Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code Ann. §10-1101 to §10-1105 (2011) outline the new requirements for a Maryland accident lawyer or individual injured in an accident to obtain information about the maximum amount an insurance company may be required to pay to satisfy all or part of a claim.

After written documentation is provided about the circumstances surrounding a Maryland accident and the injuries sustained, an insurance company must fully disclose the extent of the insurance policy limits within 30 days so long as the claim involves a death or injuries that resulted in at least $12,500 in bills or lost wages.

According to the requirements of the statute, the lawyer or claimant must provide written documentation including the date of the accident, the name and last known address of the driver or tortfeasore, a copy of any accident report, the insurance company’s claim number, lost wage documentation, medical bills and copies of medical records for injuries caused by the accident. If the accident resulted in death, a copy of the death certificate, letters of administration for the estate and the name and relationship of each beneficiary of the deceased must also be provided.

Previously, a lawyer or claimant was only able to Maryland accident insurance policy limits information once a lawsuit was filed. However, obtaining this information prior to a complaint being filed may provide valuable information to assist individuals injured from an automobile accident in Maryland when deciding how to proceed with their claim and whether to accept a settlement offer.

The study, conducted by the Governors’ Highway Safety Association (GHSA), found that 15 to 30% of all crashes included reports that the driver was distracted. While true numbers are hard to ascertain, the study determined that cell phone use and typing text messages are likely large contributors to those numbers.

Distracted driving occurs when a driver voluntarily takes his or her attention off of the road. It could involve looking down to read a text message, trying to put on make-up using a rear-view mirror, trying to fit a cup of coffee in a cup holder or even a cognitive distraction, like thinking about a big project at work.

Most of those distractions are hard to measure, but the study was able to come up with some data on electronic device use that is troubling. According to the researchers, drivers are distracted from one-quarter to one-half the time they are on the road. One out of every three drivers regularly uses a cell phone while driving and one-eighth of all drivers admit to having been texting while driving.

Maryland is one of 34 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have texting bans in place, and researchers are encouraging more states to follow suit. However, the bans are difficult to enforce and there is no conclusive evidence yet that the bans reduce the number of crashes.

Maryland had a seatbelt compliance rate of 89.6% in 2008, according to the latest report on seatbelt use by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That is nearly 5% higher than the national average of 85%.

According to the CDC, a large part of that may be attributable to the Maryland’s primary seatbelt enforcement laws, which allow police to pull over vehicles for carrying unbelted occupants.

The study found that overall, states with primary seatbelt laws performed better, with more people buckling up, as compared to states with secondary seatbelt laws.

Police are prohibited from stopping a vehicle for a secondary violation, but can issue a citation if they notice a secondary violation in a vehicle that was pulled over for another reason.

The top ten states for seatbelt compliance all had primary seatbelt laws. Oregon had the best rate of compliance with 93.7% of its population wearing seatbelts. This was followed closely by California, which had a 93.2% compliance rate. Maryland came in 9th. The state with the worst seatbelt compliance was North Dakota, where only 59.2% of the population regularly wears a seatbelt.

The CDC noted that it is now the social norm in the U.S. for vehicle occupants to wear their seatbelts. By comparison, in 1982 only 11% of the populace buckled up.

The increased use of seat belts have likely contributed in continuing declines Maryland auto accident injuries, as the CDC has determined that seatbelt use reduces the likelihood of a serious injury in a car accident by about 50%.

There is still room for improvement. The U.S. lags behind a number of European countries in seatbelt use. In France, 98% of occupants buckle up. Sweden, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands and the U.K. all report nationwide compliance above 90%. All of those countries have primary seatbelt laws.

The legislation, House Bill 825, increases the minimum required insurance for cars in Maryland from $20,000 to $30,000 for any single person and from $40,000 to $60,000 for the combined total for any one accident.

Motorists can (and should) purchase higher insurance for Maryland cars to protect themselves and ensure that they have more coverage in the event they are involved in an accident with a vehicle that only has minimal limits. However, many vehicles only carry the minimum required coverage, leaving many Maryland personal injury victims without adequate insurance coverage for their injuries.

Automobile insurance coverage not only protects motorists in the event that they cause an accident that results in a personal injury or wrongful death to another person, but it also provides coverage for their own injuries in the event that they are involved in an accident caused by an uninsured motorist of underinsured motorist.

While it is the opinion of our Maryland accident lawyers that the minimum insurance coverage in Maryland should be even higher, raising the floor from $20,000/$40,000 to $30,000/$60,000 would be a step in the right direction. The minimum insurance for Maryland automobiles has not been increased since 1972, while the cost of medical care associated with auto accident injuries has dramatically increased over the past three decades.

The House is scheduled for a final vote on this legislation tomorrow morning, so take this opportunity to email or call your elected official to show your support for this legislation.

