Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A local woman catastrophically injured in a car accident on the highway has won a $4.6 million settlement from the state and the estate of the other driver.Chief among the damages for the plaintiff is a $3.65 million payment from the highway administration which the plaintiff sued for maintaining a dangerous roadway.The settlement comes at the start of the construction of the road interchange that could have prevented the accident that killed her passenger and left the plaintiff in a wheelchair for years.As an experienced attorney I have reviewed many cases of car accidents and have completed same with favorable results

The other driver had survived the crash but has since died of natural causes.On the day of the accident the plaintiff was driving when another car suddenly pulled in front of her as she tried to turn left to enter the highway.The collision broke most of the plaintiff's bones from her feet to her pelvis. She also sustained a massive brain injury, was bedridden for six months and then in a wheelchair, requiring round-the-clock care.Only after a lengthy hospitalization and multiple surgeries the plaintiff is now able to walk with a cane or walker and is only able to drive short distances.A highway official has called the crash an example of the kind of accident we're trying to avoid with the busy interchange.The project will go before the state Transportation Commission for final allocation of funds. Construction will begin soon and is expected to be complete in 5 years.The plaintiff sued the state and county alleging they were aware of the dangers of the busy intersection and did not move to remedy a disaster in the making.According to the Highway Patrol, the intersection is one of the most deadly in the county. Vehicles turning left must cross two lanes of downhill traffic to enter a merge lane, then accelerate into the fast lane of the 60 mph highway. Three years ago the highway administration closed a left-turn lane from southbound routes to ease some of the cross-traffic confusion. To avoid long lines waiting to turn left, cars were turning right and quickly darting across two lanes of traffic to get into the left-turn lane and then making an illegal U-turn into the northbound lanes.Within two years there were over 200 accidents at the intersection. The lawyer was prepared to present evidence at trial that the state was aware of the dangerous crossroad as far back as 1974 after 14 accidents and four deaths occurred at the site over a two year period with the transportation agencies then proposing closing the left-turn lane.But almost 40 years later, the left turn has still has not been closed. The project now is expected to cost more than $70 million to be paid with state and federal funding.The trial was to have started last week but the county which was sued because it controls the road had already settled for $195,000.The highway administration settled a few weeks before trial and the defendant's estate settled for $625,000 also.If you have been a victim of an auto accident please call me at 800 320-0080 or visit my offices in Rockville or Baltimore today.

What is medical malpractice you ask? As an experienced attorney with offices in Rockville and Baltimore Maryland, I can tell you that many people are unaware of their rights when it come to Medical Malpractice and hospital errors.Statistics show that over 195,000 people are killed each year due to medical errors.
Unfortunately only a fraction of these cases are ever handed over to an attorney.Why you ask? I'm not sure but I believe that many people don't think that they have a case because the hospitals always deny their responsibility. Of course they do as litigation can cost the hospital millions of dollars each year not including the bad PR it will give them. Many people feel that they are not as smart as the doctors and feel intimidated to ask questions. This is exactly the reason you need an experienced attorney to review your case and demand your medical records from the hospital. The next step your attorney will do is to have an independent medical professional(someone NOT employed by the hospital) to go over your case to see how and when the mistakes where made and if proper medical procedure was followed. If it is determined that a negligent medical mistake was made a lawsuit will be filed against the doctor and hospital.You have the legal right to expect pristine medical care when you enter a hospital regardless of you financial means or status.Insurance companies like to try and dissuade people from filing medical malpractice lawsuits claiming "frivolous" lawsuits cause healthcare costs to rise. Nothing could be further from the truth as of course it benefits the insurance companies to never "pay out" on malpractice claims and this keeps their money with them! The story has been spun to vilify the lawyers but this is exactly why everyone has insurance ;to help you financially if a bad situation ever arises.Please know your rights and if you are not sure you should call an experienced attorney such as myself to receive the compensation you are entitled to.

Continue reading "Rockville Lawyer Blog:What is Medical Malpractice?" »

As an experienced Baltimore attorney I have unfortunately witnessed many cases of insurance companies delaying payments to my clients after the death of a loved one. Why do they do this you ask? The company you faithfully paid all these years to be there for you in times of need?One reason and one reason only and that's money. The more the insurance companies pay out to you the less profit they have to show their shareholders so they delay making payments for as long as possible (if ever) to show a greater profit margin to their board of directors.

