Wrongful Death

May 27, 2009

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Accident: Maryland Families File Lawsuit Over Traffic Deaths

This past Memorial Day weekend, hoards of Baltimore, Maryland, and other Mid-Atlantic residents and visitors traversed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The dual-span bridge is one of Baltimore’s most memorable historic landmarks and the subject of picture postcards. It’s also been the subject of controversy surrounding its maintenance, repair and safety, and the site of Baltimore traffic accidents — some of them deadly.

If you live or work in the Baltimore-Washington Metro area and you use the bridge to get where you need to go, you’ve no doubt been driven crazy time and time again by the bottlenecks that occur on the Bay Bridge. You’ve experienced headaches and frustration due to the ongoing redecking and restoration project, which causes officials to close lanes in spans of the bridge. If you don’t like heights, being stuck in a traffic jam over the water isn’t your favorite place to be. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, we’re aware of the legal cases that arise following traffic accidents on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

For example, a current lawsuit in the news concerns a fatal car crash that occurred on the Bay Bridge in 2007. The families of three men killed in a multi-car accident are suing the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) and a number of drivers for $19 million. The accident occurred when a trailer being pulled by an SUV disconnected, setting off a chain reaction that involved multiple vehicles. Three men were killed and five other people suffered injuries.

April 28, 2009

Maryland Construction Accidents: Stricter Crane Regulations May Save Lives

by Jeff Butschky

With the goal of reducing Md. construction injuries and deaths, the state has added teeth to what are already among the strictest crane regulations in the country.

New regulations went into effect for Maryland earlier this month following several serious construction crane incidents, such as a fatal Anne Arundel County accident that occurred in April 2008. According to a Baltimore news report, workers in Annapolis Towne Centre were dismantling an end section of a crane when an accident occurred, crushing a construction worker between two sections of the crane 200 feet up. Another worker was injured.

The new regulations will require all construction workers operating cranes as well as those who load and signal them to receive intensive training on the equipment, to avoid serious and possibly fatal Maryland construction accidents. Employers are now required to carry out daily inspections and to keep training records. Maryland Labor and Industry Commissioner Ronald Julius told a local news outlet that state inspectors will be checking on projects where construction cranes are in use.

April 14, 2009

Baltimore County Motor Vehicle Accidents: Fatalities Down for Cars & Trucks (But Up for Motorcycles and DUIs)

by Jeff Butschky

Last week, NHTSA announced that projected numbers of motor vehicle fatalities across the U.S. in 2008 will fall to a near 50-year low (the actual counts will be released this August). A continued drop in Maryland traffic accident deaths is expected, in keeping with trends across the country. Let’s look at some Maryland car crash statistics available today:

In 2007, a total of 614 people died in motor vehicle accidents in Maryland, down from 650 fatalities in 2003.
Of those 614 fatalities, 179 involved alcohol-impaired driving and 216 involved speeding.

April 7, 2009

Maryland Car Accident Statistics: NHTSA Reports Fatalities Down to 1961 Level

by Jeff Butschky

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) predicts that the nation’s motor vehicle traffic fatalities for 2008 will have declined to a level not seen since 1961. NHTSA projects that the total number of traffic-related fatalities for the U.S. in 2008 will be 37,313 deaths — down 9.1 percent from the 2007 statistic of 41,059 fatalities. (NHTSA will report the actual numbers in August 2009.)

NHTSA attributes the decline in car crash deaths to a number of factors, including…

improvements in motor vehicle technology

March 31, 2009

Maryland Workers Comp Eligibility: Hurt at Work? “Report and Record”

by Jeff Butschky

Earlier this month, I talked about how the Maryland Workers Comp system is tilted in the employer’s favor, and how important it is for injured workers to take charge of their situations right away. (See “Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer on Maryland Workers Compensation System,” March 18, 2009, below.)

My partner and I have handled personal injury cases for injured workers in Maryland for more than two decades. We’ve seen all kinds of work comp cases, from people who throw their backs out lifting something heavy, to typists who develop carpal tunnel syndrome, to a client who got bit by a mosquito and contracted malaria while on a sales call to a foreign country. We’ve seen industrial accidents resulting in burns and other serious injuries, and people who suffer shock and psychiatric problems as the result of a traumatic event at work, like a robbery.

