An article that John Bratt and I wrote has been accepted for publication in December in Trial, the flagship publication for the American Association of Justice. The article is about mediations in catastrophic personal injury cases. We finished what I hope is the final draft today.
The Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog summarizes Abrishamian v. Barbely, a new pedestrian accident Maryland Court of Special Appeals decision stemming a bad plaintiff's verdict in Montgomery County.
Getting police reports is often a challenge Maryland car accident lawyers. Montgomery County has joined the 21st Century with a new online system where you can download police reports.
I hope other Maryland counties follow suit.
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Getting police reports is often a challenge Maryland car accident lawyers. Montgomery County has joined the 21st Century with a new online system where you can download police reports.
I hope other Maryland counties follow suit.
Related Posts
The Maryland House of Delegates voted to allow speed monitoring cameras in Maryland near schools and highway work zones. The Maryland Senate already approved this bill and Governor O'Malley's signature is a formality. A few years ago, the Maryland legislature passed similar legislation designed to prevent pedestrian auto accidents but but then Governor Ehrlich vetoed the bill
What does it mean? Maryland drivers pictured going more than 11 miles an hour over the speed limit would get a $40 ticket. That's it.
The opposition to this bill is Big Brother. Here's my question: what is more of an imposition, getting pulled over or having someone take your picture? It seems to me speed cameras are just the opposite of an invasion of privacy.
This is a first step towards putting speed cameras everywhere. I think this is a good thing that would in the long haul go a long way toward decreasing serious auto accident injuries and fatalities on Maryland roadways.
Among the most serious auto accidents our lawyers see in Maryland are pedestrian accidents, often involving people working near the road and children. Not surprisingly, you can often find children near school. (Film at 11.) This law is designed with these Maryland pedestrian accidents in mind but I think it is reasonable to expect this law will be expanded over time to include other areas where speed causes accidents - which is just about anywhere.
If you have suffered an injury as the result of a defendant's negligence that resulted from speeding, call our Maryland auto accident lawyers at 800-553-8082 or click here for a free car accident lawyer consultation.
The Maryland Assocation for Justice's Auto Negligence Section has its next dinner meeting on January 7, 2009. The speaker will be Miller & Zois' own Rod Gaston on the topic of defense medical examinations.
The dinner is at:
That’s Amore Restaurant
10400 Little Patuxent Pkwy.
Columbia, MD 21044
If you are a MAJ member (formerly Maryland Trial Lawyers Association) handling car accident cases in Maryland, it is worthwhile to join the Auto Negligence Section.
Continue reading "Maryland Assocation for Justice Auto Negligence Meeting" »
We added on the Miller & Zois website the internal list that our lawyers keep of arbitrators and mediators in Maryland who we believe mediate or arbitrate personal injury cases.
As we make clear, this is not a list our our recommended mediators or arbitrators, just a collection of those that are doing the work. We refer to the list if arbitrating or mediating a case so it occured to me that others might want to have the same option, be it another personal injury lawyer or even an insurance company.
There have been 32 fatal car accidents in Anne Arundel County as of around 3:00 p.m on Saturday. Of these fatal accidents, 16 involved alcohol. I cannot remember the exact number but there have been over 1,100 drunk driving arrests in 2008 in Anne Arundel County.
How do I know this? It is posted outside of the police station in Millersville that I drove by on Saturday while taking one of my sons to a pumpkin patch. Seeing those numbers got me to thinking: if the numbers for everyone's hometown was the screensaver on the work computers of every American, we would save at least 4,000 lives in this country a year.
Of course, I'm completely making that number up. But don't you think that this would reduce drunk driving deaths by at least 33%? In 2007, an approximately 12,998 people died in alcohol-impaired traffic crashes involving a driver with a BAC .08 or higher. These deaths constituted 31.7 percent of the 41,059 total motor vehicle accident fatalities in the United States in 2007. According, if we could reduce drunk driving fatal accident by a third, we would save over 4,000 lives.
The Maryland Daily Record reports that the Maryland Court of Appeals will hear a challenge to Maryland’s statutory cap on non-economic damages involving a lead paint case in Baltimore City.
I think it is interesting the Maryland high court granted cert in this case. I'm not optimistic. But boy would the landscape flip here if the Maryland Court of Appeals agrees these caps are unjust under Maryland's Constitution.
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I frequently get an email that is some version of this one:
Hello Professor Miller,
It's [name withheld], and I took Sports Law from you (really learned a lot by the way). Anyway, the reason, for my [voicemail], and why I'm writing is because I have a friend who has a problem. He purchased what I believed was an SUV, brand new in 2006. A few months ago it was stolen and vandalized. The police were eventually able to recover it, but it was totaled. According to my friend the blue book values the car at a certain amount, but the insurance company is not willing to pay him anything near the blue book value of the car. The more time passes the more the value decreases. My friend would like to recover the fair value of his vehicle, and would like to know what his recovery rights are. I am sure you are incredibly busy, but my friend also wanted me to refer him to someone I trusted and was an expert in insurance law.
