Personal Injury Law

John Hopkins Shooting Claims Two Lives and Injures One in Baltimore, Maryland

By Jack Lebowitz, Esq. and Vadim Mzhen, Esq.

At John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Thursday morning, a gunman who became distraught about his mother?s medical care shot and injured a doctor before turning the gun on his mom and himself. Paul Warren Pardus the alleged shooter, and his mother Jean did not survive their injuries.

According to police, Pardus, 50, shot orthopedic physician David Cohen in his upper abdomen and chest. Cohen, who specializes in scoliosis, scoliosis, and osteoporosis, had to undergo surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

A little over two hours after Cohen was shot, a SWAT team determined that Pardus, who was in his mother?s hospital room, had fallen to the ground. When they entered the room, they saw that both he and his mom were dead from gunshot wounds to the head.

Security at John Hopkins
According to Harry Koffenberger, the hospital?s vice president of security, people are not required to go through metal detectors to enter the facility. Yet one hospital worker says staffers have long expressed worry about potential "retribution situations.?

Some 80,000 visitors and patients frequent John Hopkins Hospital, which has dozens of entrances/exits, on a weekly basis. There are also over 400 unarmed security officers on duty at the East Baltimore campus. Over 150 armed, off-duty cops are available to deal with emergency scenarios.

Baltimore Personal Injury
Employees injured on the job generally cannot sue their employer for Baltimore personal injury. They are, however, entitled to Maryland workers? compensation benefits from their employer?s insurer. They also may be able to sue responsible third parties that are not their employer for Maryland personal injury. For example, if a worker is the victim of a violent crime while on the job, then he/she may have grounds to file a Baltimore injury complaint against the assailant. There also may be reason to file a case against the security company if it was negligent in providing security on the work premise.

Experts: No need for metal detectors at Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun, September 17, 2010

Va. man kills mother, self at Hopkins hospital, Washington Examiner, September 16, 2010

Johns Hopkins Hospital: Gunman Shoots Doctor, Then Kills Self and Mother, ABC News, September 16, 2010

Related Web Resources:
John Hopkins Medicine

Full post as published by Maryland Accident Law Blog on September 18, 2010 (boomark / email).