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Car Accidents
- Distracted Driving - Know the Law
- Snow Responsible For Fatal Accident On I-68 Involving Maryland Man
- Cameras Catch 8,800 Speeding Maryland Residents In 6 Weeks
- Rate Of Fatal DUI Car Accidents Down In Maryland
- DC Stops Car Safety Inspections In Order To Save Money
Pedestrian & Bicycle Accidents
- Children are at risk as pedestrians in the Metro area
- Teach Your Child To Cross The Street Safely
- Did Senator Orrin Hatch Clip A Pedestrian With His Car In Washington DC?
- DC Gets the Inauguration Right
- Bike Safety is More Important Than Ever
Motorcycle Accidents
Truck Accidents
- Business Editor Of Baltimore Sun Killed In UPS Truck Accident
- Truck Crash Kills One, Shuts Down I-95
- Serious car accident on I-270
Claims Against WMATA / MetroRail and Metrobus
- MTA Bus Crash Injures Eight In Rosedale, Maryland
- Filmmaker Releases Deadly Metro Crash Documentary
- NTSB Urges “Safety Redundancy” After Washington Train Accident
- Metro Accident Kills 6 and Injures Many More!
Insurance Practices, Claims and Coverage Issues
- Another Sneaky Way Insurance Companies Deny Claims - Permissive Use
- Reasons This D.C. Accident Attorney Has So Much Work to Do
- Common Problems when making Lost Wage Claims
- Insurance Companies are Soaking the Poor
- Insurance Company Ratings
Defective Products & Consumer Protection
- Crib Recall to Prevent Child Injury
- Important Stroller Recall
- Dangerous Halloween Flashlight Recalled By Target For Fire Hazard
- FDA Warns Anti-Smoking Drugs Linked With Suicide
- FDA Issues Warning About Weight Loss Supplement Hydroxycut
Medical Malpractice
Plane Crashes, Injuries and Deaths
- IMPORTANT CAR SEAT SAFETY INFORMATION
- Pilots And FAA Officials Gather In Washington, DC, For Airplane Safety Summit
General
Library
Car Accidents
Chain-Reaction Car Accident? Read below ...
Winter Weather Conditions And Car Accidents | Maryland Car Accident Lawyer
Car Accident Hazard: Drunk Driving | Maryland, Virginia, And DC Car Accident Lawyers
Dangers of Driving on the Capital Beltway & Washington DC
Are Your Children Secure in Your Car?
Uninsured Car Accident Claims
Hit By an Uninsured Driver? You Have More Options Than You Think
Pedestrian & Bicycle Accidents
Five Accessories For Cyclist That Can Prevent Bicycle Accidents | Virginia Bicycle Accident Lawyer
National Bicycle Accident Statistics | Maryland & Virginia Bicycle Accident Injury Attorneys
Bicycle Safety Tips For Kids | DC Bicycle Accident Lawyer
Pedestrian Accident Statistics
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycle Laws For Washington DC | District of Columbia Helmet Laws | Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
Maryland’s Motorcycle Laws | Maryland Helmet Laws
The Most Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents
Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Truck Accidents
Truck Accidents And Improperly Loaded Trucks - do you need a truck accident lawyer?
The Three Reasons You Need A Virginia/DC/Maryland Truck Accident Lawyer
Dangers Of Lost Loads And Highway Debris
Sick Truckers Forge Bogus Health Certificates to Stay on the Road
The Common Causes of Truck Accidents (Part One)
Insurance Practices, Claims and Coverage Issues
How to Deal With Insurance Companies
Personal Injury Attorneys in DC: AAJ Issues Report on Insurance Company Tactics
Bigfoot, Flat Earth and Insurance: Eight Popular Insurance Coverage Myths
Customers are Being Overcharged by Insurance
Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries
Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries | Virginia & Maryland Spinal Cord Accident Lawyer
ATV And Dirt Bike Accidents Can Lead To Head Injuries
Traumatic Brain Injury Frequently Asked Questions (Part One)
Defective Products & Consumer Protection
Defective Car Parts And Car Recalls | Product Liability Attorney
The Consumer Product Safety Commission: What You Need To Know
The Most Dangerous Toys of 2008
What You Should Know About Product Liability
Medical Malpractice
Here are a list of medical errors to discuss with your physician and discuss how to avoid them.
Unnecessary Surgery | Virginia, Maryland & DC Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Objects Left Behind In the Bodies Of Surgery Patients?
