Maryland Injury Lawyers Blog

Insurance companies cannot be trusted--especially in the way they treat car accident victims. I have noticed that insurance companies are becoming more and more aggressive about approaching victims of car accidents and offering them a small amount of money in exchange for releasing their liability claim. Unfortunately, many of those injured in car accidents are taking the bait and signing the release in exchange for the money. In my opinion, the main reason that this happens is that car crash victims are quite often suffering from financial hardship because they are unable to work and have lost wages because of their injuries from the crash. Therefore, when offered a couple of thousand dollars immediatley in exchange for a release it is hard to say no--they need to put food on the table for their family. The insurance companies send out highly trained adjusters with a checkbook to meet in person with accident victims and urge them to settle on the cheap. These insurance adjusters are trained to be nice, compassionate, and to essentially trick the car crash victim into thinking they are on their side (which is never true). Here is what Maryland victims of car crashes need to know about signing a release:

1. Don't sign a release without at least talking to an attorney. If you have an injury that may be permanent, then a release should not be signed until you know the full extent of your injuries and the cost of the future care.

2. Generally speaking, if you sign a release, you are giving up all of your rights to make a claim for further damages from the accident. The fact that you felt pressured to sign the release is not going to help get it voided.

3. If an insurance company tells you that you do not need a lawyer, then you need a lawyer.

4. In Maryland, there is a new law that essentially makes it so that if a release is signed within 30 days of an accident, it is voidable for 60 days so long as certain conditions are met such as returning the money and providing the insurance company with written notice.

If you have peanut allergies, stay away from Raisinets! On october 22, 2010 Nestle Corp voluntarily recalled a batch of rasinets that may contain peanuts even though the label says it does not contain peanuts. The tainted raisinets were distributed to Target, Shot Rite and Don Quixote stores. The Food and Drug Administration issued a press release on this issue and it can be seen if you click here.

Nestle has indicated that any purchaser of the tainted raisinets candy can call 800-478-5670 for a full refund. The tainted raisinets are in the 10 ounce fun bags.

If you or someone you love is injured as a result of consuming a tainted food product, you may have a legal claim for product liability, breach of warranty and/or for a violation of state consumer protection laws. In these kinds of legal cases, it is very important to save the tainted product so that proper testing can be done to prove that it was in fact tainted (dangerous) and that it in fact caused the injury complained of.

The short answer is YES. In the state of Maryland, if your child is injured due to the negligence of school officials including teachers and volunteers you have the right to sue, but the damages would ultimately be collected against the school board and its liability insurance carrier--not against the teacher or principal. This area of the law gets somewhat complicated though because of the doctrine of sovereign immunity. First of all, you cannot sue the school for failing to educate your child. Maryland does not recognize educational malpractice as a tort. But if your child suffers a personal injury or is killed and it is the result of the negligence of the school's employees you can indeed file a lawsuit. The crux of Maryland law is that teachers and school employees are not personally liable for negligence so long as they acted without malice and so long as the jury does not find that their actions constitute "gross negligence" See MD Code Cts. Jud. Proc. 5-518. Any lawsuit against a teacher must include the school board. The school board itself is not immune for amounts up to $100,000.00 and also is not immune for amounts above $100,000.00 if they have liability insurance covering them. The immunity provisions do not apply to car accidents.

A hot topic these days is bullying. If a school fails to take appropriate action to protect a child from being bullied, the child--through his parents-could file a lawsuit against school officials for any physical/emotional injuries. If a judgement was obtained against, say for example and teacher and a school principal, the judgment would only be collectable against the School Board, and not against the individuals (unless they acted with malice or with gross negligence).

The applicable law is codified in the Maryland Code and can be found here.