If time is an issue, do you perhaps have someone whom you might recommend?
My friend's name is: [name and number withheld]
Thanks!
The reality is that most lawyers - including me - are not going to handle property damage or total loss diminished value cases. We do, however, offer on our website tips for people handling property damage claims without a lawyer (click on the link for article)
On John Bratt's Baltimore Injury Lawyer Blog, he publishes a comment written by an opposing lawyer - State Farm in-house counsel - about a case they tried that John blogged about last month.
I think this post underscores the problem: State Farm lawyers believe they are beating us in lawsuits when we are getting jury verdicts far in excess of the offers in this case. Maybe they are. But if we get a verdict that is 8 times the State Farm offer and State Farm's lawyers think they won, what exactly does that say about the fairness of their offer?
The Maryland Daily Record reports that Baltimore County may ban portable ads on its roads and parking lots.
Does not sound like an awful idea although I wonder if there are 1st Amendment issues. I think a bigger distraction is radio commercials scare me half to death beeping horns in their ads. I have to think that these horns have to panic some drivers into car accidents.
Local legal stories I have read over the last few days that I thought you might find of interest:
The Washington Post has a good article on former white collar prosecutor Dale P. Kelberman transformation into the go to defense lawyer for the accused politician.
A Baltimore defense attorney who took the stand to defend himself against allegations of witness tampering has filed assault and witness retaliation charges against a former client, according to the Baltimore Sun (patting myself on the back for staying away from criminal law in our practice).
The Baltimore Injury Lawyer Blog writes about how the Baltimore Sun breaks a major legal story by having a reporter sitting in her doctor's office.
The Washington Post reports on the teenage who caused the recent truck accident on the Bay Bridge. I know everyone does it, but do we need to provide the name of the nineteen year old girl that allegedly caused the accident? I vote no.
The Baltimore Sun has an editorial about how we need to make our bridges safer for travel. I'm all for safe travel but it would be nice if the article just provided a modicum of evidence to suggest that bridges are more dangerous other than just "gee, we are lucky this did not happen sooner." Sounds like a classic overreaction to the "story of the month" to me. Lower the BAC to .07 and you will save scores more lives than making a bridge 100% safe.
Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has told the United States Army that Maryland plans to sue the Army to force it to finish cleaning up groundwater and soil contamination at Fort Meade. Like him, hate him, you choose. But let's state the obvious: the dude is fearless.
The Maryland Daily Record has a story on a Glenelg pharmacist facing criminal charges for mislabeling prescription drugs. I don't find the story of particular interest. But I went to Glenelg High School. Boy, that area has changed. I don't think Glenelg had a drug store in the 80s.
I was on vacation last week which accounts for the lack of posts to the Maryland Lawyer Blog. I planned on blogging while on vacation, a plan that died about five minutes after arriving at the beach. Expect the Maryland Lawyer Blog to be back and posting this week.
In the meantime, if you are looking for some local Maryland blog material, check out the new Baltimore Injury Lawyer Blog, written by another Miller & Zois lawyer John Bratt. This blog offers a similar yet different perspective on personal injury cases in Maryland with a focus on Baltimore. The blog is not directed to accident and malpractice victims but instead offers advice and information to lawyers handling personal injury cases in Baltimore and throughout the country.
The Associated Press reports Liberty Mutual will purchase Safeco for $6.12 billion.
Liberty Mutual is fast becoming an insurance company powerhouse. Their marketing paradigm, for whatever reason, is regional, so car accident lawyers with Liberty Mutual often see the names of its regional companies: America First Insurance, Colorado Casualty, Golden Eagle Insurance, Hawkeye-Security Insurance, Indiana Insurance, Liberty Northwest, Montgomery Insurance, Ohio Casualty, Peerless Insurance and Wausau Insurance Companies.
With this merger, Liberty Mutual will become the country's fifth-biggest property insurer. Our lawyers in Maryland deal mostly with Liberty Mutual, Ohio Casualty, and Montgomery Insurance. I believe the Maryland cases are going to be put under the Ohio Casualty umbrella, according to an Ohio Casualty adjuster I spoke with yesterday who had our case – which was a Montgomery Insurance case – transferred to him.
Relatively speaking – an important qualification – I think that both the Liberty Mutual insurance companies and Safeco are fairly reasonable to deal with in personal injury cases, although my partner Laura Zois was forced to try a case a few months ago after a ridiculous offer from a Safeco adjuster that I really like. The jury apparently agreed and awarded approximately five times the settlement offer.
A new child car seat law, Maryland Senate Bill 789, passed at the end of the Maryland legislative session last night at 9:10 p.m. Children in Maryland will now be required to remain in car seats until their 8th birthday unless they are over 65 lbs or over 4 feet, 9 inches tall.
