Posted on October 15, 2008 in Bail

As a Maryland Criminal Attorney I am often required to deal with issues involving bail. In fact I spoke with a women first thing this morning whose daughter was locked up on a $25,000 bail and charged with Armed Robbery and Assault. The poor women was completely without a clue as to what bail was or how to post it. The defendant was due to be in court for a bail review just a few hours later so she had very little time to get educated and decide what to do.

I told her that her first decision was to decide whether to let her daughter attend the bail review or to bail the her out prior to the bail review. I explained, to her great surprise, that a judge at a bail review can not only lower the bail as set by the court commission, but can also raise the bail. In many instances I advise the family members or friends who contact me about a defendant who is in jail awaiting bail to go ahead and bail the defendant out prior to the bail review because it is my opinion that in that case the bail is more likely to be raised than it is to be lowered. This is exactly what I told this women this morning as by Baltimore City bail standards, $25,000 is low for an Armed Robbery charge. If all cases where a defendant decides that he wants to (or must) attend the bail review he would be foolish not to retain an experienced criminal defense lawyer to represent him at this critical stage of the process.

Once a person’s bail is set there are three basic options for how to post the bail. The first is to post the entire amount of the bail with the court. Few people can do this in cases where there a substantial bail is set. The second option is to hire a bail bondsman or corporate surety. My firm works very closely with a company called Big Boyz Bail Bonds. When you hire a bondsman, they require that you pay a 10% premium in order for them to write the bail and insure the court that the defendant will appear for trial. In the situation above where the bail is $25,000, the premium or fee would be $2500. In many circumstances the bondsman will offer to finance the bail premium requiring a smaller amount, say 1% or 2% ($250 or $500) down and work out a payment plan for the remainder. Big Boyz is very willing to work with people and offers flexible payment plans. Using a bondsman is also usually the quickest and most hassle free way to bail someone out and is the most frequent method used by people in this situation.

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 Posted on October 14, 2008 in Automobile Accident

A four year old girl and her mother were severely injured when an individual, employed by the federal government, ran a red light and broad-sided the SUV in which the toddler and her mother were traveling. After the collision, the victims’ vehicle struck a utility pole and rolled over. The young girl sustained multiple injuries, which required 25 surgeries. She was hospitalized for 250 days. Her past medical expenses totaled approximately $3.5 million. The toddler’s attorneys maintained that future life care costs for the young girl would approach $22 million. The mother sustained approximately $29,100 in past medical expenses and $212,500 in future medical expenses.

The toddler’s mother sued the federal government, which employed the negligent driver that caused the accident. The mother claimed that the federal government was vicariously liable because the negligent driver was acting within the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident and had failed to stop for a red light. The government ultimately conceded that it was liable, but argued that the damages were significantly less than claimed. A California court disagreed. After a bench trial, the court entered judgment in favor of the toddler and her mother for $55.18 million.

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 Posted on October 14, 2008 in Home Improvement Violations

Maryland Criminal Attorney– Baltimore Criminal Lawyer I represented a defendant this afternoon in Prince Georges County District Court who was charged both with acting as a home improvement contractor without a license and failure to perform a home improvement contract which usually means failure to complete the contract to the homeowners satisfaction as it was in this case. Many people, including many new contractors, don’t realize that it is illegal to operate as a home improvement contractor without a license or to fail to perform the contract and that violations of this sort carry significant criminal sanctions or just how broad the definition of home improvement is.

The Annotated Code, Business Regulation Article defines both what constitutes home improvement as well as what the criminal penalties are for violations. According to Section 8-101 Home Improvement means: The addition to or alteration, conversion, improvement, modernization, remodeling, repair, or replacement of a building or part of a building that is used or designed to be used as a residence or dwelling place or a structure adjacent to that building; or an improvement to land adjacent to that building. In addition to the obvious things like building an addition or finishing a basement, home improvement includes work such as repaving a driveway and the connection, installation or replacement of a dishwasher, disposal or refrigerator. It also includes work such as landscaping or building a fence.

As far as penalties are concerned, as I indicated previously, they can be quite severe. For a first offense of acting as a contractor without a license a person can be sentenced to 30 days in jail and be fined up to $1000. For a second or subsequent offense the maximum penalty is 2 years in jail and a fine of $5000. In addition to the criminal penalties a contractor can be forced by the court to refund the entire contract price to the homeowner, even for work that was satisfactorily completed. The maximum penalty for failure to perform a contract is 6 months and a fine of up to $1000.

