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The average verdict in chest and breast injury cases is $279,188, according to a Jury Verdict Research study over the last 10 years. Almost half of these cases were medical malpractice cases (41%) but the bulk of the remaining cases involve auto, truck, and motorcycle accidents. Approximately 43% of the accident cases involve either a turning vehicle or an intersection collision.

The following are examples of recent chest and breast injury cases. Each of these cases can give you an idea of how much a potential case may settle for:

  • 2020, Michigan: $490,000 Settlement. A 78-year-old former sailor suffered multiple rib fractures, and a collapsed lung after a sailboat collided with his sailboat during a regatta. He underwent emergency surgery to his collapsed lung. Doctors also surgically shortened his ribs and implanted a plate to stabilize the fractures. The case settled for $490,000.
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Paralysis is one of the worst injures our Maryland car accident attorneys handle.  A recent Jury Verdict Research report confirms what you would to find about personal injury verdicts for paralysis: younger plaintiffs receive higher verdicts and settlements. Plaintiffs 17-years-old and under receive a median verdict in personal injury cases of $15,500,000.

Plaintiffs 50 years-old and older receive $3,358,428. The average paralysis verdict is $13,854,992; the median paralysis verdict is $6,935,774. Approximately 65% of paralysis patients come from motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, or product liability cases. Paralysis-Verdicts

Are these big numbers?  They are.  But, really, it is never “fair” compensation in these cases.  No paralyzed client ever puts money in their pocket from a settlement or verdict and feels like justice has been done.  Because there is no amount of money that can make things right.  You just hope to get enough compensation to make your life and the lives of the people you love a bit easier.  

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More states are joining Maryland are creating laws against using handheld devices in cars. In turn, automakers are rapidly developing new hands-free technology to assist drivers with texts, calls, and navigation by using voice commands or touch screens.

Is this a good thing?  Certainly, these interactive programs in vehicles are supposed to make it easier for drivers to multitask without losing their focus on the road. However, a new study has come out that suggests these new “infotainment” systems may increase the risk of car accidents in older drivers by limiting their response time and causing distractions while driving.

The New Report

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The Maryland high court granted certiorari in an unreported Court of Special Appeals opinion that has great ramifications for Maryland accident lawyers and their clients.

Facts of Dackman v. Robinson

This is a lead paint case.  The plaintiff alleged a brain injury as a result of lead paint exposure at the defendant’s property.  At the close of discovery, Dackman filed a motion for summary judgment claiming there was no dispute of material fact because the plaintiff did not adequately meet his burden of establishing that his elevated blood lead levels were from exposure at the defendant’s property.

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In Gables Construction, Inc. v. Red Coats, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals earlier this month addressed the issue of whether a party can be liable for contribution as a joint tortfeasor even if that party was able to avoid direct liability because of it passed along its responsibility in a contractual waiver of subrogation.

In other words, can you sneak out of responsibility as a joint tortfeasor if someone else has accepted your responsibility for the loss?   This is the first time a Maryland court has ever addressed this issue.

Facts of Gable Construction

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All litigation attorneys in Maryland are probably very familiar with the Maryland Pattern Jury Instructions (“MPJI”). The MPJI published by the Maryland State Bar Association through the efforts of a special MSBA committee comprised of practitioners.

Both the Criminal and Civil MPJI are widely used by judges across the state to give written instructions to juries. The Court of Appeals has repeatedly clarified that the Pattern Jury Instructions have “no official status” and trial courts are not obligated to use or adopted them. Armacost v. Davis (Md.2019) However, the reality is that the MPJI are universally relied on by judges and attorneys alike when instructing juries.

The Maryland Pattern Jury Instructions are intended to provide short, understandable, and accurate statements of certain points of law in Maryland. The original version of the Pattern Jury Instructions was first published back in the 1980s. Since then the MPJI has been periodically revised and republished to reflect significant changes and developments in Maryland law. The most recent revision of the MPJI is the 5th Edition which the MSBA published in the fall of 2017. Among the many changes and revisions in the 5th Edition of the MPJI is a new definition of proximate causation at § 19:10.

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maryland pedestrian deaths

Pedestrian Deaths Rose in 2018

Pedestrian deaths in Maryland jumped 25 percent in 2018 to a 28-year high.  We had 48 pedestrian deaths in 2017 and that jumped to 60 in 2018.

We are not the only ones.  The national average is also at a 28-year high, according to a Governors Highway Safety Association report published Thursday.

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Our law firm handles a lot of brain injury cases, both from childbirth and from traumatic collisions like a car or truck accident.  Below are questions we are frequently asked about these claims.

Traumatic brain injury overview

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by force impact or force to the head disrupting normal brain activity and causing neurologic damage. TBIs account for about 30% of injury deaths in the United States. According to the CDC, about 153 people die from TBI-related injuries every day in the United States.

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leaving snow carIt is not explicitly illegal, but it is recommended by all jurisdictions that you should clear snow off your car. The driver’s manuals in Maryland and Virginia both include snow removal.

Is there a Maryland law that says that you should not be able to have snow on your car so it does not come flying off and blind me?   Sort of.  Transportation Code §21-1104 states that a person may not drive a vehicle if obstructs the driver’s view of the front or sides of the vehicle. They may not drive a vehicle if it interferes with the control of the driver’s. However, the law would likely have a broad application in cases involving snow on top of cars. But no one will pull you over for having too much snow on your case.

About a decade ago, the D.C. city council approved legislation that required drivers to remove snow and ice from their vehicles. However, the law never became permanent.

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Police in Layton, Utah are investigating a crash they believe was connected to the “Bird Box Challenge.”  If you have been sleeping under a rock, this challenge comprises of covering one’s eyes while performing tasks just like Sandra Bullock’s character must in Netflix’s hit movie “Birdbox”.

The crash happened on the evening of January 7, 2019. The driver, a 17-year-old girl, was driving a pickup truck with a 16-year-old passenger. She pulled her beanie over her eyes while driving. The girl then lost control of her car and skidded along the road into oncoming traffic. Her car ended up hitting another car and a light pole.

At first, she told police that her conversation with her friend had distracted her from the road. Nonetheless, police could connect the crash to the Bird Box challenge after conducting a few follow-up interviews. The driver of the other vehicle, a 56-year-old man, was one of the other people interviewed by the police.

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