Faced with diminishing profits the big insurance companies have taken to disputing or delaying payments which totaled more than $343 million in 2010. Unfortunately this is just a sliver of the evidence that shows that the insurance companies have their own best interests at heart,not yours. Their main goal is to get your premiums or payments as quickly as possible while reducing the risk to themselves that they will ever have to pay out.They employ a number of strategies to postpone paying death benefits. In fact at least 35 states are presently investigating claims that insurance companies willfully ignored evidence of customers deaths sometimes for years to avoid paying claims.Unfortunately there is no federal oversight for life insurers so it is up to each individual state to mandate laws.This is why you need a attorney with experience in your state to cut through the red tape so you can receive your benefits.At least 30 states are investigating why insurance companies don't use accessible national databases such as the Social Security Administrations Death Master file to determine who should receive benefits.The Insurance companies don't have an issue using this list to STOP paying annuity payments after an insured has died but when it comes to them MAKING a payment they fake ignorance by putting the ball in the insurers court.In some cases the insurance companies delay payments for years and subtracts premiums until it dwindles down to zero at which time they cancel the policy.The insurance companies selective use of the national death database has let them successfully hold on to more than a billion dollars in unclaimed benefits.
What can you do about this you ask? Plenty..call an experienced attorney such as myself and I will navigate through the bureaucratic maze to get you the money you are entitled to under the law.

Continue reading "Baltimore Lawyer Blog:Getting Life Insurance Payments from Insurance Company" »

Have you lost a loved one recently and been having a difficult time receiving death benefit payment from your insurance provider? If so, you are not alone. As this article in the Bloomberg report suggests thousands of families whose loved ones have died serving our country have not received their entitled benefits from their insurance companies.As an experienced attorney I have helped many families receive money owned to them by insurance companies after the death of a loved one. I have recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars on behalf of client's who have had legitimate claims but the insurance company was delaying and prolonging the payments by seeking unnecessary documentation all to the detriment of the clients. It is highly recommended to seek an experienced attorney in dealing with recovery of insurance proceeds and death benefits as soon as a claim arises to avoid any unnecessary pitfalls.

It is reported that millions of families have been mislead by their insurers and have been issued a "checkbook" instead of their expected lump sum payout of $400,000 in the case of military death. The insurance company sends these to their insured in lieu of payment and recommends the victim take their time making a decision regarding the money and in the interim they will keep the money in an interest bearing account. What they fail to mention and can only be seen in the fine print is that the money remains in the insurance companies interest bearing account and while they make up to 4% interest the victims families are only paid 1/2%.It is believed that the top insurance companies are now sitting on billions of dollars in unpaid death benefits.A Maryland woman whose son died in Iraq and was given these "checks" expressed shock and disbelief how her own insurance company dishonored her sons memory in this way. Her "checks" were denied in Target and her local grocery store when she tried to shop there and she later realized she needed to ask permission from the insurance company to use her own money.She would have been better off putting her full amount in her own bank and earning up to 4% interest there.This is the reason why it is imperative to have an experienced attorney on your side to read all the "fine print" for you and get you the benefits you are entitled to.

Continue reading "Baltimore Lawyer Blog: Insurance Claims & Death Benefits." »

According to the World health Organization there were over 1.24 million worldwide car accident related deaths for the year of 2010.Young adults aged15-44 account for over half of these fatalities and 3 out of 4 of these deaths are of young men. At the Law Offices of Joseph Ostad we have helped thousands of clients and their families recover from the devastating effects of a car accident and we can help you as well.