The Baltimore County Council passed the new ordinance in mid-December, in the wake of a number of carbon monoxide (CO) incidents in the county in recent months, according to an article in The Baltimore Sun. In addition to rental units heated by fuel-burning equipment, such as propane, all landlords with units attached to enclosed garages must also ensure that they have carbon monoxide alarms installed.

In December alone, four people in a Fullerton apartment complex were hospitalized due to carbon monoxide poisoning, and county firefighters found lethal amounts of carbon monoxide gas in a rental home in Middle River. In addition, a string of high-profile carbon monoxide problems have plagued the Cove Village townhouse community since 2005, when three people died from CO poisoning. As recently as July, five people were hospitalized at the community, despite efforts to eradicate the CO problems.

All Maryland carbon monoxide laws require all public housing units built since 2008 to have carbon monoxide alarms installed. However, the new rule in Baltimore County expands on those requirements and requires the alarms in older units, where they were not previously required.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas, which makes it particularly dangerous, because people are unable to detect a potential leak without a CO alarm. Exposure to the gas could cause carbon monoxide poisoning, which can result in nausea and lightheadedness. It can also result in severe long-term problems, depriving the brain of oxygen and potentially resulting in brain damage or death.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there has been a nationwide increase in CO poisoning deaths since 1999. The years 2004 through 2006 saw an average of 181 carbon monoxide poisoning deaths per year associated with consumer products, up from 123 deaths per year in the years 1999 through 2001. Heating equipment and portable generators were found to be the largest contributors to CO deaths.

The CPSC released the following recommendations in a public service announcement in late December:

• Schedule a yearly professional inspection of fuel-burning systems in your home, including furnaces, boilers, fireplaces, chimneys, flues, vents, wood stoves and fire places.
• Install carbon monoxide alarms in your home. Make sure the batteries work, and replace the batteries every year at either the spring or autumn Daylight Savings Time changes.
• Use the test button at least once a month on your CO alarm to make sure it is working.
• Keep portable generators as far away from the home as possible, and make sure they are away from open doors and windows or vents.
• Only use space heaters that have been tested to the latest safety standards and certified by a nationally-recognized testing laboratory.
• Only use propane space heaters indoors if the heater is specifically designed for indoor use.
• Do not use gas or electric stoves to heat your home.

MARYLAND CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING LAWYERS

The attorneys at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. investigate potential carbon monoxide poisoning lawsuits in Baltimore County and throughout Maryland. If a carbon monoxide leak was caused by the negligence of another person, such as a landlord, property owner, builder, appliance manufacturer, repair company or other entity responsible for maintenance, compensation may be available Request a free consultation with our Maryland carbon monoxide lawyers to review a case.

Teams of staff members at 45 of the state’s 47 hospitals will covertly monitor the hand washing practices of Maryland hospital staff in an effort to improve hand washing habits at hospitals statewide. The program, called the Maryland Hospital Hand Hygiene Collaborative, was made possible through $100,000 in federal stimulus money that was part of a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aimed at lowering the rate of Maryland hospital infections.

Hand washing has been repeatedly identified as an excellent tool in reducing the rate of hospital infections, which would result in a reduction in the number of Maryland hospital infection lawsuits. The CDC reports that there are more than 2 million U.S. hospital infections acquired each year, leading to more than 90,000 deaths annually.

State officials say the program is not designed to penalize hospital staff spotted not undertaking the best hand washing practices. Instead, the program will gather data on hygiene practices at facilities across the state to help determine where hospital staff needs the most improvement in hand washing hygiene practices. Officials also hope that the program will raise awareness for hospital hand washing hygiene.

A number of health care organizations representing doctors and patients have gotten behind the initiative. Supporters say that the program costs very little to implement, but is likely to provide excellent results in combating hospital infections.

A new Maryland traffic law will go into effect tomorrow, banning text messaging while driving in an effort to reduce the number of Maryland accidents caused by distracted drivers.

The new law will make it illegal to type or send text messages while operating a motor vehicle. Being caught texting while driving in Maryland will be a misdemeanor, subject to a fine of up to $500. It will also be a primary driving offense, meaning that police will be able to pull people over and fine them if they suspect them of sending text messages.

Going into effect October 1, 2009, the new Maryland law allows sending messages to contact 911, and does not ban talking on the phone while driving. Playing games and using applications are not banned by the law either, and the law does not explicitly address e-mail, using twitter or updating Facebook, but their legality is up for interpretation and engaging in such activities likely carries the same distractions as text messaging.

The law is seen as a victory for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, which seeks to have texting-while-driving bans in all 50 states by 2013. The law goes into effect just before AAA’s “Heads Up Driving Week.” from October 5 through October 11, which is designed to bring attention to driving behavior and encouraging distraction-free driving.

A recent study by Virginia Tech has found that truck accidents are 23 times more likely when a commercial driver is sending text messages while driving. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute looked at a number of different potential distractions for drivers of cars and trucks by adding cameras and instruments to the vehicles of drivers. Above any other distraction, text messaging truck drivers were putting themselves and others at the most risk.

