Odenton Car Accident Lawyer

Vehicle collisions are pretty common, and many people are badly injured in collisions every year. While insurance can be helpful, it might not fulfill all your needs. An attorney can help you get the fair compensation you rightly deserve.

Car accidents might stem from a whole host of factors, including distractions, alcohol, and general reckless driving in bad weather conditions. Proving your case requires us to establish how the other driver was negligent. This means we need to find as much strong evidence as we can and use it in effective legal strategies and tactics. We also need evidence backing up your claims for damages. Not only must we account for all the expenses you encountered because of the crash, but we should also work to establish how the accident took a toll on your mental and emotional well-being. You should speak to our legal team about your claims and injuries so we can prepare the necessary legal paperwork, collect evidence, and build a strong case for you while you focus on recovering.

For an assessment of your case for no charge, speak to our car accident lawyers at Rice, Murtha & Psoras by calling (410) 694-7291.

How Do Car Accidents Happen Around Odenton

Accidents in and around Odenton, MD stem from all sorts of factors and causes. Determining the causational factors of your accident may help us understand what kind of evidence we need and which parties are involved in your case.

How Car Accidents Can Occur

People often blame accidents on reckless behavior. Reckless driving might take many forms. Perhaps it was raining, and the other driver was speeding, causing their vehicle to hydroplane and run into you. Maybe you were driving at night, but the other driver was driving with their headlights out, making it harder to see you before the accident. If you suspect the other driver was not driving with reasonable safety under the circumstances, tell our car accident attorneys and the police.

The other driver might instead be responsible if they were distracted from the road when the accident happened. There are more distractions on the road now than ever before. From cell phones to radios to GPS devices, drivers find themselves taking their eyes off the road. If the defendant was not paying attention, they might be responsible for the crash.

Unfortunately, some accidents are due to extremely poor choices made by the other driver, like drinking and driving. Alcohol dulls a driver’s reflexes and makes it harder for them to focus. Any drunk drivers end up driving at dangerously high speeds without realizing it. Then, they cannot react in time to another car on the road and crash. Drinking and driving is illegal, and the police will want to investigate your crash if alcohol is involved.

Areas Around Odenton Where Car Accidents Are Common

While accidents might happen on any road at any time, they tend to be more common on busier roads and highways. For example, state highway Route 32 runs along the northern area of Odenton and is a major highway running through the area. Given the higher rates of speed and heavier traffic, accidents here can be problematic.

Busy intersections are also places where drivers should be on the lookout for accidents. The intersection of Annapolis Road and Telegraph Road is big, and it only takes one confused or distracted driver to cause a crash in the middle of the intersection.

While accidents on main roads can be concerning, drivers should also be mindful of their surroundings on backroads and residential streets. Drivers often let their guards down in these places because speed limits are lower, and there might be fewer vehicles on the road.

How to Prove Your Claims in an Odenton Car Accident Case

Many car accident cases are based on legal theories of negligence. To prove that the defendant should be held liable, we must show that they were negligent. Negligence is more than mere carelessness on the road. It is a legal concept comprising 4 distinct elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. If even a single element is not proven sufficiently, your case might be in trouble.

The first element, duty, is the defendant’s legal obligation owed to the plaintiff at the time of the crash. In auto accident cases, this duty is usually the duty to drive with reasonable safety under the circumstances while following the traffic laws.

The breach is whatever the defendant did or omitted that constituted a violation of their legal duty of safety. A breach might involve running a red light, failing to signal a turn, speeding, or being intoxicated behind the wheel.

Causation is what links the defendant’s breach to your injuries. In short, the breach must be the direct and proximate cause of your accident and injuries. Finally, we need to show your damages are real. We need some proof of the harm you suffered.

What Your Odenton Car Accident Damages Are Worth

Your damages in a car accident case might be quite high, and our legal team can help you determine what your case should be worth. Damages tend to fall into one of two categories: economic and non-economic damages.

Your economic damages are made up of the money you had to spend because of the crash. A major part of many plaintiffs’ economic damages is medical expenses and property damage. Treatment might still be expensive even if physical injuries are not terribly severe. If injuries are severe and more extensive treatment is required, the bills might be outrageously high.

Property damage is also extremely expensive. Auto repairs and replacing any personal belongings you lost in the crash (e.g., phones, wallets, jewelry). When talking to your lawyer, try to create a thorough list of all the property you lost in the crash.

We must not discount your non-economic damages. These damages are not typically based on money but are instead rooted in your personal experience. As such, these damages and their overall value tend to be subjective. Physical pain, psychological distress, humiliation, and other painful experiences may be compensated.

Reach Out to Our Odenton Car Accident Lawyers for Legal Support

For an assessment of your case for no charge, speak to our car accident lawyers at Rice, Murtha & Psoras by calling (410) 694-7291.