Posted on June 13, 2024 in Medical Malpractice

Requirements for Filing a Malpractice Case in Maryland

As Maryland medical malpractice attorneys, we often are asked what the requirements are for filing a medical malpractice claim in Maryland.  Pursuing a medical malpractice claim is a complex process that is governed by very specific laws and requirements.  In Maryland, understanding those laws and requirements is crucial to the likelihood of success and compensation for victims of medical malpractice.

Step 1: Hire a Medical Malpractice Attorney

If you may have been a victim of medical malpractice, you should hire an attorney immediately to promptly investigate your potential claims. An investigation by an attorney will include obtaining and reviewing the medical records and hiring the required and appropriate expert to certify that your case has merit — all within enough time to ensure that the claims are filed well in advance of the statute of limitations. Because of the complexity of medical malpractice claims, you should not attempt to satisfy these legal requirements on your own. 

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 Posted on June 12, 2024 in Family Law

What is a DSS investigation?

            The Code of Maryland Regulations ("COMAR"), Sec. 07.02.07.00, et seq. codifies the process by which the local Department of Social Services ("DSS") is to investigate allegations of child abuse and/or neglect, as well as the subsequent findings that may be reached at the end of any investigation. Said findings may be contested directly to DSS and/or to the Office of Administrative Hearings.

What happens during a DSS investigation into child abuse and/or neglect?

            Within 24 hours of receiving a report of suspected child abuse and/or neglect, the local DSS will initiate an on-site investigation of the reported location. During an investigation, the local DSS will first assess the immediate safety and risk of maltreatment of the alleged victim and of the children who are household or family members of the alleged victim or in the care/custody of the alleged maltreator.

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 Posted on June 04, 2024 in Complex Civil Litigation

On May 23, 2024, after nearly a year of motions practice, Judge George L. Russell III of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland granted plaintiff’s motion to remand its putative class action to state court. Serving as local counsel, Silverman Thompson filed the class action in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on January 19, 2023. The plaintiff, who has been employed as an hourly, non-exempt worker at Johns Hopkins Hospital ("Johns Hopkins") for over thirty years, contends that Johns Hopkins has a policy of rounding employees’ hours resulting in illegal withholding of wages, failure to pay minimum wage, and failure to pay overtime wages in violation of the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law.

Johns Hopkins removed the matter to federal court more than seven months after receiving the complaint on the basis of federal question jurisdiction. Johns Hopkins argued that the United States District Court for the District of Maryland had jurisdiction pursuant to Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, which provides the court subject matter jurisdiction over employment disputes governed by collective bargaining agreements. Plaintiff promptly filed a motion to remand maintaining that Johns Hopkins’ removal was untimely – in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1446, Johns Hopkins had thirty days following receipt of the complaint to file a notice of dismissal.

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 Posted on May 24, 2024 in Business Counseling, Litigation & Transactions

In fall 2021, Silverman Thompson filed suit in federal court in Pennsylvania on behalf of a provider of inmate communication services for prisons. The suit alleged that just as Silverman Thompson’s client was about to finalize a contract with a county prison, the incumbent service provider and business rival used illegal, anti-competitive tactics to scuttle the deal and secure a renewal of its contract with the prison. After extensive preliminary motions practice, the district court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim, but gave Silverman Thompson’s client the opportunity to amend. Confident in its claims as drafted by Silverman Thompson, the client elected to stand on the complaint and appealed the dismissal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

After briefing and oral argument in the Third Circuit led by Silverman Thompson attorneys, the client’s choice was vindicated in December 2023 when the appeals court issued an opinion vacating the dismissal and remanding for further proceedings in the district court to more fully evaluate whether the complaint stated claims under Pennsylvania common law.

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 Posted on May 21, 2024 in Real Estate

Senate Bill 19 requires the District Court to shield all court records relating to the filing of a Failure to Pay Rent Complaint within sixty (60) days after the final resolution of the nonpayment of rent case if the case did not result in a judgment for possession. Further, upon the filing of a motion by a tenant, the District Court may also shield court records relating to a failure to pay rent proceeding that did result in a judgment for possession if:

(1) The tenant demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that the paid the judgment amount prior to eviction and stayed in the property (i.e., the tenant exercised their right of redemption) and at least 12 months have passed since the entry of the judgment;

OR

(2) The court determines that there is otherwise good cause to shield the court records.

If there is a rent escrow case associated with a failure to pay rent case, only the records relating to the failure to pay rent case will be shielded.

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 Posted on May 17, 2024 in Personal Injury

Maryland has a comprehensive dog bite statute that imposes strict liability on dog owners for injuries caused by their pets, regardless of the breed. However, there are certain exceptions and nuances to this law, particularly concerning pit bulls.

Maryland’s Dog Bite Statute

Maryland’s dog bite law is codified in Section 3-1901 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code. This statute establishes strict liability for dog owners, meaning they can be held responsible for injuries caused by their dogs without the need to prove negligence or prior knowledge of the animal’s vicious propensities.

The key points of this law are:

• Dog owners are strictly liable for any personal injury or death caused by their dogs, regardless of whether they were aware of the dog’s tendency to bite or attack.

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 Posted on May 14, 2024 in Real Estate

What is the Tenant Safety Act of 2024?

Pursuant to House Bill 1117, effective October 1, 2024, the statute commonly known as the “rent escrow statute” will be amended to:

• Allow multiple tenants to join as plaintiffs in a Petition in Action of Rent Escrow (commonly known as a rent escrow action);
• Include a rebuttable presumption that a tenant is entitled to the adjudication of a request for rent abatement;
• Include a rebuttable presumption that a tenant is entitled to an abatement of prospective rent; and
• Allow a court who orders any relief to a tenant in a rent escrow matter to make a claim for recovery of attorney’s fees, costs and expenses related to litigation.

Permitting multiple tenants to join as plaintiffs in the same Petition in Action of Rent Escrow against a landlord will primarily affect multi-family properties with several units, where a group of tenants may make the same allegations in a rent escrow actions such as mold, flooding, rodents, or other similar issues that affect several units.

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 Posted on May 10, 2024 in Criminal Defense

This week, the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office dismissed all criminal charges against our client after the entirety of their evidence—incriminating statements coupled with the recovery of more than twelve pounds of cannabis and a loaded firearm—was suppressed by Circuit Court Judge Richard S. Bernhardt, following a three-hour suppression hearing held earlier this year.

In February 2023, our client was driving a rental car with California license plates and tinted windows when he was pulled over on I-95 for allegedly committing two traffic violations: (i) speeding and (ii) driving through a "gore area" of the Maryland House rest stop (the striped triangular area between the highway and the exit ramp). Upon initiating the traffic stop, the officer ordered our client to exit his vehicle and sit in the officer’s patrol vehicle, while the officer purportedly completed the traffic enforcement paperwork.

After isolating and detaining our client in the patrol vehicle, the officer delayed the traffic stop for several minutes, asking more than a dozen questions unrelated to completing the traffic stop paperwork and without ever advising our client of any Miranda warnings. During the interrogation, our client imprudently revealed that he was a cannabis farmer from California and that he possessed marijuana. Shortly thereafter, the officer asked for permission to search the vehicle, which our client refused.

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