This is a good development for child safety in Maryland. We are now a long way from bouncing up and down in the back of our parents station wagon.
Legislation is pending in West Virginia that would prohibit lawyers from seeking damages in personal injury and wrongful death cases in plaintiffs’ complaint. This bill is receiving universal support from everyone in West Virginia. The legislation passed unanimously in both the West Virginia House and Senate. West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin received the bill last week and it has received support of plaintiffs’ lawyers and defense lawyers alike. West Virginia already has a similar law in medical malpractice cases.
In the Maryland Daily Record last week, I read an article about a police brutality or false arrest case (I can’t remember which) in Baltimore. Plaintiffs sued the state of Maryland for $115 million. So, of course, the $115 million was in the title of the article. This is the exact problem that would be eliminated.
The battle continues to wage between Allstate and the state of Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation. The problem arose when the Regulation Office began investigating Allstate’s property insurance practices in Florida. Allstate had requested a double-digit increase in the rates for its homeowner’s insurance, and Florida was investigating possible collusion between Allstate and risk-modeling firms, rating agencies and re-insurers to set prices at artificially high levels. When Allstate failed to submit all of the documents Florida had demanded as part of its investigation, the Florida Insurance Commissioner, Kevin McCarty, suspended the rights of 10 of Allstate’s companies to do business in Florida. A Florida appeals court has decided to lift the ban. But I don’t think the state of Florida is done with Allstate.
When insurance companies flash this kind of arrogance to personal injury lawyers, the general public, judges and state regulatory agencies, not surprisingly, often yawn. But when you flout the authority of an entire state, folks are going to take notice. In response to Florida’s subpoena, Allstate has filed 122 objections. Word to the wise: state agencies are not used to being treated with such disdain.
Florida is not the only place where Allstate is under scrutiny. When a Missouri judge ordered Allstate to turn over similar documents to those sought in Florida, Allstate once again ignored the state and has evaded the Missouri court’s contempt order for four months. Allstate scoffs at the $25,000.00 a day fine imposed by the judge and continues to withhold the requested documents.
Here in Maryland, Allstate was fined $750,000.00 in December for improper rate increases and for violating state laws about how it notifies consumers of changes and files notice of those changes with the agency.
There is an obvious question here: what does Allstate have to hide? If you are willing to allow your license to sell insurance to be suspended in a market like Florida and you are willing to fork over $25,000.00 a day in contempt fines (not to mention the ensuing bad publicity) the guess is that Allstate has some pretty disreputable business practices it would like to keep under wraps. As for me, I’m shocked – shocked! – that gambling is going on in this establishment.
According to a recent Jury Verdict Research analysis, based on plaintiffs’ verdicts nationally over the last ten years, the overall median award for foot injuries is $98,583. Multiple fractures to the same foot increase the median to $144,000. In foot injury cases where both feet are fractured, the median rises to $296,940. In another Jury Verdict Research study back in October, it found that 39% of the foot injuries cases that go to verdict were suffered in auto, truck or motorcycle accidents. In fact, a full 11% of these injuries were in motorcycle accident cases. This is incredibly high given the number of driver miles on a motorcycle versus the number logged in cars and trucks. Then again, your risk of dying in a motor vehicle accident 28 times more likely if you are riding a sports bike than if you are enjoying the comforts of a car or truck. (The lesson, as always: don’t ride a motorcycle.)
Foot and ankle injury cases command quality verdicts because foot injuries are difficult to diagnose and even harder to treat. The foot is composed of 26 “major” bones that are important to mobility and hard to repair. When you add the fact that there are 56 ligaments and 38 muscles in each foot and there are four distinct ranges of motion in the foot, there is a lot that can and does go wrong for people who suffer a foot injury from trauma.
Our traumatic foot injury lawyers handle accident and medical malpractice cases not only in Maryland but throughout the United States, achieving victories by settlement and at trial. If you have suffered a serious foot injury as the result of negligence of someone else, call 800-553-8082 or click here for a free consultation. Our lawyers handle only serious foot accident/malpractice injuries.
According to a St. Louis Dispatch article yesterday, an Illinois State Trooper, whose vehicle crossed a median last month killing two teenagers, had a history of causing serious auto accidents. In 2003, a personal injury victim received $1.7 million in damages after the officer rear-ended his vehicle. Mitchell was also involved in a single-car accident in 2002.
In spite of my liberal leanings, I'm about as pro-police as they come. My sister is a police captain and I have three small children so I'm all about safety on the roads and in our homes. But every time a police officer passes me at 80 mph and then I see that same officer sitting in the median strip a few minutes later obviously in no hurry, I wonder about who is policing the police on driving safely in non-emergency situations.
I believe this problem will eventually be resolved by technology with the monitoring of police car speeds and requiring an explanation or a report for extreme speeds. Reports of accidents like this will expedite the pace of reform.
