Maryland Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog

With Spring Officially Here, Anne Arundel County Police Officers Provide Tips for Safe Motorcycling

March 24, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We’ve already heard of several fatal accidents involving motorcycles this year, so it’s not too soon for everyone to prepare themselves for a new season of motorcycle riding here in Maryland. Whether one is riding on the expressways serving our major cities, out on some rural two-lane or creeping through dense urban traffic, the opportunities for a severe roadway accident anywhere throughout the state are much higher for bikers than most any other motorist.

As Baltimore personal injury lawyers, I and my legal staff have seen the aftermath of many a tragic traffic collision; and certainly more than we would want anyone else to experience, especially not first-hand. Passenger car collisions, whether they involve a sedan, family minivan or larger sport utility vehicle, can result in serious and sometimes fatal injuries. The same can be said for roadway wrecks caused by commercial vehicles, such as city buses, 18-wheelers, large box trucks, and utility repair vehicles.

But as bad as car and trucking-related collisions can be, accidents involving any one of these vehicles and a motorcycle can be much, much worse; usually the person who is hurt the most is the rider on the bike. Even while wearing all the proper safety equipment — such as a correctly sized and certified helmet, motorcycle boots and gloves, plus a specialized riding suit, or leather chaps and motorcycle jacket — injuries sustained by a motorcyclist can range from painful, yet minor to severe and life-threatening.

Maryland Motorcyclist Dies in Fatal Auto-Bike Crash on MD Route 3 in Gambrills

March 16, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As the first nice days of spring crop here and there it is an almost inevitable conclusion that we will start to see more and more motorcyclists, bicycle riders, and fair-weather runners and joggers take to the streets and sidewalks in towns and cities all around the state. From Columbia and Bowie to Annapolis and Washington, D.C., the longer days and milder temperatures makes everyone feel like making a fresh start. Unfortunately, with the added volume of two-wheeled vehicles, there are bound to be some mishaps as well.

Here in the Baltimore area, we’re used to seeing motorcycles plying the streets from time to time whenever the weather takes a turn for the better. It’s always tempting for bikers to get their machines out on the roadways as earlier as possible, if only to make the most of the riding season to come. But accidents between cars, trucks and cycles are also prone to increase at this time of the year. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we know the value of taking extra precautions when heading out fo the first time on a motorbike.

Not only must a biker flex his riding muscles after a long winter’s nap, so to speak, but following the prolonged absence of any significant volume of two-wheeled vehicle, drivers of passenger cars and commercial trucks need time to collectively adjust to the change in the roadway landscape. Reminding oneself that a bike could be hidden behind a large approaching vehicle when waiting to make a left-hand turn, for instance, can not only save the cost of a traffic accident, but it could also save a life.

Rockville Biker Dies in Hospital After Motorcycle Crash along Great Seneca Highway in Montgomery County

March 8, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

So many things can go wrong when traveling down the highway in a motor vehicle that it sometimes amazes us more people are not involved in passenger car and commercial trucking accidents more often in this country. Actually, to say this does not acknowledge that there have been huge strides in automotive safety over the past several decades, to the extent that we forget how hazardous it used to be for our parents and grandparents when they were in their youth.

We say that things can go wrong when driving a car or truck on the road these days, but these are relatively stable vehicles when compared to motorcycles. And although bikes have gained in the area of safety due to the improvements in braking technology and other traffic safety enhancements, the fact still remains that motorcycles are about as raw a driving experience as one can get nowadays, having changed very little from even fifty years ago. As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, we also know that riders simply don’t enjoy the cocooning quality of today’s sedans, SUVs and even light trucks.

So when something does go wrong on the road, with either the vehicle itself or the outside conditions affecting that car or truck, the driver and passengers have a large amount of designed-in safety features that hopefully will protect them, or at the very least, reduce the extent of their injuries should a collision occur. Not so with motorcycles and their riders and passengers.

Van Hits Motorcycle from Behind at Washington County Intersection; Rider Injured, Passenger Dies from Injuries

February 28, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We fully understand how a segment of the motoring public is draw inexorably to the pastime of motorcycle riding. For one thing, it is an exciting sport with many rewards such as a feeling of freedom, a connection with nature and the outdoors far beyond that which we as automobile drivers can ever truly experience, and it is an economical way to travel. If it wasn’t for the fact that cold or inclement weather limits most people’s enjoyment of bikes in general, there might be even more individuals taking up the pastime.

