Posted on April 29, 2008 in Automobile Accident

Maryland uninsured/underinsured motorist statute is intended to protect innocent victims from the nelgigent conduct of irresponsible drivers who drive without insurance. Maryland courts have demonstrated a tendency to liberally construe the uninsured/undersinured motorist statute to ensure that, when appropriate, the victims of automobile accidents are adequately compensated for the personal injuries they may suffer as a result of such accidents.

Historically, insurance companies have attempted to thwart Maryland’s policy of protecting innocent victims in automobile accident cases. For example, previously, an injured person who made a claim for the limits available under an at-fault party’s liability policy was prevented by his or her uninsured/underinsured motorist carrier from giving the liability carrier a full release of the claim. As a result, the injured person usually became caught in a situation where the liability carrier would not give them the limits of the at-fault party’s policy without a release and the uninsured/underinsured motorist carrier would not allow them to give a release. The innocent party usually got stuck between a rock and a hard place since they were effectively prevented from recovering a settlement from either carrier. This problem caused unnecessary delays in settlement and hurt those injured as a result of the irresponsible and negligent acts of others.

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 Posted on April 24, 2008 in Internet Crimes

U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz today imposed a sentence of five-years probation in a Child Pornography possession case in United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Federal Sentencing Guidelines had called for a sentence of between 57 – 71 months incarceration. Federal prosecutors had argued that the client should be jailed for 57 months. STSW attorneys Andrew C. White & Susan Q. Amiot were able to convince Judge Motz to not follow the sentencing guidelines and impose a non-jail sentence because of the client’s extraordinary rehabilitation since the offense and his strong family support. This case is a significant success story and reflects how a well-crafted sentencing presentation focusing on post-offense rehabilitation and strong family support can result in tremendous success in federal court.

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 Posted on April 17, 2008 in Jurisdictional Familiarity

Having an experienced Maryland DUI Attorney who really knows the members of the Maryland District Court Bench as well as the Maryland Circuit Court bench can be as important, if not more important than having a Maryland DUI lawyer who knows the law. Having a Maryland DUI Lawyer who is both experience and knowledgable in Maryland DUI Law and knows the bench is of course the best choice.

For example as an experience Maryland DUI lawyer who knows both the law and the bench I knew my clients were in a bad situation yesterday when their cases landed in front of a particular judge in the District Court. One client was a second offender who had caused life threatening injuries to his girlfriend in a serious car accident. He was arrested and blew a .16. The second client was a third offender. There were no aggravating facts but a third offender is always in serious jeopardy of lengthy incarceration. As I said, this case ended up in front of a judge whom I know to be particularly harsh on Maryland DUI offenders. Because I was aware of this particular judge’s propensities on these cases, I removed the cases to the Circuit Court and both of my clients walked out of the door (as opposed to being led out in handcuffs by the bailiff) at the end of their respective hearings.

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 Posted on April 17, 2008 in Sexual Child Abuse

Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney with experience in cases of sexual child abuse will be needed by defendant arrested for sexual child abuse yesterday in Anne Arundel County Maryland. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-md.ar.molest17apr17,0,7442671.story
Experienced Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney can help craft a defense for father of 15 year old child whom he is accused of abusing sexually. Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney and help mitigate or reduce the possible sentence this defendant may serve even in the event that there is no substantive defense.

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 Posted on April 16, 2008 in Breathalyzer

Under Maryland law, a breath reading .08 or above is per se guilt of driving while under the influence of alcohol. You will need to consult a skilled Maryland DUI lawyer immediately to protect your rights. A Maryland DUI attorney will help you prevent the MVA from suspending your license and help you in Maryland District court to avoid points, jail and other punitive measures.

A Maryland DUI breath reading under .08 may still require the assistance of a Maryland DUI lawyer because you still face MVA penalty of up to 8 points and a possible suspension of your drivers licence for DUI.

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 Posted on April 16, 2008 in Automobile Accident

Under Maryland personal injury law, the driver of an “emergency vehicle” cannot be sued in his or her individual capacity for damages resulting from negligent conduct committed while operating an emergency vehicle in the course of providing “emergency service.” An “emergency vehicle” includes police vehicles. “Emergency service” includes responses to any emergency call or the pursuit of a suspected criminal. This shield from a personal injury lawsuit does not apply to malicious acts or acts of “gross neligence.”

The fact that a police officer is operating a vehicle without emergency signals, such as lights or siren, does not mean that the officer is operating a “non-emergency vehicle.” Under Maryland personal injury law, even under such circumstances, a lawsuit still may not be brought against the driver for negligent conduct committed while providing emergency service.

This shield of immunity for the negligent acts of the operator of an emergency vehicle does not apply to the owner or lessee of the emergency vehicle in question. In other words, a personal injury action may be brought against the owner or lessee of the emergency vehicle, but such liability is limited to the amount of the minimum coverage provided for in the applicable insurance policy.

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 Posted on April 09, 2008 in Medical Malpractice Law in Maryland

Over the last few years, more and more nursing homes have been requiring patients to sign binding arbitration clauses before admitting patients to the home, thereby preventing patients from later filing a medical malpractice claim in court against the nursing home, even in the case of egregious malpractice. Because arbitration is stacked against the patient, and the patients have no bargaining power to avoid the arbitration clauses, these clauses are unfair.

Finally, Congress is taking notice. Today, U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) introduced legislation to protect dispute resolution options for residents of nursing homes. The measure is in direct response to the increasing practice of nursing home facilities requiring patients to agree to arbitration as the sole vehicle for dispute resolution prior to admittance to a facility. Joining Senator Martinez in this effort as lead-cosponsor is Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI).

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 Posted on April 09, 2008 in Medical Malpractice Law in Maryland

Many people are confused about what “medical malpractice” is and what it means in Maryland. The term medical malpractice simply means a negligence case against a health care provider, usually a doctor, nurse, hospital or nursing home. In order to bring a medical malpractice case in Maryland, the plaintiff (the party who files the case) generally must be able to prove (1) that the doctor, hospital or nursing home violated the standard of care; (2) that the doctor, hospital or nursing home was a cause of some injury or damage to the plaintiff; and (3) that the plaintiff suffered injuries and damage, and what the value is of those injuries and damages.

Another type of medical malpractice case in Maryland is an informed consent case. Generally, before a doctor provides non-emergency medical treatment to a patient, the doctor is required to explain the treatment to the patient and to warn of any material risks or dangers of the treatment, so that that patient can make an intelligent and informed decision about whether or not to go forward with the proposed treatment. A material risk is one which a doctor knows or should know would be significant to a reasonable person in the plaintiff’s position in deciding whether or not to have the particular medical treatment or procedure. The doctors’ duty to disclose material risks is measured by whether a reasonable person in the position of the plaintiff would have considered the risk to be a material risk. Technically, an informed consent case is not a medical malpractice case. As set forth above, in a true medical malpractice case, the plaintiff proves that the doctor, nurse, hospital or nursing home did not do something or did something improperly. In an informed consent case, however, the treatment and/or procedure may have been performed properly, but the information provided to the plaintiff was not enough for them to make an informed decision, and as a result of making that uninformed decision to have the procedure, the plaintiff was injured.

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