Maryland Injury Lawyers Blog

A new law relating to texting and driving in Maryland goes into effect on Saturday October 1, 2011. The new law makes texting and driving on Maryland roads a primary offense for which a police officer can pull a person over and give them a ticket. The new law clarifies the old texting and driving law and now it is illegal to read or send texts while driving. The two exceptions are if you are texting a 911 emergency related text, it is not illegal and also if you are using a GPS on y our mobile device while driving it is ok. In a nutshell, if a Maryland State Trooper or Maryland police officer sees you reading text messages while driving, reading email messages while driving or sending messages, you will get pulled over and will get a ticket and one point towards suspension of your driving license. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that almost a thousand people are killed each year due to cell phone use (texting and driving). About 16% of those fatalities are under 20 years old.

Another new Maryland traffic law relates to car accident deaths on Maryland Roads. the new law makes it a misdemeanor (a criminal offense) if you drive in a negligent manner and cause a death. Basically, until this new law, if you were negligent and struck a pedestrian in Maryland, you would get just a traffic ticket and may not even need to show up in Court. Now, Maryland Prosecutors will be able to prosecute those who cause the death of another person due to operating a car in a neglgient manner.

As a personal injury lawyer, an interesting development is the expansion of the universe of potential defendants due to texting and driving. For example, if someone is inovlved in a serious car crash and the car accident was caused by a driver texting a work related text or email, then the person injured or killed in the car crash could bring a lawsuit against not only the negligent driver, but also against the employer of the driver becuase the driver was acting as the agent of the employer at the time that the text message was sent. Often, employer have much larger insurance policies than individual drivers.

If you or someone you love was on the premises of the Second GEnesis on Harvard Street in Washington, D.C. at any time within 72 hours of the evacuation you should do the following:
1. Contact a medical professional and tell them you believe taht you were exposed to very high levels of carbon monoxide (aka "CO"). CO is tasteless and odorless so you probably may not even have realized that you were exposed to this toxin. Ask for a blood test to deterimine the level of CO in your blood.
2. Contact a lawyer. The effects of CO Poisoning are often long term and permanent. The lawyers at Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester, LLC can help. Our phone number is 888-213-8140. It is important that a legal professional who knows how to properly work up a brain injury case due to toxic exposure evaluates your circumstances and guides you through this process.
3. Even if you think you are ok, and did not suffer an injury, you should speak with a lawyer. The effects of carbon monoxide exposure may not be noticeable right away and it is important that your rights are protected.

An example of a legal case relating to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning occurred in BAltimore MAryland. Workers and patrons of a steak house were evacuated due to a Carbon Monoxide Leak. This case went to trial in Baltimore City and resulted in a very large multi million dollar verdict for the plaintiffs. It is interesting to note that second genesis issued just a very brief statement acknowleding the toxic leak but stating that the facility is now safe for reoccupancy (I would be weary of this---if the boiler broke once, it could break again). Rather than acknowledging responsibility for the leak, they seem to be saying it was the result of "recent extreme rain events." I just cannot get over the fact that this facility did not have carbon monoxide detectors. RIDICULOUS!!! If you were exposed, call us at 888-213-8140 x102.

There was a very serious carbon monoxide leak at Second Genesis which is a drug treatment facility located in the Columbia Heights area of Washington, D.C. Over 40 individuals were taken to the hospital. It has been reported that the CO levels in the building were as high as 600 ppm (parts per million). This is a very high level of Carbon Monoxide, and anyone who was in the building should be evaluated by a medical professional. Executives from Second Genesis were interviewed by Fox News and indcated that there were not carbon monoxide detectors in the building. This is outrageous and inexcusable, and will likely lead to exposure for punitive damages. Apparently the leak started in the boiler room and possibly involved the furnace and/or a clogged water heater.

Individuals exposed to Carbon Monoxide often develop permanent brain damage and other very serious injuries. Those exposed should contact a doctor immediately as Oxygen therapy and other medical treatments can reduce the long-term damages to the body. Individuals exposed (second genesis workers and patients) shoudl also contact an attorney to discuss their legal rights. Patients have claims against the facility for medical malpractice and common law negligence. Second Genesis employees also should seek legal counsel because they have viable workman's compensation claims in addition to third party negligence claims. Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide poisoning include headaches, dizzyness, nausea, fatigue, agitation, visual changes, fainting and flu like symptoms. Those who were at Second Genesis should make sure that they get a blood test TODAY OR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to deterimne the level of CO in their blood. Our lawyers are available to discuss potential legal claims for those exposed to Carbon Monoxide at Second Genesis on Harvard Street in Washington, D.C. We can be reached at 888-213-8140.

There was a terrible car accident on Thursday in Rockville Maryland on 355--Wisconsin Avenue. A man named Roberto Nassar was driving on a motor scooter and was stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, a vehicle driven by Mr. Michael C. Dalton from Perkasie, PA crashed into the rear of the motorcycle. Mr. Nassar died as a result of his injuries from the car crash. The Washington POst reports that Mr. Dalton did not immediatley stop and he kept going after the crash with the motor scooter lodged into the front of his car. Criminal charges have apparently been filed against Mr. Dalton for failing to stop at the scene of a car accident invovling death and failure to remain at the scene of an accident involving death.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mr. Nassar. The family should know that there are likely Personal Injury Protection Benefits (PIP Benefits) that may pay anywhere from $2,500-$10,000.00 towards funeral expenses. While I am sure that the last thing the family is thinking about is a lawsuit, it is important that the family consider hiring a lawyer or private investigator to gather appropriate facts about the crash, and interview any witnesses to the crash. Unfortunately, car insurance companies take advantage of grieving families by getting a head start on the investigation and getting witnesses to commit to statements that support denial of the claim or, at least in Maryland, an argument of "contributory negligence" which would be a complete bar to recovery. In the State of Maryland, Mr. Nassar's children and spouse would have a "Maryland Wrongful Death Claim." In addition to that, his estate can bring a "Maryland Survival Claim." An important issue that needs to be investigated is the amount of insurance coverage that the vehicle that Mr. Dalton was driving had, and whether Mr. Dalton had an umbrella policy. A lawyer or good private investigator can help get at these issues. Wrongful Death Claims and Survival Claims in Maryland can be complicated. There is a cap on non-economic damages in Maryland (i.e. pain and suffering, scarring, etc) of approximatley $690,000.00 and generally speaking, the total cap for the wrongful death claimants and the survival claim would be approximately $1,035,000.00.