Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A County jury awarded $1.6 Million in damages to a 23-year old employee, as just compensation for an injury he suffered while at work. The victim suffered a devastating injury while working in a grain bin, sweeping out some corn, when he slipped and his right foot and lower right leg became caught by the drag chain of the conveyor system causing severe personal injury resulting in the loss of his leg. As a Maryland personal injury lawyerI have seen and investigated many on the job injury cases for my clients and have been able to recover monetary compensations for such victims.

The lawsuit alleged that the company that designed the conveyor system failed to provide guards to protect workers engaged in required grain removal inside the grain bin and failed to provide instructions and warnings adequate to protect workers. The lawsuit further alleged that the grain conveyor system was defective in its design and was in an unreasonably dangerous condition when it was sold to the plaintiff's employer.

According to the attorneys who represented the victim; "The defective unguarded drag chain conveyor was just 6 inches away from the large sump hole... an accident just waiting to happen." The defense argued that the employer was negligent in sending workers, including the Plaintiff, into the grain bin while a sweep auger and the grain conveyor were moving and energized. They maintained that the system designed by the defendant was not unsafe if used consistent with warnings on the grain bin door not to enter the bin while parts were moving.

The case was tried before a District Court Judge and after more than 7 hours of deliberation the jury disagreed with the defense, and returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding the plaintiff $1.6 Million to cover lost wages, lost earnings, medical expenses, and future medical care. The jury found defendant that designed the machine 46% at fault; the employer Co-Op 44% at fault; and plaintiff 10% at fault.

The jury's verdict is a just verdict in a horrible accident that occurred to a young man. It was the right result for a young man who had a horrible accident," said the attorney who went on to state, "And (as a manufacturer) you can't put functionality ahead of safety in the design of a product. You have to take into consideration that what may make it unique, may also make it dangerous." The award will be reduced to reflect the cap on compensatory damages.

Joseph Ostad, P.A. is a locally recognized law firm concentrating on representing injured parties in a wide array of complex litigation matters such as product liability, personal injury/wrongful death, defective products, unfair and deceptive business acts. To learn more, please visit http://www.ostadlaw.com or call my offices located in Rockville or Baltimore for a free initial and confidential consultation.

A victim of police brutality sued a state trooper in federal court, claiming she shocked him with her Taser during a traffic stop, while he was sitting in his car and asking to speak to his lawyer. The victim claims that the Highway Patrol Trooper pulled him over while he was driving. She checked his license and other paperwork and then asked him to take a breath test for alcohol because she smelled alcohol in the car. The plaintiff said he wanted to speak to his lawyer before taking any tests, according to the lawsuit. He claims that the trooper pulled out her Taser and threatened to deploy it if he did not get out of the car. As a Maryland personal injury lawyer we have seen and investigated many similar cases on behalf of injured victims.

When he asked her not to fire the Taser, the trooper pressed it against his arm and fired. After the victim recovered, he again said he wanted to speak to his lawyer, the suit claims. Without further commands or warning, the trooper deployed the Taser on his arm again, he claimed. The lawsuit states that the Trooper threatened to fire the Taser again and arrested the plaintiff when he refused to take a field sobriety test.

The lawsuit claims the Trooper used excessive force and violated the victim's constitutional rights. "We know that troopers do get sued from time to time," he said. The defendant remains employed as a state trooper at the present time the spokesman said.

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A man collided with a police officer's patrol car on an icy morning has settled his lawsuit against the city for $650,000.The victim, 51, was driving in the neighborhood when a police officer lost control of his car and struck the victim's pickup truck head-on. As a Maryland automobile accident lawyer we regularly represent victim's who have been seriously injured in such cases.

The officer was driving at the posted speed limit in the northbound lanes of the South bridge when his vehicle slipped on a patch of ice, according to the police report on the accident. The officer was not heading to an emergency call, authorities said.

The victim suffered injuries to his chest, neck, back and abdomen in the collision, according to the lawsuit. He has since returned to work at a bottle-making factory but still has headaches and other ailments, said his lawyer. In his lawsuit against the city, the victim sought more than $1 million in damages. The suit was settled late last month.

Senior Assistant City Attorney said in a court filing that the "City concedes it is liable for any damages or injuries" that the victim sustained in the crash. Chief of the Civil Division at the City Attorney's Office, said the settlement "avoids the risk of trial and fairly compensates the injured party." The police spokesman said he couldn't comment on whether the officer went through retraining as a result of the accident. He said the officer still works at the department.

The attorney said the victim worked "really hard" to recover from his injuries. "The money will go to pay for his past and future medical expenses, as well as his pain and suffering," the lawyer said. "I'm hoping that the city addresses, through training and policies, any actions that are important for the public safety," the attorney said. "My understanding is that in taking responsibility the city was looking into the actions of their officer in making sure this type of incident didn't happen again."

If you or a loved one is injured in an automobile accident call my office for an appointment at either my offices in Rockville or Baltimore to set up an appointment by calling 1-800 320-0080 for a free consultation today.

Continue reading "Man awarded $650,000.00 in car crash with police" »