Maryland Injury Attorney Blog

January 1, 2012

Maryland Car Accident Death Rates Down, But Many Traffic Safety Challenges Remain

As a new year begins, it’s worth noting some traffic accident statistics and trends for the state of Maryland. There’s some encouraging news, but many Md. traffic safety and driving challenges remain.

A recent story reported by CBS Baltimore noted that Maryland traffic accident fatalities decreased by 10 percent last year. The report pointed to statistics for 2010 released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to NHTSA’s findings, 493 motor vehicle crash deaths occurred in Maryland in 2010, compared with 549 in 2009.

A source from the Mid-Atlantic AAA reported that the decrease in Maryland car crash deaths can be credited to a number of factors. These include advances in automotive safety equipment such as air bags and anti-rollover technology, better road signage, as well as public safety campaigns targeting unsafe driving behaviors, including drunk driving in Maryland.

December 21, 2011

Should Maryland Laws Banning Cell Phone Use While Driving Get Even Tougher?

by Jeff Butschky

Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made a bold recommendation — one that urges states to take another look at their driving laws and has the driving public talking about individual rights versus public safety.

In the wake of several fatal distracted driving traffic accidents, the NTSB proposed an all-out, nationwide ban on talking and texting on cell phones while driving. That would mean no talking on either hand-held or hands-free cell phones and no texting, for any drivers of any age, except in the case of an emergency.

The NTSB recommendation came following examination of a 2010 case in Missouri, where a young man who had reportedly been texting for several minutes crashed his pickup truck into a commercial truck that had slowed down for road construction — setting in motion a chain reaction crash that involved two school buses. The pickup truck driver and a teenage passenger on one of the buses were killed, and close to 40 people were injured, some seriously.

December 5, 2011

Maryland Workers’ Compensation Cost of Living Rate Adjustments for 2012

by Jeff Butschky

What would happen to you and your family if you were hurt on the job and temporarily or permanently disabled? For construction workers, electricians, machinists, farmers, truck drivers, and others in high-risk occupations, surviving a Maryland work accident can be just the start of an uphill battle. Keeping up with day-to-day medical and living expenses, while recovering from a work-related accident, can be an enormous struggle for injured Md. workers and their families.

Harford County, Md. work comp injury lawyers know families may struggle just to get by in the wake of a work related accident. This is why we work hard to relieve injured Maryland workers and their families of the burden of dealing with their Maryland Workers’ Compensation claims and well as related legal claims and lawsuits.

How much money can a Maryland injured worker expect to receive when filing a Workers’ Comp claim on their own? The Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission posted its Workers’ Compensation Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) for the New Year. Let’s take a look at a few numbers and consider what that could mean for injured Md. workers and their families.

November 30, 2011

Feds Shut Down Maryland Trucking Company Due to Work and Driving Safety Hazards

by Jeff Butschky

How many large commercial trucks passed you on your way to or from work today? When a tractor trailer rumbles past you on the Baltimore Beltway or other Maryland highway, you probably don’t think much about the driver’s condition or the vehicle’s maintenance record. You just assume the driver has had enough sleep and the truck itself is in good working order.

However the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) does think about and regulate such highway driving safety issues.

The ability of big rig drivers to safely pilot large cargo-hauling trucks for long hours — and the sound mechanical repair and maintenance of the trucks themselves — directly impact the safety of both commercial truck drivers and the motorists who share the roads with them. This month, a Maryland trucking firm was ordered to cease operations immediately due to potential safety hazards.

November 22, 2011

As Maryland Thanksgiving Traffic Increases, So Do Risks of Drunk Driving Accidents

by Jeff Butschky

When it comes to tragic stories about injury and death on Maryland roads and highways, an experienced Hunt Valley, Md. personal injury lawyer has heard plenty. Our job is to help grieving clients through the legal process when a loved one has been injured or killed in a traffic crash, and another party is held liable. The stories we hear are heartbreaking, especially when traffic accidents could have been prevented. Drunk driving crashes fall in this category. A moment of poor judgment can lead to a life of heartache and regret — on all sides.

While the holidays are a joyous time, each one brings the risk of celebrants drinking too much and getting behind the wheel. With Thanksgiving being the most heavily travelled time of year, the risk of being in a serious Maryland car accident — whether caused by someone driving under the influence of alcohol, distracted driving, speeding, or other risk factors — increases. In fact, the volume of cars and trucks on MD roadways is expected to increase this Thanksgiving week.

AAA predicts a 3.5 percent increase in overall 2011 Thanksgiving travel (including auto travel, air travel, and travel by rail), The Baltimore Sun reports.

