Maryland Accident Law Blog

In Maryland, a Montgomery County Circuit Court jury has ordered the practice of Silver Springs Dermatologist Dr. Norman Ansel Lokshin to pay the surviving family members of Richard Semsker $5.8 million for dermatology malpractice.

Semsker died of skin cancer in October 2007. The Rockville resident had sought treatment from Dr. Lockshin’s practice. According to his family’s Maryland wrongful death lawsuit, Dr. Lokshin first detected a mole on Semsker’s lower back during a 1998 checkup. Lokshin contacted Semsker’s primary care physician, Dr. Lawrence Marcus, and recommended that the mole be removed. The mole was not removed.

In 2004, Semsker went back to Dr. Lokshin’s practice and was seen by Dr. Michael Albert, who was working at the practice part-time. Dr. Albert recommended that an atypical mole and two cysts be removed from Semsker’s upper back. However, he recommended that the same mole that Lokshin first detected on Albert’s back six years ago only be monitored because he believed that it wasn’t cancerous. Albert had just started working at the dermatology practice and he didn’t know that the mole had grown twice in size.

Semsker’s mole was not removed until August 2006, after his wife noted that it was now a different color. He soon found out that he had cancer and that the disease was now in lymph nodes in his lower abdomen and groin. It would later each his brain. After undergoing surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, the 47-year-old died of cancer in October 2007.

The Semsker family accused Albert of medical negligence for failing to recommend the mole’s removal. During the wrongful death trial, an expert witness for the family testified that Semsker’s recovery chances would have been 95% if the mole had been removed in 2004 instead of 2006.

While the Maryland jury did not find Lokshin personally liable for the delayed diagnosis, his dermatology practice is being held responsible for the medical malpractice award. The Semsker’s family was awarded $3 million in non-economic damages and $2.8 million for loss of financial support. The non-economic damages will be lowered to $812,5000, per the state’s medical malpractice cap on non-economic damages involving at least two plaintiffs.

Doctor liable for lawyer’s fatal cancer, The Daily Record, November 17, 2008

Family wins malpractice suit against Silver Spring dermatologist, Gazette.net, November 19, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Derm Malpractice Payout Doubled From 2005 to 2007: Average settlement rose by 53% to $290,627, Skin and Allergy News, October 2008

In Baltimore County Circuit Court, Judge Susan Souder awarded Sandra Lee Meade $250,000 for personal injuries she sustained in a pedestrian accident in an Arbutus traffic construction zone more than 5 years ago. The amount is part of a high-low agreement made between Meade and general contractor Dick Corp, with a “low” of $250,000 and a “high” of $2 million.

Meade sustained traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries after she was hit by a car while crossing Westland Boulevard, which was undergoing construction, on December 3, 2003. She now lives in a Maryland nursing home.

While police placed the fault for the pedestrian accident with Meade for crossing the street illegally—she tried crossing the street diagonally to catch the bus to work—Meade’s Maryland car accident lawyer accused Dick Corp. of failing to put in place a maintenance of traffic plan. He noted the "willy-nilly" placement of barricades and lines that were incorrectly painted on the road.

The car driver, who says he did not see her until she was on his vehicle, was not charged in the accident. He is not named as a defendant in Meade’s Maryland personal injury lawsuit, which her sons filed against Dick Corp. The lawsuit sought $8 million in damages on her behalf. Following the Maryland personal injury trial, a Baltimore County jury found general contractor Dick Corp. negligent but not responsible for Meade’s Maryland pedestrian accident.

High-Low Agreements
In a high-low agreement, the defendant and plaintiff are in accord that a case’s verdict will be no more than a set maximum and no less than a set minimum. If the jury verdict reached is greater than the “high” set by the agreement, the plaintiff receives no more than the maximum amount agreed upon with the defendant. If the verdict is below the “low” set by the agreement, then the plaintiff receives no less than the agreed upon minimum.

Woman struck in work zone to get $250K, The Daily Record, November 16, 2008

Related Web Resource:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

A Maryland car crash that led to the deaths of Katherine Brady and her son Wilson in Harford County last Friday could have been prevented if police had arrested the driver accused of causing the accident for fleeing the scene of another motor vehicle collision less than two hours prior, reports the Baltimore Sun.

While police maintain that they acted appropriately when they issued Christopher Lentz a summons after he failed to stop at the scene of the first auto crash he was involved in that day (leaving a traffic crash scene is not a mandatory arrestable offense in Maryland), others are questioning why he wasn't arrested.

