Whether faced with the wrongdoing of another, a criminal charge or a serious injury, heading to court is a nerve-wracking experience. Most people in Maryland do not take on this experience alone. Obtaining the guidance of an experienced lawyer is often your best option for achieving the best possible outcome for your unique situation, but what if someone drops the ball? In the face of legal malpractice, you might feel understandably lost.

Millions of dollars are spent on campaigns against texting while driving. But texting is just one form of distraction. Eating. Smoking. The radio. Pets. Or simply zoned out.

According to federal traffic data, the most common cause of distracted driving deaths is …. daydreaming at the wheel. Are you paying attention to the road? What dangerous things are your fellow drivers doing?

Professionalism in the work place can be much more than just a point of company pride — it can be the difference between life and death. An out-of-state dermatologist was recently accused of behaving inappropriately in the operating room, causing severe injuries to her patients. She is currently facing at least five medical malpractice lawsuits, which Maryland victims of malpractice may also choose to utilize when seeking justice.

Nearly three years ago, a soon-to-be married bride sought help from the self-proclaimed “leading cosmetic surgeon” in the area. Although the bride was only seeking a minor cosmetic correction surgery, the surgeon convinced her to undergo an additional surgery to make her stomach flatter. After eight hours of surgery, the bride stopped breathing. Although the attending staff phoned 911, the damage was already done by the time they arrived, and the bride suffered permanent and irreversible brain damage. The victim is now cared for full-time by her adult son.

The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending seat belts on school buses. This may be the push needed for Maryland and other states to protect students who take the bus.

Seat belts on buses do save lives and limit injuries. However, the debate always comes down to the substantial cost of adding safety belts and who will pay for it. School districts look to state legislatures. States look to the federal government.

Another deadly school bus crash

The NTSB announced its recommendations just days after a school bus collided with a dump truck in New Jersey, killing one child and one adult aboard the bus and injuring 40 others. That bus was equipped with seatbelts, which probably further deaths or worse injuries.

The board is calling for lap belts and shoulder harnesses on all new school buses. A few states already require seat belts or lap and shoulder restraints. Unless older buses are retrofitted (at a cost of millions) it would take several years before all of Maryland’s schoolchildren are protected by a 3-point system. Better late than never.

Sports utility vehicles are popular choices for many families in Maryland, and it is easy to see why. These vehicles typically offer adequate seating, ample storage space and competitive gas mileage, all of which is perfect for a busy family on the go. However, there may be a darker side to SUVs — an increase in pedestrian accidents.

In 2009, the number of pedestrian fatalities — having been on a downward trend since 1975 — hit a record low. But that did not last long, and from 2009 to 2016, fatal accidents involving a single motor vehicle and pedestrians shot back up over 80 percent. So what is to blame for this frightening increase in deadly pedestrian accidents? Experts from the Governors Highway Safety Associate believe that SUVs are responsible for the sharp uptake in deaths.

People go through life thinking that if they had been a few seconds earlier or a few seconds later, such-and-such would not have happened.

So it is with car crashes and texting. Maryland law prohibits drivers from using hand-held devices while operating a vehicle, yet texting while driving continues to cause roadway disasters. Looking away from the road for a few seconds can literally be life or death.

Drunk driving remains a threat to innocent motorists, their passengers and others using Maryland’s roadways. A crash involving a drunk driver and a passenger vehicle has enough potential to be serious or deadly, but when a truck is also involved, the force of the impact only increases. Under these circumstances, a truck accident tends to increase the possibility of fatalities exponentially.

On a recent Monday, a Penske truck driven by a 49-year-old man careened into the rear of a passenger vehicle carrying a family of three. The impact critically injured the 3-month-old boy in the backseat of the vehicle. Troopers with the Maryland State Police report that the baby’s parents “did everything right” in that the baby was properly strapped into a car seat. It just wasn’t enough, and the infant died on the Thursday following the crash. 

Transferring patients can be an arduous task. If those doing the transfer are not careful, patients could suffer injuries. Some medical and nursing home facilities here in Maryland and elsewhere use lifts to help facilitate those transfers, which are supposed to be safer. However, if not used properly, it too, can lead to serious injuries or the death of a patient. Such an error may be construed as nursing home negligence by a court.

A family in a neighboring state believes that negligence led to the death of their family member. During a transfer using a lift on April 15, 2016, the woman fell. Reportedly, this was not the first time she fell or suffered injuries during a transfer. Her family says it happened no less than six other times prior to this fall, which they say led to her death eight days later.

Motorcycle sales have risen steadily since the early 1990s. That surge was fueled by Baby Boomers who were rediscovering motorcycles or finally indulging their wild side in their empty nest and golden years. At the same time, safety has become increasingly important, especially because there are many more senior riders on the road today.

Fortunately, new safety features continue to pop up. If you love riding your motorcycle, here are five safety innovations for you to consider.

In the past few years, concussions and other brain injuries suffered by football players have been much in the news. However, football and other contact sports are in the minority in terms of causing serious brain damage.

Vehicle accidents are at fault for many more cases of traumatic brain injury across the country.

Understanding the two forms of TBI

Even in a low-speed, rear-end collision, serious brain trauma is possible. There are two forms of traumatic brain injury: open and closed. An open head injury refers to a skull fracture or an incident in which a foreign object penetrates the skull. A closed head injury, which is much more common, is caused by a blow to the head; no open wound is involved. This could happen, for example, if the impact of a rear-end collision causes a person’s head to strike the steering wheel or dashboard.