Maryland Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog

As Maryland personal injury attorneys and motorcycle accident lawyers, we understand the attraction that the open road holds for most every motorcycle rider out there. The feeling of freedom and independence that a bike offers cannot be duplicated in a closed passenger car. But just as a sedan blocks many of the sensations of the outside world from the driver and passengers, it also provides greater protection in the event of a bad traffic collision.

Motorcycles offer few if any of the safety features that make survival in serious auto accidents more certain. Even with protective outer wear, boots, gloves and a motorcycle helmet, riders can be critically injured in traffic crashes that a passenger car driver would likely walk away from. Broken arms and legs, internal bleeding and traumatic head injuries are all possible outcomes.

In the worst of cases, motorcyclists can receive such extensive injuries that they may actually die at the scene of an accident before they can be rushed to the hospital for treatment. Even a biker who survives a wreck might end up a paraplegic or quadriplegic due to irreparable damage to the individual’s spinal cord. Years of physical therapy combined with full-time care can sap a family’s budget and result in deep financial troubles.

In some cases, another driver is found to be to blame for an accident which kills or injures a motorcyclist. One such example occurred not long ago when police arrested a 22-year-old driver indicted for allegedly hitting a biker head-on along a stretch of highway. According to reports, Jessica Faircloth tested positive for narcotics immediately following the accident, which occurred last July. Faircloth was named in a five-count indictment that included operating a motor vehicle while under the influence and causing the death of another individual.

Based on police reports, David Edward Kessel, a long-time employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency, was riding his motorcycle just west of Mills Gap near Gerrardstown. According to police investigators, Faircloth's 1992 Honda crossed over the center line for some reason and collided with Mr. Kessel's bike.

The resulting collision caused Kessel to be thrown onto the Honda, then over the vehicle’s roof and down a steep incline adjacent to the road. Emergency responders arriving at the crash site more than likely attempted to render aid to Kessel, however their efforts were unsuccessful and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police and medical reports indicate that death was caused by blunt force injuries.

According to the news article, Faircloth was taken to a local hospital for treatment of her injuries. Investigators later interviewed the woman, who stated to police that she had not been drinking, and agreed to sign a medical waiver to that fact. However, several blood tests taken a the hospital apparently showed that the woman had some amount of the sedative Benxodiazepine in her bloodstream.

Area woman indicted for fatal accident, Journal-News.net, February 18, 2011

We wrote last year about the tragic death of Natasha Pettigrew, a candidate for U.S. Senate who was struck by a sport utility vehicle during an early morning ride on her bike in Prince George’s County last fall. According to news stories at the time, the 30-year-old woman was training for a triathlon when she was killed in an alleged hit-and-run traffic accident in Maryland's Prince George's County.

Recently, Pettigrew’s mother, Kenniss Henry, has taken up crusade to make the streets of Maryland, Washington, D.C., and other areas safer for bicycle riders. According to news article, Henry has lobbied the Maryland legislature in Annapolis to try and get a new bill introduced -- the Vehicular Manslaughter Act. Along with advocacy groups like Bike Maryland, Henry is reportedly pushing to close a major loophole in Maryland state law.

According to news reports, the current law essentially says that if a flagrantly reckless, yet sober driver causes a traffic death in Maryland, he or she will pay no more than $1,000 in fines through traffic court. The only other option is for the driver to be charged with a felony (however this typically never happens because the standards of proof are so very high).

The new bill, HB 363, would provide for a misdemeanor option. This new option would allow for a person -- who has been convicted of causing a traffic fatality while driving in a dangerously reckless manner when sober -- to be sentenced to as many as three years in jail or hit with a $5,000 fine. According to news articles, Bike Maryland, Maryland chiefs of police, and the AAA have thrown their support behind this bill.

This a one facet of a larger movement among walking and cycling advocates to make penalties more harsh in cases of vehicular manslaughter. The effort, according to reports, is to help people feel safer when walking or biking on and near public roadways. Safety advocates argue that roads will never be completely safe until motorists understand that there are strict penalties for causing an accident through reckless behavior.

