Langley Park, MD Car Accident Lawyer

When you are in a car accident, your whole world is turned upside down, sometimes quite literally. After the initial shock and medical treatment, you may have a lot of different things on your mind. You may be frustrated, upset, or confused as to what to do next. Moreover, you may be dealing with unwanted pesterings from insurance companies and facing huge medical expenses. With so much going on, things can feel helpless after a car accident.

You do not have to deal with the aftermath of a car accident alone. Our lawyers are here to help. We are experienced car accident attorneys who can work with and for you to give you the best chance possible at fighting for justice and financial compensation after a car accident.

For a free, obligation-free discussion of your case, call Rice, Murtha, & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 and speak with our car accident attorneys.

Injuries from Car Accidents in Langley Park, MD

Car accident injuries can be quite severe. True, sometimes people walk away from accidents with only scrapes or minor cuts, but more often than not, especially if the victim is considering a lawsuit, the injuries are serious.

Broken bones, bruising, and even deep cuts and puncture wounds are all common in car accidents. Additionally, some injuries, like whiplash or never damage, may not appear until a couple of days or even weeks after the accident. It is important to take car accidents – even when you feel you are unscathed – seriously.

Who Should You Sue in a Langley Park, MD Car Accident Lawsuit

There are a number of parties you may want to sue in a car accident lawsuit. One of the reasons for this is that multiple parties may be liable for the accident taking place. Whether that is true or not will depend on the particular facts of your case. Below are some parties you may want to consider filing against in your car accident lawsuit.

The Driver Who Hit You

The most obvious party to file a lawsuit against is the driver who actually hit you in the accident. Indeed, in some cases, this may be the only party you file against.

You want to file against the driver when you suspect that they were negligent. In law, negligence means that the driver was careless, and their carelessness led to your injuries. For example, speeding is not something that a reasonable driver would do, so if a driver is going well over the speed limit and hits your car, they are negligent and can be liable for any injuries you sustain.

Other Drivers

Sometimes, there are other drivers besides the one who struck you that can be sued in a car accident lawsuit. For example, suppose an aggressive driver cuts off another driver, who then swerves and hits your car, injuring you. While you certainly should sue the driver who hit you, including the first aggressive driver can be a good idea, too.

Be careful, though, about suing drivers who may have had nothing to do with your accident. Liability can be “cut off” if their conduct, while potentially negligent, is too far removed from causing your injuries. That, however, should be determined on a case-by-case basis by our lawyers when we examine your accident in detail.

Employers

If the driver who hit you was working on the job when the accident took place, you may be able to sue their employer. There is a legal doctrine called “respondeat superior,” which means “let the master answer.” Essentially, it holds that employers are liable for the conduct of their employees. The catch, however, is that the employee must be doing something related to work at the time of the accident for the employer to be liable. For example, if a pizza delivery vehicle is on its way to drop off a pie and hits you, their employer should face liability for your injuries because delivering pizzas is part of their job duties. However, if that same pizza delivery driver hits you on the way to work to clock in for the day, the employer would likely not be liable because driving during a commute is not sufficiently related to their job of delivering pizzas.

Again, using employees in car accident lawsuits is a case-by-case thing, so discuss it with our lawyers.

Car Designers and Manufactures

Sometimes, the car itself contributes to an accident taking place. When a car malfunctions and causes injury, it is considered “defective.” In law, a defect is anything that causes something to hurt the user or someone else when it is used in the normal way it is intended to be used. For example, a car would be defective if the brakes did not work when the driver slammed on the brake pedal.

In cases where a defect caused an accident, the facts should be examined to determine whether the problem arose in the design or manufacturing/repair process, as that can inform who you should sue.

Government Entities

In some cases, suing a government entity makes sense in a car accident lawsuit. This can be true, for example, if a USPS truck or van hits your vehicle. However, the most common reason that this comes up is when poor road conditions lead to an accident since state and municipal entities are often responsible for making sure roads are safe.

There are special rules for suing government entities, so you should speak to our attorneys about that prospect if you are considering it.

Talk with Our Langley Park, MD Car Accident Attorneys Today

Rice, Murtha & Psoras have car accident attorneys ready to help with your case when you dial (410) 694-7291.