The first auto accident took place on Route 152 in Joppa at around 3:30pm when Lentz allegedly drove across the center line and struck a minivan. Seven children who were in the minivan at the time of the traffic crash were transported to a hospital for evaluation.

The 37-year-old Glen Arm motorist then reportedly kept driving for half a mile until his vehicle became disabled. Police charged him with failure to stop at an accident scene, failure to drive right of center, failure to provide the other motorist with insurance information, and failure to control the speed of his car to avoid a crash.

Some 90 minutes later, Lentz, who was driving another motor vehicle, crashed a 2004 Jeep Cherokee SUV head-on into a mini-van on the Bel Air Bypass. Katherine Brady and Wilson, 8, died in the accident. Her husband Stephen, 2-year-old son Ian, another motorist, and Lentz were taken to hospitals for treatment of their injuries.

Lentz has a record of previous driving offenses. He has been issued a number of speeding tickets and his license has been revoked once and suspended at least twice. Thirteen years ago, he was convicted for driving under the influence.

Police say that they will likely charge Lentz for his involvement in the second crash.

Driver could have been arrested before fatal crash, Baltimore Sun, November 13, 2008

Maryland Mother and Her Son Are Killed and Four Others Are Injured in Multi-Vehicle Crash on Bel Air Bypass in Harford County, Lebowitz & Mzhen, November 9, 2008

Related Web Resources

Wrongful Death, Justia

Continue reading "Deadly Maryland Car Crash Could Have Been Prevented if Police Had Arrested the Driver for Leaving Another Accident Scene Less than Two Hours Prior" »

A deadly multi-vehicle accident in Maryland on the Bel Air Bypass in Harford County on Friday afternoon has left two people dead and four others injured. Maryland State Police have identified the deceased as Perry Hall resident Katherine S. Brady and her 8-year-old son Wilson.

Katherine and Wilson were riding in a minivan with her husband Stephen and their other son, 2-year-old Ian, when their vehicle was hit head-on by a Jeep. While Katherine and Wilson were pronounced dead at the crash site on US 1, north of the Vale Road overpass, Stephen, who had been driving the Saturn Relay minivan, was transported by medevac to Maryland Shock Trauma Center where he was admitted in critical condition. Ian was flown to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, where he was treated and later released.

Police say that the driver of the Jeep Cherokee, Glen Arm resident Christopher Lentz, was driving on the should of the road when he lost control of the vehicle, crossed over the median, and crashed into the minivan before also striking a 2004 Ford van.

Lentz was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma for treatment of his injuries. The driver of the Ford was admitted to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center where, on Friday, he was listed in good condition.

Maryland State Police say they plan to press charges against Lentz for his involvement in causing the deadly auto crash on the bypass. Residents that live near the Bel-Air Bypass have called the road “risky.” Last year, one person died and another sustained injuries in another head-on crash on the bypass.

Charges likely in fatal crash, Baltimore Sun, November 9, 2008

2 die, 4 hurt in rush-hour crash on Bel Air Bypass, Baltimore Sun, November 7, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Motor Vehicle Related-Injuries, CDC

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Continue reading " Maryland Mother and Her Son Are Killed and Four Others Are Injured in Multi-Vehicle Crash on Bel-Air Bypass in Harford County" »

This week, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a drug litigation lawsuit pitting a musician, whose arm was amputated after she was given an anti-nausea drug, and drug maker Wyeth. Diane Levine’s arm had to be removed after a physician’s assistant accidentally injected the anti-nausea drug Phenergan into her artery in April 2000. She was administered the drug at a clinic where she was treated for migraine headaches.

Levine sued the clinic, the supervising physician, and the physician’s assistant who injected the drug into her artery for medical malpractice and settled with all parties out of court. She sued Wyeth for its alleged failure to warn clinicians that they should use the safer IV drip, instead of the intravenous “push” method, to administer to Phenergan to her.

A civil jury awarded Levine $7.4 million million, and a judge reduced the amount to $6.7 million. The Vermont Supreme Court upheld the verdict.

Now, Wyeth wants the US Supreme Court to reverse the ruling. The drug maker says that it was in compliance with Food and Drug Administration standards and should therefore be protected from product liability lawsuits filed in state courts.

