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Hundreds of lives could be saved in both Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, over the next five years if the legislature passed more phased-in driving privileges for teens. Across the nation, and in the Maryland and Virginia area, motor-vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens. In fact, per each mile driven, drivers ages 16-19 are four times more likely to be involved in an automobile accident.

Thousands of Portner & Shure's personal injury and criminal clients, in both Maryland and Virginia, log onto social media sites every day to chronicle their personal and professional lives. These sites create a virtual gold mine of potential legal liability and discoverable information that may have a devastating impact on the outcome of both a Maryland or Virginia accident, or criminal case. One of the first lawsuits to be filed over social medica activity involved country singer, Courtney Love, who was sued by her former designer for defamation concerning alleged damaging statements posted by Love on her Twitter account. Love's supposed damaging tweets were "published" to her 40,000 Twitter followers, and set the stage for the world's first well-known social media suit.

A large number of Maryland drivers are uninsured. Too often these individuals cause automobile accidents that result in injuries to the other driver. Fortunately, in Maryland, the injured victim can pursue an uninsured/underinsured automobile accident insurance claim. This type of claim is available in two situations:

1. Uninsured motorist - the negligent driver has no auto insurance coverage

2. Underinsured motorist - the negligent driver has insufficient liability insurance limits that cannot cover the injured victim's damages, and the negligent driver's policy limits are lower than the limits of the victims uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage

Maryland unisured/underinsured motorist coverage is insurance coverage that covers your auto accident just as your liability insurance would provide compensation for an individual who you might injure as a result of careless driving. In Maryland, unisured/underinsured coverage usually extends to family members living in the household of the insured and passengers.

When an automobile accident, truck accident or doctor's negligence results in a fatality there are two separate claims that can be made on behalf of the victim's family and estate. A Maryland wrongful death attorney can bring a wrongful death action. This type of claim is brought by the immediate relatives of the victim. In a wrongful death claim the family seeks to recover for their losses resulting from the accidental death of a loved one. A Maryland personal injury lawyer can also bring what is called a survival action on behalf of the victim's estate. A survival action claims recovery for the injuries suffered by the decedent including the pain and suffering and other damages and actual expenses incurred by the victim up until the time of death.

Maryland is one of five states that uses contributory negligence instead of comparative negligence. The majority of states use the doctrine of comparative negligence which means, when both the victim and the defendant contributed to an accident by failing to exercise a reasonable degree of care and caution, each party's degree of liability is apportioned. The total amount that an accident victim is awarded is lessened in direct relation to his or her own negligence. For instance, if a jury found that an accident victim was entitled to $1,000,000.00 in damages but found that the victim was 20% at fault, the jury award would be $800,000.00.

Maryland's contributory negligence doctrine is more cut throat and can be a complete bar to an injured victim's recovery. Maryland personal injury attorneys often struggle to help clients because of this all or nothing rule. Under contributory negligence, the accident victim's failure to exercise a reasonable degree of care and caution, no matter how slight, is an absolute bar to recovery. If the defendant's lawyer can convince a jury that the victim was only 1% at fault, that individual will not recover any damages.

Starting October 1, 2011, reading a text message or an email from behind the wheel will cost a driver up to $500 in fines. Maryland's new law, barring the reading of texts while driving, clarifies the existing texting while driving rules. Up until this point, drivers were barred from writing text messages while driving but were allowed to read them. Law enforcement authorities have already commented that police officers will begin enforcing the law immediately.

Police in Maryland have issued 587 warnings and 379 traffic citations for texting while driving and 4,021 warnings and 5,227 traffic citations to drivers talking on cell phones since the initial ban was put in place two years ago. The law still provides an exception for drivers who are texting emergency operators or using phone GPS systems.

Drivers who are ticketed can still choose to pay a $70 fine an accept guilt, which would add a point to their license; if the texting leads to an accident, accepting guilt would mean paying a $110 fine and three points on the license. If a driver chooses to contest the ticket in court, that individual runs the risk of being found guilty of a misdemeanor and having to pay up to a $500 fine. If you were involved in an accident that resulted from the other driver texting while driving contact the Maryland personal injury attorneys at Portner & Shure.

Shop the rates. Every automobile insurance company must file with the Maryland Insurance Administration their underwriting standards and rates.

Automobile insurance companies in Maryland may use numerous factors to determine their risk and to set rates based upon the risk. Factors that are considered include: geographic location, age of driver, education of driver, type of job, distance of normal commute, and credit rating. Factors are placed in separate boxes and rates are set by which box a person matches up with. The carriers do, however, weigh risks differently, and therefore, a persons rates may depend on their particular insurance company.

Factors that may not be considered are a persons race or nationality. In other words, Korean or Chinese speaking Maryland clients can not be forced to pay more in premiums.

Insurance companies are allowed to base future rates on an insured's traffic record and history of at fault accidents.

Since each automobile insurance company uses different factors and weighs the risks differently, you should shop around to determine the best rates for yourself. One carrier for example may charge more based on the type of care you drive, while another due to the inexperience of the driver.

Service does not generally vary from insurance carrier to insurance carrier. It does vary from adjuster to adjuster, but that is just a matter of luck. Therefore, base your decision on what the policy costs, not what the carrier says about its overall service.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys our law firm deals with insurance adjusters on a daily basis. Our Maryland auto accident attorneys are constantly negotiating settlements or in court fighting against the insurance companies on behalf of our clients. As a result, we have seen every trick in the book. One of the most common tricks is when an adjuster offers an injured individual a check shortly after the accident in exchange for a release. More often than not the check will be for substantially less than the actual value of the case. In Maryland once the release is signed there is no opportunity for the injured individual to rescind. In contrast, in Virginia, there is a 72 hour period to rescind.

It's the end of the summer so many families throughout Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, are headed out for one last hurrah. With families with young drivers, like mine, let me point out one thing. While your college age youngster may have been driving for years, unless he or she is 25 or over, they cannot rent a car from most rental agencies. Further, even if you are older than 25, may companies require that you have a driver's license for at least one year or two. One exception for folks under 25 is when they are part of a corporate or organization's discount program.

Exceptions to the general rule can be found in New York or Michigan, where state laws require agencies to rent to drivers ages 18 and up. Of course, you will pay dearly for the privilege. In other states, if there is an exception it will come at a hefty extra charge. Some rental car carriers also make an exception at age 21, they include Dollar, Enterprise and National, but exclude convertibles, SUV's. and expensive models.

Bicycle accidents, laws, protests, trails are all Michael Dresser seems to write about. This guy and Mike Preston are my two least favorite Baltimore Sun journalist but I read their articles the most. Mike Dresser recently wrote an article about the creation of a new class of misdemeanor offense tailored specifically to protect bike riders and pedestrians. My last blog discussed the recent tragedy involving a Johns Hopkins student who was struck by a car while riding his bike and left in a coma. The General Assembly's approval of this new law comes on the heels of that incident. In fact, bicyclists' groups, energized by a series of fatal crashes involving motor vehicles and bikes and the recent Johns Hopkins accident, rode from Baltimore to Annapolis in support of the new law on April 6^th. One of the organizers of the ride was a woman whose husband was killed while bicycling in Baltimore County one year ago.