Posted on May 03, 2024 in Truck Accidents

The main objective of a Maryland personal injury claim is for the injured plaintiff to recover the compensation they need to be as whole as possible again after a defendant has injured them. While you can search for Maryland personal injury settlement amount examples, the reality is that every case is unique, and it is vital to understand what elements comprise a personal injury settlement if you want to estimate the potential value of your claim.

Claiming Compensation With a Personal Injury Case in Maryland

Before the plaintiff of any personal injury case will be able to recover compensation for their damages, they must first prove how those damages happened and identify the party or parties responsible for causing them. Additionally, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant named in their claim is entirely at fault for causing their damages. The plaintiff can bear no shared fault, otherwise they lose the right to pursue compensation from anyone else.

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 Posted on April 14, 2024 in Truck Accidents

If you have recently been involved in a car accident in Maryland, it is understandable to wonder about the average car accident settlement in Maryland and how much compensation you could potentially obtain if another driver caused your recent accident. The right attorney can assist you with your recovery, but it is important to understand the fundamentals of a car accident claim and what you can expect in terms of compensation under Maryland law.

Potential Damages in a Maryland Car Accident Case

Maryland is an at-fault state when it comes to vehicle accidents, meaning the driver at fault for an accident absorbs liability for all the damages they caused in the incident. Proving fault will be essential to your recovery if you believe any other party is directly responsible for causing the accident you recently experienced. You will need to prove fault before you can recover compensation for your damages through insurance and/or a personal injury suit in Maryland.

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 Posted on March 16, 2024 in Truck Accidents

Car accidents happen in many different ways throughout the state each year, and it is vital for every driver to know the risks they face on the road and how they can avoid causing accidents with others. Maryland car accident statistics provide valuable insights into recent trends, and the Maryland Department of Transportation (DOT) regularly publishes reports as part of its Zero Deaths Maryland initiative.

Important Statistics for Car Accidents

Zero Deaths Maryland recently published its latest accident report, covering up to 2022. It takes time for the state DOT and other government agencies to collate accident data throughout the state, but early projections for the 2023 report indicate that accident rates and traffic fatalities are likely to be higher than they were in 2022. Some of the most important statistics regarding the five-year average between 2018 and 2022 include:

• 109,413 total crashes each year on average.

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 Posted on January 16, 2024 in Truck Accidents

Determining whether your child’s safety seat needs to be replaced after a car crash is a critical safety decision. The integrity of a car seat can be compromised in a crash, regardless of whether it was occupied at the time of the collision or not.

It’s important to understand that a seat that has been compromised in terms of safety may not always appear damaged to the naked eye. With that said, not all accidents necessitate the replacement of a child safety seat. Keep the following in mind in order to make an informed decision that will help to ensure your child’s safety moving forward.

HOW SERIOUS WAS THE CRASH?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides criteria to assess whether a car crash is minor. According to NHTSA, a crash is considered “minor” if all the following conditions are met:

• You could drive the vehicle away from the crash site.

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 Posted on January 06, 2024 in Truck Accidents

If you have been injured in a car accident that wasn’t your fault, you naturally expect the responsible party (or their insurer) to pay up – but the legal process of getting to that point can seem daunting.

Fortunately, the vast majority of personal injury claims are ultimately settled out of court. With the right legal guidance, you can often negotiate a fair settlement and avoid a trial altogether. Settlements are often preferred by both sides of a car accident claim, since trials are costly and unpredictable, as well as invasive and time-consuming.

IS SETTLING REALLY IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS?

Every situation is completely different, but settling “out of court” is not always the appropriate path to take in a car accident claim. Here are some reasons you may want to proceed to trial:

• The defendant denies liability: If the defendant denies responsibility for the crash, that can complicate things. An insurance company may be reluctant to pay a claim at all when their client insists that they did not cause the crash.

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 Posted on December 28, 2023 in Truck Accidents

Being involved in a car crash is a harrowing experience, and it becomes even more stressful when there are children in the vehicle. Knowing what steps to take immediately following an accident can help to better ensure everyone’s safety and to safeguard everyone’s well-being.

