Maryland City Personal Injury Lawyer

When you get injured because someone else was negligent, you can file what is called a personal injury lawsuit. This is where you try to hold accountable those who wronged you in court and have them compelled to financially compensate you for your injuries. Many prospective plaintiffs who get injured know that they want to file a claim but may not necessarily know how to go about doing that.

A great way to start the process of filing a personal injury lawsuit is to have a chat with our lawyers. We have a lot of experience representing plaintiffs injured in a wide variety of ways, so we are more than equipped to handle your situation with the combination of determination and professionalism you deserve and your case demands.

To have a free case review from one of our personal injury lawyers, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291.

Claims Our Maryland City Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You With

People get injured for all sorts of reasons. The enormous medical bills often associated with treating those injuries lead victims to become plaintiffs and go to court to hold those responsible for their injuries accountable. Because there are so many ways that someone can get injured, there is no “one size fits all” approach to handling personal injury cases. Indeed, your case will have its own unique facts and circumstances that differentiate it from all others. Below are some of the situations our personal injury lawyers can help you with if you choose to have us represent you.

Products Liability

The area of law that covers defective products is called “products liability.” In law, a product is considered defective when it malfunctions and hurts the user when employed in the ordinary way the product is meant to be used. For example, if a motorcycle handbrake does not engage the brakes when the user pulls on it, the bike can be said to be defective, and you may be able to sue the designer or manufacturer of the bike or even that particular component.

Premises Liability

If you are injured on someone else’s property, you may be able to file what is called a premises liability lawsuit. The idea behind these claims is that property owners have an obligation to keep their property safe for people who may enter. Examples of things that would lead to a premises liability lawsuit would be wet floors in a supermarket, dilapidated or poorly lit stairwells, and non-structurally sound ceilings.

Automotive Accidents

A very frequent source of personal injury cases is motor vehicle accidents. Car, truck, and bus accidents due to speeding, drunk driving, or other unsafe driving practices can easily injure responsible drivers. While the vast majority of motor vehicle accidents are caused by an error on the driver’s part, some are the result of a problem with the vehicle, so a car accident personal injury lawsuit may also be a products liability claim.

Wrongful Death

Sadly, many injuries are such that they lead to the death of the victim. When that happens, their loved ones can file a wrongful death lawsuit on the victim’s behalf in order to get compensation. There are some special rules that differentiate these cases from other kinds of personal injury claims, so you should speak with our lawyers about your situation if this applies to you.

Types of Damages in Maryland City Personal Injury Cases

When our personal injury lawyers file your case with the appropriate court, you will ask for a certain amount of money as damages in your claim. Damages are how courts compensate plaintiffs who can prove that the defendant caused their injuries through their negligence. The idea is to put the plaintiff in as close a position as possible to where they were prior to getting injured. Of course, depending on the nature of the plaintiff’s injuries, this may not be literally possible, so, for that reason, financial compensation is often used as a proxy.

The two main kinds of damages you can ask for in a personal injury lawsuit are compensatory damages and punitive damages.

Compensatory Damages

The bulk of the damages in your case will likely fall under the umbrella of compensatory damages. These damages, as the name would suggest, are meant to compensate you for your condition after you are injured. Compensatory damages can further be broken down into economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages are derived from things with readily displayable value. Your medical bills, lost income, and other things that have tangible evidence of their worth will fall under the category of economic damages. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, have a value that is less immediately obvious. This category includes things such as physical pain and mental distress, which obviously do not have an invoice denoting their value. For that reason, you have to come up with their worth with the help of our personal injury lawyers.

Punitive Damages

Unlike compensatory damages, punitive damages are not meant to compensate you for your condition. On the contrary, these damages are meant to punish the defendant. They are awarded when the plaintiff can prove that the defendant has acted especially badly. Under the case Owens-Illionois v. Zenobia, plaintiffs in Maryland have to show that the defendant was not just negligent but acted with actual malice to be awarded punitive damages. To show actual malice, you need to demonstrate to the jury that the defendant intentionally set out to injure you. This can be tough to prove, and whether you are ultimately awarded punitive damages or not is always up to the jury.

Talk with Our Maryland City Personal Injury Lawyers About Your Case Today

Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s personal injury lawyers are ready to hear about your case when you call (410) 694-7291.