Fort Meade, MD Car Accident Lawyer
Fort Meade, MD is home to many families and individuals as well as many government headquarters. the thousands of people in the area drive to commute to work, take their kids to soccer practice, and run errands. Driving should be safe and simple, but drivers who fail to follow traffic rules or otherwise put fellow drivers in danger can ruin this for everyone.
If you or a loved one was injured in a car crash in Fort Meade, MD, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras today. Our Fort Meade, MD car accident lawyer represents car accident injury victims and works to help them and their families get compensation for their injuries. For help with your potential case, call our law offices today at (410) 694-7291 to set up a free legal consultation.
Damages in a Car Accident in Fort Meade, MD
Being involved in a car accident can leave you with serious injuries. Cuts and scrapes from broken glass and debris, broken bones, and even back and neck injuries occur in many crashes. Whiplash is a common injury associated with car crashes, and it can leave you with pain and discomfort for months or years after the crash. More serious head trauma or back injuries could even leave you with permanent disabilities or paralysis. Moreover, deadly injuries could take a loved one away from you.
After a serious car crash, there are certain damages you might be entitled to. In most cases, victims are entitled to claim financial compensation for medical bills related to their injuries. These damages might cover the cost of emergency treatment, follow-up care, ongoing rehabilitation, and even future damages to cover the cost of dealing with a disability. An injury can also leave you out of work and unable to support yourself and your family. Damages for lost wages can be claimed to cover pay you missed while in the hospital as well as future wages you will miss if your disability keeps you from working.
The damages that you claim in a lawsuit can also include compensation for the injury itself. the physical pain associated with many injuries can be high, especially if they leave you with ongoing discomfort. Moreover, the mental and emotional effects of an injury can be severe, especially if it alters your life or makes it hard to perform activities you used to enjoy. These harms can be compensated with pain and suffering damages.
Whether to Accept an Insurance Settlement for a Fort Meade, MD Car Crash
When you are involved in a car accident, your first instinct might be to file an insurance claim. In some cases, this can get you the damages you need for vehicle repairs. However, other damages might not be paid in full or might be excluded altogether. Because of this, it is often better to fight the case in court.
When you file an insurance claim against an individual driver who hit you with their car, their insurance company will pay what they think is fair. This usually means stopping at certain damage caps depending on the insurance policy’s terms. it could also mean paying only a percentage of hospital bills and lost wages. An insurance payout also usually excludes pain and suffering damages entirely.
To get the full damages you suffered, you might have to take the at-fault driver to court. When you do, the insurance company will usually provide the driver with a lawyer and pay for some damages. In court, the judge can order the driver to pay full damages for pain and suffering, medical bills, and lost wages if the jury decides that they were at fault.
Determining Fault in a Fort Meade, MD Car Accident Case
When your case goes to court, the jury will decide who was at fault. This means that the police officer, the other driver, the insurance companies, and even the judge have no say in deciding the facts of the case. the jury will ultimately be who you need to prove your case to.
When determining that the other driver was at fault, the jury will look at many factors:
- What happened leading up to the crash
- The weather and lighting conditions at the time of the accident
- The arrangement of the cars and streets where the crash took place
- The locations of the cars in the aftermath of the crash
- Any relevant stop signs, red lights, or other traffic control devices
- The relevant traffic laws
- Whether a driver was drunk, distracted, or otherwise unsafe to drive
Your lawyer can help provide evidence and arguments to convince the jury to rule in your favor. This will usually start with your testimony about how the crash happened. If you have photos of the crash scene, traffic camera footage, and other evidence, that will also be helpful in proving your case.
If the other driver accuses you of being the one who actually caused the crash, this could hurt your case. Unlike most other states, Maryland has strict contributory negligence laws. This blocks liability for victims who contributed to the crash, so it is important to have your lawyer explain what happened instead of saying anything that could be misconstrued as admitting fault.
Call Our Fort Meade Car Accident and Injury Attorneys for a Free Case Consultation
If you were involved in a car crash in the Fort Meade area, you might have suffered serious injuries. A lawsuit can help you get full compensation for your car accident injuries, potentially covering medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages related to your crash. For a free legal consultation on your case, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s Fort Meade car accident lawyers today at (410) 694-7291.
