Carney, MD Personal Injury Lawyer

Getting injured can be a life-altering experience, and not in a good way. You could end up with huge medical bills, a lengthy recovery, and mental distress based on what happened to you. Serious injuries can change the way you live your life forever.

Our lawyers can help with your case. When you are injured, you want the best legal representation you can get. We can collect evidence, interview witnesses, and prepare a court case for our clients so that they can focus fully on their recovery.

Talk to our personal injury lawyers from Rice, Murtha & Psoras today at (410) 694-7291 for a free case review.

The Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Lawsuits in Carney, MD

You only have a limited time to file your personal injury lawsuit. There is a law called the statute of limitations that puts a timer on how long you have to sue someone. In Maryland, Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. Art., § 5-101 sets the statute of limitations for most personal injury lawsuits at three years. After that time, the judge will dismiss the case, and you will not be able to recover any damages.

One main reason statutes of limitations exist is because it allows cases to be heard when the facts are fresh in the mind of all parties involved. Over time, the facts of a case could get warped and distorted by faulty memory. Additionally, statutes of limitations let people move on with their lives after a time without the specter of a potential lawsuit hanging over their heads.

The Process of a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Carney, MD

Lawsuits have the potential to take a long time to resolve themselves. There are many steps and preparations that happen long before anyone ever steps into a courtroom before a jury. Often, lawsuits do not even make it to trial and are resolved beforehand. Regardless of what path your lawsuit takes, our lawyers are ready to fight for you all the way to the finish line.

Discovery

Discovery is one of the most time consuming parts of any lawsuit. Discovery is the process where both parties exchange information about the case and start to get a better picture of the events surrounding the accident. There is a formal process for getting information through discovery. Attorneys provide opposing counsel with what are called “interrogatories” or “requests for production.” Both of these items ask for information but are slightly different.

Interrogatories ask for information in the form of questions. Usually, lawyers are looking for individuals who might know something about the accident and where they can be contacted. For example, an interrogatory in a personal injury lawsuit might ask for a key witness’s name and where they can be contacted for further inquiry.

On the other hand, requests for production ask for material things. Emails, medical records, and other correspondences might be requested by an attorney in a request for production.

Discovery requests are usually very broad. The idea is to ask for as much information as possible, with the expectation being that you will only get some of what you want from the other side. Sometimes, one side will deny information to the other side. One way to do this is to say that the information asked for is “privileged.” Privileged information is not on the table for the other side to ask for. An example of privileged information would be discussions between you and our lawyers since that would be protected by attorney-client privilege.

That is not to say that everything can be called privileged information. Lawyers are expected to be cooperative in the discovery process. If they are not, the court can impose penalties or, in egregious cases, make the uncooperative side lose the case outright.

Depositions

Depositions are technically part of the discovery process but are very important and thus deserve their own explanation. In a deposition, you will be asked questions by both your lawyer and opposing counsel.

The questions will start simple. Opposing counsel might ask you your name, where you live, and what you do for a living. The idea is to get you acclaimed to the process. However, in short order, the questions will start to be about things relevant to your case. Lawyers carefully pick their questions for depositions to get as much information as possible. That being said, you should answer truthfully. Depositions are sworn statements under oath, and lying under oath could seriously hurt your case. If a question is unfair, your lawyer can object, and you do not need to answer.

Once opposing counsel has asked all the questions they feel they need to, your lawyer will ask follow-up questions. Again, answer truthfully. The two sides then continue to go back and forth until there are no further questions.

This process repeats itself for each and every person that is going to testify in the case. It is not unusual for depositions, and the whole discovery process, for that matter, to take years to finish.

Pre-Trial Motions

As trial approaches, attorneys can file motions, or ask the court to do something before trial. A common motion is a motion to suppress evidence. Any evidence is generally allowed so long as it has any tendency to prove something more or less true and does not prejudice the jury to one side over the other. If there is evidence that should not be allowed in your case, our lawyers can file a motion to suppress that evidence explaining why it should not be allowed.

The Trial

The trial is the step in the legal process most people are familiar with. Not all cases go to trial. In fact, many settle at some point in the legal process beforehand. At trial, lawyers will present evidence, hear testimony, and make their argument to the jury, who will return a verdict in favor of either the plaintiff or the defendant.

If either side is not satisfied with the results of a trial, they can appeal to a higher court to challenge the ruling.

Call Our Carney, MD Personal Injury Lawyers Today

Get in touch with our personal injury lawyers at Rice, Murtha & Psoras today at (410) 694-7291 to discuss your case.