November 7, 2011

Working Overtime : Drowsy Driving a Serious Risk for Truckers and Other Maryland Motorists

by Jeff Butschky

Have you ever driven home from a long day at work or an evening engagement, yawning as the miles clicked by? Maybe you grabbed a cup of coffee to stay alert, or opened the car window to breathe some cold fresh air. Most Maryland drivers, if they’re being honest, would admit to occasionally driving tired…when they’d prefer to be at home in bed, rather than navigating Baltimore County, Md. roadways.

This week is Drowsy Driving Prevention Week. The AAA Foundation released a report that sheds new light on the problem of drowsy driving and risk of car accidents.

While nearly all Americans consider drowsy driving to be a serious safety hazard for themselves and other motorists (96% in the AAA study) — one in three admits to driving drowsy recently. Those who admitted to driving fatigued weren’t just talking about feeling a little bit tired: They said they had trouble keeping their eyes open on the road. In fact, the organization’s research found that two out of every five drivers (41%) admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel, with one in ten revealing this had happened in the past year.

October 31, 2011

When Police Officers Deliver Tragic News : Someone Has Been Killed in a Maryland Drunk Driving Accident

by Jeff Butschky

In our 20+ years of work as Baltimore County, Maryland drunk driver accident injury lawyers, we’ve seen firsthand the terrible toll drunk driving crashes take on individuals and families. In an instant, lives are changed forever. In 2009, 162 people died in alcohol-related traffic crashes in Maryland — an increase from the 145 Md. drunk-driving fatalities in 2008*. People who survive these crashes may suffer serious injuries, including debilitating brain and spine injuries. All because someone got behind the wheel and drove under the influence of alcohol in Maryland.

Baltimore County, Md. injury attorneys understand the grief families suffer when a drunk driving crash claims the life of a loved one. Maryland law enforcers also work with families who suffer tremendous loss in these traffic crashes. In fact, police are charged with the unimaginably difficult task of informing a family that a loved one has been killed in a drunk driving crash.

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) announced a new training program to help law enforcement learn how to inform families of a drunk driving related death. MADD found that police officers are often not adequately trained to deliver such unthinkable news. According to a MADD blog article:

October 5, 2011

Baltimore Grand Jury Indicts Two in Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Traffic Accident Deaths

by Jeff Butschky

According to local media reports, a Baltimore, Maryland grand jury has indicted a man and woman in a hit and run pedestrian accident that left two young people dead.

The Baltimore Sun reports that a man and woman from Anne Arundel County, Md., have been indicted in the deaths of two teenage girls. The teenagers were struck by an automobile while attempting to cross Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near I-395 in Baltimore City. A 28-year-old Maryland man has been charged with two counts each of automobile manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death, as well as one count of driving under the influence of alcohol. A 26-year-old woman has been charged as an accessory after the fact.

Families may consult with Baltimore County accident injury lawyers when loved ones are injured or killed in auto or pedestrian accidents — including those cases that are tried in criminal court. In Maryland, civil lawsuits may follow car accident cases where criminal charges have been filed against the drivers and other parties. Suing for damages in the Maryland Civil Court System allows families who have been hurt to seek compensation from those held responsible. (See link to related Maryland accident attorney article below for more on how civil lawsuits apply to criminal cases in traffic accidents in Md.)

September 23, 2011

The Number-One Killer of Kids and Young Adults in Maryland

by Jeff Butschky

Maryland parents have a lot to think about. There’s the rough economy, job security, the down housing market, and making sure their children get a good education. Then, there’s the daily grind of getting kids to and from school as well as their numerous extra-curricular activities. When teens finally get their Maryland driver’s licenses, it can come as both a relief to schedule-frazzled parents — and another reason for worry.

Parents who think about their children’s safety in motor vehicles on Maryland’s highways, city streets, and rural back roads have cause for concern.

According to the Maryland Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Administration,

September 15, 2011

Lessons Learned Abroad: Why Auto Accident Death Rates Are Lower in Europe Than in the U.S.

by Jeff Butschky

There’s been some encouraging news regarding U.S. traffic safety: National motor vehicle crash fatality numbers are down to the lowest levels in years (an estimated 32,788 deaths for 2010). The same holds true for Maryland auto accident deaths (547 fatalities in 2009).

The gains are attributed to a number of factors, including safer vehicles with more technology enhanced safety features; increased public awareness and usage of safety devices such as seat belts, child car seats, and motorcycle helmets; and greater enforcement of driving and traffic laws to prevent car, truck, motorcycle, and pedestrian accidents from happening in the first place.

Traffic cameras are one tool that law enforcement uses to deter and catch speeders and other dangerous drivers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that Maryland is one state where traffic cameras are, in fact, discouraging drivers from speeding — one of the leading causes of serious and fatal car crashes (see link to related articles about Maryland speed cams, below). The IIHS writes: