Request for Jury Trial in Maryland Lawsuits May Be Raised to $15,000

Maryland voters will get the chance to decide in November whether to raise the minimum amount that must be at stake in a lawsuit for the parties to request a jury trial.

This week, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation that places a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would raise the minimum amount in a civil lawsuit from $10,000 to $15,000 in order to qualify for a Maryland jury trial. If passed, this would prevent insurance companies from requesting a jury trial in many Maryland auto accident lawsuits, which they often do to delay resolution of the claim and increase litigation costs for plaintiffs by dragging out the process.

Increasing the minimum amount necessary for a jury trial to $15,000 will allow many personal injury cases involving smaller claims to be resolved before a judge in the District Court, where cases are set for trial much quicker and involve less pre-trial discovery. Being able to have a trial before a Maryland District Court judge also allows a case to be heard within a few hours, instead of dragging the same case out for several days before a jury.

Allowing Maryland auto accident victims with smaller cases to keep their lawsuits in the District Court will also allow them to force insurance companies to pay fair compensation, instead of feeling like they have no choice but to accept a bad settlement offer because they do not want to end up in a long legal battle before a jury.

The amendment will require a 2/3 majority of voters before it can be approved, and the Maryland personal injury lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. encourage individuals to support this measure.

Maryland Auto Accident Deaths Declined Last Year

Reflecting what appears to be a national trend, the Maryland Highway Administration is reporting that the preliminary number of fatal Maryland auto accidents dropped last year to the lowest number in several years.

About 550 people died on Maryland roads in 2009, according to state officials. That is down from 591 in 2008, and in 2007 there were 614 Maryland automobile accident deaths. The numbers have been trending downward, even as the number of Maryland drivers has increased.

Throughout the United States there has been a drop in fatal auto accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is reporting that 33,963 traffic fatalities were reported across the U.S. in 2009, down 3,298 from 2008; a 9 percent drop.

Some experts attribute the decline in traffic accident deaths, the lowest in 55 years, to the economic recession. As Americans have less money to spend, they drive fewer miles, putting themselves collectively at less risk of getting into a traffic accident. Before 2008, when most believe the economy bottomed out, the number of traffic deaths regularly surpassed 40,000.

However, there may be a number of other factors involved, from laws to technology.

Maryland Cell Phone Ban Passes: Will Reduce Risk of an Auto Accident Injury in Maryland

Governor Martin O’Malley is expected to sign a Maryland cell phone ban passed last week by the state legislature, making it a crime to talk on hand held cell phones while driving. The legislation is another step forward in making our roads safer and reducing the number of automobile accidents in Maryland.

Once this new law is enacted, Maryland will join several other states that have put restrictions on the use of cell phones and other mobile communication devices while driving.

The law passed the House of Delegates 125-14 on Friday, and Governor O’Malley has already said he would sign the bill, according to a story in the Baltimore Sun.

The law makes it a secondary offense to use a hand-held cell phone while in control of a motor vehicle for any reason, including taking pictures or video, as well as making or receiving calls. A secondary offense means that police can pull a driver over only if they see them committing another offense, such as speeding.

Drivers would be fined $40 for a first offense, and $100 for any later offenses. Drivers are still able to use headsets, Bluetooth technology and other hands-free devices. It is also not illegal to use the devices when the car is not in motion, such as at a traffic light.

The new law follows an October 1 law passed in Maryland that made the state the 10th in the nation to outlaw sending a text message while operating a motor vehicle. Maryland is the seventh state to make it illegal to use hand units altogether. However, other states, including California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington, have made it a primary offense; meaning that drivers in those state can be pulled over and fined solely for talking on their cell phone.

Last year a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that drivers of light vehicles and cars were at 2.8 times greater risk of crashing while dialing a cell phone than a non-distracted driver, and 1.3 times more likely to have an auto accident while talking on the cell phone. Truck drivers were at much greater risk of an accident, with six times the likelihood of crashing while dialing a cell phone, and 6.7 times more likely to crash while using or reaching for an electronic device of any kind.

Maryland Pain and Suffering Damage Cap Reviewed by Court of Appeals

The Maryland Court of Appeals is currently considering a case that challenges the constitutionality of the Maryland pain and suffering damage cap. The cap places an artificial and often harsh limit on the amount of non-economic damages a court can award in medical malpractice lawsuits, auto accident lawsuits, truck accident lawsuits or other personal injury claims.

The case stems from the death of a five-year old, who drowned in July 2006 at the Crofton Country Club pool. After hearing all of the evidence presented at trial, including information about the negligence of the pool operators and the impact the death has had on the parents, the jury awarded the family $4 million in compensation. However, under the Maryland damage cap, that jury award was cut to about $1 million.

The Maryland pain and suffering damage cap currently limits a plaintiffs damages to $725,000. However, the cap increases by $15,000 on October 1st of each year, so it was $665,000 at the time of this child’s death in 2006.

For Maryland wrongful death lawsuits where there are two or more claimants (in this case both parents presented claims), the court can award damages equal to 150% of the cap. Therefore, the family’s non-economic damages, including damages other than medical expenses, funeral expenses or other quantifiable financial loss, was capped at $997,500.00.

Caps on damages are imposed for all Maryland personal injury lawsuits, creating an unfair situation that does not provide adequate compensation to those who have suffered the most. Capping damages also results in a situation where corporations are able to act without regard to consumer safety, knowing that their damages will be limited regardless of the catastrophic impact of their negligence.

Plaintiffs argued at a hearing last week that the damage cap is also unconstitutional by interfering with the decision of the jury.

Although it is unlikely the Court of Appeals will strike down the 24 year old law, and reverse prior rulings that have upheld the cap, several courts from other states have recently overturned or limited the use of such jury award caps. This year, the state supreme courts in both Illinois and Georgia have overturned medical malpractice caps in those states, agreeing that they violate individuals’ constitutional right to a trial by jury.

Our Maryland personal injury lawyers have seen first hand the unjust impact that the damage cap can have by limiting the recovery for individuals who have suffered devastating loss and who are often left with a life-time of severe pain and suffering. It is impossible for the legislature to determine the amount of compensation an individual is entitled to as a result of the negligence of another. That decision is best left to the individual jury and judge who sat through the trial and heard all of the evidence presented.

Identifying Risk of Car Accident Injuries for Older Drivers

A recent study provides some new information about the potential causes of auto accidents involving older drivers and the risk of a personal injury from a car accident for drivers over 65 years old.

In the March/April issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, researchers from the University of Florida looked at crash data from 5,345 older drivers collected by the 2005 Florida Traffic Crash Records Database. Failure to maintain a lane of travel, yielding and estimating when to cross over lanes of traffic were the most likely causes of auto accident injuries among elderly drivers. Researchers also found that female drivers were more likely to be injured in auto accidents than older male drivers (44% compared to 29%), but the likelihood of either gender being involved in an accident was about the same.

While car accidents caused by errors in judgment, such as staying in their lane, crossing lanes and estimating room between cars resulted in injuries 50% of the time, speed management, distractions and vehicle positioning errors also frequently caused elderly drivers to be hurt in crashes.

A press release from the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (AOTA), said that the study’s results point to a need for injury prevention strategies specifically targeted at older drivers. The AOTA statement indicates that occupational therapists could help identify elderly drivers with judgment problems who were more likely to be injured in car accidents, and said that age-related conditions and judgment errors should be more of a focus on accident prevention than simply the age of the drivers.

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