driving. Not only are the actions of the motorists who cause such crashes appalling, but these kinds of incidents should never happen in the first place.

In situations where a person has been killed due to thoughtlessness or outright negligence on the part of another driver, my heart goes out to the family of the victim. Any time someone dies due to careless or reckless operation of a passenger car, commercial truck or motorcycle, motor vehicle, there is a possibility of a wrongful death lawsuit. In such cases, consideration must be made for the emotional suffering of the victim’s family, as well as financially, especially when the victim may have been the sole breadwinner for a young family.

In a recent news article, we saw that a 21-year-old motorist was apparently driving recklessly prior to a terrible car collision in Anne Arundel County. According to police reports, Patrick Ryan Galliher was driving a Mercury Cougar in what police described as a reckless manner when his vehicle crossed the centerline and hit a Toyota Corolla head-on.

Prior to the wreck, which occurred on a Saturday afternoon, Galliher’s vehicle had been observed passing other vehicles in the moments leading up to the head-on crash with the car of Saulius Kasiulionis, 36. In a chain reaction, the Corolla was struck by a Nissan Murano following behind, as well as a Mercedes sport utility vehicle.

The force of the crash caused Galliher to be ejected from the Mercury; police said that the driver was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. Emergency responders arriving on the scene transported him to Maryland Shock Trauma where he was listed in serious but stable condition at the time of the news report.

Baltimore Car Accident News: Maryland Woman Dies; Other Injured in Charles County Traffic Collision

February 18, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Driver error appears to be the cause of a fatal traffic accident in Waldorf, MD, when a local woman turned left in front of another passenger car on a stretch of Rte 5. According to Maryland State Police, 80-year-old Mary Gertrude Wade Chandler was reportedly attempting to turn her Chevy Cavalier from the southbound side of Rte 5 onto Gallant Green Rd just after 4pm in the afternoon.

In the process, Chandler apparently failed to yield right-of-way to an oncoming northbound Olds Aurora carrying four individuals. Chandler was critically injured as a result of the car crash and was taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center where she later died of her injuries.

The other people in the Oldsmobile received injuries that were not life-threatening. The driver, 37-year-old Jennifer Rae Snyder of St. Mary’s County, MD, and her three passengers were likely treated by emergency responders at the scene before they were taken by ambulance to Civista Medical Center. All three were minors were riding in the rear seat of the Olds at the time of the wreck. They included two boys — 10- and 14-years-old — and a 13-year-old girl, all riding in the back seat, according to police reports.

Baltimore Auto Accident News: Nephew of Tibet’s Dalai Lama Killed in Car-Pedestrian Accident

February 16, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Automobile-pedestrian accidents can happen to almost anyone on foot near vehicle traffic. Every year thousands of people are injured or killed all around the country by passenger cars, commercial delivery trucks and other motor vehicles. Being related to famous or well-known individuals apparently are not immune to the tragic results of a pedestrian traffic accidents.

Just yesterday the nephew of Tibet’s Dalai Lama was struck and killed in an out-of-state pedestrian accident. Such collisions can result in serious and, as in this case, fatal injuries such as broken bones, internal injuries and bleeding, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord damage.

As Maryland and Washington, D.C., personal injury attorneys, we know that even in incidents where a victim survives a deadly car, truck or motorcycle crash, there can be weeks or months of medical treatment, corrective surgeries and physical therapy needed to return the person back to something close to normal functioning. Sadly, only a lucky few escape such violent accidents with little or no medical complications.

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.