Semmes, Bowen & Semmes

Last year, the Appellate Court of Maryland was faced with an important question in Browne v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company: If a plaintiff is injured in an accident and files an uninsured motorist claim with their insurance carrier, is the insurance carrier responsible if the doctor who treats the plaintiff for his or her injuries from the motor vehicle accident causes more injuries to the plaintiff?     Semmes attorney Marcus K. Jones provides a summary and analysis of Browne in his article written for The Morning Docket, our Litigation Practice Group quarterly newsletter. You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gGsgEhFW   Interested in receiving analysis on matters that impact Maryland businesses? Subscribe to The Morning Docket here: https://lnkd.in/djGeQurB   #Maryland #MarylandLaw #Litigation #Insurance 

Semmes is pleased to welcome attorney John J. Trainor III as an associate in our Workers’ Compensation & Employers’ Liability Practice Group.    Prior to joining Semmes, John was an attorney representing clients in family, criminal, traffic, personal injury, and workers’ compensation matters at two Maryland law firms. He also had a solo practice focused on criminal law.   In law school, John was a Rule 19 student attorney in the Juvenile Justice Project & Criminal Practice Clinic. He was named “Clinic Student of the Year” for his work representing juveniles sentenced to life in prison. He spent years serving as a Baltimore City Public Defender, helping countless individuals navigate the criminal justice system successfully while always putting his clients and their families first. Learn more about John here: https://lnkd.in/gufefEP8   #Baltimore #LawFirm #NewHire #Lawyers

When is an employer in Maryland liable under an occupational disease claim? The Appellate Court of Maryland provided some additional clarity in a recent holding in a case in which a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley sued his employer after contracting a lung infection due to mold growth in his office. According to Semmes principal James S. Maloney, for an employer to be liable under an occupational disease claim in Maryland, the employee must show that the disease is a known risk of the particular profession. The employee cannot win by merely producing evidence that a particular workspace was exposed to this disease. The employee must show that all or most workspaces in the particular profession are prone to the disease. Learn more about the outcome of this important workers’ compensation case in this linked article: https://lnkd.in/gR2gR2Fy #Maryland #MarylandLaw #WorkersCompensation #EmployerLiability #OccupationalDisease #WorkplaceInjury

On January 24, 2024, senators in the Maryland General Assembly proposed Senate Bill 538, which proposes an increase to the current statutory cap on personal injury or wrongful death non-economic damages to $1,750,000—almost doubling the amount available for plaintiffs in 2024. Further, the bill increases the limitation on noneconomic damages by $20,000 each year beginning on October 1, 2025, a $5,000 addition to the current annual increase.    Semmes litigation attorney Anthony B. Felice II, Esq. writes about Senate Bill 538 and its proposed increase to the statutory cap on non-economic damages in personal injury or wrongful death claims in his latest article, which appeared in our most recent edition of The Morning Docket e-newsletter.    You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gpkzVk3j   To get insights and updates on Maryland law, sign up to receive The Morning Docket: https://lnkd.in/djGeQurB   #Maryland #MarylandLaw #PersonalInjury #MarylandGeneralAssembly

Semmes is pleased to announce that attorney Lillian Speaks Simmons, Esq. has joined the firm as an associate in our Workers’ Compensation & Employers’ Liability Practice Group.    Prior to joining Semmes, Lillian was an associate attorney with two Baltimore area firms, focusing on family law and civil litigation. She also was an attorney advisor for the Social Security Administration, inspecting files for legal compliance and drafting disability decisions. Before that, she served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Videtta A. Brown of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. Learn more about Lillian here: https://lnkd.in/gd3_eXFt #Baltimore #LawFirm #NewHire #Lawyers

Congratulations to attorney Paul Farquharson for being named to the 2024 edition of the Chambers USA Guide. He, along with the firm’s insurance practice, were recognized as leaders in Maryland insurance law.    To learn more about Chambers USA’s methodology, click here: https://lnkd.in/gVNf6VA   #Maryland #Chambers #LawFirms 

Semmes would like to extend a warm welcome to this year’s summer associates, Alexsandra Tamayo and Kamryn Washington. We are excited to have these two talented future attorneys join us in our Baltimore office!    Alexsandra is a law student at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. A Baltimore native, she was a 2023 Salisbury Trial Team Advocacy Tournament finalist as well as a 2023 Baltimore County Bar Association Summer Scholar and an inaugural Jose Bahamonde-Gonzalez Memorial Leadership Scholar.   Kamryn is a law student at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she works as a research assistant collecting and analyzing data related to sexual harassment in the workplace and Title IX. She also has served as a staff editor for the University of Baltimore Law Review and was named a Fannie Angelos Scholar for Academic Excellence.    Learn more about the Semmes Summer Associate Program here: https://lnkd.in/gNxSYQiR   #Maryland #LawFirm #SummerAssociates

It’s been a little over a year since we moved to 250 W. Pratt Street in downtown Baltimore, and we couldn’t be happier. See below for a video featuring sweeping external shots of our building and nearby Camden Yards as well as a peak into our modern, well-appointed office space.    #Maryland #Baltimore #LawFirm #OfficeSpace 

  Congratulations to the ALA Maryland Chapter for exceeding its target fundraising goal for the Maryland Food Bank. Semmes was pleased to play a role in assisting the organization top its goal.    The donations will help the Maryland Food Bank not only provide meals to Marylanders in need, but the funds also will help address the root causes that lead neighbors into food insecurity in the first place, creating more pathways out of hunger to creating greater stability for all Maryland children, families, and older adults.    If you’d like to donate to the Maryland Food Bank or learn more about the organization, see this link: https://mdfoodbank.org/.   #ALA #Maryland #MarylandFoodBank #FoodInsecurity 

The Maryland legislature passed three bills during the most recent 2024 legislative session that will have an impact on workers’ compensation laws in the state. To help employers and insurers understand the significance of these changes, Semmes principal Julie Murray recently authored an article that summarizes the bills.    The update covers the following bills:    📌 HB0669/SB0843: Overhauls industrial noise-induced hearing loss claims   📌 SB0216: Increases penalties for failure to obtain workers’ compensation coverage   📌 HB0584/SB0476 (The CAPES Act): Expands presumption of compensability   Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gsuTQWqK   #MarylandLegislature #WorkersCompensation #WorkersComp