by

Did you know that in the U.S., an average of 12 people die on the job every day? As an experienced Baltimore County work injury lawyer will tell you — no one heads off to work in Maryland not expecting to make it home for dinner that night.

But for people in dangerous jobs, including shipyard workers, commercial truck drivers, farm and agricultural workers, and those in the construction fields, serious and fatal work accidents can and do happen in Maryland.

New Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that the U.S. as a whole showed little change in the overall number of workers killed on the job last year as compared to 2009. Preliminary results from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries show that in 2010, an estimated 4,547 workers died from work-related injuries, down from 4,551 fatal work injuries in 2009. Some improvements…

Continue Reading

by

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that Maryland motorcycle traffic accident deaths reached a five-year low in 2009 — at 69 motorcycle crash fatalities in 2009, compared to 91 deaths in 2008, and 96 deaths in 2007. Data is still pending for 2010, although preliminary data released by the Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA) showed an uptick in motorcycle accident deaths in Maryland for the first nine months of 2010.

Other statistics of note, from the GHSA report:

> Motorcycle traffic accident fatalities for all of 2010 nationwide are expected to be 4,376 or fewer — a decrease of at least 2% from the 4,465 fatalities of 2009.

Continue Reading

by

Labor Day weekend is nearly upon us. Here in Baltimore County, Md. and around the country, the long holiday weekend gives people one last chance to enjoy some R&R with family and friends before the fall school schedule swings into gear. Like all other holiday weekends, Labor Day is also a time of heavier traffic … and alcohol consumption.

More alcohol + more traffic on Maryland roads and highways is a bad combination that leads to serious and deadly Baltimore County auto accidents.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced its annual public awareness campaign to curb alcohol and drug impaired driving now through Labor Day Weekend. NHTSA’s Impaired Driving Division works cooperatively with law enforcement partners to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce traffic-related healthcare and economic costs resulting from impaired driving (that is, driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs).

Continue Reading

by

The Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix 2011 IndyCar Series is just around the corner, with Labor Day Weekend coming up fast. If you’ve been following the Maryland news or driving around downtown Baltimore, you may have noticed that the city is being turned into a racing circuit. The Baltimore Grand Prix is a professional street racing event, with a temporary street racing circuit being constructed in downtown Baltimore.

In late July, cornerstone track walls were set up in front of the Inner Harbor Amphitheater. The two mile, 13 turn street circuit will race around Camden Yards and the Scenic Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore. (See link below to the Maryland Dept. of Transportation’s Baltimore Grand Prix traffic diversion plan.) The 5K pro racing event is sure to be a boon for Baltimore City — attracting visitors and spectators from around Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic states.

There’s something about watching pro race car drivers push their vehicles and their driving abilities to the limit that Americans find exhilarating. Even former Secretary of State General Colin Powell is getting in on the act as the event’s grand marshal. However the Baltimore Grand Prix pro drivers are cautioning fans not to take their “need for speed” behind the wheel of their own cars, trucks, and SUVs.

Continue Reading

by

“Whistleblower.” The name itself conjures up images straight out of a Hollywood thriller. Many movies have been made over the years about the plight of whistleblowers — brave souls who try to expose corporate corruption, greed, and danger in the workplace — usually at their own peril. Memorable movies about whistleblowers include Silkwood (nuclear power plant dangers), The Insider (tobacco and smoking health risks), and Erin Brockovich (toxic waste dumping).

Some of these movies are based on the real-life stories of whistleblowers and the consequences they suffered from those who’d silence them. Whistleblowers are indeed real working people who speak out against their employers and bring problematic situations to light. Their grievances may center on workplace safety violations, illegal workplace practices, and poor working conditions.

As the experienced Baltimore, Maryland workers’ compensation lawyers at Butschky & Butschky, LLC know — it can be very tough to speak out against one’s employer. This is especially true in this struggling economy, where working people are happy to have any job at all. However standards for workplace safety in Maryland and around the country are required, not optional. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) wants to ensure that workers who have concerns about their workplace safety may raise those concerns without fear of reprisal from their employers. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act)…

Continue Reading

by

As of this past April, 37 states had laws on the books holding liquor vendors liable or partially liable for serving patrons who become intoxicated and then get in drunk driving auto accidents causing injury, death, or damages. These are called “dram shop acts” or “dram shop laws” — and Maryland is not among states with such laws in place.

This is in part why a fatal DUI car accident case out of Montgomery County, Maryland, is garnering attention.

