Severna Park, MD Car Accident Lawyer
Car accidents are among the most frequently filed injury claims filed in Maryland. Plaintiffs often claim significant damages, and an attorney can help you assess your own damages.
Injuries and damages from car accidents may differ between cases, often in unpredictable and seemingly random ways. Rear-ending crashes, speeding collisions, T-bone accidents, and other types of auto accidents tend to come with different injuries, and damages might be quite high. The first place we can look for evidence is the accident scene. If you took photos of the crash location, those photos can be entered into court as evidence. A lawyer can help you determine who caused the crash, where to find evidence, and how much compensation you rightly deserve. In many cases, one other driver might have caused the crash, but multi-vehicle accidents are common, and there might be more than one defendant in your case.
To schedule a free assessment of your claims, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 and speak to our car accident lawyers.
How Injuries and Damages Happen in Car Accidents in Severna Park, MD
Perhaps the first place to start examining your case is to determine how your accident happened. Car accidents might happen in a plethora of ways, and no two accidents are exactly the same. For example, many plaintiffs are injured in rear-end collisions where another driver slams into the rear of their vehicle. Such collisions often lead to head and neck injuries like whiplash.
Another possibility is that an accident results from a T-bone collision. These kinds of accidents often happen in intersections when one driver fails to stop or is pushed into the intersection by other vehicles. In such cases, the person on the side of the vehicle impacted by the other car is often badly injured. Head, neck, and back injuries are common. Depending on the strength of the impact, you would likely need urgent medical care.
A head-on collision is often regarded as a very severe kind of accident, and all parties involved may be badly hurt or worse. Head-on collisions often happen when vehicles traveling in opposite directions collide, usually when one drifts into the wrong lane.
In addition to the myriad of collisions that are possible, there might be various underlying circumstances or conditions of the accident that affect liability. For example, a T-bone collision might happen because one driver was distracted or intoxicated. Alternatively, an accident might happen because the other driver’s brakes were defective.
Not only do injuries come with high financial costs (e.g., medical bills, property damage, losing income from missing work), but they also inflict severe psychological harm on victims. Many car accident plaintiffs spend years working through the trauma of a near-death collision, and these non-economic injuries deserve fair compensation.
Finding Evidence for Car Accident Claims in Severna Park, MD
One of the biggest hurdles many civil plaintiffs need help with is finding enough evidence to prove their claims. A good place to begin our hunt for evidence is at the scene of the accident. As investigations unfold, our car accident lawyers might expand our search to places beyond the accident, some of which might surprise you.
At the accident scene, you can begin collecting evidence almost immediately after the accident. Taking photos and recording videos is very common, as many drivers need them to show insurance companies. You should also exchange information with the other drivers and with anyone nearby who saw the accident happen.
The police should be called to the scene so they can investigate and render aid. This is also important because we need the police to write a formal report about the accident. The report might contain important details or pieces of evidence we might have missed, such as the names of witnesses or details we overlooked. While the report itself is likely inadmissible in court, we can use the report as a guide to find admissible evidence.
Many witnesses might be found in and around the crash scene, and they can testify about what they saw when the other driver hit you. However, not all witnesses are eyewitnesses. For example, suppose the other driver was intoxicated at the time of the accident. We might find witnesses at the bar the defendant visited before the accident, and they can testify about how they saw the defendant drinking.
What Your Lawyer Can Do to Assist Your Severna Park, MD Car Accident Case
Hiring an attorney is not required, but doing so might significantly help you with your legal claims and improve your odds of success. An attorney can help you piece together the puzzle of your accident, including determining whom you should sue and why.
Figuring out who all the liable parties are is often harder than many plaintiffs anticipate. While it makes sense that you would want to sue the driver of the vehicle that hit you, the situation might be more complex. Perhaps another driver was involved but fled the scene. Maybe the other driver hit you because someone else rear-ended them or swerved into their lane. In multi-vehicle crashes, several other drivers might be liable, while others are victims like you. Your lawyer can help you figure out who to sue.
A lawyer can also help you assess damages. Your damages should reflect the injuries and losses you experienced as a direct result of the crash and the defendant’s negligence. Since damages may be economic and non-economic, calculating them accurately is difficult. Your lawyer should have the experience to properly identify all your recoverable damages and come up with an accurate assessment of their worth. This may help you maximize the potential compensation in your case.
Call Our Severna Park, MD Car Accident Attorneys for Assistance Now
Call our car accident attorneys of Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 and schedule a free claims evaluation to begin your case.