Olney, MD Personal Injury Lawyer

Getting injured is never part of anyone’s plan. A long hospital stay after a serious injury can dramatically alter the course of your life. You could have huge medical bills to pay or be unable to do activities you used to do because of injury.

Suing someone in court can take years to resolve. The prospect of taking someone or a large company to task in court can be daunting, but we are here to help. Our experienced attorneys can assist you every step of the way, from interviewing witnesses and opposing parties to arguing for you at trial.

Start the legal process with a free phone call with the personal injury lawyers at Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291.

Why File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Olney, MD?

You should file a lawsuit after you are injured, even if you are hesitant to do so. Preparing for and filing a lawsuit could feel like reliving the accident over and over again. However, there are many good reasons why you should file a personal injury lawsuit after an accident.

Significant Medical Expenses

Depending on the extent of your injuries, you might have required a hospital stay, numerous medical treatments or procedures, or physical therapy to recover. Insurance policies might not cover every expense you incur from getting injured.

Many insurance policies will max out for serious injuries after covering only a fraction of what you need to pay medical bills. You will need to go to court to get the financial compensation you are entitled to.

Permanent Injuries

Regrettably, accidents sometimes result in injuries that cannot be fully repaired. Even with the best medical care, you might not be able to do certain activities or work the same job after serious injuries.

Courts can award damages for lost future earning potential or for lost enjoyment of life. For example, if you are a construction worker, but your injuries are such that you can no longer operate heavy machinery, a court could award you damages for not being able to do your job anymore.

Similarly, loss of enjoyment of life can also be factored into damages. For example, if you like to ride bikes, but after a car accident, you cannot move your legs to power a bike, a court could award you damages since you are not able to live as you once did before. It is hard to put a monetary value on abstract concepts like “fun” or recreational activity, so what these things are worth to you will have to be argued in court by your lawyer.

Wrongful Death

The loss of a loved one is impossible to put a fair price on; the deceased will always be worth more. Still, courts can and do compensate families of deceased persons for loss of companionship or loss of income that the deceased would have contributed were they still alive.

Difficult Insurance Companies

Insurance companies are not in the business of freely paying out policies. If they were, they would quickly go broke. Your insurance company may not want to pay for your damages. They might try and make it sound like the accident was really your fault, so their coverage does not apply. Our personal injury lawyers can negotiate with or sue insurance companies to make sure they honor their insurance policies.

What to Expect from an Olney, MD Personal Injury Lawsuit

Lawsuits are complicated and can take a very long time, sometimes years, to fully resolve. You stand a better chance of succeeding in a claim if you know what to expect going into a personal injury lawsuit.

The Discovery Process

A lawsuit has many preparations that happen long before a lawyer makes any opening remarks to a jury. Moreover, after filing, one of the earliest stages in a lawsuit is called discovery. Discovery is when both sides of the lawsuit ask each other questions and exchange information. Usually, both parties will ask for a lot of information from their opponent with the expectation that some of the requests will be turned down. However, if one side is too uncooperative during discovery, the court can penalize them, sometimes even declaring that the uncooperative side loses outright.

The discovery process takes a long time to finish. Sometimes it can take years.

Depositions

While technically part of the discovery, depositions are important enough to parties in a lawsuit that they deserve their own explanation. While discovery requests are generally directed at lawyers from each side, depositions can be directed at anyone involved in the case. At a minimum, you will be deposed by opposing counsel. Witnesses, spokespersons for companies, and others might also be deposed.

Your lawyer will be present when you are deposed. There will also be a record keeper. A deposition is a sworn statement on the record that will be recorded and can be used as a point of reference in court. This means that if you contradict yourself during the trial later on, the deposition will be taken as the truth, and it might appear that you are trying to deceive the judge. It is in your best interest to be completely honest in your answers. Any deception at all can seriously hurt your chances of success.

During a deposition, opposing counsel will ask you a series of questions. Typically, these questions start out simple, like, “What is your name?” and “What do you do for a living?” However, in short order, the questions will start to revolve around your case. Your lawyer’s job at this point is to make sure the questions are fair. They can object to anything that is out of line.

After opposing counsel questions you, your own attorney will likely ask you some questions. This is done to try and clear up any misunderstandings opposing counsel may have had from your answers. Then opposing counsel may ask you some follow-up questions. This back-and-forth goes on until both sides have no further questions.

This process is repeated for every person who might speak at the trial. Depositions for one individual can take several hours, so be prepared for a lengthy process.

Potential Settlement

Cases can settle at any time. However, the most likely time that a party will decide to settle is after the facts start to become clear, and it looks like one side is more likely to win than not. When a case is settled it is “dropped,” and there is no finding of wrongdoing by either party. For example, in a personal injury context, the defendant could offer to pay the plaintiff’s hospital bills in exchange for dropping charges and not going to trial.

It is incorrect to think of a settlement as a loss. If settling is the best way to get the compensation you need, it might be the right move. Only you and your lawyer can decide whether it is better to settle or go to trial.

Motions and Other Pretrial Procedures

After and during discovery, lawyers for both sides will bring motions and make arguments before the judge.

Motions are numerous and varied. A common motion is a motion to exclude certain evidence from a case. The general rule is that evidence is admissible if its ability to prove something outweighs any potential to prejudice the jury to one side of the case over another.

Any legal arguments at this stage are an attempt to win the case based on decided law and undisputed facts alone. If a party to the case feels they can win this way, they will file a motion for summary judgment as a matter of law. If that motion is successful, the moving party wins the case.

If the case turns on disputed facts and information, the only way to resolve that without settlement is to go to trial.

The Trial

A trial is only the last step in the lengthy process of a personal injury lawsuit. Both lawyers will make their arguments to the jury and question witnesses on the stand. Most of what takes place at trial will already be heavily rehearsed, so unlike in a television drama, there will be few surprises to the lawyers or judge.

After both sides have made their argument, they will address the jury one last time. The jury will then go deliberate and deliver a verdict. In a civil action, no one is found “guilty.” Instead, a party is found “liable” for the injuries. Nobody goes to jail, but the liable party will need to pay damages to the other party.

Call Our Olney, MD Personal Injury Lawyers Today

Call the personal injury lawyers at Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 to talk about your case.