Silver Spring Personal Injury Lawyer

Injuries from recklessness or negligence have severe consequences for victims, who can often pursue compensation by filing lawsuits.

Victims often file injury lawsuits for car accidents, as they could suffer serious injuries when struck by negligent drivers. In addition to motor vehicle crashes, victims may file lawsuits for medical injuries or after being hurt due to negligent property maintenance. After an incident, we can confirm whether you have a cause of action and against whom. While preparing your claim, we will organize proof of all compensable damages, beginning with hospital expenses. We will be sure to factor lost wages into compensation requests and non-economic damages for emotional distress. Delaying your claim unnecessarily is inadvisable, as doing so could make you miss the statute of limitations or struggle to preserve evidence that would otherwise let you meet the standard of proof. Preventing this is possible by initiating investigations and evidence collection immediately.

Schedule a free case assessment from Rice, Murtha & Psoras by calling our personal injury lawyers now at (410) 694-7291.

Bringing Personal Injury Lawsuits for Car Accidents in Silver Spring

Motor vehicle accidents can cause serious injuries to victims and can happen in an instant due to a negligent or reckless driver. Our lawyers can help ensure victims take the appropriate steps after a crash to protect their financial recoveries, as their medical expenses and other damages might be great.

Personal injury lawsuits for car accidents rely on a combination of physical evidence from the scene and other evidence, like eyewitness statements, expert witness statements, and the victim’s medical records. We can collect photos you took of property damage at the crash site and get pictures from law enforcement or eyewitnesses. These images can aid collision reconstruction experts as they piece together what happened. Experts can testify in court to explain how the negligent driver initiated the crash, such as speeding or negligently merging into your lane.

Car accidents can be especially damaging when they involve larger vehicles, like semi trucks. Victims could be at a greater risk of serious injury when struck as pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists, and we can help them prepare compensation claims soon after being hurt. Because their medical damages may be instantly financially distressing, car accident victims should immediately prioritize case preparation.

Maryland’s pure contributory negligence rules impact some personal injury lawsuits for car accidents. If victims share any degree of fault for a crash, they are totally barred from recovery. Our personal injury lawyers can examine whether or not the other driver had the last clear chance to avoid the accident but failed to, making them liable despite your actions. We can also identify evidence that could effectively undermine contributory negligence arguments, such as expert and eyewitness statements. Contributory negligence could affect other personal injury cases as well, and we can prepare for this possibility when necessary.

Filing Lawsuits for Medical Injuries Due to Negligence in Silver Spring

Medical malpractice is a surprising cause of injury to many, as we expect doctors and hospitals to provide the proper level of care. Unfortunately, medical injuries happen, and victims could need compensation for additional treatment to address the results of negligence.

Before filing a lawsuit for a medical injury in Silver Spring, our lawyers must identify how the physician breached the duty of care they owed you. Doctors do this when they prescribe patients improper medications or dosages, discharge patients from hospitals too soon, or fail to see obvious signs of an impending stroke, heart attack, or other concerning condition. These acts of negligence could worsen victims’ medical conditions, leading to them needing more expensive treatment.

Medical malpractice sometimes happens during birth and delivery when doctors might use excessive force to deliver infants or fail to act appropriately if the infant is in distress. Our attorneys can help parents whose children have suffered traumatic brain injuries or other birth injuries seek compensatory damages against liable doctors and hospitals. We can get victims’ medical records from negligent providers and have experts review physicians’ conduct and patients’ medical information to strengthen liability claims.

Determining Liability for Slip and Fall Accidents and Injuries in Silver Spring

Slipping, tripping, and falling accidents can happen anywhere, but they often occur in negligently maintained properties, making the owners liable for victims’ damages.

Common injuries from slip and fall accidents include hand and wrist fractures, concussions, and scrapes and contusions. Falls from higher heights could end in traumatic brain injuries or paralyzing spinal cord injuries, entitling victims to compensation for long-term medical damages.

After an accident on someone else’s property, our lawyers can determine if security camera footage exists and immediately preserve it before it gets erased. We can also contact any eyewitnesses you spoke to at the scene to interview them and preserve their recollections, as their testimony could be vital to your financial recovery. Do your best to photograph the area before leaving, as the property owner might quickly address the hazardous condition that caused your injuries. Do not assume that a slip and fall was due to your own clumsiness or mistake, as these accidents often happen because of a property owner’s negligence.

Other Causes of Action for Filing Silver Spring Personal Injury Lawsuits

Generally speaking, victims may file lawsuits against anyone who owed them a duty of care and breached it, causing their resulting injuries and damages. After an accident, we can quickly review the facts to determine whether you have a cause of action. If you do, we can proceed with preserving evidence and building the foundation of your case.

