Posted on October 02, 2009 in Divorce

Alimony, also known as spousal support, is a payment or a series of payments made from a former spouse to the other that serves as a continuation of the economic responsibilities made during the marriage. There are three types of alimony awarded in Maryland. The first is pendente lite alimony (PL alimony) which is awarded to a spouse during the limited period while the case is pending. The purpose of PL alimony is to keep the status quo of the parties while the divorce action is pending, so that one party does not have an unfair economic advantage over the other. The second type of alimony is rehabilitative alimony. This is alimony that is awarded by the Court only for a set period of time. This period of time is for the purpose of allowing the receiving former spouse to rehabilitate themselves from economic dependence to economic independence through education or training. The third type of alimony is indefinite alimony which the Court only awards in 2 situations. First, when due to age, illness, infirmity or disability the former spouse seeking alimony cannot reasonably be expected to make progress towards becoming self-supporting. Second, when even after the former spouse seeking alimony will have made progress towards becoming self-supporting, the parties’ respective living standards would be unconscionably disproportionate.
Many clients inquire as to how alimony is determined and may be under the wrong impression that like child support , alimony is calculated using a set guideline or formula. There is no formula or guideline for calculating alimony in Maryland, and it is the Judge’s discretion as to whether or not to award alimony. The amount and duration of alimony in Maryland is determined by the Court after considering a list of factors. Maryland Code, Family Law 11-106 states the factors, which are as follows:
(1) the ability of the party seeking alimony to be wholly or partly self-supporting;
(2) the time necessary for the party seeking alimony to gain sufficient education or training to enable that party to find suitable employment;
(3) the standard of living that the parties established during their marriage;
(4) the duration of the marriage;
(5) the contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family;
(6) the circumstances that contributed to the estrangement of the parties;
(7) the age of each party;
(8) the physical and mental condition of each party;
(9) the ability of the party from whom alimony is sought to meet that party’s needs while meeting the needs of the party seeking alimony;
(10) any agreement between the parties;
(11) the financial needs and financial resources of each party, including:
(i) all income and assets, including property that does not produce income;
(ii) any award made under §§ 8-205 and 8-208 of this article;
(iii) the nature and amount of the financial obligations of each party; and
(iv) the right of each party to receive retirement benefits; and
(12) whether the award would cause a spouse who is a resident of a related institution as defined in § 19-301 of the Health – General Article and from whom alimony is sought to become eligible for medical assistance earlier than would otherwise occur.

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 Posted on October 02, 2009 in Domestic Violence

Maryland Criminal Attorneys represent people accused of domestic violence assaults more and more often these days. As I have noted in the past, the numbers of these cases that are being pursued by the police and prosecutors have increased exponentially over the last decade and a half after the acquittal of OJ Simpson of the murder of his wife.

Very often in domestic violence cases the alleged victim refuses to cooperate with the prosecution. Alleged victims will often recant their allegations, evade service of process and refuse to appear in court or, if the couple is married, invoke the marital privilege and refuse to testify. There are many reasons why alleged victims do this including that the couple has reconciled their relationship, the defendant is the primary breadwinner in the family and his incarceration would cause economic hardship for the family, or that the charges were fabricated in the first place which, believe it or not, happens quite often and, I believe, it is what happened in the case I had this week in the District Court for Baltimore County.

The facts of the case were that the alleged victim and the defendant were in an argument that, according to the victim, became physical. She claimed at the time of the offense, both to the 911 operator and the responding police officers, that the defendant had thrown her to the ground, strangled her and and struck her in the face. The officers noted slight redness to her cheek and a very small amount of dried blood in one of her nostrils. She claimed that after the assault she left the location in her car with the couple’s 3 year old son. She made the 911 call about 15 minutes later and met the police miles from the scene (and away from the defendant) in a parking lot. She was heard to be crying on the 911 tape but was not hysterical or unable to carry on an intelligent conversation. The officer noted in his report that she was crying, shaking and visibly upset. My client was later charged with second degree assault. The State was unable to serve the alleged victim with a summons and she did not appear in court.

