Located approximately 33 miles southwest of Baltimore City and touching the northernmost corner of the District of Columbia, the unincorporated area of Silver Spring is home to some 71,000 residents, which makes it the fourth most populous area in the state of Maryland, behind Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown, MD. The area earned its name from a natural spring that contained minute chips of suspended mica in the water, and which was discovered in 1840 by Francis Preston Blair, one of the early founders of the modern American Republican Party.
The now-dry spring can still be viewed in Acorn Park near the intersection of Newell St., Bridgestreet and the East-West Highway. Two years following the discovery of the local spring, Blair completed large family home on a 250-acre plot of land that he dubbed Silver Spring. Many years later, during the American Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln paid visits to the Silver Spring mansion on numerous occasions.
In the final years of the 19th century, the Silver Spring area started to grow into a larger residential and commercial town. Such was the importance of the area that the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad built its Metropolitan Branch line in 1873 through the area, on its way from Point of Rocks, MD, to Washington, D.C. In 1893, E. Brooke Lee, the great-grandson of Francis Preston Blair, was born in the same area. Lee, who would later become known as the father of modern Silver Spring, is noted for his vision and guidance that set the course of development for this part of Maryland.
By the 1950s, Silver Spring was already the second most busy retail marketplace in central Maryland, featuring several large retailer chains: the Hecht Company, J.C. Penney, and Sears, Roebuck & Co. By the start of the 21st century, downtown Silver Spring was witness to a revitalization after many difficult years. New retail locations, such as Whole Foods Market, Men's Wearhouse, Ann Taylor Loft, Office Depot, as well as numerous restaurants have moved into the area.
With the newly invigorated commercial sector and a large population, the area is bustling with activity on a daily basis. Downtown Silver Spring, which is home many family-owned businesses, can also have its share of automobile, pedestrian and bicycle-related traffic accidents. As personal injury lawyers, the law firm of Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, is keenly aware of the potentially devastating effect that a car or commercial trucking collision can have on a victim’s family, especially if the injured individual is the sole breadwinner.
With more than 30,000 households and a population density approaching 9,000 people per square mile, the Silver Spring District Court at 8552 2nd Ave. is the site of numerous civil cases involving claims of up to $25,000, as well as traffic offenses, landlord-tenant disputes and certain criminal cases that do not require a jury trial. For personal injury claims of $30,000 or more, the Montgomery County Circuit Court is the venue for those types of lawsuits, which can include nursing abuse, medical malpractice by physicians or hospitals, as well as auto, truck and motorcycle injury suits.
During hard economic times, it is not uncommon to find that some drivers involved in an injury-related traffic accident either do not carry any auto accident insurance or are simply underinsured. While most people understand the value of carrying sufficient car insurance, many others never consider the potentially severe and debilitating injuries that can result from a roadway collision. Without the proper amount of insurance, a driver who is injured in a bad traffic wreck can face ever-mounting medical bills for emergency room treatment, subsequent convalescence and physical rehabilitation.
Here in Maryland, many individuals ignore state law, as well as their responsibility to carry proper insurance on their motor vehicles. The threat of being held personally liable for injuries caused by a negligent act on their part is apparently lost on these people. The lawyers at Lebowitz & Mzhen know that some of these uninsured or underinsured drivers may choose to flee the scene of a bad car or motorcycle crash, hoping to avoid all responsibility for their actions.
Unfortunately, under this kind of scenario, the only way that one can be compensated for injuries sustained as a result of an accident caused by an uninsured motorist is if the victim himself has uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. In such circumstances, the victim’s insurance carrier must pay for all damages (pursuant to the customer’s particular policy) including property damages, medical expenses, costs for physical therapy and even lost wages.
The attorneys of Lebowitz & Mzhen have the skills to represent victims of automobile accidents who have been injured by another driver whose insurance can only cover a certain portion of the victim’s bills associated with the traffic collision. Under these types of circumstances, the victim is entitled to additional compensation from his own insurance carrier (per the conditions of his policy), but only if that coverage is greater in monetary terms than that covered by the other driver’s insurance.
One important detail that victims of underinsured motorists sometimes fail to realize is that when pursuing a claim of this kind, the victim’s own insurance company can become, for a time, the defendant in an insurance claim; essentially one’s own insurance company becomes an adversary, as opposed to being an advocate for its policy holder. At Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, our lawyers understand the urgency of dealing immediately with a victim’s insurance company, especially in cases where the injured individual has suffered severe and life-threatening injuries as a result of a car, truck, pedestrian or other traffic-related crash.
As experienced trial lawyers, Lebowitz & Mzhen knows that proper case preparation can make all the difference in a serious personal injury lawsuit. While pretrial settlements do occur on a fairly regular basis, we nonetheless always prepare our client’s cases with the full intent of taking the claim into a courtroom. Whether the issue at hand is an auto accident claim, medical malpractice suit, products liability case or wrongful death lawsuit, our attorneys have the skills and experience to assist our clients in getting through what can be a very difficult chapter in their lives.
We have represented numerous clients who have received serious and life-threatening injuries that can occur due to motor vehicle accidents, commercial truck collisions, SUV rollover crashes, as well as those cases involving uninsured and underinsured drivers. Lebowitz & Mzhen welcomes calls on our toll-free phone line at (800) 654-1949. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a personal injury accident, please feel free to call and schedule a complimentary, no-obligation consultation with our legal experts.
Driving DirectionsThe primary legal offices of Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, are located in Owings Mills, Maryland, about 16 miles outside of Baltimore. Our firm is situated at 10 Crossroads Drive, Suite 105, Owings Mills, MD, 21117, and can be reached by taking the Jones Falls Expressway to I-695 West. After merging onto I-695 West/ Baltimore Beltway Outer Loop going toward Pikesville, travel 4.4 miles and take the MD-140 North exit (Exit 20) toward Garrison. Turn right onto Reisterstown Road/MD-140 West, and go another 1.3 miles to Crossroads Drive. Turn left and then take the first right onto Park Center Court. Make a left at the first available street into the parking lot that serves our offices. Our offices are located conveniently on the ground floor, Suite 105.