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 Posted on October 13, 2008 in Emergency Room Malpractice

A jury awarded approximately $11 million to a woman who became partially paralyzed after waiting two hours for a hospital brain scan. Jurors found that the hospital was negligent in caring for the woman after she fractured her skull in a fall in 2004. The woman was cleared for a brain scan two hours before she got one. The test was ordered to check for bleeding. Because of the delay, the woman allegedly lapsed into a coma in the emergency room less than an hour after the scan. She now has no movement in her left side and uses a wheelchair.

I have successfully handled a number of emergency room medical malpractice cases in Baltimore and other counties in Maryland. Emergency room doctors are required to recognize serious medical conditions and admit patients who require significant treatment. Some of the cases I have handled alleged a failure to properly diagnose a heart attack, failure to diagnose and admit a suicidal patient, failure to diagnose pulmonary embolism, failure to diagnose an abdominal aortic aneurysm, failure to diagnose brain injury, etc.

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 Posted on October 11, 2008 in Childbirth Malpractice

A Seattle hospital must pay the family of a girl about $4.25 million after the hospital’s negligence during her delivery caused severe brain damage. Approximately $2.5 million of the money is to cover future medical expenses for the 5-year-old girl who cannot walk or talk, must be fed through a gastric tube and suffers from cerebral palsy. About $350,000 is meant to cover previous medical expenses, and the remaining $1.4 million covers general damages. After three days of deliberation, the jury ruled in partial favor of the hospital, rejecting an additional $3.75 million for the girl and about $4 million for her parents.

The family blamed the hospital for at least 20 minutes of oxygen deprivation to the girl after the placenta prematurely separated from the mother’s uterine wall. At 8:25 p.m. on May 30, 2003, the mother checked into the hospital with contractions; it was a day before her scheduled C-section. The woman had a history of placental abruption – a serious complication that can deprive the baby of oxygen and cause heavy bleeding in the mother – but the obstetrician went home for dinner without having been notified of the high-risk case. When the fetal monitor began to show signs the baby was in distress – around 8:45 p.m. – the nurses did not immediately call the obstetrician. At 9 p.m., the baby was “down,” meaning her heart rate had dipped below 90 beats per minute. A normal heart rate in a baby is between 130 and 190 beats per minute. Nurses called the obstetrician, who arrived at 9:18 p.m. and immediately performed an emergency C-section, he said. The child was born lifeless at 9:24 p.m. after suffering at least 20 minutes of asphyxiation but was resuscitated.

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 Posted on October 11, 2008 in Infection Malpractice

The United States Government has agreed to pay a former Utah family nearly $1 million to settle a medical malpractice case involving failure to treat infection / sepsis. The man was being treated for leukemia at at a Veterans Affairs hospital in 2004 when he developed a severe infection and died. His surviving wife and daughter filed suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging that the hospital told him to take gas-x instead of going to the emergency room to get antibiotics. He died of sepsis from a low white-blood-cell count.

The man was diagnosed with leukemia in June 2004 and received chemotherapy at the VA in October. Three days after his last treatment, he had diarrhea and abdominal pain. After calling the hospital to see what to do, his wife was told by an oncology doctor that the man should take an over-the-counter medicine for gas. What he really needed were antibiotics immediately to fight off a severe infection. His white blood cell count was low, due to the chemotherapy, which led to a bacterial infection in his colon. The man died four days before his 46th birthday and his 18th wedding anniversary. His leukemia was in remission and he was expected to live for at least another five years.

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 Posted on October 11, 2008 in Surgery Malpractice

A jury in a medical malpractice case returned a jury verdict of $9.9 million last week to a Kentucky woman who suffered severe injuries and damages after routine heart surgery. The woman had surgery on her mitral valve in her heart in April 2006. The surgery took less than an hour and was successful. However, during the sugery, the surgeon allegedly misplaced the cannula, or hose, for a machine that pumps blood during the surgery. The woman claimed during the trial that the misplacement caused too much blood and oxygen to be pumped to her right hand and too little to her brain and spinal cord, causing her to no longer be able to walk due to paraplegia and to suffer mild to moderate brain damage.

The jury awarded the woman $455,229.06 in past medical experiences, $4,426,408.72 for future medical bills, $482,538 in lost wages and $4.5 million for pain and suffering. The total verdict was $9,864,175.78. The jury found that the anesthesiologist was responsible for 23 percent of the fault, and the perfusionist, the person who operates the heart-lung machine, was responsible for 41 percent of fault. Since the hospital defendant had already settled with the patient and did not participate in the trial, the verdict only will affect the surgeon. The jury assigned 31 percent of fault to the surgeon, or $3,057,894.49 of the total damages sought. Unless overturned during post-trial motions or on appeal, that portion of the verdict will be paid by the surgeon’s insurance company.