Wyeth, an independent record label owner, says her business was “crippled” by the loss of her arm. She also says that losing her arm destroyed her musical identity, her source of income, and her self-image.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Drug Labeling in Case of Woman Who Lost Forearm to Gangrene, Fox News, November 4, 2008

High Court Case Looms Large for Drugmakers, Washington Post, November 4, 2008

The Court Confronts a Grievous Injury, NY Times, November 7, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals

Phenergan, Drugs.com

Food and Drug Administration

In Maryland, an Anne Arundel County cop lost part of his ear on Thursday when he bitten by a neighbor’s dog. Officer Michael McDermott, who was off-duty, was rescuing the dog when the unfortunate incident happened.

McDermott had pulled the dog out from under a fallen tree when it slipped its snout from from a makeshift muzzle and bit off part of the police officer’s ear. The dog died soon after of its injuries. McDermott was treated for his injuries at Anne Arundel Medical Center.

According for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 4.7 million people are the victims of dog attacks each year, with nearly 800,000 of these bites serious enough to require medical care. 368,000 people a year will visit a hospital emergency room for treatment of injuries sustained in a dog attack or mauling.

Examples of serious dog bite injuries:

• Facial disfigurement
• Severed limbs
• Internal injuries
• Mental or emotional trauma
• Death

Depending on the victim’s injuries, reconstructive surgery and other painful procedures may be warranted. The victim may also have to undergo additional trauma, such as having to go out in public with a disfigured face or other severe scars that may not fully heal.

In Maryland, dog owners can be held liable for personal injury caused by their pets. However, the degree to which the owner knew or should have known that a dog could hurt someone is a factor in determining whether reasonable care was exercised to prevent the pet from causing injury.

Arundel officer loses part of ear to dog he pulled from under tree, Baltimore Sun, October 31, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Cat and Dog Bites, Family Doctor.org

Dog Bite Liability, Insurance Information Institute

Continue reading "Maryland Dog Bites off Part of Anne Arundel County Police Officer’s Ear" »

The family of Randy Rakes, a Finksburg man who died in 2006 in a Maryland motor vehicle crash involving a State Police trooper car on Md. 140, is calling on Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to remove trooper Dale Derr from the force. Their demand comes following a confrontation between Derr and Rakes’s half-brother, Joseph Blizzard, earlier this month.

According to the Rakes family's Maryland wrongful death lawyer, other troopers had detained Blizzard in Carroll County on October 12 when Derr arrived at the scene and verbally and physically assaulted him before throwing him to the ground, allegedly causing the suspect to break his thumb. Blizzard was arrested over allegations of check forgery.

Police say they are investigating the allegations against Derr. The Rakes family wants him suspended from the force pending the probe’s outcome.

The Rakes family is suing Derr and the Maryland State Police for $15.8 million for Randy’s wrongful death. On November 29, 2006, Rakes and a friend were walking along Route 140 late in the evening when they decided to cross the road. According to the Maryland State Police crash report, Derr, who was driving over 50 mph above the speed limit at around 80mph, struck Rakes with his vehicle.

The report cited the cause of death as Rakes’s failure to yield the rate of way to the cruiser and Derr's speeding. No charges were filed against Derr for his involvement in the crash.

Based on his alleged behavior toward Blizzard, the Rakes family is worried that Derr is “volatile” and could cause further harm.

Police Brutality
Law enforcement officers are forbidden from abusing their authority and exercising excessive force on anyone, including criminal suspects. If you have been a victim of police brutality, your civil rights have been violated and you may be entitled to personal injury compensation.

Md. trooper's firing sought by kin of 2006 crash victim, BaltimoreSun.com, October 29, 2008

Family wants cop fired, Carroll County TImes, October 29, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Maryland State Police

Police Brutality and Accountability in the US, HRW.org

Maryland State Police are investigating a deadly motor vehicle crash in St. Mary’s County that left a newlywed couple dead. Phillip Brian Natalie died at the crash scene, while his wife, Jessica Laurel Natalie, was pronounced dead at St. Mary’s hospital following the crash. Jessica and Laurel, who were both 26, were married this summer.

The collision took place at the intersections of Crimson Drive and Willows Road. Police reports indicate that the Maryland motor vehicle collision happened after a Toyota Camry, driven by 25-year-old Lateesha Shonte Cooper, made a left turn and drove into the path of the motorcycle that the couple was riding. Cooper, who is also a Lexington Park resident, was treated at a hospital for her injuries and later released.

According to Lt. Michael Thompson, preliminary findings made it appear to him as if the motorcycle was trying to avoid Cooper's car. He noted the possibility that Cooper might have failed to yield the right of way.

