Maryland Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog

Pedestrians and bicycle riders in Baltimore, Annapolis, D.C., and Rockville will likely all agree that brushes with motor vehicles are some of the more harrowing experiences in these urban areas. Even on suburban and rural roads the potential for serious injury accidents is quite high. Lucky individuals may only receive bumps and bruises, but those who don’t escape injury can be sent to the hospital with head or neck injuries, broken bones and internal bleeding.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys and auto accident lawyers, we commiserate with the families of those who have been hurt, permanently injured or killed in traffic collisions around the state. Naturally, everyone needs to follow the rules of the road and obey state laws, but the size and weight disparity between motor vehicle such as passenger cars, delivery trucks and commercial tractor-trailers, and people on foot or riding a bike certainly leaves the latter group at a disadvantage.

A little while back, prosecutors cited an elderly woman in connection with a car-bicycle collision that left a Johns Hopkins student Nathan Krasnopoler critically injured and in a coma. According to news reports, the State's Attorney's Office for Baltimore City and the Baltimore City PD issued two traffic citations against 83-year-old Jeannette Walke for her part in a February 26 accident near Johns Hopkins University.

The woman reportedly struck the 20-year-old’s bike with her car, sending him to the hospital with very serious injuries. Based on news items at the time, Krasnopoler suffered two collapsed lungs as well as multiple broken ribs and a broken collarbone. He also received facial fractures, eye damage and a traumatic brain injury.

At the time of the news article, Walke had been cited for negligent driving and failure to yield right-of-way to a bicyclist. For those unfamiliar with the law, negligence is defined as the “careless or imprudent” operation of a vehicle “that endangers any property or the life or person of any individual.”

Based on reports, the Baltimore police had issued the citations following a thorough investigation, after which it concluded that the charges were appropriate when weighed against the facts of the incident. The police reportedly did not find any evidence of “gross negligence,” which is necessary in order to support a charge of vehicular manslaughter.

The victim’s family has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Walke for her alleged negligence in their son’s injury and current condition. The suit says that Krasnopoler went into cardiac arrest during transport to the hospital and has remained in a coma since the crash. Meanwhile, each violation that Walke received carries a maximum fine of $500 and three points.

Prosecutors cite driver in accident that critically injured Hopkins bicyclist, April 12, 2011

Don't sell your safety or health short by choosing sub-standard protective gear for riding your bike. This is the message that many safety experts have tried to pass on to motorcyclists and bicycle riders over the years. Most importantly, both of these groups should pay particular attention in their choice of helmet for riding. It is true, not all brain buckets are created equal.

As Baltimore injury attorneys, we have represented Maryland motorcyclists who have become involved in car crashes and we also know the post-crash effect of riding with no or poorly designed safety equipment. As supposedly uncomfortable and isolating that motorcycle helmets are, the alternative can be many times more uncomfortable and potentially life-altering. Although many states have no mandatory helmet law, Maryland is not one of them.

Whether you ride on the state’s rural roads or ply the densely trafficked city streets of Annapolis, Washington, D.C., or Rockville, the country roads, one thing is certain: no biker cannot go back in time, prior to a serious traffic accident, and don a helmet to protect himself. When it comes to the future, the proactive approach is usually the most prudent course of action.

As every good rider knows, the key element of a motorcyclist’s protective wardrobe is his or her helmet. Of course, gloves, boots, a decent pair of chaps or overalls, and a good leather jacket are all recommended for the best possible protection, but an industry- and government-approved helmet is paramount. Going without this important item is just inviting disaster.

Yet, many bikers apparently don’t believe in the safety benefits of high-quality headgear, and as such many decide to buy and wear an illegal helmet. The reason why is up for debate; however, cost could be one or fashion another. What the experts seem to agree on, however, is that relying on a novelty helmet or a cheap knock-off to protect you in the event of a motorcycle wreck is a false economy that one could live to regret. And if not the rider, then his or her family if the crash is fatal.

According to news reports, many bikers who wear sub-standard novelty or beanie-type helmets don’t realize that they are violating the Department of Transportation law -- namely the one that requires a helmet to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 218.