Worldwide it is believed that over 1.3 million persons were killed and more than 50 million were seriously injured in car accidents in 2004.This makes car accidents the top cause of death among minors aged 10-18 years old .Over 250 thousand children die each year and more than10 million are injured in car accidents in the United States. Car accidents are the 5th leading preventable cause of death in the United States with 46,700 people killed and more than 2 million injured in 2005. Accident statistics are often significantly under reported and misclassified with deaths at the scene being recorded but later deaths in hospitals being overlooked. This appears to be the same with serious injuries not being reported at all unless an ambulance was called to the scene. Also the veracity of reporting can vary greatly over time and between sources. In the United States,29 states reported a decrease in the number of car accident deaths between 2005 and 2006.This can be attributed to seat belt laws although in 2006 57% of drivers and passengers 16 years or older were not wearing seat belts when they crashed. Fatal car accidents trends tend to follow Smeed's law which correlates increased fatality rates with traffic congestion.Listed are the most common types of car accidents with their percentage to occur and percentage of fatalities:
1)Rear impacts: 29.2% US crashes, 5.4% of US fatal crashes
2)Side impacts: 28.5% US crashes, 20.5%US fatal crashes
3)Run-off-road collisions: 16.1% US crashes, 31.7% US fatal crashes
4)Collisions with animals: 4.7% US crashes, 0.3% US fatal crashes
5)Rollovers :2.3% US crashes, 10.9% of US fatal crashes
6)Head-on collision:2.0% of all US crashes, but 10.1% of US fatal crashes
7)Collisions with pedestrians and bicyclists:1.8% of US crashes 13.5% of US fatal crashes
8)Back-up collisions: killed 221 in the US in 2007, and injured over14,000.This is the most common types of non-traffic car accident in which children 15 and younger are killed.
Rollovers,head-on collisions and pedestrian and bike crashes are only 6% of all crashes combined but cause over 35% of traffic-related deaths.

Continue reading "Baltimore Auto Accident Attorney Advice." »

Are you aware that car and truck accidents are the number 1 killer of people in Maryland between the ages of 4- 34? And there are thousands more accidents where people have been seriously injured. At the Law Firm of Joseph Ostad we have helped thousands of people recover from the devastating effects of a car accident and we can help you too if the need arises.

The best thing to do of course is to try and avoid an accident completely; this would include not driving under the influence ,not driving while sleepy and not using your cell phone while behind the wheel.While driving it is imperative to always wear your seat belt and have all children in appropriate car seats in case an accident is unavoidable.It is also advisable to keep your eyes on the road and not on your passengers or children as many incidents of "distracted driving" accidents are on the rise.Keeping your car properly serviced will also cut down on accident probability because when your vehicle is in top shape it can react better to dangerous situations and terrible road conditions.In the event when an accident can not be avoided and you find yourself the victim of one it is best to remain calm and if possible move your vehicle out of traffic and call 911.In the event of an injury you should wait for the ambulance to take you to the hospital.The most important thing to receive that day is a police report containing the officers notes and the other drivers information including license and insurance numbers. Call our office at 410 727-6116 and make sure to not talk to the other drivers insurance company as they will surely be calling you right away.Give them our number and tell them to call us with any questions they may have.Remember they are not on your side and are looking to compensate you as little as possible.We will help you recover both physically and monetarily from your unfortunate accident and have you back on the road as soon as possible.

Continue reading "Baltimore Car Accident Lawyer Advice." »

Our law firm has received numerous inquires from former patients of Dr.Nikita Levy; ranging in age from teenagers at the time of their examination to adulthood, who may have been possible victims of his illegal recording practices.Johns Hopkins has issued a few statements regarding their ex employee Dr. Nikita levy trying to explain why they didn't inform his patients immediately regarding the reason for his dismissal.Hopkins officials learned from a colleague of Dr. Levy's on February 4th of his alleged videotaping of his patients but they waited until after Dr. Levy's death on February 18th to inform his patients of his egregious behavior.

Dr. Nikita Levy, after questioning from Hopkins security on February 5th admitted that he was filming his patients during their exams with a pen equipped with a camera worn around his neck. The doctor who had worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital for over 20 years surrendered his recording devices to security and was barred from further contact with patients. He was encouraged to seek psychological services and escorted off the Hospital property. According to reports Hopkins then contacted the Baltimore city police on February 6 and turned over all Dr. Nikita Levy's evidence to them on February 7th. Dr. Levy was officially terminated by the Hospital on February 8th.At that time it was suggested to Johns Hopkins Hospital not to disclose any information regarding Dr. Levy as this could potentially compromise an on going investigation. The hospital sent out a letter on February 11th to Dr. Levy's patients to inform them he was no longer employed with them and to help them find another doctor on their staff for their medical needs.In the interim the police had issued search warrants and obtained additional evidence in the case.It was only after Dr. Nikita Levy ended his own life on February 18th that Hopkins could issue a public statement detailing his misdeeds.What is still unclear is what if anything was known by Hopkins and why they let it go on for so long. Many former patients reported that Dr. Nikita did not have a nurse in the room with him during exams which is a typical standard of practice by OB/GYNs.It is not known at this time whether or not Hopkins condoned this practice. What is clear though is that Dr. Levy had been recording his patients for quite some time which is evidenced by the "mountain" of material seized by police. Patients are entitled under the law to expect privacy from their doctors and Hospitals which was certainly not the case with Johns Hopkins and Dr. Nikita Levy.