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 Posted on October 09, 2008 in Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS)

Maryland Criminal Attorney – Baltimore Criminal Attorney Most people are aware that in Maryland a person who has been convicted of a violent crime or a felony may not possess handguns. People seem to be less aware of restrictions involving other weapons such as rifles, shotguns, assault weapons and antique firearms. I have blogged about this in the past and this blog is really intended to discuss possession of other weapons but I think an overview of the law on handgun possession will be helpful to the reader.

First of all, what exactly is the definition of a handgun under Maryland Law? One would think that this would be a relatively straightforward and easy question to answer. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There are two separate definitions under two of the three sections of the Maryalnd Code that criminalize handgun and firearm possession. Under Public Safety 5-101(n) a handgun is defined as a firearm with a barrel less than 16 inches. Under this section a handgun includes signal, starter and blank pistols. Under Criminal Law Section 4-201(c) a handgun is defined as a pistol revolver or other firearm capable of being concealed on the person. Under this definition a handgun includes short-barrelled rifles which is defined as a firearm having a barrel less than 16 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches; and shotguns with a barrel less than 18 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches. Under this definition a standard rifle, shotgun or any antique firearm is not deemed to be a handgun. Presumably this definition would also include starter pistols since they are included in the definition of a firearm under the Public Safety Article definition, but would not include signal or blank pistols as they are not included in that definition. Very confusing to say the least.

The next question is who is disqualified under Maryland Law from possessing firearms and handguns. Under Maryland law there are basically two classes of citizens who are disqualified from owning or possessing handguns and subject to criminal penalties if they are convicted of being in possession of a firearm that is classified as a handgun. The first classification deals with persons who have been convicted of either of a crime of violence or a felony drug charge. The following offenses are classified as crimes of violence in Maryland: Abduction, Arson in the First Degree, Assault in the First of Second Degree, Burglary in the First, Second or Third Degree, Carjacking and Armed Carjacking, Escape in the First Degree, Kidnapping, Voluntary Manslaughter, Murder, Rape in the First or Second Degree, Robbery, Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon, Sexual Offense in the First, Second or Third Degree, Attempts to commit any of these crimes and Assault with the Intent to Commit any of these crimes.

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 Posted on October 01, 2008 in Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS)

Maryland Criminal Attorney – Baltimore Criminal Attorney I was hired today to represent a freshman at Towson University who got charged with possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. It is a typical case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time as well as a clear case of overcharging by the police as I have discussed in previous blogs. Although I believe the case will work out favorably in the long run, it will certainly have some short term criminal and administrative consequences.

My client moved into the dorms at Towson University just a few weeks ago. He didn’t have any high school friends who were also attending the university so he signed up to be randomly assigned roommates. He soon learned that his new roommates were marijuana smokers who frequently smoked in the dorm room. This past Saturday that careless habit came back to haunt them because one of the RA’s apparently smelled the smoke coming from their room and called the police.

The Towson University Police soon arrived and knocked on the door. The officer asked if they had any marijuana at which point my client’s roommate produce eight small bags each containing approximately 1 gram of marijuana. The officer arrested them both and charged them both with felony possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. As I said it is a typical case of overcharging by a police officer. The felony charge is a stretch against the roommate and is laughable against my client.

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 Posted on September 29, 2008 in Personal Injury

All of Maryland is deeply saddened by the weekend crash of a Maryland medical evacuation helicopter over the weekend. Four people were killed in the late-night crash in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The Baltimore Sun reports the victims included the aircraft’s pilot, a crew member, a civilian medic and a patient.

The men and women who heroically serve on Maryland’s medevac teams are instrumental in saving thousands of Marylanders each year by responding swiftly and professionally to accident and vehicle crash sites. The cause of this accident remains unknown and is still under investigation. All 11 remaining Maryland medical evacuation helicopters will remain grounded until the cause of the crash is determined. These medevac helicopters are similar in make and model to the one that crashed over the weekend.

Five people survived this crash and were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. Maryland medevac helicopters fly around 5,000 missions each year. There has not been a major accident or fatality in the past two decades. All Marylanders respect and appreciate the selfless work of the brave men and women of the Maryland medevac team and grieve with them and the families of those who lost their lives.

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