Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog

March 11, 2023

Hair Relaxer Lawsuits

Chemical hair relaxer (also known as hair straightener) is a product used by millions of African American women. New medical research now shows that chronic exposure to the chemicals in hair relaxer products disrupts the hormone system and leads to an increased risk of uterine cancer. Product liability lawsuits are now being brought against cosmetic companies by women who used hair relaxers for years and developed uterine cancer.

The product liability lawyers at Miller & Zois are now seeking cases from women not only in Maryland but nationwide who used chemical hair relaxers or hair straighteners on a regular basis for a minimum of 5 years and were subsequently diagnosed with uterine cancer. Contact us about a hair relaxer lawsuit today by calling 410-779-4600.

Where We Are Right Now in the Hair Relaxer Class Action Lawsuit

March 9, 2023

Firefighting Foam Lawsuit

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Firefighting foam (aqueous film-forming foam “AFFF”)) is a chemical product that has been used for years by firemen and in other commercial applications to extinguish fires.

However, various studies have recently shown that chronic use or exposure to firefighting can cause certain types of cancer. This discovery has led to a wave of firefighting foam lawsuits by former firemen and others who developed cancer after long periods of occupational exposure to AFF.

Our lawyers are accepting new clients in all 50 states for inclusion in the nationwide AFFF class action lawsuit.

March 7, 2023

Osteomyelitis Misdiagnosis Medical Malpractice Claims

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Osteomyelitis is a serious bone infection characterized by inflammation of the bone/bone marrow that can prove fatal if not properly treated. Usually, when it is not properly treated, it is because a doctor has misdiagnosed the condition. This happens far more often than it should.

Osteomyelitis is caused by bacterial or fungal infections. If caught early, the condition is treatable with antibiotics and, sometimes, surgery. However, if left untreated because of misdiagnosis, the infection can spread to other parts of the body. If bone death occurs, amputation may be the only option to prevent the spread of infection. We are focusing our attention on humans, obviously. But osteomyelitis is not limited to humans. Elephants, in particular, are prone to this condition, which is often misdiagnosed and leads to their death.

If you have a potential osteomyelitis medical malpractice claim in Maryland, call us at 800-553-8082 or visit our website for a free online consultation.

March 7, 2023

Average Knee Injury Compensation Payout

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Our lawyers handle knee injury accident lawsuits in Maryland. This page is about how to project settlement amounts and jury payouts in knee injury lawsuits in Maryland and around the country.

Knee injuries make up probably 10% of our law firm’s car accident caseload. This is consistent with studies that show how often knee injuries occur in car accidents.

What is the settlement value of a knee injury case? Below we discuss the average and median settlement amounts of these knee injury claims. We also list more statistics, relevant medical literature, and the importance of expert testimony.

March 7, 2023

Medication Error Settlement Amounts and Jury Payouts

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

A Jury Verdict Research study found that the average verdict in an improper medication case is $3,539,541.

That is a big number. The median, which many consider a more accurate number, is $1.2 million. Verdicts ranged from $2,074 to $35,500,000. But only 28% of medication error plaintiffs recover at trial. I think the problem in many medication error cases where plaintiffs do not prevail is causation because sometimes the medication error compounds a larger pre-existing health condition and it is difficult for the jury and the doctors to sort it out.

Incredibly, 1.5 million people are victims of medication errors every year, according to an Institute of Medicine study from a few years ago. Most of these errors are relatively harmless. We get frequent calls from people who are justifiably angry that such a careless error was made. But, more often than not, they don’t have a case because they were not significantly injured (in the malpractice sense of the word, anyway). Still, more people die annually from medication errors than from on-the-job injuries, according to the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, and the extra medical costs incurred from improper medication errors each year is a whopping $3.5 billion.

March 6, 2023

Average Disc Injury Verdicts and Settlements

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Disc Injury Values

JVR has done a national analysis of jury awards for spinal nerve with disc damage.

The study underscores what every plaintiffs’ lawyer has figured out by osmosis, if nothing else: age matters. Young people recover much better than older people.

