Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog

Metro had in place an automatic train control system that in theory, should have prevented the June 22, 2009 metro train crash in Washington, D.C.   The system failed.  In the days after the crash, the system was tested again by federal regulators (NTSB) and it failed the test.   What good is a safety system if it does not work?  The fact that this system failed allowed the crash to occur.  In other words, if the technology had worked properly, the system would have prevented the crash.  What this most likely means is that the train operated by Metro Employee Jeanice McMillan likely did not receive information that a train was stopped ahead of her.  I am troubled by this.  It seems that the metro bus and train operators rely too heavily on technological systems.  We all know that systems can fail.  We all have computers and they work most of the time but not all of the time.  The driver of the train still needs to pay attention and if there is a train ahead of it that is stopped, the driver needs to hit the brakes and stop the train.  Also, the train that stopped should have radioed to the train behind that it was stopped.  If this had occurred, the crash would not have happened regardless of the system/technological failure.  The “system” that failed assumed that the coast was clear and apparently automatically set the speed of Ms. McMillan’s train at 59 MPH.   The person at Metro in charge of these “systems” is Matthew L. Matyuf (He is the Superintendant of the Automatic Train Control Division and he has been temporarily reassigned).  Victims of this metro train crash should be angry.  Metro train operators should not rely on automatic pilot.  Instead, they should manually be responsible for operating the trains and only rely on the autopilot when there is a medical emergency or other good reason to do so.  There is a long history of problems with Metro’s automatic systems.  In 1999 relays were known to be prematurely failing.  The manufacturer of the relays is Alstom Signaling.

Another issue that has arisen for the Washington DC train accident victims is whether to accept money from WMATA  for funeral expenses, medical expenses, etc.  At this time, our lawyers are currently researching this issue and are unable to provide a definitive answer.  Therefore, to be 100% safe, such funds should not be accepted from Metro at this time.  While at first glance it seems that it would be ok to accept such funds (as long as no release or other documents are signed), we are concerned that Metro and/or the D.C. Court of Appeals could somehow hold acceptance of such funds to be an accord and satisfaction of sorts which would bar further claims.  Anything is possible with a catastrophic loss like this that could possibly bankrupt WMATA.   Metro is a quasi governmental entity and they have been known to play games with the rights of victims and when it is in their interest, they play hardball.  For example, in a recent Maryland case, Metro successfully argued that they were covered by the Maryland Tort Claims Act and therefore claims against they were capped just as if one were suing the State of Maryland.   Therefore, to be safe, we recommend that victims place the D.C. Government on notice pursuant to 12-309 of the D.C. Code as soon as possible to prevent WMATA from making a similar argument in these cases.  Notice under 12-309 must be given properly within 180 days or claims against the DC Government are barred forever.    We are also concerned that the D.C. Council could pass legislation indicating that those who took money for medical expenses or funeral expenses are barred from further legal action against Metro.  This is unlikely, put it is possible.  Therefore, the best advice I can give at this time is that crash victims should not accept funds from Metro for funeral expenses or medical expenses.

At least 6 people were killed and dozens injured as a result of the Metrorail train accident in Washington, D.C. yesterday.  This train crash is being investigated by the NTSB and local authorities, but initial reports indicate that the metro crashed because of failure in the signal system and operator error.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those injured and killed.  Family and friends of those injured or killed can call “311” for information about their loved ones and/or (866)-797-4930.   There is also a Red Cross Station set up at 501 Riggs Road, NE with counselors on hand to help family members cope with the grief and stress of this incident.   These numbers were set up by D.C. fire and rescue officials and the Department of Health and Human Services.

One of those killed in the crash was the operator of one of the trains—Jeanice McMillan of Springfield, VA.  She was relatively inexperienced in that she was 18th from the bottom of the seniority list of 523 train operators.  It is our understanding that Metrorail operators must first operate a bus for a year before they can operate a train.  They then receiv about 12 weeks of training on how to operate a train.  The bottom line is that even if the computerized signal system failed to stop the train, the operator should have intervened and manually stopped the train with the emergency brakes.  Also, it appears that the second train was travelling at an excessive rate of speed (the maximum speed at the location of this crash is 58 miles per hour).  There is also a possibility that weakness in the train track bed contributed to the cause of this metrorail train crash.   It is reported that Ms. McMillan worked for WMATA since January 2007.

