Posted on May 20, 2010 in Criminal Defense

https://www.silvermanthompson.com/lawyer-attorney-1300820.html As Baltimore Maryland Criminal Attorneys, we are often called upon to defend college students and other young people who are charged with what is commonly termed "date rape" allegations. These allegations invariably involve young women who are highly intoxicated on drugs or alcohol engaging in sexual activity that they later allege was non-consensual. The vast majority of these cases involve situations wherein the young woman involved became voluntarily intoxicated but we have seen several cases in which the so called "date rape drug" was found to be in the alleged victim’s system.

We have successfully defended a large number of these cases many of which having occurred on or around one of the numerous college campuses in the area. We recently defended an individual in just such as case and were able to have all charges against him dismissed prior to trial. This particular individual did not retain us until after he was charged which was a mistake on his part as we have successfully prevented many similarly situated individuals from ever being charged. Here are the facts of the case:

Our client was a 21 year old college student who was attending one of the local Universities. (I am going to leave out or change some minor details to protect both the client and the young women involved in this situation). One evening about 18 months ago he attended an off campus party at the apartment of a friend. Not surprisingly, alcohol was served at this party in large amounts. My client and most of the other party goers drank excessively and became intoxicated.

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 Posted on May 19, 2010 in Medical Malpractice

A Maryland man has won an $800,600 verdict in a malpractice case against a California surgeon. The award included $300,000 in punitive damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The patient had a small skull based tumor that was threatening his hearing, and went to a doctor to remove the tumor. According to the lawsuit, the doctor removed something but it was not the tumor. The hospital’s pathology report supposedly showed that what was surgically removed was not a tumor. But instead of telling the patient, the lawsuit alleged that the doctor and/or others altered the report to hide from the patient the fact that the tumor actually was not removed. The patient subsequently lost his hearing and filed suit. A copy of an article on the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. attorney who handles many medical malpractice and other catastrophic injury cases, I have successfully handled many cases involving important medical records. Clients of mine frequently ask whether there is any way to tell whether medical records have been improperly altered. I always explain that there are ways, such as comparing them to other records, comparing them to records which have been sent to others, and forensic document examination. At times, I have had medical records evaluated by forensic document examiners who can tell, using ink dating analysis or examination under special lighting, that documents have been altered. Computer systems even keep track of alterations of computerized medical records systems. Usually, when I can prove that a medical record was improperly altered, the case settles. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

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 Posted on May 19, 2010 in Medical Malpractice

A Baltimore County jury has awarded $1.44 million to the family of a man who died a day after spending six hours in a St. Joseph Medical Center emergency home. The verdict was against an emergency room doctor who works at St. Joseph.

The family in the case claimed that the man’s death from septic shock would have been prevented if he had received a proper broad-spectrum antibiotic and fluid when he first went to the emergency room. Instead, he was given an antibiotic to treat pneumonia and not enough fluid.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. attorney who handles many medical malpractice and other catastrophic injury cases, I have successfully handled many cases involving death due to sepsis. Many times, the death can be prevented with proper antibiotics, which are inexpensive to administer. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

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 Posted on May 19, 2010 in Medical Malpractice

A jury in Massachusetts has awarded a husband and wife $1.6 million in a malpractice case against a doctgor over the death of their son on a college basketball court. The young man, a Senior in college at Eastern Connecticut State University, collapsed during a game due to a congenital heart defect called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The family claimed that the doctor, who had examined the young man and found him eligible to play, missed the heart condition.

As an experienced Maryland and Washington, D.C. attorney who handles many medical malpractice and other catastrophic injury cases, I have successfully handled many death cases and even a number of cases involving hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This is a condition that can be easily diagnosed. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Contact Andrew G. Slutkin with further questions or inquiries at 410-385-2786

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 Posted on May 19, 2010 in Medical Malpractice

A jury in Tennessee has awarded a couple from Texas more than $22 million in a medical malpractice case. The Plaintiff in the case was left paralyzed from the waist down after complications from surgery for a broken leg.

Cases involving paralysis are extremely complicated and require an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. In addition to proving that the doctor or hospital did something wrong, the lawyer must be able to prove the nature and extent of future medical and other care, the cost of that care and the value of any lost wages or income.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled many cases involving paralysis due to medical malpractice. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Contact Andrew G. Slutkin with further questions or inquiries at 410-385-2786

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 Posted on May 14, 2010 in Divorce

As stated in our October 2, 2009 blog on alimony the Court may consider, among others, twelve different factors in deciding how much and for how long to award alimony. However, these factors provide very little guidance on how much alimony is appropriate based on income and financial figures. In Boemio v. Boemio, No. 57, September Term, 2009, the Court held that the courts are not limited to the twelve enumerated factors in the statue and that given the difficulty of translating those factors into a numerical award, courts may consult guidelines developed by a reasonable and neutral source. Such guidelines are fashioned similar to the Maryland Child Support guidelines and provide a numeric formula. The Circuit Court in this case consulted the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyer’s guidelines but the Court of Appeals held that courts may also consult other guidelines such as the Women’s Law Center Kaufman Alimony Guidelines.

