Peppermill Village, MD Personal Injury Lawyer

When you get hurt, you may ask yourself many questions. “Why did this happen?” “Am I going to be ok?” What do I do now?” All of these questions, as well as any feelings of frustration, sadness, or confusion, are real and valid. More pressing, though, is the prospect of a lengthy physical recovery and hefty medical bills.

After you are hurt, there are legal options available to you. You can take those responsible for your injuries to court and fight for financial compensation. For that, though, you are going to need legal help, which we can provide. We have the experience, determination, and skills to fight hard for you and give you the best shot at getting justice and damages after you are injured.

Contact Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s Bowie, MD personal injury attorneys by calling (410) 694-7291 to receive a free case review.

The Personal Injury Lawsuit Process in Peppermint Village, MD

Trials are probably the legal process that people see the most. However, jury trials happen quite late in the legal process. Our personal injury attorneys will have spent a long time – sometimes even years – preparing a case and doing other things before a trial happens. Moreover, many cases do not even make it to trial and are resolved beforehand. We will walk you through some of the important things that happen in personal injury lawsuits so that you know what to expect from the process.

Filing Your Claim

The first step in any civil claim is going to be getting your case filed on time. Laws called statutes of limitations put time limits on how long plaintiffs have to file their claims. For most personal injury cases in Maryland, you are going to have three years to get your case filed under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. Art., § 5-101. Once those three years pass, you cannot file a claim or seek damages in court.

While three years may feel like a long time, in the context of legal matters, it is really no time at all. Our lawyers will have to get your case ready, and you will have to focus on recovering from injuries and tending to other matters. Therefore, it is always a good idea to start the legal process sooner rather than later.

Discovery

Once your case is filed, attorneys from both sides will start to exchange information through something called “discovery.” Discovery is a formal process where attorneys on opposite sides of the case give each other details they may not have from their client. It may seem odd for attorneys on opposite sides of a case to help each other out, but doing this is a very important part of the legal process, as it ensures that there are fewer surprises at trial and that justice is done fairly.

Depositions

Another very important part of the legal process is depositions. Depositions are formal, under-oath interviews where both sides’ legal counsel gets to ask questions of parties important to the case. You will almost certainly get deposed in your personal injury case, as will anyone who is going to testify in court either for or against your claims.

When you are asked a question by opposing counsel during a deposition, you should do your best to answer it as truthfully as you can without hiding anything. Obfuscating the truth in a deposition can lead to very bad outcomes later in the case. However, if a question is unfair or irrelevant, our lawyers will object, and you will not have to answer it.

Pre-Trial Proceedings

There are also some proceedings that happen in court before a trial takes place. Some, like pre-trial conferences with the judge, will only involve attorneys. Others, like scheduling trial dates, evidentiary hearings, and other matters, may require you to come to court and either interact with the judge or at least be present.

Settlement Offers

At any point during the legal process, either party can offer to settle a legal dispute. Settling a case drops it before it gets to trial. Both parties are required to come to an agreement about how things in the case are going to play out. This may include financial compensation, admissions of liability, promising to keep the details of the case private, and other things that either party may ask for.

Settlement offers are sometimes stereotyped as an admission of defeat. However, this is untrue. Many parties with strong cases offer to settle for various reasons, ranging from cutting costs of litigation to genuine remorse and many others. You should not think that accepting a settlement offer is equivalent to losing a case. Instead, you should determine whether accepting it accomplishes the objectives of your lawsuit. If it does, you should think about considering it. Of course, you always have the right to go to trial, and we can advise you as to what we think is the best course of action in your case.

Trial

The last step in the personal injury process is a trial before a jury. By this point, both sides have an idea of what the other is going to do and say, and really, the goal of a trial is to present both legal arguments and all evidence to the jury so they can make a decision in accordance with state law. Once the jury has finished deliberating, they will find the defendant either liable or not liable. If the defendant is liable for your injuries, the jury also determines how much financial compensation you get.

Get Assistance from Our Peppermill, MD Personal Injury Attorneys Now

Rice, Murtha & Psoras can be contacted at (410) 694-7291 for free case analyses from our personal injury attorneys.