Maryland has banned the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Obviously, this includes texting, but it also applies to holding a cell phone up to your ear while you talk. I’m glad we have this law. It makes sense that you have both hands to drive and react to…
Pre-impact fright and conscious pain and suffering in Maryland death cases Many years ago, a jury awarded my partner Laura Zois’ client $4 million in a survival action claim. The sole evidence — the SOLE evidence — presented to the jury was that the decedent said “Oh s—!” before impact…
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals handed down an interesting opinion in Asphalt and Concrete Services v. Perry, reversing a half-million dollar verdict. This case is a cautionary tale for lawyers who want to get every possible thing they can, in order to make the defendant look bad. I understand…
I was looking today at some interesting statistics on the most frequent types of car and other motor vehicle accident injuries that go to trial. It breaks down like this: Back strains: 33% Disc injuries: 15% Spinal nerve injuries: 10% Head injuries: 10% Shoulder injuries: 4% Knee injuries: 3% Brain…
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals decided a chain reaction automobile tort case last week in Cooper v. Singleton that leaves me confused about the current state of Maryland law as to how we communicate our presumption of negligence rule to juries in rear-end collisions… and hoping the Maryland high court steps…
The answer in Maryland appears to be around $135 an hour for a senior lawyer. Here’s how I know. One of my colleagues here was in court yesterday and saw a motions hearing. This issue was unbelievably petty if I say so myself. Plaintiff’s lawyer failed to show for a…
My position has long been that speed and red light cameras at least probably save lives. Why? I’ve painstakingly dug through the research, analyzed the underlying data, and made a thoughtful and informed conclusion. Okay, that didn’t happen. What I read instead was a newspaper article on a study by…
We can all agree that texting while driving is a death wish. We don’t need an educational campaign. Everyone knows this now. The question is just whether you are stupid enough to risk your life and mine. The bigger question engendering more real debate is cell phone use in general.…
Today, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said we should lower the blood-alcohol limit from .08, the current standard, to .05. The NTSB argues that the U.S. is too lenient with drunk driving and wants the U.S. to adopt the same standard as other countries, such as those in Europe.…
The Maryland General Assembly passed a bill this week which would make talking on a handheld cellphone while driving a vehicle a primary offense. If the bill is signed by Governor O’Malley, as expected, a police officer could pull a driver over under this bill for talking on a handheld…