Continue reading "Baltimore Lawyer Blog:Dr.Nikita Levy-Maryland Crime Victims Resources" »

I have met with many victims of former Johns Hopkins doctor Nikita Levy amidst allegations that he secretly filmed patients during exams. If you were a patient of Dr. Nikita Levy it is imperative to contact me as soon as possible to learn of your legal rights. Dr Levy was by all accounts a well respected Doctor at Hopkins and few saw the warning signs.

Dr.Nikita Levy had practiced medicine in the field of OB/GYN for over 20 years at Johns Hopkins East Baltimore Community Clinic.It is believed that he saw over 1,000 patients during his time there.He allegedly committed suicide last week at his Towson home as the scurrilous allegations that he secretly filmed his patients during examinations become national news.Dr.Levy may have allegedly used a pen equipped with a tiny camera that he kept in his pocket while examining his patients. It is not known at this time what he did with those recordings, whether he kept them for himself or distributed them in some manner. All that is known is that officials are combing through a veritable mountain of evidence found in Dr. Levy's home and office. Hopkins board of directors is funding its own investigation amidst speculation from Dr. Levy's former patients that they did not do enough to warn patients of the doctors actions.The doctor was let go by Hopkins on February 8 for undisclosed reasons and his patients only found out in retrospect what their former doctor had allegedly done. More investigation needs to be done in this case to determine the hospital's culpability and whether or not Hopkins failed to protect their patients right to privacy.Patients have expressed shock and outrage that in a prestigious institution such as Johns Hopkins a doctor could have been possibly filming his patients without their knowledge for what may have been years.Patients have been instructed to call a hotline in which they get a recording and are told to leave their name and number and someone will get back to them.Many think that this is not sufficient and have expressed a desire to know more information and their legal rights and in this instance should contact me.Authorities need to comb through a tremendous amount of material and patients need legal representation to make sure their case has been looked after with the respect it deserves.

Continue reading "Lawyers File Suit Against Dr. Nikita Levy" »

The first lawsuits have been filed against Johns Hopkins Hospital and Dr. Nikita Levy arising out of the alleged negligence and invasion of privacy of Dr. Levy's patients. The lawsuits seek millions of dollars in compensation for damages. The investigations are currently ongoing and it my be weeks or months before the final official investigation into what happened can be determined. It is alleged that Dr. Levy may have used video or photographic devices to secretly record his patients during exams. My office has been contacted by many individuals who were patients of Dr. Levy who have expressed emotional trauma as a result of Dr. Levy's actions and we are actively investigating these cases. The patients have expressed betrayal, shock and dismay at the conduct of Dr. Levy and the lack of supervision by Johns Hopkins Hospital and its staff and officers. It has been reported that there maybe hundreds if not thousands of patients of Dr. Levy who may have been subjected to his secret recordings and may be entitled to recovery.

Officials and Johns Hopkins have been reluctant to share any information regarding their investigation which was made public after Dr.Levy's death on Monday. There are many unanswered questions which investigation will reveal in the near future. Police and officials are examining the computers, hard drives and servers belonging to Dr. Levy to determine what happened to the images and whether they were downloaded to the internet. We are pursuing avenues to determine the investigations are done promptly and diligently to determine that the facts of the cases are carefully considered. Eventually the lawsuits filed on behalf of the victims for invasion of privacy and negligence will shed light into the conduct of Dr. Nikita Levy's practices and operation.It is our goal to immediately obtain answers to the lingering question of whether our client's images have been redistributed, disseminated or shared with others in violation of our client's rights and what has been done with such images and where the investigations are leading up to. Our main concern is that this investigation may drag on for weeks if not months which may increase the anxiety by which our client's are currently suffering by adding to the feelings of frustration and betrayal caused by Dr. Nikita Levy's actions and Johns Hopkins Hospital's inaction.

