Automobile Accidents

November 23, 2009

Thanksgiving Traffic Accidents a Concern for Maryland Police: Add Increased Travel, Alcohol & Wildlife to the Mix

This Thanksgiving, as is the case every holiday season, law enforcement will be on the lookout to pull over speeders, reckless drivers, and drug- and alcohol-impaired drivers to prevent Maryland car accidents.

Though 2008 saw a decline in Thanksgiving travel, gas prices have stabilized to a level more drivers can live with, and the AAA predicts an uptick in holiday travel this year. That means more cars on Maryland’s roads and highways as people travel to and from our fair state to visit family. Other factors contributing to danger on Maryland roadways this holiday season:

> County and wildlife experts report that deer-vehicle collisions in Maryland occur in the thousands every year. Exact numbers are hard to gauge, as it’s unknown how many deer-car crashes occur that don’t get reported. Deer in the roadway are a concern for holiday drivers, particularly as dusk comes earlier with the days getting shorter, and animals are active at dawn and dusk.

November 17, 2009

Johns Hopkins, Baltimore Student Hit and Run Death: Police Review 911 Call Made Before Fatal Pedestrian Accident

by Jeff Butschky

The Baltimore Sun reports that city police are reviewing a 911 call placed shortly before a Johns Hopkins University student was killed in a fatal hit-run pedestrian accident in Baltimore City, Maryland.

On Friday Oct. 16, 2009, in the mid-afternoon, neuroscience student Miriam Frankl, age 20, was attempting to cross St. Paul Street at University Parkway when she was struck by a pickup truck. The driver in this fatal Baltimore City pedestrian – pickup truck accident fled the scene. Ms. Frankl suffered serious head wounds and died of her injuries at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

Police later apprehended and charged Thomas Meighan Jr. of Carroll County, Maryland, in relation to the death of Ms. Frankl. News reports state that Mr. Meighan has a lengthy history of drunk driving traffic violations in Maryland, including another DUI hit-and-run arrest in Northwest Baltimore this past summer.

November 9, 2009

Transportation Among Top Causes of Fatal Maryland Work Accidents (but Occupational Death Rates Are Down)

by Jeff Butschky

What would you guess are among the most dangerous jobs in Maryland? Construction? Roofing? Electrical work? You’d be right on all those counts, but some of the top causes of fatal occupational injuries in Maryland may come as somewhat of a surprise. According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), of the 59 people who lost their lives due to work-related accidents in Maryland in 2008…

> Transportation accidents (which include air, rail, highway transportation including freight trucking accidents, nonhighway transportation, and being struck and killed by a vehicle, e.g., construction site worker pedestrian accidents) accounted for 17 deaths;

> 9 fatalities resulted from Assaults and Violent Acts (including self-inflicted injury);

October 28, 2009

Maryland Medical Malpractice and Negligence: How Do I Know If I Have a Case?

by Jeff Butschky

During the course of our work as Maryland and Baltimore County injury lawyers over the last two decades and counting, we’ve met so many nice families and individuals who needed our legal help to get through some very difficult situations. Often it’s because they went out one day and through no fault of their own, they got injured — or killed — in a traffic accident.

Other times, the cause of their injuries, or even their death, is due to medical malpractice. And in those types of personal injury cases, the cause is often not as clear cut as in auto accident or Maryland work accident cases. It is not always a single event that caused their injuries, disabilities, or wrongful death.

Medical malpractice or negligence often occurs as the result of the poor judgments and/or ill actions of more than one professional, over time, possibly at more than one institution. It can be a complex sequence of events leading up to a patient not being cured or helped, but instead, being permanently harmed. It can involve prescription error, surgical error, misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose, and failure to provide standard levels of care.

October 23, 2009

Student Killed in Baltimore Hit and Run Pedestrian Accident; Carroll County Truck Driver Questioned

by Jeff Butschky

Baltimore City Police have questioned a Carroll County, Maryland man regarding a truck involved in a hit-and-run pedestrian accident that killed a Johns Hopkins University student. According to news reports, the 20-year-old victim was crossing the 3500 block of St. Paul Street at University Parkway when she was struck by a white Ford F-250 pickup truck traveling at a high rate of speed. She later died at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

The vehicle involved in this Baltimore hit-run truck accident sped off, however a witness took down the Maryland license plate number. That and news reports informing the public to keep a lookout helped police locate the vehicle. Police have questioned but not arrested a Carroll County, Maryland man, who has a lengthy history of traffic offenses, including 4 driving under the influence (DUI) arrests going back to the mid-1990s.

The individual being questioned has another DUI trial coming up in Dec. for an incident that occurred in July. He is charged with multiple offenses, including reckless driving and failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving bodily injury or death.

October 14, 2009

Harford County, Maryland Motorist Killed in Tractor Trailer Truck Accident on Pulaski Highway

by Jeff Butschky

The Baltimore Sun reported that a semi truck driver faces multiple charges after a deadly Maryland highway truck crash that took the life of a 57-year-old woman from Edgewood.