Mayor Fenty stated that this was the deadliest crash in the history of the Metrorail system.  The incident occurred when one six car metro train stalled on the tracks between Fort Totten and Takoma Park.  Another metro car on the same track struck the stalled car.  About 200 emergency personnel and rescue workers responded to the crash and the jaws of life were used to cut the trains apart.

The Washington Post reports that about 4 years ago metro had a similar incident where the signal failed in the tunnel between Foggy Bottom and Rosslyn in June 2005.  The operators were able to avoid a crash in that case. The Metro system has a computerized signal system that is supposed to help prevent trains from getting close enough to each other to collide.  Legal claims relating to this incident will include causes of action for both negligence and product liability.  Negligence claims will involve operator negligence, negligent hiring and negligent training/negligent supervision.

If you or your loved ones need legal representation for this Washington DC Train Crash, call us at 301-589-2999.    Our office is located in downtown Silver Spring Maryland and we will fight to protect your rights.  Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester, LLC.  Those known to be in the train include Tom Baker from Washington, D.C., Garrett Dorsey from Washington, DC, Martin Griffity, Lanice Beasley.  I am sure there are many passengers who are true heroes in that they sacrificed their own health and safety to assist others on the train who were more seriously injured.

If you have been injured as a result of medical malpractice at Doctor’s Community Hospital in Maryland,  you are not alone.  The Washington Post reports that Doctors Community Hospital located in Lanham, Maryland  was fined for not reporting medical errors by Maryland Health Regulators.  The fine was $30,000.00.

Maryland law requires that hospitals report significant medical mistakes.  Doctor’s Community Hospital seems to have acknowledged that they were failing to report medical malpractice committed there, and that the fine is a wake up call to increase patient safety.  Maryland hospitals are required to report such errors as surgery on the wrong limb, patients taking the wrong medication, falls and infections from IV lines.

The law requires hospitals and medical providers to report such mistakes and analyze why internal safety systems broke down.  The problems at Doctors Hospital include an assault on a patient, an 8 day delay in giving medication to a 49 year old man with heart failure, and an antibiotic being given to a woman who was supposed to only receive plain intravenous (IV) fluids.  The Emergency Room at Doctors Hospital expects to see 60,000 patients this year.   What is most unfortunate is that the hospital practically admits that is unable to provide medical care within the standard of care.

Other hospitals in PG County Maryland that were slow to report errors include Laurel Regional Hospital (Aka Laure Regional Medical Center).  Hospitals in Maryland reported 182 preventable medical errors (never events).  44 medical mistakes were reported in Maryland that lead to the death or serious injury of the patient.    The Washington Post details many of the horrifying mistakes that occurred at Doctors Community Hospital.

Our Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyers are experienced in evaluating medical malpractice cases.  One of our top attorneys, Jean M. Jones, is also a Registered Nurse.  If you or a loved one has suffered serious injury or death as a result of a possible medical error, call us for a free telephone consultation at 301-589-2999.

Eric Greenberg, MD and his wife was arrested last week after his office on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda, MD was raided by the police.  His wife Jaquenette I. Fischman was also arrested. It has been reported that pharmacists told the police that Dr. Greenberg was writing prescriptions for drug addicts; and a Montgomery County drug suspect told investigators that he and all of his friends obtained their illegal drugs from Dr. Greenberg.  Authorities in Prince George’s County Maryland also arrested two county employees and the investigation had some link to Greenberg according to the Washington Post. To see the most recent suspension report relating to Dr. Greenberg from the Maryland Board of Physicians, click here.

The case involved Oxycontin, Dilaudid and Suboxone.   In 2007 Greenberg was placed on probation by the Board that governs doctors for  improperly prescribing to a family member of his and for not keeping proper records.  If you or someone you love has been the victim of Maryland medical malpractice, including the victim of a medical doctor overprescribing prescription pain medications such as oxycontin, dilaudid and/or oxycodone, then you should call an attorney to discuss whether or not you have a medical negligence case.  The standard of care for prescribing narcotic pain killers and other heavy duty prescription drugs essentially requires that the medical doctor provide close supervision to the patient and that the doctor keep track of the number of pills and/or doses given to the patient.  Some doctors have patients sign a contract before they prescribe such drugs whereby the patient promises he will not obtain any similar prescriptions from others in the medical community and that the patient will be honest and truthful with the medical doctor.  Narcotic pain killers are a double edged sword.  On the one hand they provide many patients with a quality of life that they otherwise would not have.  But on the other hand, many patients abuse these drugs and end up injuring themselves or in rehab.