The results were compiled from several driving studies conducted by the institute, and the collected data equaled about six million miles of driving. Heavy vehicle and truck drivers were 23.2 times more likely than a non-distracted driver to have a truck accident if they were texting, 6.7 times as likely to crash while reaching for, or using, an electronic device, and 5.9 times as likely to have an accident while dialing on a cell phone.

Drivers of light vehicles and cars were at much less risk of having a car accident, but still faced a 2.8 times greater risk of crashing while dialing a cell phone than a non-distracted driver and were 1.4 times more likely to crash while reaching for an object and 1.3 times as likely to have an auto accident while talking on the cell phone.

Researchers from the institute said that it was the tasks that drew the drivers’ eyes away from the road ahead of them that were the activities with the highest risk. Sending a text message took a driver’s eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds over a 6-second interval, which equates to driving the length of a football field at 55 mph without looking at the road. The study found that just talking on a cell phone, which does not distract a driver’s eyes from the road, made little difference in the likelihood of an accident.

This week, the Maryland House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider new legislation which would make it easier for individuals who were injured by elevated lead levels to obtain compensation through a Baltimore city lead paint lawsuit.

The Baltimore City Lead Poisoning Recovery Act, House Bill 1156, is designed to enable property owners and victims of lead poisoning in Maryland to file a lead paint lawsuit against the various manufacturers who used the additive in paint they sold under a “market-share liability” theory. This would allow Baltimore City lead poisoning victims to file a lawsuit, even in situations where it is impossible to identify the specific manufacturer who caused their injury.

According to an article in the Maryland Daily Record from March 6, 2009:

[Baltimore City Del. Samuel I. "Sandy"] Rosenberg’s proposal would require poisoned individuals or landlords suing to recover remediation costs and lost rent to show that the lead-pigment manufacturers listed as defendants made, produced marketed or sold their product in the relevant Baltimore area before the poisoning occurred. If a judge or jury finds for the plaintiff, damages would be apportioned among the lead-pigment manufacturers based on their share of the relevant market.

Supporters of Rosenberg’s measure say it would make it easier to recover damages because the plaintiffs could recover against manufacturers to the extent they contributed to the general risk of lead poisoning. Many plaintiff attorneys say it is nearly impossible in Maryland to recover damages in these cases because of the immense difficulty in proving that a specific paint caused the poisoning.

A similar bill was defeated last year by corporate lobbying groups, but that legislation would have allowed lead paint victims throughout the state to file lawsuits without identifying the specific manufacturer of the paint used in the property. The current legislation would only apply to Baltimore City, which has the largest number of reports of lead poisoning in Maryland, accounting for roughly 70% of the elevated lead level blood tests were found for the entire state in 2007.

In recent years, the overall number of Maryland lead poisoning cases are down, but problems associated with lead paint continue to cause substantial health issues in Baltimore City. If young children or infants inhaled lead paint dust or ingested paint chips that flaked off of the walls, it could lead to long term health issues throughout their life, including:

• Brain Injury
• Damage to the Nervous System
• Seizures or Convulsions
• Decreased Growth Rate
• Mental Retardation
• Coma
• Death

BALTIMORE LEAD PAINT LAWYERS

If your child, a friend or family member have been diagnosed with elevated lead levels or lead poisoning in Maryland, request a free consultation and claim evaluation with our Baltimore Lead Poisoning Lawyers.

According to the Balitmore Sun, St. Joseph Hospital patients and employees have been told not to take showers or tub baths, drink tap water or out of fountains and to use waterless soup or sanitizers to wash their hands instead of water. Employees are also using saline or sterile water to flush tubes and rinse equipment.

In January 2009, Maryland General Hospital in Baltimore discovered low levels of Legionella bacteria in a shower area during routine testing of the hospital’s water supply, which was the second time in the last two years that the bacteria has been found at the Maryland hospital.

A similar issue occurred earlier this year at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, where four patients developed Legionnaires’ disease since January 1, 2009. Last week, the hospital reopened the affected areas after installing a new system that injects chlorine gas into water at the point of entry into the hospital, thus killing bacteria and other contaminants. In addition, about 1,300 filters are being used throughout the hospital on shower heads and water faucets to screen out Legionella bacteria.

Legionnaire’s disease is contracted when infected water gets into the air and is inhaled by an individual. It is a potentially deadly form of pneumonia and the bacteria causing it thrive in warm, moist environments.
 
The greatest risk of the bacteria is to people with compromised immune systems. The common symptoms are chills, fever, and a dry cough. Muscle aches, headache, loss of appetite, and occasionally vomiting and diarrhea, may also occur. It is often difficult to distinguish other types of pneumonia from Legionnaires’ disease.

If you, a friend or family member have developed Legionnaire’s disease after receiving treatment at St. Joseph’s Hospital or Maryland General Hospital, request a free consultation with our Maryland injury lawyers.