Advice for Injured Workers in Maryland

March 25, 2009

Maryland Motorcycle Helmet Law Debate

by Jeff Butschky

Some Maryland motorcycle riders would like the state to relax its mandatory helmet law, which was enacted in 1992 to decrease the rate of Maryland motorcycle crash fatalities. Senator John Astle (D-Annapolis), who is himself a biker, is behind the latest push in the General Assembly to allow exemptions to the helmet law for some cyclists.

Sen. Astle presented a proposal to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee in Annapolis, Maryland, earlier this month which would allow a helmet law exemption for motorcycle riders aged 21 or older who have been licensed to operate a motorcycle for at least two years, or who have completed a safety course approved by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation or the Motor Vehicle Administration.

Maryland Fatal Motorcycle Crash Statistics

March 5, 2009

Maryland Teen Driver Safety and Accident Statistics

by Jeff Butschky

The AAA has a new report on the hazards of teen driving, not only for the young drivers behind the wheel but to their passengers, people in other cars, and pedestrians. The report states that in fatal auto accidents involving teenage drivers, the majority of people killed are passengers and others involved besides the young drivers themselves.

As Baltimore Maryland injury lawyers, my partners and I are aware of what can go wrong when a young driver makes a mistake in judgment or loses control when operating a motor vehicle. Some national statistics from the AAA report:

In the U.S. between 1998-2007, crashes with drivers aged 15 to 17 resulted in the deaths of 28,138 people.

February 19, 2009

Maryland Car Accident Emergency Responses Questioned after Fatal State Helicopter Crash

by Jeff Butschky

Have you ever been stopped in highway traffic while a medical helicopter lands to transport victims of a Maryland car crash to the hospital? It’s a heart-stopping sight, and we can only hope that the helicopter gets the victims to the hospital in time. Now Maryland lawmakers are reevaluating the state’s emergency medical services since a crash involving a state helicopter claimed four lives last fall.

The Maryland State Police medical helicopter program has been under scrutiny since a Sept. 27, 2008 crash killed four people in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The helicopter was on its way to a hospital 25 miles away when it was diverted to Andrews Air Force Base in foul weather and crashed — killing the pilot, a paramedic, a medical technician, and one of the car accident victims. An 18-year-old injured in the Charles County Maryland traffic accident survived the helicopter crash. Legislation is now being proposed that would separate Maryland law enforcement from rescue functions.

The subject of medical helicopter accidents has received national attention lately, as such accidents have been on the rise since the 1990s due in part to the closing of emergency rooms in rural areas and an aging US population. National and state safety officials are reconsidering whether some patients would be safer and just as well served by using regular ground ambulance transports. Triaging methods used by emergency responders are also being questioned.

January 12, 2009

Maryland, Delaware, and Washington DC Listed in Nissan Recall of Truck Airbag Sensors

by Jeff Butschky

Maryland and other Mid-Atlantic drivers who own a Nissan Frontier, Pathfinder, or Xterra, model years 2005 through 2009, should drive carefully to their nearest dealership. Your driver and passenger airbags might not deploy if you’re in a truck accident with your Nissan.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), Office of Defects Investigation, reported that Nissan North America is recalling nearly a quarter of a million Nissan Frontiers, Pathfinders, and Xterras due to a faulty air bag sensor. Vehicles affected were sold or registered in 20 cold weather states — including Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia.

According to the NHTSA website, a problem could occur if rock salt used to treat slippery roads, along with snow and water, gets into the Nissans’ front crash zone sensor housing. This could cause rusting and signal interruption — which could result in the airbags not opening in a motor vehicle accident. Air bag failure in the event of a crash could lead to personal injury or death.

December 10, 2008

Accused Maryland Driver Walks in Fatal Motorcycle Accident Case: Court Scheduling Error Blamed

by Jeff Butschky

Charges against a Port Republic, Maryland driver blamed in a fatal motorcycle crash were dropped Nov. 5, because the State Trooper who made the traffic violation charges against her was not present at the trial due to a court scheduling error.

In Calvert County District Court, Sarah E. Brown, 50, faced charges of negligent driving, failure to yield right of way, and failure to secure a child under 8 in a safety seat in a collision on Aug. 1 that killed motorcycle rider Larry G. Hogan II, 43.

Also a resident of Port Republic, Maryland, Hogan worked for Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative for over two decades. He volunteered for the Dunkirk and St. Leonard fire departments and he enjoyed bowling. He was also a motorcycle enthusiast. Hogan was riding his motorcycle when motorist Sarah E. Brown turned her vehicle left onto Broomes Island Road and failed to yield to the motorcyclist. Hogan’s bike hit the rear of her vehicle and he suffered fatal injuries.