Wrongful Death
Wrongful Death And Motorcycle Accidents
Wrongful Death And Car Accidents
Secondary Impacts in Sports Can Kill
Plane Crashes, Injuries and Deaths
Dangers of Flying Banner Planes | Maryland and Virginia Plane Crash Lawyers
Pilot Error: The Most Common Cause of Airplane Crashes | Aircraft Accident Lawyer
Federal Aviation Administration Information | FAA Facts
Common Reasons For Plane Accidents
Personal Injury Documents
Why You Should Choose Lewis & Tompkins to Represent You
Attorney Resources
DC Civil Calendar Assignments 2009
New Continuance Policy for Prince George's County District Court
Civil Rules of Civil Procedure - D.C. Superior Court
Litigation Forms
D.C. Casefilexpress Filing Instructions
D.C. Superior Court Multidoor Dispute Resolution Forms and Instructions
Pattern Discovery
Judge Wetzel's Discovery Checklist for Virginia Trial Attorneys
General
What Will Lewis and Tompkins Do For You? (Part 2 of 2)
What Will Lewis and Tompkins Do For You? (Part 1 of 2)
What Happens During a Lawsuit?
Crane Collapses are a new epidemic
Car Accidents
Distracted Driving - Know the Law
Distracted Driving, like driving with a cell phone or hand-held device, causes crashes everywhere. Know the law and be safe.Pedestrian & Bicycle Accidents
Children are at risk as pedestrians in the Metro area
Pedestrians, particularly children, can be seriously injured when struck by a car. Slow down at intersections and anticipate pedestrians in the road!Plane Crashes, Injuries and Deaths
IMPORTANT CAR SEAT SAFETY INFORMATION
Follow these 7 important steps to make sure that your children are safe in your car. Automobile accidents are the top killer of children between 1 and 16 years of age. Car seats have been an important safety device to prevent child fatalities in car accidents. Properly installed car seats save lives.Insurance Practices, Claims and Coverage Issues
Another Sneaky Way Insurance Companies Deny Claims - Permissive Use
Insurance Companies are always looking for ways to deny claims. Once clever and dishonest way they deny claims is by alleging there was no permissive use.Reasons This D.C. Accident Attorney Has So Much Work to Do
Reason #1 People Call Automobile or Car Accident Attorneys and Lawyers.Car Accidents
Snow Responsible For Fatal Accident On I-68 Involving Maryland Man
An unidentified man was killed on I-68 when his car failed to negotiate a curve on snowy roads. Two other people were injured in this deadly winter weather car crash. Cameras Catch 8,800 Speeding Maryland Residents In 6 Weeks
In a bid to reduce the number of car accidents and road worker injuries in Maryland, the state police have used camera speed enforcement for the past six weeks. The result was 8,800 citations since November -- and hopefully many more aware drivers.Rate Of Fatal DUI Car Accidents Down In Maryland
The rate of fatal drunk driving accidents has fallen in Maryland in 2008, according to a new report. However, the number of drunk driving incidents so far in 2009 does not bode well for a two-year drop in DUI accidents.DC Stops Car Safety Inspections In Order To Save Money
Do car safety inspection prevent car accidents? Unfortunately, no one has done a conclusive study. Now Washington DC is cutting required car inspections in order to save money - but will it cause more car accidents and car accident injuries?Claims Against WMATA / MetroRail and Metrobus
MTA Bus Crash Injures Eight In Rosedale, Maryland
An MTA bus accident near Franklin Square Hospital injured eight people and caused havoc at the intersection of Franklin Square Drive and Abigail Drive. The bus accident is still under investigation, though police believe rain and inclement weather may have been a factor.Defective Products & Consumer Protection
Crib Recall to Prevent Child Injury
Please check to make sure that Stork Craft is not the manufacturer of your crib. Four children so far have died as a result of this defective crib.Claims Against WMATA / MetroRail and Metrobus
Filmmaker Releases Deadly Metro Crash Documentary
Six months after the deadly Metro train accident in Washington, DC, took the lives of nine commuters, one firefighter has made a short documentary film that focuses on the emergency response to the public transit accident.Defective Products & Consumer Protection
Important Stroller Recall
Please check your stroller to ensure it is not one of these models. Keep your kids safe!Dangerous Halloween Flashlight Recalled By Target For Fire Hazard
Mitch Lipka bought a three-pack of Halloween flashlights from a Target department store for $1 - but when he brought them home and put batteries in the children's product, one of the flashlights sizzled as the battery melted through the plastic. When he tested a second pack of flashlights, the same fire hazard occurred in one of the defective toys.Now Target has recalled the dangerous Halloween flashlights with the help of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Target has asked that those who bought the defective toys bring them back to the store for a full refund and that anyone using the lights should immediately remove the batteries. Target has also pulled the dangerous fire hazards from their shelves - even before the CPSC has finished investigating the dangerous product. The CPSC encourages all parents to report defective and dangerous toys.
