November and December usually bring the first snowfalls to Maryland each year. As roads become covered in ice, snow and slush, the dangers of driving increase. A recent weekend of snowfall led to dozens of accidents in the state, with officials and police asking Maryland residents to stay off the roads, if possible. In...
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Washington DC Above the National Average for Fatal Car Crashes Involving Drugs
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released a study on fatal car accidents and drivers under the influence of drugs. Both Maryland and Washington, D.C. came in above the national average of one in five fatally injured drivers having drugs in their system at the time of the accident. The rate...
Read MoreMaryland Federal Judge Rules on the Use of Experts in Medical Malpractice Cases
In 2006, a mother and father took their infant daughter to the hospital because she was suffering from vomiting, diarrhea and choking. An emergency room doctor examined the little girl and told the parents to give her Pedialyte (an electrolyte solution) and then take her to a pediatrician. The family took the girl...
Read MoreVirginia Officer’s Battle to Receive Compensation for Injuries Shows System’s Faults
A Virginia police officer suffered an injury while transporting a handcuffed man down a flight of stairs. The man slipped, and the officer grabbed the man’s arm to keep him from falling. The officer immediately felt a sharp pain in his back and groin. Doctors eventually diagnosed him as having a hernia and ruptured...
Read More129-Year-Old Seminary Burns Down in Alexandria
The Virginia Department of Fire Programs reported a $278 million loss in 2009 due to fires. It also reported that every 19 hours a fire has either injured or killed someone throughout the state. The presence of fire alarms and automatic sprinkler systems can significantly reduce the amount of damage caused by fires. A fire...
Read MoreTwo DC Metro Buses Collide, Injuring 26
Accidents involving Washington, D.C. public transportation have increased in recent years. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, only one death occurred each decade. Beginning in the mid 2000s, however, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has seen, on average, multiple deaths a year. Passengers and employees have died in train and bus...
Read MoreMaryland’s New Cell Phone Laws Take Effect
The National Safety Council has found that drivers talking on a cell phone fail to see and process up to 50 percent of the information in their driving environment. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety determined that drivers using cell phones are four times as likely to get into serious crashes as those not...
Read MoreElectrical Accident Hospitalizes DC Construction Worker
Electrocutions remain one of the leading causes of death for construction workers. Between one hundred and two hundred workers die each year in electrical accidents. Construction workers are at risk any time they work near live wires or power lines. Overhead power lines typically...
Read MoreConsumer Safety Experts Recommend Cordless Window Coverings after Maryland Baby Dies in Accident
With window cords injuring or killing many babies and toddlers over the years, experts at the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) have called on parents to switch to cordless window coverings. In 2009, companies recalled nearly 5.5 million window shades and blinds that posed dangers to children after three deaths and seven near strangulations....
Read MoreWashington DC Restrictions on Drivers under 18 Shown to Improve Road Safety
A recent study found that injuries from car crashes cost over $99 billion every year. When you factor in higher insurance premiums, traffic delays and other costs associated with car accidents, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration believes that the costs associated with accidents...
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