Posted on April 24, 2019 in Truck Accidents

Many people take medications and continue to perform successfully at their jobs in Maryland. However some medications carry warnings regarding such things as driving and operating heavy machinery. These warnings are frequently prompted by a propensity of the drug in question to cause drowsiness. In a horrific accident involving a trash truck and a multiple car pileup, a woman lost her life and the driver of the truck and his employer were named as defendants in a wrongful death suit.

The truck driver had been suffering from depression and was prescribed antidepressants including Abilify, Zoloft and Atarax. The medications all carry a warning regarding possible drowsiness and advise users to avoid operating heavy machinery. The prescriptions were ordered following the man’s hospitalization for symptoms of severe depression.

The morning of the accident, a string of cars was stopped at a red light. The garbage truck reportedly struck the line of stopped cars, causing a chain reaction crash. According to the police report, it did not appear that the driver of the truck either swerved or applied his brakes in an effort to avoid the collision. A total of five cars were involved in the accident, and the driver of one, a young woman, was killed as a result of her injuries. A wrongful death lawsuit followed, and the woman’s family was awarded $1.9 million in damages.

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 Posted on April 10, 2019 in Truck Accidents

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.

The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. Eight additional people, at least two of them teenagers, suffered what appeared to be non life-threatening injuries. The bus had been heading toward Charles H. Flowers High School. A hazardous materials team was reportedly dispatched to assist with the cleanup and the cause of the accident remains under investigation.

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 Posted on March 27, 2019 in Truck Accidents

In virtually every profession, peer recognition is evidence of a job well done, a reputation earned – with respect gained among those with the same or similar qualifications. For Whitlock Law, LLC, such recognition includes national recognition.

Personal injury attorney, Morgan Whitlock, was recently selected to join to The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40. Licensed to practice law in both Maryland and Virginia, Ms. Whitlock has been practicing law for more than 10 years. Her achievements both in and outside of the courtroom, led to her acceptance into the prestigious national organization.

What the Top 40 entails

The professional organization consisting of the top trial lawyers under 40 throughout each region or state receive invitations based on peer recommendations and research related to a lawyer’s demonstrated skills, recommendations and established reputation. Throughout the evaluation process prior to admittance, The National Trial Lawyers evaluates each nominee in areas which include:

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 Posted on March 12, 2019 in Truck Accidents

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.

The 7-year-old was in a car further behind the tractor-trailer that also became involved in the collision. The boy’s mother, who was driving the car, was taking him to his grandmother’s house so his grandmother could take him to school. The boy was transported to University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center where he later died as a result of his injuries. At least two other people were transported to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and the severity of their injuries is not known. No charges have yet been filed but the cause of the accident remains under investigation.

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 Posted on March 09, 2019 in Truck Accidents

You may be walking down an apartment hallway or pushing your cart through the grocery store. You might encounter a puddle, a patch of ice or a loose step. A lot of things can cause you to lose your balance, slip and fall.

While some accidents leave you with only bumps and bruises, other slip-and-fall accidents are more severe. You can suffer head injuries, fractures, muscle strains or spine and nerve damage. These injuries can leave you serious medical bills, which may include surgery and rehabilitation.

If you were injured on someone else’s property or at a business, you may have a case for premises liability. Here is what you need to know about filing a slip-and-fall lawsuit.

How long do you have to file suit?

Like most other states, Maryland has a statute of limitations on how long you must file a slip-and-fall lawsuit. You have three years after the date of the accident to file suit. After your injury occurs, you must file a complaint with the court within that three-year period. If you do not file suit within this time, the court will typically dismiss any claim filed after the statute of limitations has expired.

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 Posted on February 27, 2019 in Truck Accidents

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.

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 Posted on February 14, 2019 in Truck Accidents

Winter poses its own challenges to drivers and pedestrians in Maryland. It gets dark earlier, and that can make it difficult for drivers to see pedestrians. Snow and ice can cause slippery conditions, and driver distraction always remains a possible issue. Any or all of these factors contribute to the occurrence of motor vehicle accidents. One such accident took the life of a young man in Upper Marlboro.

The young man and a female friend had just gotten off of a bus about 6:30 p.m. on a recent evening. They were crossing the road in a crosswalk near Campus Way when they were hit by an oncoming vehicle. They were both injured in the collision and were transported to University of Maryland Prince George’s Hospital Center.

The young man later died as a result of the injuries he suffered, and the woman remains in the hospital but is expected to recover. The area around the accident was shut down for approximately three hours while police investigated the accident site. According to police, there was no evidence that drugs or alcohol contributed to the accident, and the driver of the car did not flee the scene. The cause of the incident remains under investigation. Charges are pending the outcome of the investigation.

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 Posted on February 12, 2019 in Truck Accidents

In matters of personal injury, various circumstances could apply. Perhaps someone’s negligence led to an injury. Or maybe safety regulations gave way to reckless behavior. Regardless of the cause, if an injury led to the death of your loved one, you might be eligible to recover damages.

Considering your loved one’s untimely death, you could be interested in filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Depending on specifics of your case, you may also consider a survival action.

What damages could you recover in a wrongful death suit?

No matter the amount of money you might receive in a settlement, it is no replacement for your loved one who passed away due to the personal injuries they sustained. However, recovering damages through a wrongful death claim can provide financial compensation pertaining to:

• Loss of support
• Medical bills
• Funeral expenses
• Loss of consortium

Your loved one’s age, earning ability, intellectual capacity and overall health may factor into the determination of the amount of your damages in a wrongful death claim.

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 Posted on January 31, 2019 in Truck Accidents

If you are in an accident, one of the first questions you may be asked is to what degree you were responsible for the incident. That’s called comparative negligence and it’s the standard in almost every state.

But it’s not the standard in Maryland, Virginia or the District of Columbia. In those jurisdictions (as well as in Alabama and North Carolina), the standard is called contributory negligence.

What’s the difference?

If you file a lawsuit for damages after an accident in one of the 46 comparative negligence states, you will be assigned a percentage of fault for an accident.

For example, if you are struck by a bus while in a crosswalk, you could be found to be 10 percent liable (you could have moved out of the way of the bus or chose not to enter the crosswalk upon hearing the oncoming bus) while the bus driver and company could be found to be 90 percent liable for the accident. Any reward you received could be reduced by 10 percent.

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 Posted on January 29, 2019 in Truck Accidents

A serious multi-vehicle crash in Oxon Hill led to the tragic deaths of three children, according to local police. Very little information has been gathered about the accident so far, but Maryland authorities also confirmed that two adults were injured. Charges have not been filed at this time, but as with most motor vehicle accidents, this tragic crash is still under investigation.

According to the limited report, three vehicles were involved in the accident, which took place the night of Dec. 30. It is unclear at this time what caused the initial collision, but police have not dismissed driver error, recklessness or negligence as possible contributing causes. Two adults were reportedly trapped in one of the vehicles and needed to be extricated. They were taken to a local hospital with injuries described as serious but not life-threatening.

Three children of undisclosed ages who were being transported in one of the cars were also badly injured, and all three succumbed to those injuries and were pronounced dead. It is unclear whether the children were in the same car as the injured adults. The ages and identities of all involved parties have not been released to the public at this time, likely pending notification of next of kin.

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