Continue reading "Lawsuits have been filed against Johns Hopkins Hospital and Dr. Nikita Levy" »

We and other lawyers are currently working with ex patients of Dr. Nikita Levy of Johns Hopkins Hospital amidst the allegations that he secretly filmed patients during their gynecological exams.New evidence uncovered by officials suggests Dr. Levy may have used a pen kept in his pocket installed with a tiny camera to record his patients while in the Hopkins exam room.As of this time it is not clear what he did with the recordings.If you or a loved one were a patient of Dr. Levy it is imperative to seek legal advice.

Dr. Nikita Levy had been a physician in good standing at Johns Hopkins Hospital for over 20 years and was acknowledged to have thousands of patients at his OB/GYN practice. Dr.Levy took his own life this week at his Towson home as the allegations started to be released to the public.Many patients expressed shock that the mild mannered Nikita could be embroiled in such a scandal.Dr Levy worked for Hopkins since receiving his medical license in 1988 and he worked primarily at the East Baltimore Medical Center a community clinic run by Johns Hopkins Hospital and their holdings.Baltimore police are conducting this case as an open investigation while the Johns Hopkins board of trustees are funding their own separate investigation.Johns Hopkins Hospitals has need to be concerned since there have been many instances when the hospital has been held liable for the criminal or negligent actions of doctors on their staff. Dr. Levy was let go by Hopkins on February 8 but his patients were not told the reason why. This only came to light after the allegations about Dr. Nikita Levy went public a week later. It is not understood why Hopkins chose not to disclose the information regarding Dr. Levy's illegal filming of his patients and this oversight has understandably disturbed Levy's former patients.Hospitals have been responsible in the past for failing to protect patients privacy. Just recently a Connecticut Hospital was ordered to pay more than $50 million to victims of a doctor who used a made up study to take pornographic pictures of children.In that case the hospital failed to protect its patients from one of its doctors on staff.A former patient of Dr. Levy's who was too embarrassed to give her name said when she called Hopkins to express concern she was told it was an on going investigation and was given no other information.John Hopkins issued a statement found here and called the situation intolerable and informed patients that they would be conducting their own independent investigation into the matter.Officials have begun the arduous task of combing through a tremendous amount of evidence to build a case against Dr. Levy. Victims are encouraged to contact lawyers or authorities as soon as possible.

Continue reading "Lawyers Investigate John Hopkins Dr. Nikita Levy" »

As a Baltimore injury lawyer my firm is reviewing potential cases involving former patients of Dr. Nikita Levy who received OB/GYN treatment at a Johns Hopkins medical center.Baltimore investigators are trying to identify female patients seen over a two decade time frame by a Johns Hopkins gynecologist who was found dead on Monday amid an investigation that he was photographing and videotaping his patients.The doctor; Nikita A. Levy, 54, was suspended by Johns Hopkins Medicine earlier this month after a colleague alerted security staff to the disturbing allegations. The allegations claim that Dr. Levy had been taking pictures of patients with his personal camera and videotaping them with his own equipment.Police discovered what they called an "immense" amount of evidence at Dr. Levy's Towson home.Baltimore Sun report is here.

A Hopkins doctor for over two decades, Levy practiced gynecology and obstetrics at the East Baltimore Medical Center, a clinic located near the main hospital campus.Reactions from longtime patients were mixed and ranged from anger to loyalty.Patients were upset that Hopkins hadn't notified them of the investigation with the letter sent this month to notify them that it had fired Dr. Levy."I can't understand why they didn't tell his patients," said a former patient. A Hopkins spokeswoman stated they hadn't confirmed sufficient information about the allegations when they sent the letter and said more details will be included in a letter to be sent to patients soon.They continued to say Hopkins was informed of the allegations a few weeks ago and reported them immediately to Baltimore police. She said Hopkins ended Levy's employment and offered him professional counseling. Baltimore County police were called to Levy's home a few days ago to find him dead of an apparent suicide.His body was taken to the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy. Baltimore Police spokesman claims investigators have recovered very extensive amounts of evidence that needs to be examined and recommends that any individual who's been treated by this doctor should contact police as soon as possible. They expect a large number to come forward and reports a team of detectives that specialize in sex offenses are on the case. Hopkins officials have notified some patients who may have been photographed and medical system is offering counseling to his patients, and has set up a call center.The Hopkins Medicine Board of Trustees will also set up a separate investigation that will work in tandem with law enforcement. Levy graduated from Cornell University Medical College in 1984 and completed his residency through the State University of New York. His license to practice medicine in Maryland was issued in 1988 and he had worked for Hopkins since then.Levy had no disciplinary actions against him, according to the board.WBAL news report here. If you or a loved one has been the victim of hospital negligence or patient abuse call me today at 800 320-0080 or visit my offices located in either Rockville or Baltimore.

