Rockville Maryland Motor Vehicle Accident Law Blog

New research and medical advancements are coming out that show promise regarding treatment for spinal cord injuries and paralysis. Nathan Copeland experienced the difficulties associated with paralysis firsthand. More than a decade ago, Mr. Copeland lost his ability to move his hands as well as his ability to feel what his fingers touch due to a spinal cord injury sustained in a car crash. Now, thanks to research conducted at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Mr. Copeland has gained a new way to connect to the world around him.

Continue reading Brain implant allows paralyzed man to regain sense of touch…

Tags: car accidents, catastrophic injuries, spinal cord injuries,

Behavioral changes among drivers in Maryland and advances in autonomous vehicle technology could improve safety on U.S. roads. At least that’s what the U.S. Department of Transportation believes. The problem of traffic fatalities and injuries has spiked in recent years. According to the National Safety Council, 2015 saw a 7.2 percent rise deaths, and the first six months of 2016 have already produced a 9 percent increase compared to the same period from the year before. The DOT has responded to the problem with a plan to eliminate all deaths and injuries

Continue reading DOT promotes goal of zero traffic deaths and injuries…

Tags: personal injury,

Maryland residents may have heard about the fatal train crash that occurred in New Jersey on Sept. 29. One person was killed and over 100 other people were injured when a train crashed into the station platform during the morning commute. On Oct. 2, the National Transportation Safety Board held a press conference to discuss what happened and answer questions. According to the NTSB, the engineer who was operating the train when the fatal accident occurred has no recollection of what happened. The 48-year-old man was reportedly well rested when

Continue reading Train engineer sheds no light on reason for train crash…

Tags: personal injury,

Maryland fans of the late Kristina Bobbi Brown may be interested in the outcome of the civil lawsuit filed by the conservator of her estate. The action, filed after the 22-year-old was moved to hospice care after sustaining brain damage and remaining in a coma, has been won by the estate by default. Kristina Bobbi Brown, the daughter of Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston, passed away in hospice care in July 2015. Six months prior to her death, she was found unresponsive in the bathtub of her Atlanta

Continue reading Kristina Bobbi Brown’s partner ruled against in lawsuit…

Tags: Wrongful Death,

Spinal cord injuries can cause a variety of issues for individuals from severe pain to paralysis. Maryland residents with spinal cord injuries may be interested to know that graphene nanoribbons and a certain polymer may be used to repair damaged spinal cords. Researchers at Rice University have used a special chemical process to isolate graphene nanoribbons from multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Having long since been used to improve materials for batteries and parts used in airplanes, graphene nanoribbons are now being developed for medical use. Specifically, a substance referred to as Texas-PEG, derived

Continue reading Using graphene nanoribbons for spinal repair…

Tags: personal injury,

A 26-year-old man was declared dead at the scene of a one-car accident in Maryland on the evening of Sept. 10. The decedent was sitting in the front passenger seat before the accident occurred on Hilltop Road in Fair Hill. The driver and a backseat passenger were both taken to local hospitals for treatment. A spokesman for the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office said that the accident took place at around 9:30 p.m. The 25-year-old driver lost control of his 2012 Ford Mustang while traveling northbound. After crossing the center line,

Continue reading Passenger dead after driver loses control and crashes…

Tags: Motor Vehicle Accidents,

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), a drunk driver injures someone every two minutes. Unfortunately, this means thousands of people are killed in drunk driving crashes every year, and countless more are injured. In spite of stringent drunk driving laws in most states, DUI remains a common criminal offense. Everyone agrees that a drunk driving accident involving serious injury or death is tragic. The question is how best to reduce or eliminate drunk driving injuries. In some states, one answer is to allow punitive damages for victims. If you

Continue reading Victims of DUI accidents may be able to obtain punitive damages…

Tags: car accidents, catastrophic injuries, drunk driving, Wrongful Death,

Road users in Maryland and other states will find little to be happy about in a report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Aug. 29. The safety agency says that the 7.2 percent increase in 2015 road accident fatalities over the previous year was the highest year-on-year increase in crash deaths since 1966. The NHTSA says that more Americans are being killed in car accidents because more vehicles are using the nation’s roads. It believes that this increase in traffic levels is being caused by low fuel

Continue reading Surge in road fatalities highest since the 1960s…

Tags: Motor Vehicle Accidents,

On Aug. 22, the FDA announced that it was going to allow two devices to be marketed as tests aimed to diagnose cognitive function after a brain injury. They are called the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) and ImPACT Pediatric. They are designed to allow doctors in Maryland and around the country to diagnose the signs and symptoms of a head injury as part of an overall diagnostic process. On their own, these devices are not designed to diagnose a concussion or any other head injury. However, they collect

Continue reading Products may help diagnose concussions…

Tags: personal injury,

Previously, we looked briefly at the federal hours of service rules, which are largely aimed at preventing truck drivers from driving without adequate rest. The rules, of course, cannot guarantee that commercial drivers have sufficient rest to safely operate a commercial vehicle, but they go a long way toward doing so. Employers must also do their part to monitor employees and individual drivers are still responsible for exercising reasonable care. Drowsy or fatigued driving, of course, is not a problem exclusively with commercial drivers, even if commercial drivers are particularly

Continue reading Nonprofit compares drowsy driving impairment to alcohol intoxication…

Tags: Motor Vehicle Accidents,