Continue reading " Baltimore Motorcycle Safety Update: Improper Helmet Choices have Deadly Consequences during Bike Accidents " »

The old expression, “Where there’s one, there’s another,” can apply to many things in life. On the road, motorcycle riders keep this phrase in mind whenever they see a deer or other animal in or near the roadway. You and your Harley, Ducati or Yamaha might avoid an accident with a buck, but keep a watchful eye that a second deer isn’t behind the bushes waiting to dart in front of you and your bike.

Maryland motorcyclists are no strangers to single-vehicle crashes, especially in autumn when fallen leaves and a little bit or rain can make pavement slick at the worst possible moment. More than one biker has lost control of his mount in a fast corner and collided with a guard rail, tree or other immovable object. Road rash is a distinct possibility in such biking accidents, but a broken leg or arm is not unusual.

Once down, a disabled motorcycle rider lying in the roadway can easily be hit by an approaching passenger car or commercial truck, especially at night. Many bikers have lost their lives in this kind of fatal, post-crash collision. The point we are trying to make here, as Maryland personal injury lawyers who represent riders injured in traffic accidents, is be careful out there. The riding season is still new and you’ll enjoy it more from the saddle of your favorite bike, instead of a hospital bed.

On that note, we ran across an article that returns us to the original saying of “Where there’s one.” According to the news, two motorcyclists were taken to the hospital following two separate traffic accidents on a Friday not long ago. In one crash, a rider from Hagerstown apparently lost control of his bike on an entrance ramp to I-70. There was not indication if the wreck was caused by defective equipment, but that’s always a possibility in single-vehicle accidents.

Continue reading " Baltimore Motorcycle Accident News: Two Riders Injured, Taken to Hospital in Separate Bike Wrecks " »

For many people out there it may come as somewhat of a surprise that there are individuals who drive a car, motorcycle or commercial vehicle without being properly licensed. For some, the cost of obtaining a valid passenger car or commercial driver’s license is apparently too much to spend. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we come across this situation from time to time and it is disconcerting.

When it comes to bikers, it would not be a stretch to say that there are people operating motorcycles on public roads who do not possess the proper endorsement from the state. In fact, here in Baltimore, we have had problems with individuals breaking the law by riding unlicensed and possibly uninsured trail bikes and other off-road vehicles on city streets and causing occasional traffic accidents.

It is possible that there are some very competent motorcycle riders out there who, for whatever reason, choose to operate a bike illegally by not becoming properly licensed. Is it a matter of cost, of time, or a lack of concern? There is no easy answer. Many of these individuals do not get caught until they get pulled over for a traffic violation or end up getting into a traffic accident with another vehicle.

Whatever the reason for not being properly licensed, it's a fair assumption that many would choose to be if the opportunity arose. For those riders who have the skills and are looking for a relatively quick way to obtain a legal motorcycle license, the state has instituted a pilot program for training and licensing of previously unlicensed bikers.

According to a news item, the state’s Motor Vehicle Administration recently approved an Intermediate Riding Clinic (IRC). The single-day class is meant specifically for experienced riders who don’t currently have a valid motorcycle endorsement on their driver’s license. This group includes a range of individuals, from dirt bike riders and those just operating on a permit, to those riding without a proper endorsement. This latter category has been a major problem for law enforcement departments across the nation.

Here in Maryland, the program is known as the “Total Control IRC” and is planned to be offered only at Howard Community College’s Rider School. According to news sources, the one-day class will include six hours of classroom instruction as well as driving range exercises. Following the day-long course, students must pass a state-approved riding skills test in order to obtain their motorcycle endorsement.

For more information on this new approach to licensing riders, you can visit one or all of the following websites: totalcontroltraining.net, howardcc.edu or motorcycletraining.com. We can only hope that this effort will help to train previously unlicensed riders on those necessary riding skills, riding etiquette and all-important traffic laws to make them better and more responsible motorists.

Total Control: Motorcycle Licensing Class, UltimateMotorcycling.com, March 18, 2011