The VA Medical Center agreed to settle for $600,000 a lawsuit brought by the widow of a 60 year old veteran after a surgeon carelessly perforated his bowel during a routine surgery to repair his hernia.The victim was a truck driver and veteran.His widow was forced to sue the doctor and hospital after her husband's surgery went terribly wrong.As an experienced attorney I have reviewed many cases of medical malpractice and have completed same with favorable results.

The victim required surgery to repair a hernia so he could return to his job as a truck driver. Unknown to the victim and his wife, it was the first time the VA hospital surgeon had ever performed the procedure without another more experienced doctor by his side as he had only been a licensed surgeon for a couple of months. The inexperienced doctor ripped a hole in the victim's intestines during the surgery, which caused the contents of his bowel to spill out into his abdomen. Unfortunately this was only the first medical mistake, a second mistake was made when everyone at the VA hospital failed to notice the hole in his bowel for several days.Consequently,the victim became very sick, developed a serious infection, and died several months later.It was only going to have been a one day hernia surgery,then he was supposed to go home. And then when they kept keeping him day after day it started running through my mind why isn't he going home?. said his widow The people who serve our country in the armed forces deserve to receive top quality health care at VA medical facilities.Sadly, these types of mistakes happen much too often. If only this doctor had followed the required safety rules that are put in place to protect patients this whole tragedy would have been avoided. Hopefully, winning this case will protect other veterans.This was a Federal Tort Claim Act case brought in the U.S. District Federal Court.The plaintiff said she will donate a portion of her settlement to sick veterans.If your loved one is a victim of medical malpractice call me today at 800 320-0080 or visit me in either Rockville or Baltimore today.

A local consumer group has sued the largest insurance company in the area, accusing the health insurer of subjecting their customers to big rate hikes in order to force older and sicker people into low-benefit and high-deductible plans, a tactic the group calls a death tunnel.The group accuses the insurance corporation of not offering certain policies to new customers and then sharply raising rates for those remaining in the plans.As an experienced attorney I have reviewed many business disputes and have completed same with favorable results.

People with medical problems are often barred from switching to comparable policies and they then become trapped into paying ever rising premiums until they can no longer afford it, or they are forced to switch to a policy with vastly inferior coverage.Either result is beneficial to the insurance company's bottom line but not the customer,claims the consumer group. Companies are trying right now to only insure healthy people and the group believes the insurers are hoping to make their customer bases as healthy as possible before federal health reforms take effect in 2014. Because at that time the insurers will no longer be able to turn people away based on their medical conditions.The suit claims the insurers are violating a 1993 law meant to prevent so called death tunnels. The law requires insurers that close a plan to new customers to minimize rate increases must benefit the previously insured as well..The allegations are false, claims an insurance company spokesman. A former customer said he had never heard of the term death spiral. But when the insurance company told him last year it planned to hike his family's premium by 25 percent, from $1,900 a month to over $2,400, he felt he had no choice but to switch to a bare bones plan with inferior coverage.Because his 21-year-old son has a brain lesion from a sports injury that needs monitoring he knew the family would have difficulty getting other coverage.So instead of the $2,000 deductible in his old plan he was forced to change to a policy with a $5,000 deductible per person. He now avoids seeing a doctor unless he has a serious problem.When there's a high deductible, consumers are less likely to use their insurance,the consumer group noted. The former customer who is a plaintiff said he tried to switch back but was told he could not because his old plan had been closed to new customers.These allegations are very similar to another suit against the insurance giant which was settled last year and requires them to offer consumers in closed policies access to comparable coverage and to limit rate increases in the closed policies for those who remain.The lawsuit notes that the insurance company has closed 9 policies so far and has announced that soon it will close 24 policies regulated by the Department of Insurance. Consumer watchdog groups claim the company will do this without offering customers comparable coverage and limiting rate increases for those remaining in the closed plans.The consumer group is asking the court to declare the suit a class action and order the insurance company to discontinue these practices and pay damages to affected customers.Please call me at 800 320-0080 or visit me at my offices located in Rockville and Baltimore today.