Of course, along with its many big pluses, motorcycling does present a number of risks, most importantly to the rider himself. By being exposed almost completely to all of the dangers on our roadways, bikers assume a great deal of risk, not the least of which are those ever-present roadway hazards or possible traffic collisions.

While a passenger car accident may surely produce a few injuries at the very least, being killed in a low- or medium-speed automobile crash is not as great a threat as being killed in a traffic accident while riding a cycle. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have seen too many individuals severely hurt, permanently disabled or killed outright to believe that motorcycling is not an inherently dangerous activity. Certainly it is not a pastime for those who aren’t totally committed to the sport, body and soul.

Maryland Traffic Accident News: Sunderland, MD, Motorcycle Rider Dies in Single-Bike Crash in Calvert County

February 26, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It’s not a secret that injuries received in a motorcycle crash can far exceed those sustained in a car accident of the same severity. The fact that bike riders are mostly unprotected when compared to that of their four-wheeled counterparts is the main reason why there are so many more motorcycling fatalities on a percentage basis versus automobile and trucking accidents. The term “donor-cycle” did not find its way into the common vernacular without good reason.

Understanding that a motorcycle provides next to no protection to its rider is the first step to understanding the risks involved with operating one of these exciting, albeit dangerous machines. Whether one rides a Honda, Harley, Suzuki or Ducati — or any other of the numerous cruisers, crotch rockets and dirt bikes out there — the chances of being hurt during a traffic accident are usually on the high side. As personal injury attorneys, I and my staff of legal professionals are well aware of the range of injuries that can be sustained in a motorcycling wreck.

A serious crash, in fact any crash for that matter, can take place out on the open road or in dense traffic. In cities like Bowie, Annapolis and Washington, D.C., motorcyclists must vie for position in heavy vehicular traffic where any of a number of cars, SUVs, commercial trucks or city buses could inadvertently collide with a rider and his mount. But urban accidents are not the only source of bike-related injury accidents; riding in the countryside has its own risks, with inviting stretches of road that may have hidden dangers.

Deadly Motorcycle Crash Involving Pedestrian Results in Double Fatality in Prince George’s County, MD

February 15, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It may not happen as much as accidents involving passenger cars, but motorcycles have been known to strike pedestrians with fatal results. As we’ve suggested, however, a pedestrian likely has a greater chance of being injured or killed in a car accident or to be hit by a commercial delivery truck. Whatever the situation, a person on foot has virtually no protection against a 3,000-poind sedan, much less a 20,000-pound box truck.

Nevertheless, motorcycle-pedestrian collisions do occur from time to time, most often in densely populated urban areas where people on foot are likely to be crossing the road or standing at the curbside or even in the street waiting for traffic to clear. As personal injury attorneys helping victims of traffic accidents in cities all across Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia, we are sympathetic to those innocent people who through no fault of their own, save being in the wrong place at the wrong time, have been seriously hurt in a car, truck or motorcycle accident.

In the United States, there are almost eight million registered motorcycles and scooters, with about 85,000 in the state of Maryland. This is a fair number of motorbikes and equates to nearly seven vehicles for every square mile of Maryland real estate. While we know of the dangers that motorcyclists face themselves (when going up against a larger passenger car or commercial truck), but how does that factor into the pedestrian-related traffic scenario?

Calvert County Motorcyclist Killed in Single-Vehicle Anne Arundel Traffic Accident

February 8, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

We hear a great deal about the high percentage of driving-age teenagers who are injured or killed in traffic accidents. This is not unusual since it is a statistical fact that teens are more prone to becoming involved in roadway collisions. And with a higher percentage of traffic accidents usually comes a commensurate increase in the percentage of injuries and fatal crashes.

Safety experts are quick to warn parents and teachers that highway wrecks are the chief cause of death among teenagers; this is backed up by national statistics that show automobile crashes account for one-third of all teen deaths. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has published figures that indicate upward of eight driving-age teenagers (those between 16 and 19 years old) die every day across the U.S. This is not a pleasant statistic be any means.