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 Posted on May 13, 2010 in Personal Injury

Under relevant Maryland law, pedestrians generally have the right of way when in a crosswalk, and motorists generally have the right of way outside of a crosswalk. Maryland Transportation Article 21-502 requires a motorist to come to a stop when a pedestrian is crossing the roadway in a crosswalk. Additionally, motorists are required at intersections to look carefully ahead and keep and eye for pedestrians. Outside a crosswalk, motorists generally have the right of way over pedestrians, but still have a duty to avoid striking a pedestrian.

Every year, thousands of Marylanders are injured in pedestrian accidents. An experienced Maryland attorney, understands the law governing pedestrians on the road and can fight on their behalf to recover for injuries sustained in an accident.

For more information or a free consultation, please contact the Maryland personal injury lawyers of Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin & White, LLC. or contact Andrew G. Slutkin with further questions or inquiries at 410-385-2786

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 Posted on May 10, 2010 in Appeals - State & Federal

Most defendants charged with DUI, DWI and other drunk driving crimes in Maryland do not realise their right to appeal and have a brand new trial. All misdemeanor criminal and traffic charges in Maryland are first tried in the District Court. If a defendant is not satisfied with the judge’s decision, the defendant can appeal to the Circuit Court. Under the Maryland Rules, this is called an appeal de novo. An appeal de novo wipes the slate clean and is a brand new trial. Whether the appeal is a new trial heard by a jury or a plea bargain before a judge, it completely replaces the original decision in the District Court. Often times in difficult cases, it is sound strategy to take a shot in District court and if it is not favorable, appeal.

As experienced Maryland DUI lawyers, we have found that in difficult cases, our clients often fair much better on appeal than in the original trial. This is usually due to the fact that the higher court is used to dealing with the most serious crimes and a DUI is, relatively speaking, not as serious as murders, rapes, and other crimes the higher court is accustomed to dealing with. It may also have something to do with the fact that delay is always a friend of the defense for several reasons.

For more information on Maryland DUI defense, please contact our experienced Maryland DUI lawyers.

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 Posted on May 10, 2010 in Driving Under the Influence

Often times in Maryland DUI prosecutions, there is an issue of whether the defendant was actually behind the wheel or driving. This often comes up when the defendant pulls over to "sleep it off".

The term "drive" as used in the Maryland drunk driver statutes means to drive, operate, move or be in actual physical control over a vehicle. This includes control over the steering of a vehicle that is being towed.

The seminal Maryland case on this issue is Atkinson v. State, 331 Md 199 (1993). In Atkinson, Maryland court of Appeals has determined that in situations where the driver is simply using his car for shelter until sober enough to drive, the driver can not be prosecuted for DUI. As long as the occupant is totally passive and has not made any attempts to actively control the vehicle. he is immune from a DUI prosecution in Maryland.

What constitutes "actual physical control" includes 1) whether the vehicle is legally parked or on a public roadway, 2) whether the vehicle’s headlights are on, 3) whether the ignition is on and the engine is running, 4) whether the driver is awake, 5) where in the vehicle is the occupant (driver’s seat or back seat makes a significance difference), and 6) the physical location of the ignition key.

Although Maryland courts strive for consistency, the reality is that Maryland Judge’s will inevitably interpret these factors slightly different when applying the law to a similar fact pattern. This is another reason why it is critical for a defendant to be represented by an experienced DUI lawyer who knows the personalities, bias and quirks of all the judges. There is usually a legitimate and proper way to move a case away from a Judge that may not view a matter favorably, hence another reason to hire an experienced and knowledgeable Maryland DUI defense attorney.

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 Posted on May 07, 2010 in Criminal Defense

Based upon sources in Baltimore, it is confirmed that George Huguely brutally attacked a University of Virginia male lacrosse player in his sleep in 2009. Eerily similar to the alleged attack and murder of Yeardlay Love, Huguely bloodied the face and caused head trauma to his teammate. The attack, which occurred last year, apparently was a retaliatory act against the teammate for allegedly kissing Love. It is also reported that Huguely was intoxicated during this attack as well.

The prior incident was reported to the varsity lacrosse coach, but both players involved played in the next game. It is unclear if any discipline was imposed by the coach. As the events leading up to the tragic murder unfold, it is beginning to look like University of Virginia administration and/or officials knew or should have known that Huguely was a loose cannon. He previously had several run-ins with police, threatened to kill a Virginia female police officer, and beat a fellow student and teammate in his sleep in 2009. Recognizing that hindsight is 20-20, one still wonders whether the University of Virginia fell asleep at the wheel?

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