The overall median award to plaintiffs age 18 and under was $43,997, while the median award to plaintiffs between the ages of 19 and 29 was $67,612. Plaintiffs between the ages of 40 and 59 who suffered spinal nerve with disc damage received a median award of $103,723, and plaintiffs age 60 and older received a median award of $100,000.

The interesting thing about the age numbers is that at some point, you see they turn again as juries increasingly blame age for the injuries. I bet if you took this up to 70 and 80, you would see the numbers continue to drop.

Anyway, these are the numbers:

March 6, 2023

Premises Liability Settlements and Verdicts in Maryland

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Metro Verdicts Monthly’s graph this month is non-fatal settlements and verdicts in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia in premises liability cases since 1987.

The median non-fatal premises liability case in Maryland was $69,000. The recoveries in Virginia and the District of Columbia are slightly less, $50,000 and $65,000, respectively.

If you look at the national data, you see an enormous difference between Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia and the rest of the country. What is the common thread? Contributory negligence is still the law in all three jurisdictions.

As I have said before, I love seeing these different verdicts in Maryland each month. It is always interesting to see different lawyers that you know and see what cases they had and how they fared. What diminishes the value of Metro Verdicts, in my mind, is the turnaround time. I have a case in this month’s edition that I tried 6 months ago. It does not diminish the quality of the information, but in the Internet era, it is not as enjoyable to read stale news.

Premises liability case value: national verdict statistics (keep in mind that, unlike the figures above, these do not include settlements)
Verdict statistics and settlement value of slip and fall cases in Maryland and nationally

March 6, 2023

Stroke Related Medical Malpractice Settlements

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Medical malpractice cases involving a stroke can be a challenge. Stroke cases are difficult to prove. Are there viable cases? Absolutely.

This post is for lawyers who are getting stroke misdiagnosis cases but do not know whether the claim is viable. There are common threads that run through the most successful stroke misdiagnosis/failure to treat cases. Cases that result in a settlement or a jury verdict for the plaintiff are usually one of these two breeds: Failing to prevent a stroke and failing to treat a stroke once it has occurred. Continue reading

March 6, 2023

Fractured Shoulder Verdicts and Settlements in Maryland

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

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Value of Shoulder Separation Cases

Some time ago Metro Verdicts had a graph comparing settlement amounts in different regions or distinct types of injuries. This month, they had a fascinating graph comparing fractured shoulder injury verdicts and settlements in Maryland and Virginia since 1987, omitting defense verdicts. The average fractured shoulder verdict or settlement in Maryland was $154,800, whereas, in Virginia, it was only $52,500.

This is a remarkable disparity. If you have a choice over the venue – not common, but it happens – it would seem that a smart lawyer with a client with a shoulder injury would choose Maryland. In reality, it is probably more complicated than that and would depend on the injury, the client, and what county in Maryland would have an appropriate venue for the lawsuit. While I love verdict data, all of it is suspect and should be just a weapon in a lawyer’s arsenal trying to figure out the value of a tort case.

March 5, 2023

Back Fracture Settlements and Verdicts

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

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Back Injury Verdicts

Metro Verdicts Monthly graphs the median verdict and settlement value of back fracture cases over the last 23 years. The median settlement/verdict in Washington D.C. is $52,500. Maryland has a slightly lower median of $43,126. The median settlement/verdict in a back fracture lawsuit in Virginia is $125,000. These are back fracture cases where there is no paralysis. These statistics are not a bit dated but the numbers still track.

Most back factures come from some trauma, usually from a motor vehicle crash or falling. The reason the numbers may sound lower than you are might expect is because many back fractures are not as serious as the ominous-sounding “back fracture” would suggest. When I was in high school, I hurt my back swinging a baseball bat at baseball camp in Florida. A chiropractor worked on me for a while but I made no progress. I went to an orthopedic doctor and, low and behold, I had a fractured back. It ruined my baseball season, and I had to wear a back brace for eight weeks but I suffered no ill effects after removing the back brace. Continue reading