The first step is to check if anyone in the car, especially the children, is injured. Even if there are no visible injuries, it’s crucial to be cautious as some injuries, like whiplash or concussions, may not be immediately apparent. The health of everyone involved is the most important concern. Everything else can wait. Therefore, you’ll want to dial 911 as soon as possible. Even when it comes to minor accidents, it’s important to get kids – and adults too – checked out by medical personnel before they’re moved.

WHAT NEXT?

Accidents can be frightening for children. Keep them calm and reassured. If they are very young, try to distract them from the scene. It’s important to stay as calm as possible yourself, as children will often mirror the reactions of adults and their trauma may be compounded if the adults involved are – for lack of a better phrase – freaking out.

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 Posted on December 18, 2023 in Truck Accidents

While a collision between two vehicles in a parking lot is unlikely to be as serious as one out on the open road, it can still result in severe injuries.

It’s not just drivers who are at risk in parking lots either. Pedestrians and cyclists could still be killed if a driver hits them, despite the lower speeds than the road.

DISTRACTION IS THE BIGGEST ISSUE

Drivers get distracted all the time, yet there is a high risk of them being distracted in a parking lot. This is partly because there is so much going on – they need to hunt for a parking space or reverse out while avoiding others entering the parking lane. And it is partly because people think they are safe once they are off the road. People can do things like programming their satnav, calling someone they are set to meet, or reaching for their shopping bags while waiting to park – making it easy to miss something happening around them.

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 Posted on December 05, 2023 in Truck Accidents

A car accident can turn your life inside out. Depending on the severity of the impact, a car crash can leave you with significant damage to property, emotional trauma and life-altering injuries. If you were involved in a car crash that is not your fault, you deserve justice.

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for a car crash lawsuit filing to be rejected in one way or another. Of course, this can be devastating, to say the least. If this happens, you deserve to know what went wrong so you can figure out your next course of action. These are some of the reasons why a seemingly legitimate car crash claim might fall through the cracks.

MISSED STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

Three years is the allotted time to pursue a legal claim in Maryland. If you don’t sue within the statute of limitations, the court might refuse your right to file a civil claim. The only exception to this rule may come into play if you were a minor when the crash happened. In this case, you may have to wait until you are 18 to file a case.

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 Posted on December 05, 2023 in Truck Accidents

It is illegal in every jurisdiction in the United States to drive with an elevated blood alcohol concentration (BAC). For most adult drivers, the legal limit for their BAC is 0.08%. Anyone over that limit is at risk of drunk driving charges.

Those with high alcohol levels also frequently cause crashes. Many fatal collisions in the Washington D.C. area occur because someone has gotten behind the wheel after having too much to drink. Who is liable for a drunk driving crash that causes injury to others or even someone’s death?

THE JURISDICTION DETERMINES THE RULES THAT APPLY

Every state has slightly different rules regarding drunk driving and liability. In general, people can always assume that the impaired motorist is liable for the crash. Anyone who chooses to get behind the wheel after having too much to drink has responsibility for the impact of their decisions.

The other people involved in the crash could file an insurance claim against the drunk driver’s liability insurance policy. When there isn’t enough insurance, they may have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. Unfortunately, a drunk driver does not necessarily have the resources required to fully compensate the other people involved in a collision. Occasionally, there will be outside parties with some degree of liability. The ability to file a lawsuit against a business after a drunk driving wreck will depend on the location.

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 Posted on November 17, 2023 in Truck Accidents

Many people become victims of distracted driving. Distracted driving happens when a driver looks away from the road or takes their hands off the wheels. When a driver is distracted, they reduce their ability to process dangers and their ability to control their vehicles.

Cell phone use is one of the biggest causes of distracted driving. Drivers can reduce the chances of distracted driving by being proactive and controlling how they interact with their phones while driving. Here’s how:

1. PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY

One way drivers can reduce distractions from their phones is by putting them someplace where the driver can not reach. For example, the driver may put their phone in a purse or bag. One common place people put their phones is in their vehicle’s glove compartment. If a driver is still struggling with distractions from their phone, they could put their phone in their trunk.

2. TURN ON SILENT MODE

Most phones have a setting that can silence calls and texts. Some phones also have settings that set the phone to silent mode when the phone notices a vehicle in motion.

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