Maryland Accident Lawyer Blog

We have heard some version of this story hundreds of times: client gets into an accident and hires a lawyer they either found in the yellow pages, on television or from a “friend of a friend.” After some time passes, they realize that while their lawyer may be a nice person, the lawyer is not a seasoned accident lawyer who focuses their career on maximizing the amount of money the client recovers in an injury claim. The accident victim gets on the Internet, researches carefully who the best accident lawyers in Maryland are, and calls our law firm.

First, if you are unhappy with your accident lawyers, you can switch law firms at any time you want. Still, you need to consider whether on not you are better served staying with the lawyer that you have. It may be that you are expecting too much and that your current accident lawyer is doing everything possible to further your case. We always suggest if you are thinking of firing your accident lawyer, but you are not sure whether you should, sit down with your current lawyer and see if your questions can be resolved to your satisfaction.

Many of our Maryland accident lawyers’ clients were injured in a car accident while on the job. This means the plaintiff has three accident claims under Maryland law: PIP, third party liability, and workers’ compensation.

Generally, a Maryland accident lawyer wants to present the PIP claim before the workers’ compensation claim in Maryland. Other states differ on the right of subrogation of PIP insurance. But Maryland law is clear that the PIP carrier has no right of subrogation against any third-party recovery, according to Maryland Code, Insurance Article §19-507(d). In other words, if the PIP claim is made first, the injury victim does not have to pay back the PIP benefits the victim receives (most attorneys don’t charge for PIP claims). In contrast, the workers' compensation carrier has subrogation rights (after attorneys’ fees) out of the third-party recovery for the workers' compensation benefits that it paid to the victim under Maryland Code, Labor and Employment Article §9-902(e) and §9-902 (f).

If a Maryland accident lawyer decides – either out of laziness or just getting it wrong – to put the workers’ compensation claim first, the lawyer might be barred from making a PIP claim. Under Maryland accident law, the PIP carrier receives a setoff for workers' compensation benefits that the accident victim has received under Maryland Code Insurance Article §19-513(e).

A hard to believe but apparently true truck accident statistic was reported today in a new study reported in the in the New York Times. Video cameras were placed in trucks found that the trucks risks of an accident was 23 times greater than when not texting while driving.

Think about that: 23 times. Incredible statistic that begs the Maryland legislature to pass a law to ban texting while driving.

John Cord's Drug Recall Lawyer Blog reports that Plaintiffs in 23 Yasmin/Yaz birth control lawsuits filed a motion to consolidate the 32Yasmin/Yaz lawsuits that have been filed in federal courts around the country.

The Maryland Court of Appeals decided Lanay v. Daniel Realty, another lead paint case. I just summarized a lead paint CSA case yesterday, so you are not going to get a full summary of this case, at least not today. But the basic issue in the case is when can you read in the deposition or discovery answers of a party who is no longer a party? The short, take-home message for Maryland accident lawyers is don’t assume you can read in the discovery answers of a party in a multiple party case if you think there is any chance that one of the defendants might have settle out or be dismissed from the case.

Interestingly, this appeal was marred by the fact that there was a technical malfunction with the audio recording device during the trial in Baltimore City, which made the record sketchy.

You can find the case here.

The New York Times has an article how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chose not to make public hundreds of pages of research and warnings about the relationship between cell phones and car accidents. Why? Higher-ups at the NHTSA claim that the motivating force was concerns about angering Congress. I'm sure this may be what the NHTSA officials were told, but the reason for the information being withheld is that the agency was sticking to its mission of gathering safety data, not lobbying states. Doesn’t this sound more like the Bush administration to you than it does Congress?

Apparently, the data showed that hands-free headsets did not eliminate car accidents, because cell phone conversation was what causes the distraction, not just the holding of the cell phone. To date, no state has banned entirely the use of cell phones while driving.

I’ve never seen data estimating how many Maryland car accidents are caused by cell phone usage. But I think the Maryland legislature should take a look at this study and consider what our law should be in Maryland on cell phone usage while driving a car. Cell phone use is still on the rise and Maryland accident lawyers already have enough business.

Maryland needs to decide if we are playing Russian Roulette every time we drive down a two lane highway at 50 miles an hour, either talking on a cell phone, or with someone coming at us from the opposite direction talking on a cell phone.

The Washington Metro subway system is gearing up for a spade of lawsuits following an accident last month that killed nine and injured 80, the Washington Post reports. Potential liability for the crash remains unclear but experts estimate that damages could reach into the hundreds of millions. Federal investigators are still trying to determine the exact cause of the Metro accident.

There is an interesting case report in Metro Verdicts Monthly this week from a car accident lawsuit in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. Plaintiff was a dog groomer on her way to work when the Defendant took a left turn in front of her. Plaintiff contended that she suffered a torn rotator cuff, among other injuries to her neck, back and shoulder. Defendant's accident lawyers (USAA and State Farm) claimed Plaintiff was contributorily negligent because she was speeding. The insurance company lawyers also brought an orthopedic doctor to testify that Plaintiff's rotator cuff injury was more consistent with her work as a dog groomer than from the car accident.

Continue reading " Queen Anne's County Car Accident Verdict " »

The Baltimore Sun has an article on a fatal accident in Howard County, Maryland at Route 32 and River Road near the Carroll County border. The article underscores what is pretty easy to see on its face if you drive by that intersection a few times: everyone in the area viewed a fatality at this intersection as a "when a fatal accident happens" situation.

Twenty years ago, there was no traffic light just a few miles west of this intersection at Route 32 and Route 99. That intersection was a classic death trap that was waiting for the accidents that occurred there all of the time. Eventually, a light was added.

Everyone hates additional traffic lights, particularly on long stretches of road like Route 32. But the choice between human life and another minute in traffic is an easy call. We don't always frame the issue like this in the moment because we live in the moment. We have to get from Point A to Point B. But the death of a mother and her child sure does change the importance of that one minute more in traffic.

Highway fatalities are going to be with us as long as we have cars. We have assumed that risk as a society. But we have to work harder to our roads and the occupants of motor vehicles as save as we can. Because so much is at stake.