Pikesville Personal Injury Lawyer

Named after the 18th century American explorer, Zebulon Pike, Pikesville has become a prosperous and vibrant community with more than 200 years of history to its name. Just a stone’s throw from downtown Baltimore, the suburb of Pikesville sits in the northwestern quadrant of the greater Baltimore area and is home to more than 30,000 residents and one of Maryland’s largest Jewish populations. Of note, Pikesville reportedly has the largest concentration of Russian-Americans in the entire U.S. With close to 20 percent of the entire area claiming Russian heritage, the overwhelming majority are ethnic Ashkenazi Jews many of whom can trace their ancestry back to the Russian Empire.

The town itself boasts a lively business community comprised of professional service businesses, as well as retail stores specialized in unique fashion goods, gifts, china and jewelry, all situated on MD 140, Pikesville’s main thoroughfare. Occupying more than 12 square miles of land area, Pikesville is bisected by the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) and bounded on its western edge by Interstate 795, which also connects the communities of Reisterstown and Owings Mills to Baltimore City.

Just a stone’s throw from Pikesville is one of Maryland’s most deadly intersections — the confluence of Reisterstown Road and Gwynns Falls Parkway — where dozens of traffic accidents take place annually. This crossroads is so infamous that locals, including residents of Pikesville, will often go out of their way to avoid a potentially hazardous driving situation, especially during rush hour and peak shopping days.

Potentially Dangerous Traffic Conditions

Maryland traffic accidents can be the result of many different causes, from drunk and distracted driving to speeding or incidents of road rage; in this particular area any one of those causes is only exacerbated by the complicated nature of the Gwynns Falls-Reisterstown Road intersection. When an accident does occur, victims may sustain serious and even life-threatening injuries. It only takes a single distracted driver in the crush of afternoon rush hour traffic to turn a poorly executed lane change or badly timed left-hand turn into a deadly roadway accident.

Car, truck and motorcycle crashes in and around Pikesville, Maryland, can result in serious injury, and sometimes death. Victims of such accidents may end up being taken to the local emergency room for treatment of serious injuries such as broken bones and lacerations, closed-head trauma or internal organ damage. One ER close to the Pikesville area can be found at the Northwest Hospital Center. Located at 5401 Old Court Rd., Randallstown, MD 21133, this general hospital is one of the closest options for residents of Pikesville, offering emergency care, general surgery and other medical services. Other nearby medical facilities include the following:

• University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center (7601 Osler Dr., Towson, MD 21204)
• Greater Baltimore Medical Center (6701 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21204)
• MedStar Union Memorial Hospital (3400 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21218)
• Sinai Hospital (2401 W. Belvedere Ave., Baltimore, MD 21215)

Following a Pikesville Roadway Accident

If you wish to file a claim against another driver or responsible party after being seriously injured in a Maryland traffic accident, obtaining a police accident report is one of the first steps to take on the way to pursuing a successful personal injury claim.

Since determination of liability is key to any successful personal injury lawsuit, the legal team at Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC, recommends that victims attempt to secure a copy of the police accident report for the accident in which they were injured. These reports provide space for the responding officer to include important and meaningful information, such as crash site location; weather and roadway conditions; vehicle operators’ and passengers’ names and contact information; and sometimes a written description of what and how the crash took place.

There is a popular notion that traffic accident reports filed by the police department contain every detail of a car or motorcycle crash. To the contrary, the amount of detail found in police accident reports can vary widely depending on the circumstances; fortunately, in most cases where a roadway collision has resulted in physical injury or death, the responding officer will likely take additional time to include a much more detailed description of the incident than if the accident had been a minor one or did not involve any injuries.

The bottom line: If you or a loved one has been badly injured in a car crash, make it a priority to obtain the police accident report, just in case you need to pursue a legal remedy.

Locating a Police Report for a Traffic Accident in Pikesville

As Pikesville does not operate its own police department, local law enforcement is handled by the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD). For residents of Pikesville needing police and other law enforcement assistance, the BCPD maintains a dedicated precinct located at 215 Milford Mill Rd, Pikesville, MD 21208. For non-emergency calls, the Baltimore County Police Department Precinct #4 can be reached at (410) 887-1279.

Obtaining a police accident report following a car or truck crash in the Pikesville area will depend on which law enforcement agency responded to the crash. Typically, this would be a Baltimore County officer or, if the the accident occurred on or near a state route, possibly an officer from the Maryland State Police. The process for obtaining a police report from the Baltimore County PD is explained below.