If your child was injured due to the negligence of school officials feel free to call Goldberg Finnegan & Mester for a free telephone consultation. 888-213-8140

On Thursday evening Maryland Terp Offensive Tackle Pete DeSouza was injured when he was struck by a car while he was riding on a motor scooter on the University of Maryland's campus. The driver of the car that struck Mr. DeSouza was operating his vehicle in a negligent manner and was given a traffic ticket. The accident occurred at about nine pm on Campus Drive at the University of Maryland College Park Campus which is in PG County Maryland. Unfortunately, Mr. DeSouza fractured his legs and will require surgery and will be out for the rest of the season. We certainly wish Pete a speedy recovery.

Its astonishing that banks and foreclosure attorneys now admit that thousands of foreclosures throughout the United States have been based on fraudulent documents and improperly executed affidavits. What is not as clear, is how prevalent these improper foreclosure practices were in Maryland. Circut Courts throughout Maryland are reviewing foreclosure petitions to see if there is apparent evidence of improper documents (The Washington Post reported that the Prince George's County Circuit Court is reviewing 14,000 filings). Two law firms have already filed corrective affidavits---Covahey, Boozer, Devan & Dore in Towson and Bierman, Geesing, Ward & Wood in Bethesda, Maryland.

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley wrote to the Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals about his concerns for Maryland consumers and Maryland homeowners over the foreclosure scandal. He urged Judge Bell to take "immediate action." A new Maryland Rule is being considered by the Maryland Court of Appeals this week that will allow Circuit Court Judges to summons Maryland lawyers into Court if there is suspicion that the supporting affidavits for the foreclosure were not signed by the lawyer. The Rule will also allow Maryland circuit courts to designate lawyers to serve as a Special Master to review foreclosure documents for irregularities in signatures and to make appropriate recommendations to the Courts.

If you believe that you are a victim of an improper foreclosure or that the documentation supporting your foreclosure was improper, you should call a Maryland lawyer.

On Sunday October 10, 2010 in the early morning hours two pedestrians were struck and killed by a car on Rockville Pike near the White Flint Metro Station. Those killed, Rory Weichbrod and Adam Hosinski, were only 26 years old. The driver of the car that struck these young men was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of those killed. What is disturbing though, is that news reports suggest that Montgomery County knew that the roadway in that area was unsafe and that they will soon be making changes. Montgomery County Pedestrian Safety Coordinator Jeff Dunckel says the crash happened on the edge of a known hot spot for pedestrian accidents along Rockville Pike" and that within the next year, drivers will see obvious changes including new signals, medians and other traffic calming devices. Are you kidding me? If the County knew the roadway was unsafe, the fact is that the roadway should not have been built that way in the firstplace and the changes should have occurred long ago. Roadway safety is generally governed by standards set forth in the MUTCD--Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Montgomery County and/or the contractors who designed the unsafe roadway likely contributed to this tragic incident. Legal claims against the County require that notice be provided pursuant to the Local Government Tort Claims Act---and this must be properly done within 180 days of the incident.

Another disturbing aspect of this incident is that the driver who hit the young men may have been drunk. Unfortunately, under Maryland law, even if he was intoxicated, he will not be subject to punitive damages. There has been proposed legislation to change this aspect of Maryland law, but so far it has not passed.

Just yesterday a Baltimore City jury returned a $20 Million dollar verdict in a lead paint case against the Baltimore City Housing Authority. About $825,000.00 were awarded in economic damages and about $20 Million Dollars in non-economic damages. The jury did not consider punitive damages (punitive damages are very difficult to get in Maryland). This jury verdict will be reduced because of Maryland's cap on non-economic damages. Just last week, the Maryland Court of Appeals upheld Maryland's cap on non-economic damages There will surely be post-trial motions and a motion for remittur so the plaintiff will not be collecting $20 Million Dollars.

Lead paint is known to cause serious brain damages to children. Unfortunately, many homes in Maryland and Washington, D.C. are contaminated with lead paint. In this case where the $20 Million dollar jury verdict was rendered yesterday, the plaintiff's IQ was diminished by 10 points to 89 which is below average.