The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that single-vehicle traffic deaths in Baltimore County, Maryland have declined in recent years — 45 deaths in 2007, as compared to 51 deaths in 2003. (Source: NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts for Baltimore County 2003-2007).
Single motor vehicle crashes may be caused by a number of factors, including
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.
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:
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…
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
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
Unlike a lot of states, the Maryland Workers’ Compensation system is very adversarial. In some states, the hurdle injured workers have to get over to receive compensation is ridiculously low. They basically just need to prove that they were hurt at work — or anything remotely close to work. If they were injured driving to or home from work, they’re covered. Even if they were goofing around and got hurt at work, they’re covered. In Maryland, it’s different.
Maryland is an “at will” employment state, meaning you can be fired at will by your employer, providing they’re not violating any Federal laws against discrimination for age, gender, race, etc. The playing field is not level — it’s tilted in the employer’s favor. And that goes for the Maryland Workers Comp system, too.
The bright spot is if you’re injured on the job in Maryland, your employer is required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Even if they don’t have it — which I’ve seen a dozen times or so in 20 years of helping injured workers in Maryland — the Uninsured Employers’ Fund will step in and pay. So the good news is if you’re hurt at work in Maryland and if you have a compensable claim, your employer has insurance to cover it.
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:
The laws and regulations governing Maryland Workers Comp cases are in place to protect people who are injured at work or in the course of doing their jobs. But what happens if you’re employed as an “independent contractor,” as are so many plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters, and other trades people in the construction industry, where serious and fatal accidents can and do happen?
Do you have the same rights to Maryland Workers Compensation benefits if you’re injured on the job in Maryland? A bill before Maryland lawmakers is tackling the issue of independent contractors’ rights. As the law stands now, employers who classify workers as “independent contractors” are exempt from paying Social Security and Medicare taxes, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation premiums. So if you’re injured on the job and you’re classified as an independent contractor — you’re on your own.
According to a report in The Washington Post, state officials believe as many as 20 percent of Maryland’s blue-collar workers are wrongly classified as independent contractors. The Maryland Governor is calling on the General Assembly to make it illegal for employers to misclassify workers as independent contractors. Building industry representatives object to the proposed law, which would fine business owners $5,000 for each worker they knowingly misclassified. Repeat offenders would receive additional fines and could be debarred and put out of business.
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.
Maryland Injury Attorney Blog