In Person — If the responding officer works out of the BCPD Precinct #4, you can visit the precinct to personally request an accident report. Please keep in mind that accident reports are usually not available immediately following an accident. The BCPD, like other police departments throughout Maryland recommend that victims of auto accidents allow two weeks following a crash to make a request for their accident report, allows time for internal review and processing. Always call ahead to make sure someone will be available to handle your request.

By Mail — Visit the BCPD website (https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/departments/police/request-reports) for a downloadable “Police Report Request Form,” which should be filled out and mailed to the BCPD’s Information and Records Management Unit at:

Information and Records Management Unit, Records Requests
700 East Joppa Road
Towson, Maryland 21286-5501

Be sure to enclose a self addressed/stamped envelope, as well as the nonrefundable $15 fee (paid by personal check or money order payable to Baltimore County, Maryland. Do not send cash). Follow the instructions on the request form, and include information such as the Accident Report Number (if known); date, time and location of the accident; names of the individuals involved (drivers’ and passengers’ names, etc.); your name and address that you would like the report mailed to. For questions about requesting accident records, call the BCPD 410-887-2390.

Obtaining a Maryland State Police (MSP) Traffic Accident Report

In cases where a Maryland State Police Trooper responds to a car, truck or motorcycle accident in or around the Pikesville area, an automobile crash report will be filed by the MSP officer in charge of the accident investigation. Formal accident reports that are prepared and filed by MSP officers are referred to as Motor Vehicle Accident Reports.

For auto accidents where a Maryland State Police (MSP) trooper has responded, the Central Records Division (CRD) of the MSP handles the associated reports; the CRD collects, analyzes, and distributes reports and other data regarding car accidents, as well as incident reports on criminal activity. The CRD will respond to requests for copies of car or trucking accident reports filed by a Maryland State Trooper, as follows:

In Person — No sooner than 10 days following a roadway accident, a copy of a Vehicle Crash Report can be requested from the MSP Barracks where it was filed. A state trooper responding to a traffic accident in the Pikesville area will, in most likelihood, be working out of the MSP Barracks at 1201 Reisterstown Rd., Pikesville, MD 21208. There is a $4 non-refundable search fee that can be paid via personal check or money order (no cash). It is advisable to call the particular MSP barracks ahead of time to be sure someone will be available to accept your request. The Pikesville Barracks’ non-emergency phone number is (410) 486-3101.

Online — Police accident reports can also be ordered via the MSP website (mdsp.maryland.gov) by going to the “Contact Us” page and clicking on the Central Records Division link. Once there, click on the “Request for Motor Vehicle Accident Report” button toward the bottom of the page and follow the directions to request your accident report.

Mail-in — For requests by mail, go to the bottom of the same MSP webpage and download a copy of the Accident Request Form (you will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your device) and follow the instructions. Once completed, mail the request along with a check or money order for $4 to the address provided on the form. When a copy of your accident report becomes available, the CRD will mail the document to you.

Once a copy of your Motor Vehicle Accident Report is available, you can receive it in person by going to the Central Records Division (1711 Belmont Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21244; 410-281-2700. Office hours are Monday–Friday; 8am–4:30pm, except holidays).

When it comes to traffic injury claims, a vehicle accident report — whether filed by the Baltimore County PD or the state police — will most often become a critical piece of supporting documentation for any Maryland personal injury claim.

Post-Treatment Recovery: Extended Nursing Home Stays

Occasionally, following an automobile crash, a recovering patient may develop one or more serious or chronic conditions which could require longterm recuperative care and rehabilitation. In such instances, the accident victim’s family may have to send their loved one to a nursing home for an indefinite period. For many people, the mere act of placing a family member’s care into the hands of strangers can itself be traumatic.

Trusting the management and staff of a nursing facility with the health and well-being of a loved one is difficult enough without even considering the very real potential of injury that may occur during that stay. Unfortunately for some families, unexpected incidents do sometimes take place at nursing facilities — for example, a serious slip-and-fall accident or worse, physical or psychological mistreatment — which can unduly affect the health of an already vulnerable family member.

Regardless of whether an individual is residing in an assisted living facility or staying at a nursing home for a chronic condition, if that person has suffered injury or mistreatment at the hands of his or her caregivers it may be time to file a legal claim against those responsible. It’s a sad fact that some nursing home residents do suffer abuse or even wanton neglect at some point during their stay.

At the law firm of Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC, our personal injury attorneys have the skills and litigation experience to represent the families of individuals in the Pikesville area in cases of nursing home neglect, eldercare abuse and other medical malpractice claims. If your parent or other relative experiences the trauma of nursing home abuse, there are avenues to obtain compensation for their pain and suffering.