On Friday May 29, 2009 a Frederick County, Maryland  jury awarded $3,900,000.00 ($3.9 Million Dollars) to a boy whose family proved that his cerebral palsy was the result of doctor negligence and medical malpractice.  The doctors apparently failed to properly monitor the child’s heartbeat while his mother was at the hospital.  2 individual doctors  were held liable for the child’s brain damage and CP including an emergency room physician and and an obstetrician.  The nurses, a  third doctor, and the hospital were found not liable for the newborn child’s injuries and mental retardation. According to news sources, The Plaintiff visited Frederick Memorial Hospital when she was 36 weeks pregnant.  She was not properly monitored, and there was a ruptured placenta that caused the child named Ryan’s heart rate to fall.  The case was litigated by Paul Bekman.  The ruptured placenta and brain damage occurred as a result of the negligence of Frederick Memorial Hospital and its staff and employees who failed to properly monitor the pregnant lady and her child and failed to perform appropriate testing. Although the lady came to the hospital at 5 am on May 7, 2000 and the fetal heart rate showed 128 beats per minute, it is alleged that no other tests were performed until after 8 am according to the Amended Complaint. When the nurse was unable to locate a fetal heart rate at 8 am a doctor came in and realized the fetal heart rate was only 30 beats per minute (bpm).  An obstetrician was then called in to do a C-Section.  The doctors at Frederick Memorial Hospital who were found liable by the jury are Brian Rader, MD and Edward Chen, MD.  The jury verdict included $71,000 in past medical costs, $870,000 for medical expenses up until the child reaches the age of majority, and $2 Million Dollars for medical care costs after age 18, $750,000.00 for lost earnings (also known as lost wages) and $300,000.00 for pain and suffering.  This is a very significant verdict for Frederick County, Maryland.  There have not been a lot of plaintiff verdicts in medical malpractice cases and brain damaged baby cases in Western Maryland counties such as Frederick County, Washington County, Garrett County and Allegany County, Maryland.  Although there have not been a  lot of medical malpractice and birth injury verdicts, we have heard a lot of complaints about the quality of medical care in Frederick County and other counties in Western Maryland.    If you or someone you love has a child with cerebral palsy or any other birth injury, it is important to have the medical records reviewed by a seasoned Maryland medical malpractice attorney.  The lawyers at Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester have experience handling cerebral palsy cases, brain damaged baby cases and other medical negligence cases and our staff includes an attorney who is also a Registered Nurse.  Christian C. Mester has experience litigating brain damaged baby cases all over the United States.  To learn more about his verdicts in these cases see:   http://www.gfmlawllc.com/mester.cfm.  We can be reached at 301-589-2999 x102.

On Friday May 29, 2009  there was a terrible and tragic roadside construction accident in Washington, D.C. in a work zone that never should have happened.    A  person was working on a roadside paving project as a construction worker.  This occurred on Southbound Interstate 395 near Maine Avenue SW in Washington, DC.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the lady killed in this terrible incident.  The woman who was killed was acting as a flagger on a crew from the Fort Myer Construction Company, which is a city contractor working on a paving project.  She  was directing traffic at the construction site.  She was struck by a road sweeper which is another piece of construction equipment.    Although the police are not releasing the details of this incident, it is crucial that the family of the person killed hire an experienced attorney and/or investigator to determine exactly what happened and why this happened.  It is important to understand that the children and family members of the person killed have several legal claims that need to be properly investigated.  The first is a D.C. Workman’s Compensation Claim.  For more information: Washington D.C. and Maryland Workman’s Compensation Claims .  The second claim is a possible third party claim against the person operating the sweeper.  This can get tricky Read the rest of this entry »

I have good news to report.  Traffic fatalities in Virginia were down over the recent holiday weekend (Memorial Day).  Five people died on VA Highways over the holiday weekend.  This is the lowest number of Virginia deaths on the highways over Memorial Day Weekend in ten years according to the Virginia State Police.  Last year 18 people died in fourteen car crashes, and this was the highest number of fatalities since 1998.  The average number of deaths on Virginia highways over Memorial Day Weekend is 14.  This year the deaths occurred in Loudoun County, Clarke County, VA, Bland County Virgnia, Pittsylvania County, VA and Tazewell County, VA.