According to media reports, in Aug. 2008, a Fairfax, Va. man was consuming drinks at the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Gaithersburg, Md. News reports state that the individual consumed a staggering 14 drinks and 2 shots — before starting a second tab. Restaurant staff reportedly served the individual 3 more beers and another shot, after which he got behind the wheel of his Land Rover. He reportedly drove south on Interstate 270 at speeds between 88 and 98 mph, crashing into a Jeep Grand Cherokee and killing a 10 year old girl sitting in the back. The child’s guardians sued the restaurant for $3.25 million in Dec. 2010.

Continue Reading

by

Blame it on the economy and high gas prices…and maybe a little Maryland driver fatigue.

AAA Mid-Atlantic projects that Maryland traffic this 4th of July holiday weekend will be 2 percent lighter than last year, with an estimated 760,000 Maryland drivers taking to our state’s roads and highways. Those who aren’t piling into their cars, minivans, and SUVs to seek fun in the Maryland sun may opt for the “staycation” alternative instead. That is, leaving the family auto parked in the driveway is cheaper and safer than jockeying with other July 4 motorists.

But fewer July 4 holiday drivers doesn’t mean driving this weekend in Maryland is without risks. Any holiday brings with it the risk of drunk driving accidents. A cooler full of beer is a backyard barbecue staple at many homes — particularly on a hot Fourth of July afternoon.

Continue Reading

by

How many modern safety features does the car you own and drive in Baltimore County, Maryland have? We’ve come a long way in motor vehicle safety features since our parents first herded us kids into the back of the family sedan.

All passenger cars since 1967 are required to have seat belts. Go to an antique car show and you’ll be amazed at the beauty of vintage car interiors — and the absence of seat belts. Dual air bags are a required automotive safety feature to diminish driver and passenger injury in event of a car crash (on cars made since 1998 and light trucks since 1999). Infant and child car seats and restraints — which I didn’t have growing up — are now required by law. In Maryland, children under eight years old must ride in an appropriate child restraint, unless the child is 4’9″ or taller or weighs more than 65 pounds.

Other safety features such as as all-wheel drive and anti-lock brakes are common on many makes and models of today’s cars, trucks, and SUVs. And the automotive innovations keep coming. Manufacturers seek to make their cars studier, smarter, and more crash worthy…to help drivers avoid traffic accidents and minimize motorist injury and fatality, when traffic accidents do occur.

Continue Reading

by

Do you own and operate a motorcycle in Maryland? How safe do you feel sharing Maryland’s back roads, Baltimore city streets, highways, and bridges with cars, trucks (including commercial trucks), SUVs, vans, and other motor vehicles? Do you feel Md.’s traffic safety laws are adequate to protect motorcycle operators and their passengers?

As Baltimore County motorcycle accident injury lawyers, we’ve seen the devastating results of what can happen when a motorcycle traffic accident occurs in Maryland. Now a new national governors’ study sheds some interesting light on motorcycle traffic safety laws and motorcycle accident deaths — and the results are mixed.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Association released preliminary data that suggests accidental deaths from motorcycle crashes in the U.S. declined overall by 2 percent in 2010. That’s down to 4,376 motorcycle accident deaths estimated for 2010 as compared to 4,465 fatalities in 2009. The GHSA looked at all 50 states and our neighbors in Washington, DC. However, some of that initially encouraging news may be tempered by other factors, such as…

Continue Reading

by

When people think of hazardous occupations, a certain few come to mind, such as fire fighters and police officers. However anyone in Maryland who does farming and agricultural work already knows what a government report revealed to be true: Farming work is hazardous and can cause injury and death. What might surprise some is national statistics for fatal farming accidents reveal that farming work is more dangerous than firefighting or police work combined.

U.S. Department of Labor data show that the national rate of fatal occupational injuries for farmers and ranchers in 2009 was 38.5 per 100,000 full-time workers — as compared to 13.1 for police officers and 4.4 for firefighters. City dwellers and other people who don’t live near working farms may not realize how dangerous farming work can be. Labor Department economist Jim Rice told Market Watch that “…you probably hear less about people dying when tractors roll over on them. For those who do work on farms, it’s still a dangerous occupation.”

Maryland farmers, ranchers, and others in the agriculture industry work with heavy equipment and vehicles. Like construction workers, these hard-working Maryland farmers put in long hours doing heavy labor–particularly now that the warm weather has arrived. If you live and drive in Maryland, you may already have noticed farm vehicles on the rural roadways –which pose traffic accident risks for both the farmers and other motorists.

Continue Reading
Contact Information
Sparks Office
909 Ridgebrook Rd, #200
Sparks, MD 21152
Local: (410) 472-3651
Toll Free: (800) 722-6616
Baltimore Office
210 E Lexington St, #406
Baltimore, MD 21202
Local: (410) 625-1121
Toll Free: (800) 722-6616

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2015 – 2025, Butschky & Butschky, LLC
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design