Workers are sometimes injured on the job, especially in the construction and manufacturing industries. In Maryland, workers cannot sue their employers for negligence, but they can sue third parties. For example, reckless drivers who run into roadside construction sites may be liable for injured workers’ damages. Furthermore, workplace accidents caused by defective products could be the manufacturer’s fault, allowing our personal injury lawyers to name them as defendants in victims’ claims.

Many items in your home, from printers to lawnmowers, could be dangerous if they are defective. If you were injured because a defective product exploded or caught fire, keep the product, the receipt, and any packaging it came with. We will need this evidence for your lawsuit, especially if we need an expert witness to review the product’s design and defects.

Identifying All Compensable Losses from a Personal Injury in Silver Spring

All damages incurred because of negligence are compensable in personal injury lawsuits. Hospital costs are often the most overwhelming for victims, and we can monitor medical bills as they come in. We can also assess your missed income since the accident, evaluate your diminished earning capacity, and determine the value of your non-economic damages.

Hospital Expenses

Hospital expenses are typically the most concerning to injury victims. The immediate cost of medical care might be extreme, especially if you called paramedics to an accident scene, went to the hospital in an ambulance, and received trauma care upon your arrival at the emergency room. We can start observing hospital expenses right away so that you do not lose track of these costs.

Many injury victims need further treatment after an accident, sometimes for months or years. In these situations, our lawyers can monitor victims’ medical damages and get experts to testify about their condition. Physicians can clarify when victims might be fully physically recovered, if ever, and what surgeries or treatments are upcoming. This can support our compensation requests for future medical damages not yet incurred.

Missed Income

Many injuries, from concussions to broken legs, require victims to take time off work. This can end in lost wages, affecting victims’ abilities to support themselves and cover other expenses as they physically recover. Since your lack of income is directly due to the defendant’s negligence, we will seek compensation for these damages in your lawsuit. To assess lost wages, we will review your income before the accident based on information from your employer and recent tax returns. The statements from medical experts that help you get compensation for future medical damages could also aid your recovery of future lost wages, particularly if your injuries are long-lasting.

Miscellaneous Costs

Victims incur many miscellaneous expenses from personal injuries that can add up to increase their total damages from an accident significantly. For example, you might be unable to drive due to your injuries. This could prevent you from getting yourself to and from hospital appointments without assistance. Victims in these situations may incur transportation costs, especially if they need specific vehicles to accommodate wheelchairs. Our attorneys will also keep track of any home modifications you must make to accommodate your injuries, like installing a wheelchair ramp, and factor them into our total damages calculations.

Intangible Damages

When approaching calculations for non-economic damages, our lawyers will start by assessing the severity of your injury and its impact on your daily life. Debilitating injuries could prevent victims from engaging in their favorite hobbies, possibly forcing them to relearn daily tasks or even how to walk. This can be emotionally distressing in and of itself. Should victims suffer permanently disfiguring injuries, they might be more likely to develop severe depression and experience life-long pain and suffering. When appropriate, our lawyers may involve mental health experts in claims, as these professionals can explain the typical difficulties associated with your specific injuries and experience, which can strengthen any personal statements you give on the matter. Maryland currently limits non-economic damages in general personal injury claims to $950,000, though there are different caps for medical malpractice claims.

The Risks of Delaying Your Silver Spring Personal Injury Compensation Claim

Delaying your personal injury lawsuit could cause difficulties meeting the burden of proof or make you miss the filing deadline altogether, barring you from getting compensation despite another party’s potential liability.

According to Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. Art., § 5-101, Maryland’s statute of limitations for most injury lawsuits is three years. The statute of limitations generally accrues on the date of injury unless a victim does not discover their injuries until later. This sometimes happens in cases of medical malpractice. Under § 5-109(a), victims have five years from the date of injury or three years from the date of discovery to sue for medical malpractice, whichever comes sooner. Our lawyers can help you understand and abide by this confusing statute so that you do not file your lawsuit too late, blocking you from recovering damages.

Delaying your case’s preparation could also cause issues with meeting the standard of proof our lawyers can help avoid. Much of the most consequential evidence in injury lawsuits is only available soon after an accident. Property owners might delete video footage, and eyewitnesses could forget crucial details about a defendant’s conduct, potentially weakening your case. By prioritizing your claim and financial recovery from the get-go, we can collect vital evidence at risk of being lost and ensure your lawsuit gets filed in court before the window of opportunity closes.

Call Our Silver Spring Attorneys to Discuss Your Injury Case Today

Call Rice, Murtha & at (410) 694-7291 for a free case review from our personal injury lawyers.