If you suffer from one or more injuries that you believe were caused by the negligence of another party, you have the right to file a personal injury claim in Maryland. Getting personal injury help for a product malfunction, slip and fall, or motorcycle accident should involve working with a personal injury lawyer.
An attorney can help you recover the costs associated with your injuries, as well as ensure you meet the statute of limitations for filing a Maryland personal injury claim. Your lawyer can also negotiate a favorable settlement that prevents you from enduring a prolonged civil trial.
How Do I File a Claim in Maryland?
Submitting persuasive evidence is the key to getting personal injury help in Maryland. Copies of medical bills and the reports submitted by your physician can be the difference between you receiving just compensation for your injuries or walking out of a civil courtroom empty-handed. Photographs taken of the area where you suffered your injuries can also demonstrate negligence on the part of another party.
After conducting an extensive review of your case, the attorney that you hired develops a legal strategy that maximizes the amount of financial assistance that you receive. Since most personal injury cases never see the light of a civil courtroom, your lawyer can attempt to reach a favorable settlement with the legal counsel representing the defendant.
Reaching a favorable settlement often happens after the discovery phase of a personal injury claim. Discovery means all parties involved in a personal injury claim receive the same evidence, as well as hear testimony from the same witnesses.
What is the Statute of Limitations in Maryland?
Getting Maryland personal injury help requires you to file a claim before the statute of limitations expires on your case. Maryland law has established a three-year statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim in the state.
The three-year deadline is set on the day when you suffered your injuries, which is verified by paperwork such as an emergency room check-in sheet or the official report submitted by the responding law enforcement agency.
Failing to file your personal injury claim before the deadline means you cannot expect to receive Maryland personal injury help. The court clerk in the jurisdiction overseeing your case will dismiss your claim.
How Do I Prove Negligence in Maryland?
The plaintiff that you file a personal injury claim against might admit to some of the blame associated with the incident that caused you harm. However, the plaintiff might argue that you are partially responsible for what caused your injuries.
Maryland operates under the contributory negligence principle, which means you must assume some of the blame for personal injuries if the plaintiff can demonstrate that you were partly at fault for causing the incident.
Let’s assume you received injuries that were caused by a driver hitting you at an intersection. The judge overseeing your case takes into account witness testimony that claims you rolled the stop sign. Although the plaintiff was speeding at the time of the car accident, the rolling of a stop sign makes you at least partly responsible for your injuries. The judge calculates your part of the negligence at 30%, which means a $100,000 award turns into a $70,000 payout for you.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Receive in Maryland?
Most states have established a maximum amount of money plaintiffs can receive in personal injury cases, especially when it comes to non-economic damages like pain and suffering. Maryland limited non-economic damages in personal injury cases, with the state resetting the cap every October 1 to account for inflation.
In 2021, Maryland has set the cap for non-economic damages in personal injury cases at $890,000. The cap rises to $1,335,500 for wrongful death cases if there are at least two financial beneficiaries of the wrongful death claim.
How Do I Get Personal Injury Help in Maryland?
Personal injury claims in Maryland require the collection and organization of evidence. By working with a personal injury lawyer, you can submit the type of evidence that you need to win an award for financial assistance. Your attorney can help you obtain every medical record that describes your injuries, as well as how much you have spent to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate the injuries. Another important role a personal injury lawyer plays is to ensure you meet every deadline demanded by Maryland personal injury statutes. \
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