The fatal SUV – truck accident occurred Sunday in the early morning hours on Pulaski Highway in White Marsh, Maryland. According to news reports, the woman’s 2003 Chevy Tracker SUV was struck by a Kenworth semi truck, which entered the highway from Stevens Rd. The victim died at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where her husband remained in critical condition. The truck driver, from Virginia, will face a number of charges. No further details were available on this fatal accident.

Another semi truck accident involving two tractor trailers and a pickup truck took place in Frederick County, Maryland, on Tues., closing down the eastbound side of I-70 near Bill Moxley Rd. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed in this multi vehicle accident, which involved a semi truck jackknifing and spilling a haul of metal railing into the highway. A second tractor trailer struck the roadway debris, rupturing the truck’s gas tank. A Chevy pickup truck was also involved in this Maryland highway accident. The cause of the first truck’s jackknife has not been reported.

October 7, 2009

Deterring Baltimore County Traffic Accidents: Speed Camera Laws Go Into Effect

by Jeff Butschky

The Baltimore County City Council passed an act concerning speed cameras designed to thwart motor vehicle accidents and pedestrian accidents that occur in school zones. Bill 61-09 Speed Monitoring Systems, which went into effect Oct. 1, 2009, authorizes county law enforcement, in consult with other agencies, to use and enforce citations issued by speed monitoring systems in school zones.

The bill defines “speed monitoring systems” as “a device with one or more motor vehicle sensors producing recorded images of motor vehicles traveling at speeds at least 12 miles per hour above the posted speed limit.” Drivers will be subject to a $40 fine. An amendment to the bill limits the number of cameras to 15. The one councilor who dissented felt that more police — not speed cams — was a better way to address the problem.

In addition to the county bill targeting speeders in school zones, a separate state law now allows speed cameras at work zone sites; two have been placed in Baltimore County — one on I-695 at Charles Street and another on I-95 between I-895 and White Marsh Blvd.

September 29, 2009

Baltimore Pedestrian Accident Prevention: Are Hybrid Cars a Walking Hazard?

by Jeff Butschky

Now that students are back to school and working people have all but forgotten their summer vacations, we’re seeing the usual uptick in fall foot traffic. As Maryland pedestrian accident attorneys, we’ve handled many unfortunate cases where someone walking to or from school or work was injured or killed by an errant driver. Now we have to wonder if some technologies are making walking even more dangerous.

A research report from earlier this year noted that Japan is making strides to build hybrid cars that make more noise. Now the U.S. is also looking at the issue of hybrids being too quiet for pedestrian safety. Apparently these energy-saving vehicles are so much quieter than conventional cars and SUVs that pedestrians may simply not hear them coming. This presents a challenge for the motor vehicle industry, which has always strived to make vehicles quieter, the ride “smoother,” and reduce noise pollution.

Researchers suggest auto manufacturers should “add engine noise” to hybrid vehicles to avoid pedestrian accidents. Hybrids running in electric mode on low speeds may be difficult to hear. Older people with hearing loss, vision-impaired people — as well as distracted pedestrians wearing headsets, iPods, or talking on cellphones — may simply not hear a nearly silent hybrid car approaching as they step into the street or intersection.

September 16, 2009

Baltimore County, Maryland Hit and Run Traffic Accident Kills Car Driver

by Jeff Butschky

The Baltimore Sun reported that a driver was killed this weekend in a fatal hit-and-run Baltimore County car accident.

According to news reports, the fatal hit and run crash occurred Saturday night at 10 p.m. in Baltimore Highlands at the intersection of Virginia Ave. and Annapolis Rd. The suspect, who was driving a cargo van, allegedly fled the scene of the accident but was later apprehended by police and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. The driver of the car that was struck by the van perished and a passenger suffered personal injury. The Sun reported that the driver was 20 years old and lived on Virginia Avenue, Baltimore. The suspect, age 54, is also from Baltimore.

Baltimore County accident lawyers are familiar with the many hazards of driving on Maryland’s roads and highways. Some regional statistics…

September 2, 2009

Labor Day Weekend Crackdown: Maryland Drunk Driving Accident Prevention

by Jeff Butschky

Labor Day traditionally heralds the end of summer. It’s an opportunity for family and friends to get together one more time before diving back into the fall season’s school-and-work grind. Not surprisingly, this long holiday weekend typically sees a spike in alcohol-related traffic accidents nationwide.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) / National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is ramping up its public awareness safety campaign in an effort to reduce the number of Labor Day car, truck, and motorcycle accident injuries and fatalities. Called “Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest,” the campaign brings together law enforcement and public safety advocates to drive home the message that drunk driving is not an accident, nor is it a victimless crime.

The DOT reports that last year, 40% of all fatal motor vehicle accidents that occurred over Labor Day weekend were due to drinking and driving. Law enforcement will be cracking down on impaired driving this holiday weekend for drivers of all types of vehicles including motorcycles, cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks.