Representatives of a Maryland man who suffered life-threatening injuries in a car accident likely will file a personal injury lawsuit. The only question is the identity of the defendant or defendants.
The accident occurred on Aug. 18 at a car wash in Edgewater, Maryland. The man, 45, was waiting at the car was when a 2007 GMC Acadia driven by an employee went up a curb and struck him before hitting the building.
The man still is hospitalized in critical condition at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.
One potential defendant, the car wash, has received permission from a judge in county Circuit Court to inspect the sport-utility vehicle that its employee drove through the car wash that day. It wants to retrieve information from the electronic data recorder, which is similar to a “black box” on an airplane, and analyze it to see if the car malfunctioned in any way and caused the accident.
According to documents filed in court, a police officer inspected the SUV after the accident and believed it was in proper working order.
The owners of the car, who live in nearby Annapolis, Maryland, would not allow the managers at the car wash to inspect it, according to the request the car wash made to the court. The couple has five days to voice opposition to the judge’s order.
The victim’s first order of business is to tend to his health in the hospital and his hope for eventual recovery. Advocates on his behalf will need to keep a watchful eye on any subsequent investigations that determine a cause and fault for the accident. The man’s medical expenses will be tremendous, and his ability to earn a living has been impaired. He likely will require help to meet all of his obligations and will need to file a personal injury suit.
Source: Capital Gazette, “Edgewater autowash files motion to inspect SUV that struck man in anticipation of lawsuit,” Ben Weathers, Sept. 4, 2012