Truck Accidents
Business Editor Of Baltimore Sun Killed In UPS Truck Accident
Reports from rural Baltimore County say that 48-year-old Tim Wheatley, the business editor of The Baltimore Sun was killed in a UPS truck accident while his 9-year-old daughter was seriously injured in the Maryland truck accident.Wheatley was taking a left turn at an intersection in Dover, Maryland, on Monday morning when his car collided with the truck. The intersection's light was working at the time of the accident and it is unclear who had the right of way or if either vehicle ran a red light. The car was t-boned by the UPS truck, which struck the driver's side of Wheatley's car. His daughter was in the front passenger's seat.
Wheatley was declared dead at the scene of the Maryland truck accident while EMS workers rushed his daughter to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. It is not known whether the UPS driver was injured in the truck accident.
Car Accidents
National Transportation Safety Board Officials Told Not To Text And Drive
Although new laws about texting while driving and using a cell phone while driving have not gone national, and while they have not affected most drivers in the Washington, DC, area, they have hit the National Transportation Safety Board. The new chair woman of the NTSB announced after her swearing in ceremony that NTSB members in Washington, DC, would no longer be allowed to text or talk on the phone while driving on official business. Board members will also be disallowed from talking on or using their work cell phones while driving their personal cars.The chairwoman, Deborah Hersman, cited recent studies that link car accidents with texting and talking on the phone. Earlier, the recommended that government and transit agencies ban the use of cellphones and other wireless devices for city workers who drive, young people, and train operators who may cause harm with their distracted driving.
Pedestrian & Bicycle Accidents
Teach Your Child To Cross The Street Safely
No matter how young your children might be, it is never too early to teach them about how to safely cross the road at intersections. Even the simplest rules and most basic common sense can save your child from a pedestrian accident that results in serious injury or death. Here are some quick pedestrian safety tips:· Cross at marked crosswalks whenever possible.
· Make contact with any drivers who are stopped in the intersection.
· Don't run across the street.
· Don't dart out from behind objects into the road.
· Look both ways before crossing.
· If a car is approaching in the distance, try to gauge its speed before crossing.
· Never assume a car will stop for you.
· Don't stop looking to your left and right while making your way across the street.
· Enlist the help of a cross guard if there is one.
· Listen for cars before crossing the street.
Car Accidents
6 Things We Should Not Have to Tell You Not To Do While Driving A Car
Six Things We Should Not Have To Tell You Not To Do While Driving
(taken from our actual cases)
6. Don’t drive if you are blind; (actual case)
5. Don’t drive if you are so intoxicated you cannot walk; (actual case)
4. Don’t drive if you don’t know how to drive; (actual case)
3. Don’t drive a car into a lake, they cannot float; (actual case)
2. Don’t drive into a building, and (actual case)
1. Don’t engage in sex acts while driving. (2 actual cases)
Insurance Practices, Claims and Coverage Issues
Common Problems when making Lost Wage Claims
Documenting the time you miss from work will increase the value of your case significantly. Missed time from work is compensable in itself (you get paid for the time you were off), but also is evidence of a more serious injury. If you were hurt but went to work, it appears (rightly or wrongly) that you were not as seriously injured as someone else may have been.
Check out our wage verification form for an idea as to the type of information that an adjuster (or ultimately, a jury if necessary) will need to see evidence of your wages:
The name and address of your employer
A brief description of your position
How much you make, and how you get paid (hourly, salary, commission, etc.)
The dates you missed from work
The date you went back to work
You will have to prove you have paid your taxes. Be prepared to show a pay stub showing your withholdings or a tax return if a case has to go to Court.
If you have questions about how to document your lost wage claim in an injury case, contact us -- 202-296-0666.
Car Accidents
Maryland Doctor Seriously Injured In Pittsville Car Accident
According to the Associated Press, the chief of pediatrics at Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Dr. Jose Alvarado, has been involved in a serious Maryland car crash.The doctor, who also has a popular Lower Shore private practice, was driving his sports car on Route 50 in Pittsville when he slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer truck that was sitting on the shoulder of the highway. Emergency workers flew the pediatrician to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was listed in critical condition, although he was first transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center by Pittsville EMS. Maryland State Police told the media that he was in critical condition as of Wednesday at 10 PM.
Alvarado, who lives in Ocean City and who was driving a 2009 Mercedes convertible, has been a doctor in the Salisbury area since 1988.
Claims Against WMATA / MetroRail and Metrobus
NTSB Urges “Safety Redundancy” After Washington Train Accident
In its ongoing investigation of the fatal Washington Metro crash in June, the National Transportation Safety Board has become concerned that the DC train accident could have been prevented if the Washington Metro concentrated more on adequate safety redundancy.According to the Washington Post and the NTSB, a single malfunction caused the train accident that killed nine commuters and injured dozens more. The fact that a single failure in the largely automatic train system is extremely troubling to many - as a lack of safety redundancy puts only one broken part between a safe commute and another tragic metro accident. The NTSB will probably officially announce that a new software system that regularly checks on hardware functionality should be required. The new system would "continuously evaluate the validity of real-time track occupancy data."
