According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 549 traffic fatalities in Maryland in 2009, the last year for which statistics have been fully reported. Although there is no separate breakdown for fatalities in accidents involving tractor trailers, police, insurance investigators and other interested parties readily note that trucking accidents involving these large and heavy rigs result in deaths and serious injuries at a comparatively high rate.
Tractor Trailer Accidents Spotlight Comparatively Heavy Dangers
Developments in DePuy Hip Replacement Product Liability Case
Increasing media buzz is being devoted to a subject that we introduced to our readers in a blog post last month (November 24), namely, the hip replacement recalls made by DePuy, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, and the attendant product liability suits that are lining up to challenge its manufacturing defects.
Medical Malpractice Suit Brought Following Soccer Player's Death
A Kentucky doctor who cleared a teenager to play high school soccer, as required by abnormal findings in a test administered pursuant to a sports physical, is now the defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit brought by the boy's parents following the youth's death on a soccer field.
The DWI-Car Accident Nexus; NTSB Recommendations and Maryland Law
We noted in a prior blog post (August 30) the startling admission from 17 million Americans that they are not deterred from driving even when they have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher.
Did Hospital Adequately Warn, Review Records on Stent Implants?
We initially reported on allegations of medical stents being improperly placed into potentially hundreds of patients at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson in August, when the matter first began to assume media prominence.
Jury: J&J Liable for Not Adequately Warning of Drug's Danger
One of our blog posts (November 24) just summarized the product liability issues Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is facing with the massive recall of the artificial hip system made by DePuy, one of its many subsidiaries, and the rising tide of lawsuits concerning that product's faulty design and the extreme pain the implant has caused thousands of people.
Vehicle Rear-View Cameras Focused on Child Safety
Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced new upcoming safety-related standards last week that insurance experts and auto analysts believe will have a strongly salutary effect on the number of car accidents involving fatalities and other serious injuries caused by motorists driving in reverse.
Federal Study Highlights Drug Use in Vehicle Fatalities
A new study that was released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) last week departs from the usual focus on alcohol use as a contributing factor in fatal car accidents and scrutinizes, for the first time, the role that drugs play in motor vehicle fatalities.
NTSB Comments on Maryland Traffic Barrier Corrosion Problems
In an October 11 blog post, we wrote about several serious truck and bus accidents that have occurred in years past on Maryland highways and bridges when those vehicles hit traffic barriers that were not strong enough to withstand impact. Many safety groups and experts suggested that taller and stronger concrete barriers be constructed at strategic locations.
