Waldorf, MD Personal Injury Lawyer

Accidental injuries happen to victims every day in Maryland. If an injury occurred because someone else failed to use the proper care or skill to keep you safe, you might be entitled to take them to court in a personal injury lawsuit.

Victims can sue the parties whose negligence harms them, and we can help identify the appropriate defendant for your claim. To prove the defendant’s liability after filing your case, we will obtain relevant evidence early on, such as witness statements, medical records, and photos from the scene. Our lawyers can help you understand what your case is worth and file your claim in court, fighting to get you the compensation you need for lost wages, medical expenses, and pain and suffering.

Call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 to schedule a free case evaluation with our personal injury lawyers.

Suing for Injuries from Accidents and Negligence in Waldorf, MD

Anyone injured in Maryland may file a lawsuit against whoever is responsible for causing their injuries. These cases are typically filed as “negligence” cases, which means victims sue for the at-fault party’s failure to use the proper care or skill rather than intentional injuries. However, victims can sue for intentional injuries as well. Building your case comes in a few stages, all of which our attorneys can help you with. Initially, we will identify who you will file your lawsuit against and then move on to preparing to prove their liability or settle the case fairly out of court.

Whom to Sue

The first step in filing a lawsuit is identifying whom to sue. Finding the responsible party might be easier in some cases than others. For instance, the at-fault driver in a car accident case is typically the other driver – though we may also be able to include their employer in the claim if they were driving a commercial truck or a taxicab. In other cases, it may be more difficult to determine which company made the dangerous product that injured you or who owns the land or building where you suffered a slip and fall. Our attorneys can help you research your claim, find the proper party to sue, and file the appropriate paperwork against them in court to initiate your civil case.

Proving an Injury Claim

The second part of your case is proving the claim. To prove a negligence claim, you must be able to prove four major elements in court: the at-fault party owed you a duty, the at-fault party breached that duty, the breach caused your injuries, and you suffered damages the court can compensate you for.

In a personal injury case, the duty the defendant owes you typically comes from their relationship with you. For instance, a driver sharing the road with you owes you a duty to drive safely and follow traffic laws, a hotel owner owes its guests access to safe premises, and your doctor owes you reasonably skilled medical care. Determining the specific duty is often part of your case, and proving that the defendant breached that duty is one of the major hurdles you and our personal injury lawyers need to overcome.

Deciding Whether to Settle Your Case

The third part of your case involves deciding whether to handle the case in court and get a jury verdict or settle your claim without a trial. In many cases, the defendant will seek to end the case quickly by offering the victim a settlement offer. These initial settlement offers from the defendants are often too low to cover victims’ needs and are offered to try to buy out cases cheaply for the defendant.

If your case proceeds to a jury verdict, the damages you receive will be decided by the jury, not the defendant. While these damages might be higher than a settlement, the damages from a settlement are guaranteed, and a jury verdict in your favor is not. Strategically calculating damages and settlement offers is often one of the major benefits of having our attorneys represent you in your claim. Sometimes, a defendant will not propose a settlement, and a plaintiff must fight their case in court to get the damages they deserve, which our lawyers can help guide them through.

Calculating Damages in a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Waldorf, MD

The damages you can claim in a personal injury lawsuit are broad and can cover any damages related to the injury. Damages can be split into two types: economic damages and noneconomic damages.

Economic damages cover medical expenses, lost wages, medical transportation, rehabilitation, and other expenses you are forced to pay because of the injury. These damages can typically be calculated by looking at bills and financial records.

Non-economic damages work to compensate victims for their intangible harms. The most common non-economic damages for a personal injury case are damages for “pain and suffering.” Everyone experiences pain differently, and there is no good way to show a jury how much physical pain you suffered or how much that injury is worth. However, victims can testify about their experiences and how the injury affected their lives physically, financially, and emotionally. This can help convince a jury that the injuries you faced were painful and severe, which can translate to damages for pain and suffering. Non-economic damages can also include damages for mental anguish, emotional distress, lost enjoyment in activities, suffering brought on by limitations or disabilities, and other intangible effects. In some cases, you may even be entitled to additional “punitive damages” to punish the wrongdoer for egregious conduct. Still, these damages are rare and only possible when cases go to court.

Evidence Our Lawyers May Use During Waldorf, MD Personal Injury Claims

In personal injury lawsuits, victims must prove it is more likely than not that defendants caused their injuries through negligent, reckless, or malicious conduct. Typically, accidental injuries happen because of negligence, but this still makes the other party legally liable for your damages. To meet the burden of proof in court, our lawyers may use a combination of evidence such as photos and videos, eyewitness statements, expert witness testimony, victim testimony, and medical records.

Photos and Videos

Victims should take pictures before leaving an accident’s location whenever possible to help preserve the scene. Emergency response personnel might quickly clean up car accident debris, and negligent property owners might promptly address the hazardous condition that caused a visitor to trip and fall. Photographing the area is the best way to preserve it, and our lawyers may ask for any pictures you took early on in your case. We can combine these pictures with photos taken by law enforcement and eyewitnesses, which might show the accident or its aftermath from a different angle. When they are able, victims should also try to photograph their visible injuries at the scene, as this can help us prove they were hurt during the accident involving the defendant. You can ask emergency medical services that arrive on the scene to photograph your injuries as well.

Eyewitness Statements

Whether or not eyewitness statements are available depends on various factors, such as an accident’s circumstances and location. For example, if you tripped down a poorly lit stairwell in your apartment building, there might not be anyone to witness it. However, if you were hit by a negligent driver while riding your bike down a busy street in Waldorf, there might be several eyewitnesses. Ask any eyewitnesses who stop and possibly offer aid for their contact details, as this can allow us to identify and reach out to them more easily. Witnesses’ statements may carry the most weight when recorded immediately after an incident, and we can prioritize collecting this evidence on your behalf while you are recovering in the hospital or at home.

Expert Witness Testimony

Expert witnesses can add credence to many types of personal injury claims, and our lawyers can identify which experts may be most beneficial to your case, specifically. For example, victims may benefit from accident reconstruction experts when injured during car crashes. These professionals can determine a collision’s sequence of events based on the remaining physical evidence and photographs. Experts can often assist during defective product cases, particularly when identifying a product’s design flaws or reason for malfunctioning. Medical experts are useful in most injury cases, as physicians can often better explain the extent of victims’ injuries and their anticipated impact on their lives, such as their ability to work.

Victim Testimony

While victims’ recollections can help our lawyers determine why an accident occurred, their testimony might largely center on proving their non-economic damages. Victims who testify in court may do so to convince juries of their pain and suffering. Maryland lets courts compensate injury victims for intangible damages due to negligence, such as emotional distress, mental anguish, and reduced quality of life. Juries may be sympathetic after hearing about victims’ difficulties since the accident and award them significant compensation for their non-economic damages.

Medical Records

Victims’ medical records are so important because they specifically outline victims’ injuries and the treatment they have gotten since an accident. This confirms the physical harm you have endured, helping our personal injury lawyers prove why you need compensation from a defendant. Keeping copies of hospital records and bills from treatments can be challenging, but ensuring organization throughout your case is important. Our lawyers can handle requesting and compiling medical records while closely tracking hospital expenses from all treatments, large and small.

Call Our Waldorf, MD Injury Attorneys for Help with Your Case Today

Call the personal injury lawyers of Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 and discuss your case for free today.