Maryland State Police records show that there were 96 motorcycle deaths in Maryland in 2007. Police say that although only 2% of all registered motor vehicles in Maryland are motorcycles, these vehicles were involved in 16% of the state’s deadly traffic collisions. While Maryland motorcyclists are responsible for 50% of these auto accidents, the other 50% of traffic crashes are caused by other motorists.

2007 NHTSA US Motorcycle Crash Statistics:

• 5,154 motorcyclists died.
• 103,000 others were injured.
• 1,784 lives were saved because of helmet use.
• 2,332 two-vehicle crashes involved collisions between a motorcycle and another vehicle.
• 25% of all motorcycles involved in deadly accidents were in collisions with fixed objects.

Lex. Park Couple Killed in Motorcycle Crash, Southern Maryland Online, October 20, 2008
2 killed in crash with car, Southern Maryland Newspapers, October 15, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Motorcycle Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA

Continue reading "Lexington Park Couple Dies in Maryland Motorcycle Accident" »

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1,670 of the 41,059 traffic fatalities that occurred in the United States in 2007 were child victims, age 14 and younger. 22 of those fatalities occurred in Maryland. 3 of the child traffic deaths occurred in Washington DC.

The National Center for Health Statistics says that auto crashes are the number one cause of death for children ages 8 to 14 and 3 to 6. Last year, 385 child vehicle occupants, age 4 and under, died in motor vehicle crashes.

More 2007 NHTSA Traffic Accident Statistics About Children, Age 14 and Under:

• 245 of the 1,670 child motor vehicle deaths involved at least one drunk driver.
• 130 of the 245 children that died in drunk driving accidents were riding with a drunk driver.
• Children, age 14 and under, made up 306 of the 4,654 pedestrian deaths last year.
• Drunk drivers killed 29 of these child pedestrians.
• 14,000 child pedestrians sustained injuries in traffic accidents.
• Young pedestrians were most likely to sustain fatal injuries between 4 and 8pm and noon and 4pm.
• 80% of pedestrian deaths involving this age group took place at non-intersections.
• 91 child pedalcyclists died last year.
• 10,000 child pedalcyclists were injured in motor vehicle crashes.
• Each day last year, 5 children in this age group were killed in traffic accidents, with 548 others injured.

Children are prone to catastrophic injuries anytime they are involved in a serious auto collision. While there are steps that parents can take to protect their young children from the impact of colliding with a motor vehicle—whether as an auto occupant, a pedestrian, or a pedalcyclist—accidents caused by negligent drivers or because an auto manufacturer designed a defective car or motor vehicle part do happen.

Children, 2007 Data Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA

Related Web Resources:

Preventing Injuries to Children in Motor Vehicle Crashes, Safe Kids Worldwide

Kids and Cars.org

Continue reading "NHTSA Reports That 22 Children, Age 14 and Under, Died in Maryland Traffic Fatalities in 2007" »

The Baltimore Sun recently looked through crash records and other key documents related to 26 deadly medevac crashes that have occurred In the US since 2003. The newspaper’s findings indicate that many of the cases involved victims that were being transported by air even though they weren’t “minutes-from-death.”

The Baltimore Sun chose to review the medical helicopter crash findings after last month's medevac crash that killed four people in Prince George’s County, Maryland raised questions about whether medical helicopter travel was necessary to save two auto crash victim's lives. The Maryland chopper used to transport the two victims lacked the terrain-awareness system that could have allowed the pilot to detect that he was flying too close to trees. One of the teen victims died in the aviation crash.

While there are many instances where air travel saves the lives of victims who are very sick or seriously injured in accidents, not all of the 26 medevac helicopters that crashed appeared to have been carrying victims whose lives could only be saved if they were transported by air.

Findings include:

• In eight cases, patients actually waited longer for a helicopter than they would have waited if an ambulance drove them to a hospital.
• In six cases, patients were discharged soon after the chopper left them at hospitals or they were transported in long ambulance rides after the helicopter dropped them off.
• 13 of the 26 medevac crashes happened while patients were being flown to hospitals.
• Many of the patients had to wait for hours for a helicopter to arrive and while it was readied for take off.
• One patient was transported by air just 10 miles to a hospital.

