Silver Spring Maryland Personal Injury Law Blog

Pedestrian safety requires the buy-in of both drivers and pedestrians. If one group isn’t respecting Virginia’s pedestrian laws, then someone is in danger. Most likely the threatened group is the pedestrian because they don’t have tons of protective steel surrounding them.

A troubling trend has emerged over the last few years. From 2015 to 2018, pedestrian fatalities have risen from approximately 75 per year up to 150. The Virginia Department of Transportation says increasing crosswalk and signage visibility are two things the government seeks to improve in effort of bucking this trend. The possibility of improved traffic controls to give drivers more notice of potential pedestrians.

Traffic congestion is a never ending problem on Maryland roads. With the constant congestion exists the constant threat of motor vehicle accidents. Accidents involving school buses can be particularly traumatic, and a recent accident in Prince George's County serves to remind people to be on the lookout for school buses, to obey the flashing lights and exercise extra caution.

The accident happened about 6 a.m. when high school students are being picked up for the bus trip to school. The accident involved a school bus, a car and a tractor-trailer. The bus and the car were traveling east and the truck was coming from the south. The car became sandwiched between the bus and the truck.

No one will dispute that Maryland has severe traffic issues. Sadly, when there is heavy traffic there is the potential for serious motor vehicle accidents. A recent crash involving 12 vehicles took the life of a prominent area businessman, the president of Kline ShopRite, and a 7-year-old boy.

The crash occurred when a ShopRite tractor-trailer failed to stop at an intersection and crashed into several cars. The two people who died were traveling in separate vehicles. The truck caught fire after the collision. Two cars that had become pinned beneath the truck also caught fire. One of the fatalities occurred in one of those two vehicles.

Being injured in an accident can have serious repercussions on one's life. An injury can mean missing time away from school or work that can lead to a loss of income or to one's education suffering due to time away from studies. People may be reluctant to file a personal injury claim in Maryland for fear that it will take too much time to settle and take still more time away from other obligations.

A personal injury claim may be settled fairly quickly and is frequently handled out of court. Approximately 95 percent of personal injury cases do not go to trial. People may be reluctant to file a claim if they know the person responsible for the injury. There may be concern that the person held responsible for the injury would be paying a settlement directly. In most cases, most accidents are covered by insurance, and the insurance company would typically cover the claim.