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 Posted on September 30, 2009 in Medical Malpractice Law in Maryland

In a Maryland medical malpractice case, the “Statute of Limitations” governs how long a person has to file a claim or lawsuit. In Maryland, most medical malpractice cases involving adults must be filed within 3 years from the date the injury would have been discovered by a reasonable person. In an adult case, the 3 year deadline may be extended up to 2 additional years , but never more than five years from the date of the injury.

In a Maryland medical malpractice case for a child, the statute of limitations is different. In such a case, the time-frame described above (3-5 years) does not apply until the minor turns 18. Thus, a minor will have at least 3 years after the minor turns 18, and maybe even 2 more years after that.

Calculating the time remaining to file a medical malpractice case according to the Statute of Limitations is something that should only be done by a lawyer experienced in medical malpractice cases. There are nuances in the law that can result in a case being thrown out of court.

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 Posted on September 30, 2009 in Medical Malpractice Law in Maryland

In Maryland, when a person dies wrongfully, certain family members have the right to sue for “Wrongful Death.” A Wrongful Death case is a type of personal injury case that usually arises in medical malpractice and other major injury matters such as those involving automobile collisions, product liability, etc.

A Wrongful Death case in Maryland usually is brought by a parent, spouse (only if married, as common law marriages do not count) or child of the dead person. In such a case, the family member may claim non-economic damages such as emotional distress for the loss of their loved one. They also may claim economic losses, such as lost income or loss of household services.

Maryland’s Wrongful Death statute governs all Wrongful Death cases. The statute, which can be found in Section 3-904 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, states as follows:

(a)(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, an action under this subtitle shall be for the benefit of the wife, husband, parent, and child of the deceased person.

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 Posted on September 30, 2009 in Medical Malpractice Law in Maryland

In 2004, the Maryland legislature enacted a statute that prevents a plaintiff or plaintiff’s lawyer from mentioning to a jury in a medical malpractice case that a doctor apologized or expressed regret, if the purpose of the plaintiff in seeking to tell that to the jury is to prove liability or use it as an admission of the doctor’s liability. The statute, however, does not protect a doctor’s admission of liability or fault that is part of or in addition to an apology or expression of regret.

That statute, which is found in Section 10-920 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, states as follows:

(a) In this section, “health care provider” has the meaning stated in § 3-2A-01 of this article.

(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, in a proceeding subject to Title 3, Subtitle 2A of this article or a civil action against a health care provider, an expression of regret or apology made by or on behalf of the health care provider, including an expression of regret or apology made in writing, orally, or by conduct, is inadmissible as evidence of an admission of liability or as evidence of an admission against interest.

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 Posted on September 25, 2009 in Protective Orders

I recently represented a Respondent (the person against whom the protective order has been filed) in a Final Protective Order hearing in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, where the Petitioner alleged that he was placed in fear of serious imminent bodily harm by his wife, the Respondent. When representing the Respondent in such a proceeding it is imperative to know what the other side must prove in order to have a final order granted by the Court and how to gather evidence to refute those allegations. In this case, it was the husband’s burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence the alleged abuse had occurred (see August 16, 2009 blog for specific statutory criteria). By the nature of the protective order process, there often is not enough time in between a client coming in to meet with you to represent them and the Final Hearing date, which can impede obtaining necessary information in a complicated matter. In this situation, although time was an issue, I was able to obtain the 911 calls, the transcript of the Temporary Protective Order hearing, and issue subpoenas to various witnesses, which included friends, family members, police officers, therapists and physicians.

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 Posted on September 24, 2009 in Repeat Offenders

https://www.silvermanthompson.com/lawyer-attorney-1301140.htmlhttps://www.silvermanthompson.com/lawyer-attorney-1301140.htmlSome of the most difficult Maryland DUI/DWI cases that Maryland DUI/DWI Attorneys are called upon to handle are cases in which the offender has prior convictions for Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Impaired. These people are known as “repeat offenders” and are, as one would expect, generally treated far more harshly than people charged for the first time. State’s Attorney’s typically seek jail terms for people with one or more prior convictions and file enhanced penalties which allow for sentences of up to 3 years instead of just 1 year which is the maximum penalty if the State has not filed the enhanced penalties. This week I kept an offender with four prior convictions out of jail in spite of the fact that the State had a virtually bullet proof case against him. I will explain momentarily but first a few general observations about representing repeat offenders in Maryland.