Help Seek Justice for a Change.org Member's Death, Change.org, February 15, 2011

As Baltimore injury accident lawyers, we are well aware of the laws and statutes created to protect motorists, including motorcycle riders, here in Maryland. These laws, while seeming to some as interfering with personal freedom were nonetheless written with good intentions in mind, especially where they provide safer and less dangerous traffic conditions for riders and passenger car drivers alike.

When it comes to traffic laws specifically written with bikers in mind -- helmet regulations and lane-sharing laws immediately come to mind -- these likely vary from one state to another. All the same, it is critical that every motorist who shares our public roadways clearly understands and follows these rules.

By all bikers being aware of and abiding by Maryland’s helmet and other mototcycle-related traffic laws, this can go a long way toward helping to reduce the instance of motorcycle crashes in cities like Frederick, Rockville, Hagerstown and Bowie.

Anybody who has ever seen a friend or relative in a hospital ward following a serious motorcycle crash can understand how extensive a rider’s injuries can truly be. Compared a person injured in a passenger car or commercial truck accident, under similar circumstances, the motorcyclist is usually worse off following the wreck.

The laws of physics being what they are, fate does not lend a biker much margin of safety when tangling with an SUV, pickup truck or 18-wheeler. In cases where a rider is hit by a car or box truck on a city street or highway, size is a big factor in who ends up in the emergency room. Sadly, in such accidents the motorcyclist typically loses that encounter hands down.

Whether a person is riding a motorcycle, scooter, bicycle and other two-wheeled vehicle, a traffic accident can land the rider in the hospital with cuts, bruises and road rash, if they are lucky. Worse accidents can result in neck and spinal damage, or traumatic brain injury. Here’s a short list of some Maryland state laws that may help save your life.

Continue reading " Baltimore Motorcycle Accident and Injury Update: Maryland’s Motorcycle Law Specifics Aim at Rider Safety " »

Having worked for years as a Baltimore personal injury attorney and auto accident lawyer, I have seen the result of numerous motorcycle accidents. In fact, just a look at the local news during the year and one will likely find a string of bike accident articles. Whether you live in Annapolis, the District, Frederick or Gaithersburg, MD, motorcycle collisions involving passenger cars, light trucks and commercial deliver vehicles are not uncommon during the riding season.

No biker, regardless whether he or she is a Harley, Honda, Triumph or Vespa fan, will deny that motorcycles, scooters and mopeds offer virtually no protection to their operators in the case of a traffic accident. Nevertheless, this fact has hardly discouraged the tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts to hit the road every year as temps warm up and the snow and ice melt away.

As a motorcycle accident attorney, I truly understand the lure of the open road for many individuals. But that doesn’t change the fact that a motorcycle wreck, whether caused by poor weather conditions, another driver’s error or equipment failure, can be much more severe than the average car accident under similar circumstances. Much of this is due to the relatively poor protection that a bike provides to its rider.

Now that we can perhaps see an end to the winter season, riders all around the state will be starting up their bikes in anticipation of the first beautiful spring day. With that in mind, it is perhaps wise to remember that there can be increased opportunity for serious or fatal injury as motorcycles slowly begin to be more common on our roadways.

Over the past few snowy and icy winter months, passenger car drivers have likely become used to not seeing bikes on the roads, especially when compared to the peak summer riding season. As a motorcycle owner, its good to be extra cautious when riding this spring not only in high traffic areas, but also on lesser traveled roads. Automobile drivers and trucker need some time to get used to motorcycle traffic once the warmer weather sets in.

Having represented victims of auto-cycle collisions, we would like to remind riders that motorcycle accidents can occur almost anytime, night or day. Sadly, this is due to the fact that four-wheel motorists and commercial truckers do not always spot the smaller profile of a bike and its rider until it’s too late. As many a rider has learned, it’s better to drive as if nobody can see you. Betting your life that a distracted parent driving a minivan full of screaming children will see you coming just as he decides to turn left into the mall is not a strategy we would advise.

Good luck, be safe and enjoy the coming riding season.