Baltimore Personal Injury Lawyer - Accidents

Maryland Legislature Considers Criminal Liability for Adults Giving Alcohol to Minors

Steve Silverman — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:03:25 GMT

Maryland personal injury lawyers are closely watching a bill in this season of the Maryland General Assembly which will impose criminal liability on adults providing alcohol to minors. Intended to curb drunk driving, the expected new law will arm personal injury lawyers with a new tool to seek damages for victims of drunk drivers.

The proposed bill will change from a civil violations to a criminal misdemeanor any adult who gives alcohol to a minor. The only exceptions are parents, siblings and religious services. It is expected that the criminalization of the conduct will result in more thorough police investigations when minors are involved in drunk driving. Lawyers expect the police will also focus on the source of the alcohol, particularly when an accident or injury is involved. Adults who supply alcohol to minors my increasingly find themselves as defendants in lawsuits by victims of accidents caused by drunk minors. This is likely part of the legislatures motives to criminalize the now civil offense.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Steve Silverman

Contributory Negligence in Maryland for Maryland Personal Injury Cases

Steve Silverman — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:48:21 GMT

The Doctrine of Contributory Negligence adversely affects many personal injury plaintiffs in the State of Maryland. Basically, if a victim is found to share in the responsibility for an accident, the victim is completely bared from recovery. This doctrine, only found in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. frustrates many deserving injury victims and their lawyers.

In most states, recovery or compensation is based upon the Doctrine of Comparative Negligence. Comparative negligence, a much fairer standard, comes into play when it is contended that two or more parties failed to act in a reasonable standard of care. For example, suppose one person was driving too fast and hit a car that that failed to stop completely at a stop sign. In this situation-where each party has some degree of negligence in causing an accident-the responsibility to the other person(s) is reduced by the others' degree of negligence.

For example, suppose a jury decides that the driver going too fast was 10% responsible for the accident, while the driver who blew through the stop sign was 90% responsible. If the driver who was driving too fast is awarded $10,000, his recovery would be reduced to $1,000 because of his 10% contributory negligence.

If this accident case were decided in a contributary negligence jurisdiction such as Maryland, the driver who was found to have contributed to the accident by 10% would be 100% barred from any recovery. This can be unfortunate in situations where a plaintiff is severely injured or paralyzed, and can not make any recovery.

Most people do not think about this concept very often until it affects them personally. So if you are driving in Maryland, have an accident-watch out! The opposing insurance company may try to tag you with 1% of the blame to prevent compensating you a nickel. Immediately get yourself an experienced Maryland personal injury lawyer to protect you. Otherwise you may be left with mounting medical bills, ruined credit, and no where to turn.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Steve Silverman

Truck Driver With Suspended License Causes Accident

Shannon Weidemann — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:45:48 GMT

A 54-year-old truck driver has been charged with reckless driving after causing an accident that killed a man on the Capital Beltway. He was driving a tractor-trailer on a suspended license. Police also believe that he had forged his logbook to show less driving time.

Monday's accident occurred about 11 p.m. on the outer loop of the Beltway north of Route 1. Police said the tractor-trailer rear-ended a 1995 Honda Accord, pushing it into a wall, and then hit two other cars: a 1994 Acura Integra that was moving slowly with its hazard lights on because of mechanical difficulties and a 1996 Nissan Altima that was ahead of the Acura.

The driver of the Nissan was killed. Two others were injured and taken to local hospitals for treatment. The truck driver was not injured. The Beltway was closed for six hours while police investigated and cleaned up the accident. Police believe fatigue was a major cause of the accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Two Truck Drivers Killed in Fiery Accident

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:07:40 GMT

Two Truck Drivers were driving their semi-trucks on the New York State Thruway on Tuesday morning when they were both killed. One was crushed under his truck after his truck was hit by another semi. The other semi then flipped over and caught on fire.

"There were no witnesses, and the two people involved are dead," said Ricky Peets, a state police investigator assigned to the Thruway.
Some drivers, exhausted beyond frustration, were trapped on the route for up to nine hours yesterday. It was reopened about 11:30 a.m. Authorities said the extended closure was needed to put out the fire, which later reignited; clean up debris and hazardous materials; investigate the crash, and then inspect a fire-damaged overpass, which was not seriously damaged.

The freeway was closed for nine hours while police investigated and the accident was cleaned up. They are unsure what caused the accident or why the first truck driver had gotten out of his truck in the first place.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Florida Highway Accident Kills Truck Driver

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 23:30:46 GMT

A truck driver from Mayo was killed when his semi-truck overturned on the entrance ramp to the highway. The accident happened at the intersection of SR 6 and I-75.

The driver

was turning north onto the on-ramp to northbound I-75 from the westbound lane of SR 6 about 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 9. He began braking the truck as he entered the on-ramp and the truck overturned onto its left side on the ramp, FHP said.

The 58-year-old was pronouced dead at Trinity Community Hospital. The Florida Highway Patrol said alcohol was not a factor.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Contributory Negligence Doctrine Bars Many Maryland Personal Injury Claims

Steve Silverman — Wed, 24 May 2006 13:56:52 GMT

Personal Injury law in Maryland is vastly different then other states due to the Doctrine of Contributory Negligence. Contributory negligence means that if a person is found to be 1% or more at fault, that person is 100% barred from making any recovery. For example, if you are the victim of a rear end collision and the judge or jury finds you contributed to the accident by stopping too quickly, you can not recover for any of your medical bills, lost wages or other damages.

Often in slip and fall cases, a Maryland plaintiff will be barred from recovery because a jury determines the plaintiff is partially at fault for not watching where she was going. This is the case even if the store owner left an oil spill on the floor for 5 hours and failed to warn the customers! Such unjust results can be devastating to an individual who accumulates hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills, and the defendant is mostly to blame.

The Contributory Negligence Doctrine is unique to Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and the District of Columbia. The net effect is that it invites litigation and clogs the court system because at-fault parties often believe that they can duck liability if they can show the defendant was 1% at-fault.

Because of the unique burden of proof required in Maryland, personally injury victims need too choose their attorney wisely and with great caution. Sadly, often the success of a case is determined by a very thin margin. For this reason, experience and trial skills are critical.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Steve Silverman

Driver Fatigue a Major Cause of Truck Accidents

Staff Writer — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 09:38:19 GMT

Michael Kaplen has a great blog with tons of brain injury news and information. Back in November, Michael brought my attention to a Penn State study which examined truck accidents in 2004. The study was done to see how allowing truckers to drive 11 consecutive hours (the limit was previously 10) affected crash risk.

According to ScienceDaily.com:

Dr. Paul Jovanis, professor of civil engineering who led the Penn State study, says, "Our analysis of data from three national trucking companies during normal operations in 2004 shows that the crash risk is statistically similar for the first six hours of driving and then increases in significant steps thereafter. The 11th hour has a crash risk more than three times the first hour."

Perhaps the Federal Motor Carrier Association needs to rethink allowing that 11th hour of consecutive driving.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer