Maryland Personal Injury Lawyers

Truck Accidents

Commercial drivers and the companies that employ them are expected to obey strict federal and state regulations. These govern aspects of the trucking industry that have an impact on the safety of other people on the road. For example, truckers are required to obey hours of service rules so that they do not stay behind the wheels of their massive vehicles when they are excessively fatigued. Drivers and trucking companies need to adhere to weight limits when loading their trucks, and they must conduct regular maintenance and inspections. If a regulation is violated, and a crash results, our truck accident lawyers are here to hold the driver and potentially also the company accountable.

A trucking company can be held vicariously liable for a driver’s carelessness if it had an employment relationship with the driver. If the driver was an independent contractor, on the other hand, an attorney may investigate whether the company still can be pursued based on its own carelessness. Trucking companies sometimes fail to properly vet drivers before hiring them, or a company may encourage or condone safety violations in the interest of profit. When this happens, Lebowitz & Mzhen can ensure that the company pays the full price to an innocent victim.

Medical Malpractice

When people seek treatment for an illness, injury, or medical condition, they rely on the professional knowledge and skill of doctors to help them improve or remain stable. Most doctors do provide appropriate care to their patients, but unfortunately this is not always the case. A Johns Hopkins study in 2016 revealed that medical malpractice is the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. Some common types of errors include misdiagnoses or improperly delayed diagnoses, surgical errors, anesthesia errors, and errors caused by miscommunications between health care providers. If you or a loved one has been harmed in this situation, our medical malpractice lawyers are ready to help you explore your options and seek recourse.

These cases tend to be especially complex because experts are usually required to explain the standard of care, since it is not intuitive to an ordinary person on a jury. An expert also will need to describe how the defendant’s actions fell short of the standard of care and why the patient would have achieved a better outcome otherwise. A victim of medical malpractice needs to consult a knowledgeable personal injury attorney in Maryland or Washington, D.C. who can retain a persuasive expert on their behalf and adhere to the complicated procedural rules in these cases.

Birth Injuries

Some of the most devastating incidents of medical malpractice involve carelessness by health care providers during the pregnancy and childbirth process. Children may develop conditions like cerebral palsy, shoulder dystocia, or developmental delays that affect the rest of their lives. A child’s parents should demand answers and accountability in these situations, as well as financial support to help with the costs of the child’s treatment. Our birth injury lawyers understand the trauma that you are going through when one of the most joyful moments in your life turns tragic. We work vigorously to hold medical professionals accountable for actions that affect an entire family. Substantial damages may be available in these cases, but defendants tend to fight them fiercely, so it is important to enlist legal counsel early in the process.

Nursing Home Negligence

The decision to place an aging loved one in a nursing home does not come easily to most families. There are situations in which it becomes necessary, however, and people trust these facilities and their staff to provide proper care. Alarmingly, incidents of nursing home abuse and neglect are much more common than any of us would want to believe. They are also under-reported, so family members should be vigilant to any suspicious signs when visiting a loved one. Nursing home negligence can take the form of failing to keep up with a resident’s dietary or hygiene needs, leading to conditions such as malnutrition or bedsores, or failing to monitor their interactions with other residents, leading to incidents of resident-on-resident assault. In other situations, nursing home staff can act overtly to harm a resident, such as by excessively medicating them, using chemical restraints, or engaging in sexual abuse. When the conduct is especially egregious, victims and their families may be able to obtain not only damages to compensate them for their harm and expenses but also punitive damages. These are an additional category of damages that are meant to punish an individual or facility and deter others from taking similar actions.

Motorcycle Accidents

Since they are exposed to the elements and other vehicles around them, motorcyclists usually suffer serious injuries when they are struck by cars or trucks. Often, a driver fails to notice a motorcycle when they are making a turn at an intersection. They may also resent the presence of a motorcyclist and act more aggressively in their vicinity. Sometimes a defendant or an insurance company will allege that a motorcyclist was actually partly at fault for a crash. Our motorcycle accident lawyers understand the importance of fighting back against this argument. The contributory negligence rule in this region prevents a victim from recovering any damages at all if they contributed to an accident, even to a small extent. Thus, the success of a claim hinges on keeping the blame squarely on the defendant. A personal injury lawyer in Maryland or Washington, D.C. will make it a priority to gather evidence that undermines any allegation that the victim was at fault.

Construction Accidents

One of the most dangerous industries is construction, in which workers are frequently working with heavy equipment and at heights. A construction accident typically gives rise to a workers’ compensation claim, like most workplace injuries, but this is not necessarily a victim’s only recourse. While you usually cannot sue your employer or a co-worker, you may be able to bring a third-party personal injury claim against someone else who contributed to your accident. For example, a manufacturer may be held liable if it produced a defective item of equipment that caused your harm. Our Maryland personal injury attorneys would be able to assist you with bringing a product liability claim for the damages that you sustained. These cases are somewhat different from ordinary personal injury claims because they do not require showing that the defendant was careless. Instead, the victim would need to identify a manufacturing or design defect in the product, or possibly a failure to provide adequate instructions regarding its safe use.

Pharmacy Errors

The health care industry is a fast-moving environment, and pharmacies are often under-staffed or staffed by pharmacists who are fatigued, rushed, or pressed into duty without being adequately trained. While some of the resulting pharmacy errors are promptly identified, and others turn out to be harmless, providing the wrong medication or the wrong dose of a medication to a patient can cause catastrophic harm. In some cases, a victim like a child or an elderly person may even lose their life. When this happens, their family has the legal right to bring a wrongful death claim against the pharmacist and the pharmacy that employs them. They may be able to recover damages not only for their loved one’s funeral expenses and medical costs but also for their own loss of companionship and support. Like medical malpractice cases, claims based on pharmacy errors tend to be particularly complex, so you should get an experienced lawyer in your corner promptly if you suspect that an error may have occurred.

Contact a Dedicated Personal Injury Lawyer in Maryland or Washington, D.C.

At Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, we have the tenacity and resources to pursue all of the parties that were responsible for causing your harm or loss. Our attorneys can guide you through each step of the legal process, ranging from the initial investigation of your case through settlement negotiations and any litigation that becomes necessary. We understand the struggles that you are facing, and we aim to reduce the stress on you as much as possible so that you can get your life back on track. To set up a free consultation regarding a personal injury or wrongful death claim, call us at (410) 654-3600 or toll-free at (800) 654-1949, or you can contact us online.