Calvert County, MD Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have suffered a personal injury due to someone’s negligent behavior, you may be entitled to compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. A personal injury lawsuit will allow you to be compensated for your medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, and more.

For help with your case, it is essential to hire legal representation to fight for what you deserve. A personal injury attorney with decades of experience fighting for injured people across the State of Maryland can help you know what your case is worth and fight to get you the compensation you need.

The personal injury attorneys from Rice, Murtha & Psoras are available to help victims of injuries with their claims. Get in touch with the Calvert County personal injury lawyers today to start moving forward on a lawsuit that can get you compensation for your injury. Call (410) 834-1350 to discuss your options today.

Types of Personal Injury Lawsuits in Calvert County, Maryland

There are many different types of personal injury cases that residents of Calvert County, Maryland can file. the following are types of personal injury cases an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you with.

Car Accidents

If a driver exhibits negligent behavior while driving and it causes an injury to someone else, filing a personal injury lawsuit against them may be a possibility for the victim. Whether they were involved in a head-on collision, a hit and run, sideswipe, T-bone, or rear-end, a victim of a car accident may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit to be able to recover compensation for their medical bills, lost wages, future earning potential, pain and suffering, and more. Rice, Murtha & Psoras handle accidents involving cars and other moving vehicles such as trucks, vans, motorcycles, boats, busses, and bicycles.

Premises Liability

If you suffer from a slip and fall, burn, or other injury while on the premises of a restaurant, bar, grocery store, parking lot, garage, mall, casino, or hotel, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the property owner in Calvert County. If you can prove that the property owner’s negligence caused your injury, you can receive compensation. Common injuries from improperly maintained premises include slip and falls (due to uneven flooring, poorly lit hallways and stairwells, broken furniture, loose wiring, and broken railings) and burns (due to exposure to harsh chemicals, electrical currents, and friction).

Product Liability

Sometimes, consumers buy products that are made using defective parts, are improperly labelled, or packaged in a dangerous way. Victims of injuries that are caused by products that are manufactured, labelled, or packaged improperly are able to file personal injury lawsuits against the manufacturer. Automobiles, auto parts, electrical appliances, household appliances, prescription medications, medical devices, and toys and games for children are some of the products that are most likely to cause injuries.

Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ compensation is meant to be a way for employees to receive compensation for the injuries that they suffer while working at a job in Calvert County. They can receive compensation for their medical bills and the wages they lose as a result of their inability to work while recovering from their injury. If an employee’s workers’ compensation claim is denied by their insurance company, they should seek the help of a personal injury lawyer. Employees should also seek the assistance of a lawyer if their employer didn’t have a workers’ compensation policy in place for them – in this case, the employee will be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against their employer, which will include not only compensation for medical bills and lost wages, but also for pain and suffering.

Asbestos Exposure

Exposure to asbestos over a long period of time can lead to health complications such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. If you are suffering from health complications following prolonged exposure to exposure in your workplace or place of residence, get in touch with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your case.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals that do not meet accepted standards of safety and professionalism can have personal injury lawsuits filed against them. This may mean providing unnecessary or incorrect treatment, prescribing the wrong medication or medication in inappropriate dosages, failing to provide follow-up for a patient after a procedure, failing to provide a diagnosis, and otherwise being negligent while providing care.

When Can Someone Else Be Held Responsible in a Calvert County, MD Personal Injury Lawsuit?

To hold another person responsible for your injuries, you have to prove that they did something wrong. More specifically, you have to prove that there was something that they were legally required to do – or that they were legally required to act in a certain way – and they did not. If you can prove that, you can sue them for damages and get them to pay for your injuries.

Personal injury cases are often based on a cause of action for “negligence,” which has four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. the duty and breach elements deal with what the defendant was legally required to do and how they breached that requirement. This usually happens in two ways:

Legal Violations

Often, the duty in question comes from a law or regulation intended to keep people safe:

• Building codes help keep structures safe.
• Traffic laws help prevent auto accidents.
• Laws requiring sidewalks to be shoveled help prevent slip and falls.
• FDA rules keep food and medicine clean and safe.
• OSHA requirements help keep workplaces safe.

If someone violates a rule intended to keep others safe, and it in fact leads to the victim’s injuries, then that person can usually be sued.