Legal Claims Against Eldercare and Nursing Facilities

Per federal law (42 CFR §488.301), the definition of nursing home abuse can be described as “the willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or punishment with resulting physical harm, pain or mental anguish.” As hard as it may be to believe, more than a few elderly seniors suffer various levels of abuse ranging from mental or psychological mistreatment to sexual abuse by nursing home staff.

While neglect differs from abuse, the affects can be similar and just as injurious. Abuse, by its very definition, implies direct action that is intended to harm an individual. On the other hand, neglect is represented by inaction or indifference to a nursing home patient’s condition or needs. Either way, the law is specific; and those responsible should be held accountable for their actions.

Neglect comes in many forms, but one of the most common problems come in the form of so-called bedsores, which result from patients not being “turned” on a periodic basis by nursing staff. Because many nursing home residents are not able to easily roll over on their own, if the staff does not assist the person, he or she may end up developing these pressure sores (also known as decubitus ulcers).

Medically, bedsores are actually lesions resulting from continuous and unrelieved pressure exerted on the body’s soft outer layers of tissue by an underlying bony prominence, such as a person’s hip bone. By partially or completely obstructing blood flow to the affected area, the tissue itself can actually die or become necrotic over time. The resulting bedsores can be categorized in four distinct stages, depending, of course, on the severity of the problem. The most severe is Stage IV, in which the sore extends deep into muscle tissue, tendons or even the bone itself.

Here in Maryland, nursing homes are monitored by the state’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and governed by the Code of Maryland Regulations, which provides a strict set of regulations that every licensed nursing facility must follow. One of the numerous requirements set forth by the state of Maryland is that each nursing home must have in place its own set of policies and procedures designed to prevent neglect and abuse of that facility’s patients. A failure to have these policies in place can be grounds for a lawsuit against a nursing home.

The following is a short list of eldercare and nursing home facilities in and around the Pikesville area:

• Charter Senior Living of Woodholme Crossing (1840 Reisterstown Rd., Pikesville, MD 21208)
• Sunrise of Pikesville (3800 Old Court Rd., Pikesville, MD 21208)
• Springhouse of Pikesville (8911 Reisterstown Rd., Pikesville, MD 21208)
• Woodholme Gardens (1700 Woodholme Ave., Pikesville, MD 21208)
• Woodholme Springs Assisted Living (101 Woodholme Ave., Pikesville, MD 21208)
• Arden Courts of Pikesville (8909 Reisterstown Rd, Pikesville, MD 21208)
• Amazing Home (4744 Byron Rd., Pikesville, MD 21208)

It should be noted that if one resident at a nursing home or eldercare facility is experiencing abuse or has suffered from maltreatment at the hands of nursing or support staff, there may very well be others who have experienced similar abuse. Time can be of the essence in such cases, especially when it involves elderly individuals who are more likely to sustain serious (or even fatal) injury without immediate attention or help from the outside.

For anyone who suspects that their loved one has suffered unnecessarily in a nursing home or eldercare setting — whether due to abuse, neglect or malpractice — it is advisable to get in touch with a qualified legal professional to better understand the rights afforded nursing home residents under Maryland and federal law. The legal firm of Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC, is here to help by providing victims with a free, no obligation consultation following a toll-free phone call at (800) 654-1949.

Courthouse Locations for Personal Injury Lawsuits

Many Maryland personal injury claims involving serious physical injury or medical malpractice typically exceed $30,000 and therefore will end up being heard in Circuit Court. For residents of Pikesville, the nearest legal venue would be the Baltimore County Circuit Court at 8516 Courthouse Drive, Towson, MD 21286; less than 20 minute’s drive from most parts of Pikesville.

While Maryland Circuit Courts typically handle more serious cases, including felonies, misdemeanors, family law matters and juvenile cases, District Courts handle many of the lesser civil cases — typically civil suits listing damages of $30,000 or less. Hours of operation for the Baltimore County Circuit Court in Towson is Monday-Friday, 8:30am–4:30pm; (410) 887-2139; www.baltimorecountymd.gov/departments/circuit.

Always remember that choosing the appropriate legal venue depends on many factors, including the type of claim being filed, the amount of damages sought, and whether a trial by jury is required. In consideration of these and other factors, it is important to consult a qualified Maryland attorney who has extensive experience in personal injury law. As seasoned trial lawyers, firm of Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC, has as its primary focus to achieve the best possible outcome for every one of our clients. In addition to nursing home cases, our personal injury attorneys also represent individuals who have been hurt, maimed or killed as a result of automobile and motorcycle accidents, doctor or hospital malpractice, birth injuries, pharmacy errors, and injuries to young children and minors.