When it comes to injuries, this young group of drivers is subject on an annual basis to around 800,000 injuries as a result of car, truck and motorcycle accidents. As we have mentioned in the past, part of this group’s predilection for accidents is most likely due to their collective inexperience when compared to older, more mature motorists. Consider that drivers 16 to 19 years of age are up to four times more likely to get into a car accident than those more seasoned drivers.

Maryland Motorcycle Rider Succumbs to Injuries from Earlier Car-Motorcycle Collision in Harford County

January 31, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

To paraphrase an oft-heard axiom repeated many times in military surgical hospitals near battlefields throughout the world: “Rule Number One is ‘Good men die.’ Rule Number Two is: ‘Doctors can’t always change Rule Number One.’” The sad reality is, even in times of relative peace, good people do die — and not always for just causes. We’re speaking here of the all too frequent, ever tragic and usually senseless deaths that happen on our nation’s highways every day, week after week, year by year.

As Baltimore injury accident lawyers, I and my legal staff understand the pain and suffering of the families left behind following the traffic-related death of a loved one or close friend. Nobody can describe, nor would he or she likely want to relive the unbearable agony of learning that a parent, spouse, close relative or child has died because of the thoughtless actions of another motorist.

But these types of deaths occur all too often here in Maryland. Whether you live in Annapolis, Laurel, Rockville or Washington, D.C., it’s quite common to read news stories of people who have been injured or killed in a car or commercial truck wreck. Motorcycle-related traffic accidents are also frequent subjects on the internet and in newspaper pages. Every once in a while we come across a news item that points up the tragedy that is the typical car crash.

Motorcyclist Loses Leg, Other Riders Injured following Accident on Point Lookout Rd. in Calvert County

January 24, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

You don’t have to tell a motorcyclist about the extreme danger of random events on the road. Ask any motorcycle rider who has been in the sport for any time and you’ll understand why most every rider is highly attuned to almost every aspect of traffic movement, weather conditions and even the state of the roadway itself. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my colleagues know first-hand why bikers statewide are wary of the unexpected. It can literally kill them if they aren’t careful.

Still, accidents can and do happen, especially in those instances where riders cannot anticipate a problem. Many of these kinds of unexpected traffic accidents can be so random that it is next to impossible to predict a car or trucking-related collision. Having represented individuals who have been hurt or seriously injured in a passenger car crash, commercial delivery truck wreck or traffic-related pedestrian accident, we understand how a moment’s distraction or thoughtless action can turn a victim’s life upside down.

For motorcycle riders, wearing a helmet and other protective “body armor” can go a long way to reducing the severity of bodily injuries sustained in a roadway collision, but by the very nature of these machines, motorcycling itself is fraught with potential injury. From cuts, scrapes and bruises to deep lacerations, broken legs and arms, and serious internal injuries, riders who become caught up in a bad traffic accident can find themselves in a hospital for weeks or months, depending on the circumstances.

Young Maryland Rider Dies in Fatal Baltimore County Motorcycle-Car Crash

January 16, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Having worked in the field of personal injury law for many years, our legal staff has seen dozens of individuals hurt or maimed as a result of bad automobile, motorcycle or commercial trucking accidents. Some of the most heartbreaking cases involve fatal accidents. For the families who have lost a minor child due to a bad traffic collision, these are tragedies beyond description. Not only from the standpoint of preventability, but also because youngsters have their entire lives ahead of them, when a child is killed in a senseless roadway accident, the surviving family members can rarely find any solace in the aftermath of such a horrible event.

Here in the United States, traffic wrecks are sadly the most common cause of death for teens, amounting to more than 30 percent of the fatal accidents that take the lives of these young people every year. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has stated that in 2010, car crashes killed seven teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 every single day of that year. In fact, based on the latest data, 2,700 teens died in motor vehicle accidents in 2010, and we can only assume that the figures will remain about the same for the current year coming up.

This is truly sad, because as we said, many car and trucking-related highway accidents could probably be prevented if only drivers were more aware of their surroundings and of traffic patterns, and certainly if distractions in the passenger compartment could be reduced in some meaningful way. From an economic point of view, costs due to injuries from the accidents that affect young people (those individuals who are age 15 through 24) top nearly $20 billion annually.