Since last month’s accident, the state of Maryland has defended its approximately 4,500 medevac flights a year, saying that they are needed to save lives. It also has implemented a change that will limit the number of flights that are not medically necessary. While patients with serious injuries will be flown by helicopter when air travel will help save their lives by reducing travel time, doctors will have to be consulted before patients with less severe injuries can be transported by medical helicopter.

Meantime, doctors are calling for a review of medevac flights from a medical perspective and whether new guidelines need to be put in place to make sure that a person’s injuries or illness warrants the urgency of air travel.

Unnecessary flight risks?, BaltimoreSun.com, October 23, 2008

Doctors question use of medevac helicopter, UPI.com, October 23, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Copter lacked equipment, BaltimoreSun.com, October 24, 2008

Medevac helicopters under scrutiny, USA Today, September 29, 2008

Continue reading "Baltimore Sun's Review of 26 Deadly Medevac Crashes Indicate that Not All Victims Needed Air Transport" »

In Maryland, a man who previously sought medical treatment at Sinai Hospital for depression is suing the hospital and security guard Timothy Hough for $77 million. The former patient, Gerrod Lewis, says that Hough assaulted him in the hospital emergency room on Labor Day.

Sinai Hospital acknowledges that an unfortunate altercation happened but maintains that Hough was “defending himself” against Louis, who they accuse of being “violent and out-of-control.” Hough continues to work at the hospital.

According to Lewis’s Maryland personal injury lawsuit, Hough started beating him on the head after he refused to remove his earring. Lewis maintains that the assault occurred in an exam room after an emergency technician left him alone with Hough. Lewis, who sustained head and eye injuries from the incident that occurred on September 1, alleges that Hough struck him about 20 times until he was on the ground in “puddles of blood.”

Following an investigation by Baltimore police, Hough was charged with attempted first-degree assault, attempted second-degree murder, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment. Since then, however, Baltimore city prosecutors have dropped the attempted murder charge.

Hough has filed a second-degree assault charge against Lewis, accusing him of verbal abuse, spitting on his face, and approaching him in a threatening manner. Hough says his actions toward Lewis were acts of “self-defense.”

Premises Liability
If you were assaulted on another party’s premise and the property owner or manager should have or could have acted to prevent the incident, you may be entitled to personal injury compensation. Premises liability law holds property owners liable for injuries or deaths that could have (or should have) been prevented.

Video Could Be Crucial In Sinai Lawsuit, WBALTV.com, October 20, 2008

Patient sues for assault, BaltimoreSun.com, October 18, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Sinai Hospital, LifeBridge Health

Premises Liability, Justia

In Howard County Circuit Court, Judge Joseph Manck dismissed two out of five civil claims against former teacher Kirsten Kinley in the Maryland sexual abuse lawsuit against her. Kinley, a former teacher at Hammond Middle School, had asked that the entire lawsuit be dismissed.

Kinley pleaded guilty to a third-degree sex offense for having a sexual relationship with the plaintiff in 2004 when he was 15. She is serving her 18-month sentence in the Howard County Detention Center.

The student, now 18, who never studied directly under Kinley, sued the former teacher for sexual abuse in February. The plaintiff’s lawsuit alleges negligence, battery, and emotional distress.

The lawsuit also initially named Hammond Middle School Principal Kerry McGowan, the school board, and the state of Maryland as defendants, accusing each one of them for negligent hiring and supervison. A circuit court judge dismissed them as defendants in the case earlier this year.

The claims that Judge Manck dismissed against Kinley include a claim holding Kinley’s employer responsible for her actions and a claim for punitive damages. Kinley's attorney had sought to get the negligence, emotional distress, and battery claims dropped on the grounds that his client never meant to cause the teenager emotional trauma and the fact that the plaintiff and defendant did not have a pre-existing relationship.

Sexual Abuse in Schools
The Project on Sexual Harassment in Schools at Wellesley College's Center for Research on Women says that hundreds of sex-related complaints are filed against teachers annually. A 2004 U.S. Department of Education study found that almost 10% of students in US public schools had experienced unwanted sexual overtures by a school employee. Between 1991 and 2000, close to 290,000 students experienced some kind of physical sexual abuse by a public school employee.

Two civil claims dismissed against former teacher, The View Newspapers, September 23, 2008

Teacher-Student Sex: What Were They Thinking?, ABC News, March 10, 2007

Related Web Resources:

AP: Sexual Misconduct Plagues Schools, ABC News, October 21, 2007

What's behind today's epidemic of teacher-student sex?, WorldNetDaily, March 22, 2006