A Hagerstown, Maryland man, Gary Clever, was a
passenger in his daughter’s car one year ago when a drunk
driver slammed into their car on Sterling Road. Everyone in the vehicle was injured, but Gary
suffered the worst. Immediately after
the accident, it was believed by many that he was paralyzed. Sadly, he was indeed paralyzed from chest
down with spinal injuries, staying in shock trauma for over two months and a
rehabilitation hospital for 11 weeks. Gary’s
insurance stopped paying for the rehab treatment, and now he uses a therapy
bike every day to continue improving.
Now, he has slowly regained movement in the paralyzed areas.
As
a result of everything Gary has gone through since the horrific accident, he
and his wife, Deanna, have been trying to raise awareness about the state’s
unfair drunk driving laws. Their goal is
to have Maryland lawmakers make DUI laws tougher for offenders. For example, the man involved in this crash
had already pleaded guilty to two DUI charges in 2004, yet he was still allowed
to drive on Maryland’s roadways. Current
Maryland law requires minimum insurance coverage of $30,000 if you have a
previous DUI charge. That amount of money
does not come close to covering medical bills and other expenses related to
injuries sustained in a DUI car accident.
Gary believes DUI offenders should face higher financial penalties and
be forced to carry more insurance if allowed to get back on the road
again. Fortunately, Gary should be
allowed to return home in a month. It
will certainly be interesting to see what happens when Maryland’s legislators
return back for Session in January 2016.
If any progress is made concerning DUI legislation, we will surely keep
everyone updated.
If
you or a family member has been injured or killed in an accident caused by the
fault or negligence of a drunk driver and would like to consult an experienced
Maryland personal injury attorney for free, contact us at (301) 854-9000 to
schedule an appointment at one of our office locations in Rockville
or throughout Maryland or visit us online at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Auto-Accidents/Car-Accidents/Fatal-Car-Accidents.shtml
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