The NTSB does not expect to officially finish its investigation of the DC commuter train wreck for several more months.
Defective Products & Consumer Protection
FDA Warns Anti-Smoking Drugs Linked With Suicide
The Washington Post reports that taking anti-smoking medications may lead to depression and suicide. After a disturbing number of reports linking two different anti-smoking drugs, Chantix and Zyban, with depression, hostility, attempted suicide, and suicide, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has released a warning about the drugs and is requiring the drug company to label the drug packaging with strong warning labels.The agency had received 98 reports of suicide among patients taking Chantix and 188 reports of attempted suicide, and 14 suicides and 17 suicide attempts among patients taking Zyban, according to officials.
FDA officials are unsure of why the drug would cause these serious reactions, and also noted that nicotine withdrawal can have similar effects. The also noted that the drug would not be taken off of the market considering the equally deadly effects of smoking. Making the public aware of the dangerous side effects should curb any potential problems, they said.
Car Accidents
Bowie, MD, Father And Daughter Killed In Antique Car Crash
The Associated Press reports that a Bowie, Maryland, man and his daughter were killed while driving their antique car on Interstate 70 in Howard County, MD.The car, a 1929 Model A Ford, was being driven by 62-year-old Richard Dashiell, who was accompanied by his daughter, Amelia. The antique car had a sticker on the back window warning approaching cars that his vehicle was slow moving, but the car was struck from behind by a 2007 Dodge.
Dashiell and Amelia were both thrown from the car - which was not equipped with seatbelts, as many antique cars lack modern day safety options. The driver of the Dodge, Paul Davis of Glen Burnie, was not injured in the crash. Maryland State Police say that the antique Ford was traveling at about 50 miles per hour when it was hit from behind by the truck in Lisbon on I-70.
The Maryland car accident is still under investigation, and no charges have been filed at this time.
Plane Crashes, Injuries and Deaths
Pilots And FAA Officials Gather In Washington, DC, For Airplane Safety Summit
After a number of concerning plane crashes in the last two years involving untrained pilots and pilot fatigue, a number of FAA officials, pilots, and government officials met in Washington, DC, this week in order to discuss the future of airplane safety and announce immediate emergency actions to prevent future plane crashes.The meeting ended with a few new resolutions: the FAA will write new pilot regulations involving the number of hours of flying allowed; the government will conduct a review of pilot training; the government will pressure all airlines to focus on safety programs and collect flight data; and the FAA will improve the ability of airlines to fully research a pilot's flight history before hiring. Currently, only the last five years of a pilot's flight history can be accessed.
Many of these resolutions would affect regional airlines, not national ones which already take many of these precautions to prevent plane accidents.
Pedestrian & Bicycle Accidents
Did Senator Orrin Hatch Clip A Pedestrian With His Car In Washington DC?
Washington, DC, has always been dangerous to pedestrians - but usually it's not the country's Senators driving. However, on June 11, a number of sources reported that Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah grazed a pedestrian in a crosswalk while driving in the capital this week.According to multiple sources, the 75-year-old senator clipped a woman walking in a designated crosswalk during a thunderstorm in Washington on Tuesday night. The woman was not injured in the pedestrian accident, although the car did hit the woman according to several witnesses to the event.
"I was mortified. I didn't see her at all. I said, 'I didn't see you. I'm so sorry,'" Hatch told the Washington Post. "She seemed OK. I felt really badly about it."
Hatch said that he called the police to report the near-accident, but the police could not find an incident report in connection with the pedestrian accident.
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Car Accidents
- D.C. Insurance Commissioner's Website
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Motorcycle Accidents
Insurance Practices, Claims and Coverage Issues
- Van Insurance
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- People Over Profits
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Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries
Defective Products & Consumer Protection
- Product Recall
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- National Consumer Law Center
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Medical Malpractice
Plane Crashes, Injuries and Deaths
Attorney Resources
- Maryland Trial Lawyers Association
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- Accurint
- Link to find Corporate Registered Agents
Maryland Courts
- Maryland Courts - Inclement Weather Closing Information
- Prince George's County Courts
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Washington D.C. Courts
- D.C. Municipal Regulations
- DC Code online
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Virginia Courts
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- Virginia Courts Case Information website
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Attorneys in Other States
- New Orleans Personal Injury Lawyers Baton Rouge
- St Louis Personal Injury Lawyers
- Norris Injury Lawyers - Alabama Personal Injury Lawyers
- Donald Shapiro is a Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer and has been successfully representing seriously injured people in Chicago since 1978.
- North and South Carolina Injury Lawyers