Unreasonable Actions

Alternatively, many injuries happen because someone acted unreasonably given the circumstances. Without actually breaking any laws, someone can still be liable for someone else’s injuries if they caused the injuries through unreasonable carelessness, inattention, or lack of skill. “Reasonableness” is usually gauged based on what a “reasonably prudent person” would have done in the same situation. This makes it an objective standard that a judge or jury can apply to your case.

For example, a car crash on an icy road might have been avoided if the other driver did not speed up to try to make a yellow light. Although it is not illegal to go through a yellow light, a reasonably prudent driver would have slowed down and stopped because of the ice rather than risk an accident to make it through the light. This kind of argument could be used against the driver in a personal injury case. Talk to our Calvert County personal injury lawyers for more information on what violations or breaches the defendant in your case might have committed.

How Do I File a Personal Injury Claim in Calvert County, Maryland?

Personal injury claims can be filed in two ways: through insurance or through the courts. When you file an insurance claim, the case is decided entirely by the other driver’s insurance company. This often means that many insurance claims are denied because the insurance company refuses to admit that their driver did something wrong. To appeal these denials, you will need to go through the insurance company’s appeals process, and you could be left in bureaucratic limbo for a long time without payments.

When you file a personal injury lawsuit instead, your case goes through the courts. Your Calvert County personal injury attorneys can draft a “complaint” that details what happened, what the other person did wrong, and how much they owe you for your injuries. They can then file this complaint with the court and serve the defendant with a copy, and the case is considered “filed.”

If you have already filed your case as an insurance claim but it has not been paid, you may still be able to file a lawsuit in court. Filing a lawsuit can often push insurance companies to act and to settle for higher values.

Once a lawsuit is filed in court, the judge will set deadlines for responses to legal arguments and motions and – if the case progresses to that stage – a date for trial. Many lawsuits are resolved through settlement before a trial takes place. it is important to have a personal injury lawyer at your side during settlement negotiations to ensure that you do not accept any settlements that are too low or that do not cover your needs.

What is the Average Personal Injury Settlement Amount in Calvert County, Maryland?

Looking at the average settlement or award amount for injury cases can be extremely misleading. All cases are unique, and the facts of an “average” case will often be different from your case in important ways. These material differences can greatly affect the value of a case.

It is better to have a lawyer review your individual case to get an idea of what your claim might be worth. If you see an advertisement for a lawyer that claims to have settled cases for millions of dollars, it is important to understand that those outcomes are not promises or guarantees that your case will be the same.

Call for a free consultation with our Calvert County personal injury lawyers for a realistic understanding of what your specific case could be worth and what options you have to get compensated for your injuries.

Should I Settle or File a Lawsuit for Personal Injury in Calvert County, Maryland?

The decision of whether to test your case at trial or settle is often based on a few important factors. Never settle a case or accept an insurance payout for an injury in Calvert County without first reviewing these factors with a Calvert County personal injury lawyer.

First, the value of your case will determine whether trial is “worth it.” For low-dollar injury cases, putting on a trial might be more expensive than the damages you are claiming. Next, you should look at how strong your evidence is. Without strong evidence, you might lose at trial – so avoiding that risk through settlement could be better. You should also look at how much is being offered at settlement. If the offer is lower than the true value of your damages, but the expense of going to trial is higher than that difference, settling might put more money in your pocket.

Talk to an attorney for more details about whether to settle in your specific case.

The Process of Filing a Personal Injury Claim in Calvert County, MD

If you decide to file a personal injury lawsuit in Calvert County, the process will begin when you and your legal representation file a complaint, which will describe the facts of the case and the legal basis that supports the claim you are making. Then, you will move into the settlement process, which begins when the complaint is served to the defendant. During this period, you and the defendant will attempt to make a deal regarding the amount that you will receive in compensation. If they do not express interest in making a settlement, the suit will then move to the discovery phase, when you and your Baltimore personal injury lawyer will collect evidence that you’ll use to prove your claim. Then the case will be brought to trial where either a jury or a judge will decide whether the defendant is required to provide you with compensation.

Call an Experienced Calvert County Personal Injury Lawyer Today for a Free Case Review

The Calvert County personal injury attorneys at Rice, Murtha & Psoras are available to help you with your personal injury lawsuit. Don’t wait to get in touch – the statute of limitations is always running and could block your case if you file too late. Call us at (410) 694-7291 today to discuss your personal injury lawsuit.