Maryland Personal Injury Blog

How to Prevent MD Swimming Pool Accidents

By injuheis on May 26, 2010

Each year in the United States, approximately 300 children under the age of 5 drown in swimming pools. Emergency room treatment is required for 2,000 children each year under the age of 5 due to being submerged in a residential swimming pool. Seventy-five percent of the children who drowned or were treated for submersion were between the ages of 1 and 3. The majority of swimming pool victims were being supervised by one or both parents when the accident occurred.

Most of the swimming pool drownings or submersions occurred in a child’s family’s or friend’s pool. Less than two percent of the accidents occurred as a result of a child trespassing on a stranger’s property.

The speed with which a drowning can occur is astonishing – 77 percent of swimming pool drowning victims had been gone less than 5 minutes. In addition, these are typically silent deaths. There is unlikely to be splashing or yelling that could alert adults to the danger.

How do you keep your swimming pool safe? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission suggests that a pool barrier should be at least 48 inches high to prevent young children from climbing over it. If the barrier is a fence, there should be no more than 1 ¾ inches between each post. The bottom of the fence should have no more than a 4 inch gap to prevent children from climbing under it. If a door to the house gives immediate access to a pool, the door should be equipped with an alarm that will sound within 7 seconds after the door is open.

Far too many children die each year in swimming pool accidents. If your child or a child you care about has been the victim of a swimming pool accident, you have rights that deserve to be protected by a Maryland swimming pool accident lawyer. Contact Steven H. Heisler, “The Injury Lawyer”, today at 877-228-4878 for your free consultation.

Posted in Swimming Pool Accident |

Legionnaire’s Disease Outbreak at Des Moines Hospital Results in Illness, Death

By injuheis on May 20, 2010

One patient died recently and another became sickened as a result of an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. Tests done in the hospital found bacteria in a few spots in the hospital’s water system. Based on a desmoinesregister.com report, the hospital installed special filters and flushed the system. Doctors are unsure whether the patients contracted the illness in the hospital or elsewhere.

Legionnaire’s disease is a form of pneumonia caused by inhalation of a particular type of bacteria. Legionnaire’s disease can be treated with antibiotics but it is deadly to those with weakened immune systems or breathing problems. Both of the patients who contracted the disease had weakened immune systems.

The hospital did not find any of the bacteria in the room of the patient who died, but bacteria was found in the room of the patient who became ill. State experts are currently attempting to discover the source of the outbreak and to contain it. Starting in 2004, the hospital had 7 cases of Legionnaire’s disease and two deaths among patients from the disease. The family of a former patient of the hospital who died of the disease sued the hospital. It paid her family $500,000 in a settlement.

If you or a family member has contracted Legionnaire’s disease in Maryland as a result of someone else’s negligence, you need to contact an attorney with the legal skill and knowledge to handle cases dealing specifically with Legionnaire’s disease. Contact Steven H. Heisler, “The Injury Lawyer,” for legal counsel and representation for your Maryland Legionnaire’s disease case. As a Maryland Legionnaire’s disease lawyer and personal injury attorney, Mr. Heisler has extensive experience with litigation involving Legionnaire’s disease and several other types of injury claims. Call 877-228-4878 today for your free consultation.

Posted in Legionnaire's Disease |

Maryland Car Crash Kills 3 Pennsylvania Residents

By injuheis on May 17, 2010

Three residents of Pennsylvania were killed and a fourth injured in a Maryland car crash that occurred eastbound on I-68 near exit 52 sometime between the night of May 4 and the morning of May 5. The 2008 Ford Mustang in which they were riding left the road, striking a median before crossing two lanes of traffic and hitting a hillside. According to a Baltimore Sun report, the car then went 100 yards over an embankment, ejecting three people from the vehicle.

A fourth passenger was found on the shoulder of the road after climbing up the embankment. She flagged down a State Highway Administration Worker for help. It is not clear how long she had been seeking help. She was lying down beside the road by the time help arrived. She is currently in stable condition. She was the only passenger in the automobile who was wearing a seatbelt.

The investigation into the fatal Maryland auto accident is ongoing. Police are not sure what caused the vehicle to strike the median.

Car accidents in Maryland can be extremely serious. If you have been injured in an auto accident as a result of someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other related damages. If you or someone you care about has been injured in a car accident, contact Steven H. Heisler, “The Injury Lawyer”, for a free evaluation of your case. Auto accident lawyers in Baltimore, like Mr. Heisler, can help automobile accident victims receive the compensation that they deserve. For a free consultation of your case, call 877-228-4878 today.

Posted in Auto Accidents |