Judges are generally very open to requests for jail from prosecutors for repeat offenders and are usually only deterred from sentencing someone to prison if significant steps have been taken by the offender to address the underlying alcohol problem so the court can be confident that the defendant will not re-offend. Judges often require home detention monitoring, long term inpatient treatment, half way houses, frequent testing for alcohol and drug use and in some extreme cases, 24/7 monitoring of the person to ensure that he or she is not drinking. This can be done now by fitting a person with an ankle bracelet that monitors the person’s sweat for the presence of alcohol. For each subsequent offense a Maryland DUI/DWI Attorney must require the client to take more and more elaborate measures to put him or her in a position where the attorney can argue to the court that a jail sentence is not appropriate and have that argument be taken seriously by the court.

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 Posted on September 22, 2009 in Topics In The News

This month, Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White attorneys Andrew G. Slutkin and Jamison G. White filed a medical malpractice case in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County against Genesis Brightwood Center, a nursing home and rehabilitation facility on Falls Road in Baltimore. The case is on behalf of an elderly women who was admitted to Brightwood Center after a double knee replacement. During the admission to Brightwood, while an aide was getting her dressed in her room she was caused to fall to the ground. When she struck the ground, the woman landed on both knees, which injured both knees and split open the surgical incision of the left knee causing it to become infected due to contamination with bacteria. As a result of the fall and continuing infection of her left knee, over the next few months the woman was readmitted to the hospital three times for complications from the infection. These three readmissions caused substantially more rehabilitation then otherwise would have been necessary, including three admissions to other rehabilitation facilities. As a result of the malpractice, the woman also has suffered extreme pain, suffering and emotional distress from the fall. She also has permanent left knee pain and requires antibiotics for life.

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 Posted on September 17, 2009 in Fire / burn malpractice

An Illinois woman has died six days after a surgical fire during an operation at a hospital. The hospital has acknowledged in a statement that the fire happened but won’t offer specifics. The medical examiner’s office says the woman died from complications of thermal burns, and her death is listed as accidental. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled surgical fire and burn cases. For example, one was a case involving a fire during surgery where a man was severely burned and another involved a severe thermal burn that took place during surgery. Fires and unintended burns during surgery are completely preventable and perfect examples of malpractice. Surgeons and hospitals have known for decades how to prevent operating room fires and burns. Usually, it’s a simple as not using 100% oxygen, draping a patient properly or making sure that flammable skin prep solutions dry before using an electric cautery device. When a surgeon uses excessive oxygen or a patient is not properly draped, things that normally do not catch fire such as surgical drapes, skin and hair, can catch fire in an oxygen rich environment. In fact, I still have a video showing the difference between how surgical drapes catch fire normally (very slowly) compared to an oxygen rich environment (almost explosive). It’s shocking. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

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 Posted on September 14, 2009 in Automobile Accident

Dr. Brian Edgar Emery, a Howard County physician, was killed on Thursday evening when the vehicle he was driving was struck from the rear by another vehicle and pushed into oncoming traffic. Dr. Emery was stopped on Route 32 near the Howard-Carrol County border waiting to make a left turn when his vehicle was hit from behind by a van being driven by Thomas Donald Cory. A recent, Baltimore Sun Article, reported on this tragic accident which occurred on a dangerous stretch of road in Howard County. Earlier this year a mother and child were killed on the same stretch of road.

A follow-up article in today’s Baltimore Sun discusses plans to repave and restripe that section of Route 32 in an attempt to make the road safer. The County’s desire to take immediate action to repair this road is indicative of just how dangerous this section of roadway is. County Executive, Ken Ullman, Governor O’Malley and various State Highway Officials have been working to take steps to make this section of road safer.

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