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Injuries affecting the brain stem can have devastating consequences, leading to the loss of motor skills, cognitive function, intense pain, and even fatalities. Regrettably, the repercussions don’t solely end there. A brain stem injury can profoundly impact not just physical and mental health but also one’s financial stability. Should you or a family member suffer a brain stem injury due to another party’s negligence, you may have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit seeking damages.

The idea of pursuing legal action after a severe brain stem injury can feel overwhelming. Such injuries can occur in various scenarios, including car accidents, hazardous work environments, or due to the use of faulty products. Our brain injury attorneys have a track record of securing maximum compensation and holding accountable those responsible for negligence across diverse personal injury cases. Our team offers a complimentary consultation for those seeking guidance.

About Brain Stem Injuries 

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Meconium is the baby’s first bowel movement. It is probably not what you expect. These first feces consist of debris, cells from the intestinal tract, mucus, and slimy fluids. Meconium is green and has no smell.

What is Meconium Aspiration Syndrome?

Meconium Aspiration Syndrome (MAS) causes respiratory distress as a result of meconium entering the respiratory tract below the vocal cords and presenting in the tracheal bronchial tree. When the baby makes an attempt to breathe in utero, before the baby is delivered, the baby can inhale meconium material into the lungs. The fear is the meconium blocking the airways.  Oxygen is critical to life for all of us.  But, during the birthing process, it is critical to have a smooth flow of oxygen to the brain and other vital organs.

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Bellwether trials are basically “test” cases in large mass tort litigation involving thousands of plaintiffs. When you have thousands of individual plaintiffs bringing similar claims (usually product liability) it is not physically possible to take every case to trial.

Instead, a handful of sample cases are tried to give everyone involved in the litigation a clear idea of the settlement compensation payouts victims should receive.  These trials are bellwether trials.

In this post, we will explain the bellwether process in mass tort multidistrict litigation (MDL) cases. We will examine the role of bellwether trials and how individual cases are selected to serve as bellwether cases.

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In Webb v. Giant of Maryland LLC, the Maryland Court of Appeals (COA) was asked to revisit the decision of the Court of Special Appeals (COSA).

The issue was whether the grocery store could be liable for an injury caused by a Pepsi delivery driver while stocking shelves at the store. The Pepsi delivery driver was an independent contractor and not a store employee of Giant. So the question was whether Giant still be liable for the Pepsi driver’s acts based on the level of control they had over him inside the store.

The  Maryland Court of Appeal affirmed the decision of COSA holding that Giant could not be held liable because the store did not exercise the necessary high level of control over the Pepsi driver.

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If you are bringing a birth injury lawsuit, you find out pretty quickly that the birth injury lawsuit process is a complicated maze.  It is a lot to absorb.  I wrote this post to explain to you what you can expect when you file a birth injury lawsuit.

Each birth injury malpractice lawsuit involves unique facts and circumstances, but they all go through the same process in the court system. Understanding this process and what to expect during each stage can help you feel more comfortable and eliminate some of the anxiety that often comes with being a plaintiff.

Bringing a birth injury lawsuit in Maryland can be mentally and emotionally difficult for most parents.  Having a good birth injury lawyer that cares and understands what getting justice for your child is all about can make a huge difference.  This page will walk through the progression of a birth injury lawsuit from begging to end.

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Yesterday I googled the name of our personal injury law firm “Miller & Zois.”  I was doing some research, and I knew our page had the answer I needed.  When I did the search, I found a paid ad result for “Big Al Legal Team – Car Accident Lawyer Baltimore.”

big al baltimore legal group

Big Al  Legal Years Ago Under Another Name

When something shows up as an ad result in a Google search page, it means that whoever owns the website in that result is paying Google to have their site pop up on the SERP anytime someone searches for certain keywords. This system of selling spots on the SERP is called Google Adwords (also commonly known as “pay-per-click”).

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Distracted driving is a big thing these days thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and the millions of people in the U.S. who are hopelessly addicted to using them. As recently as 10 years ago, distracted driving was not really even a “thing.”

As of 2021, however, distracted driving claims an estimated 3,000 lives each year, and states across the U.S. have enacted targeted laws making it illegal. In this post, we will explain what impact a ticket for distracted driving could have on your auto insurance rates.

Does a Distracted Driving Ticket Affect Your Car Insurance?

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In Giant of Maryland LLC v. Karen Webb, No. 413, Sept. Term 2019, was asked to decide whether Giant could be liable for an injury to a customer caused by a Pepsi delivery driver while stocking Pepsi products on the shelves. The Pepsi driver was not a Giant employee so the issue was whether Giant could still be liable for his negligent actions based on the level of control they had over him inside the store.

The COSA held that Giant did not have enough control to be liable for the actions of the Pepsi driver. Giant’s “general control” over the work of its product delivery drivers at the store was not enough. In order to be liable, Giant would need to have maintained control over the “operative details and methods” of the independent contractor’s work, including the “very thing from which the injury arose.”

Summary of Giant of Maryland v. Webb

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In Thomas v. Shear, the Court of Appeals held in an unreported opinion that a malpractice claim alleging a surgical clip was left inside a patient in 2000 was barred by the statute of limitations. Although the surgical clip was not actually discovered in the plaintiff’s body until 14 years later, her own expert witnesses offered testimony suggesting that her statute of limitations began to run in 2006 at the latest.

Facts of Thomas v. Shear

This medical malpractice case began in May 2000.  The plaintiff underwent a surgical procedure performed by the defendant surgeon at GBMC.

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The Maryland Court of Appeals is still working during the coronavirus shutdown.  The court put out a new opinion Monday in Nationwide v. Shilling that addressed the question of when the 3-year statute of limitations begins to run on a claim for underinsured motorist benefits.

The gist of the court’s holding is good for plaintiffs.  The court found that a claim for underinsured motorist benefits is basically a breach of contract action. So the statute of limitations begins to run when the insurance carrier breaches the contract by denying the insured’s UIM claim.  Our lawyers have always interpreted the law this way.  But we always pretended that the statute of limitations was not extended because even having to fight this issue and win is not worth the trouble of not fighting the issue at all.

But this case has dicta that has two big problems that are very troubling with respect to the insurance company’s ability to modify the statute of limitations in uninsured motorist cases by putting a different statute of limitations in their contracts.  This would be a disaster and lead to a ton of litigation over any issue that is well understood by everyone.

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