If you have a friend, relative or loved one killed in a car accident in Virginia you should seek legal representation right away.  The statute of limitations for wrongful death claims in VA is 2 years from the date of the accident.  The claims need to be brought by the Personal Representative of the Estate of the deceased.  The lawyers at Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester are experienced at handling Virginia car accident cases and Virgnia wrongful death cases.  For more information about Virgnia Wrongful death law see our website www.gfmlawllc.com or call us at 888-213-8140

On Friday May 22, 2009 there was a serious accident on I-66 in Virginia involving two tour busses.  The busses were charter busses (aka “tour bus”) transporting children from a school field trip to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.  The crash occurred in Fairfax County, VA near Nutley Street.  One tour bus struck the other tour bus in the rear causing injuries to at least 32 people who were taken to the hospital.  This bus crash caused severe traffic jams for commuters in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia.  Lanes were closed for about 3 hours.  The Virginia State Police charged the striking bus with following too closely.

Accidents involving tour busses need to be taken seriously and approached aggressively.  When there are serious injuries, the problem of limited insurance coverage often arises.  The bus will have liability insurance of only a limited amount. Because there are often numerous passengers making claims, the limits can easily be exhausted if there are catastrophic injuries.  In that case, those injured will typically need to make claims on their own auto insurance policies as an Uninsured Motorist Claim (aka “Underinsured Motorist Claim”).  In the case of school age children, claims can often be made on the automobile insurance policies of any resident relative.  When injured on a bus, tour bus or charter bus, it is important to act promptly to seek legal representation.  The Virginia and Maryland Bus Accident Lawyers at Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester are experienced in handling bus accident cases.  Call 888-213-8140 or visit our Website at www.gfmlawllc.com for more information.

Well, yesterday the Montgomery County Council approved the budget.  Impacted by the recession, the County Budget includes steep cuts in programs for young children including teenagers, it eliminated cost of living raises for Montgomery County employees, and it eliminated programs that helped the elderly.  The County Council rejected County Executive Ike Leggett’s recommendation that they impose an ambulance fee to make up for budget shortfalls.  I think the ambulance fee is a really bad idea because it will cause those suffering from accidents and emergency medical conditions to decide not to call 911 because they do not want to incur the silly ambulance fee.  The ambulance transport fee would have raised about $14 million dollars if passed.   The Council restored Montgomery County Bus Service on Ride-On Busses for 18 routes that had previously been closed.  To accomplish this, parking prices will be increased in Bethesda, MD from ..75 per hour to $1.00 per hour, and monthly car parking stickers will increase from $95.00 per month to $120.00 per month.  The County Council rejected the police department’s labor agreement that would have allowed police officers who live outside of Montgomery County, Maryland to drive their cars and automobiles home each night.  If you are involved in a car accident with a Montgomery County Police Officer or County Employee, you need to be sure to put the County on notice properly (and this should be done by an attorney).    The total amount of the budget for Montgomery County  is $4.4 Billion.  The vote in the County Council was 7-1 in favor of the new budget.  The Prince George’s County, MD Council is still struggling with their budget.  They plan to cut county jobs by either 55 or 307 depending on which version of their budget passes.  The PG County Budget is $2.6 Billion (less than Montgomery County’).

Kent Chambers of Washington, D.C. was driving on the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) in Prince Georges County Maryland when a P.G. County Sheriff started following him.  After the law enforcement officer activated his lights, the driver veered off the roadway and struck a guardrail near Route 214, the car overturned and came to rest in the median.  The Sergeant in the police cruiser was Shawn Davenport.  Unfortunately, Mr. Chambers was ejected from the motor vehicle and suffered serious injuries.  His passenger died as a result of this Maryland car crash.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the passenger who died as a result of this incident.  The family of those injured and killed in this terrible car accident should be sure that a proper investigation is conducted.  It is a good idea for them to hire their own investigative team and possibly even their own accident reconstructionist to determine Read the rest of this entry »