A local pain-medicine doctor is facing a fourth malpractice lawsuit. the doctor is being sued by the victim's family .The lawsuit filed in district court states the victim died of an overdose of Oxycontin. It says the doctor was grossly negligent in prescribing the dangerous narcotic before diligently assessing the victim's need for it and without putting in place a proper monitoring plan to track his use of the pills.As an experienced Rockville attorney I have reviewed many cases of Medical malpractice and have completed same with favorable results.

The victim's death was one of seven cited by prosecutors in their report when they filed criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter against the doctor. Prosecutors claim the doctor recklessly prescribed large amounts of narcotics to his patients. The Board of Medicine which licenses doctors has also filed charges against him stating that the doctor failed to take precautions against abuse of the drugs he prescribed. The doctor has denied doing anything wrong, but he agreed to give up his medical practice while the criminal case proceeds. The medical board also agreed to put its case on hold.The doctor strenuously denies the lawsuit's allegations and claims the suit is unfounded and untrue.The doctor says he did his best to treat his patient for his pain issues and claims that he saw him only twice as a patient and that the victim saw other doctors at the same time as well. But he is not implying that other doctors are at fault for the death.The lawsuit was filed by the victim's father on behalf of his surviving children aged12 and 11.The lawsuit does not specify why the victim sought treatment from the doctor who ran a pain-relief clinic in Rockville. The company, which is listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, closed the clinic without any explanation.Health officials said that they had suspended the doctor from the clinic earlier in the year and will have no further comment on him or the clinic.Lawsuits against the doctor have been filed this year by families of four other patients who died of overdoses believed caused by the doctor and also by a patient who said the doctor injured her with the faulty insertion of a pain-medication pump. One of the malpractice lawsuits has already been settled for $400,000.If you or a loved one has been the victim of Medical Malpractice contact me today or visit my offices in either Rockville or Baltimore today.

The perfume may cost a fortune, but the owner is a racist.So claim two former female employees at a retail shop who have claimed in a federal lawsuit that the owner is a racist who called all African-Americans thieves and used a code word to alert security when black or Hispanic customers came into the store. The phone is ringing, was the signal for an unwelcome customer,and shouted out by the owner when a person of color entered the store, according to the lawsuit.The two female plaintiffs are seeking $2 million in damages in the suit claiming the owner of violating their civil rights and firing them for complaining about her racism against customers and employees.As an experienced Baltimore Attorney I have reviewed many cases of workplace discrimination and have completed same with favorable results.

The plaintiff who is Hispanic also claims her boss wouldn't let her serve white customers because her skin was too dark.The last ten months were torture and she was afraid to speak to a black customer. The plaintiff said she was forced to keep quiet about her black boyfriend and told him to hide when he came to pick her up so the boss wouldn't see him.The last straw was when the boss accused her of being friends with a black customer who was caught shoplifting in another store location.She said when she and the other plaintiff finally complained about the racism their boss fired them and accused them of stealing $20,000 worth of merchandise.They deny stealing anything. The defendant insists she's not a racist and blamed the suit on disgruntled employees who got caught looting her store. She said mostly all of her workers are from minority groups, and says that she welcomes black customers.She admitted they do use the verbal code to protect her employees when somebody suspicious enters the stores. But insists it's not aimed only at black customers,but she did comment that each time her stores were robbed they were all African American.The defendant who said she is of a Lebanese background and claims to have had a black boyfriend in the past. The women's discrimination complaint with the state Division on Human Rights was dismissed for administrative reasons barring pending complaint and a lawsuit at the same time.The defendant is a veteran of the fashion industry and learned the trade working for a major designer. She rose to become the company's director of international training and has 2 stores.If you or a loved one has been the victim of workplace discrimination please contact me or visit one of my offices in either Rockville or Baltimore today.