Rice Law’s car accident lawyers represent injury victims and their families in lawsuits to recover compensation for their many damages. If you or a loved one was injured in a car crash in the Waldorf area, our attorneys might be able to help.
After a car accident, you may face medical bills, lost wages, and severe pain and suffering that make it hard to move along with your life. You do not deserve to have to pay these bills on your own, and you may be entitled to substantial financial compensation from the driver who hit you. Some injury cases can yield higher compensation when filed through court than when filed through an insurance claim, so keep that in mind and do not settle for anything less than what you deserve.
For a free case discussion with our car accident lawyers, you can call Rice Law at (410) 694-7291.
Can You Sue for Car Accident Injuries in Maryland?
If you were injured in a car crash, you might be able to file a lawsuit against the negligent driver to recover damages.
While many people think that they may need to file a claim with insurance instead, the option of filing a lawsuit is typically available any time you face serious injuries due to negligence.
How Do You File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Waldorf, MD?
To file a lawsuit in Maryland, the first step is to present the basic facts and arguments about why the other driver is at fault in a document called a complaint, which our lawyers can prepare and submit to the court.
What Happens After You File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Waldorf, MD?
You will then need to serve the defendant with this document and notice of the case, and they will then be given a chance to file a response. The defendant will most likely argue that they did not cause your injuries or that you were actually responsible for the crash, and the judge will need to decide if the case can move forward.
What Can You Expect from the Discovery Phase of a Car Accident Lawsuit?
After the case moves forward, you and your opponent will have the opportunity to see each other’s evidence and interview the drivers and witnesses to the accident. This can include the doctors who have treated your injuries and the police who responded to your 911 call about the crash.
We can also continue collecting evidence during this stage of your lawsuit that will help demonstrate your injuries and show that the other driver was responsible, such as medical records, photos, and more.
What Happens if You Do Not Settle Your Car Accident Case in Waldorf, MD?
If your car accident case does not settle, the judge can schedule a trial. During a trial, you will appear before a jury, and our attorneys will present your case to the court. The defense also has a chance to present its case, and then the jury decides whether the defendant is liable.
Who Decides Fault in a Car Accident Lawsuit?
The jury ultimately decides whether they believe your case and agree with our valuation. The jury should use your valuation of the damages when analyzing the case, but they may modify the amount up or down to what they believe is fair.
What Is the Standard of Proof for a Car Accident Lawsuit?
When suing for a car accident, you do not need to prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt, like in a criminal case. Instead, you need to prove it “by a preponderance of the evidence,” which essentially means that you must prove it is more likely than not that your claim is true and the defendant is liable.
How Do You Prove Negligence in a Car Accident Case?
For the jury to be able to rule in your favor, you must prove that the other driver caused your injuries through negligence (proving intentional acts is not typically necessary). To do this, you will show that the driver owed you a duty of care, the driver breached that duty, the breach caused the accident, and you suffered damages that the court can compensate you for.
What Is a Duty of Care in Car Accident Claims?
Proving the other driver’s fault is at the core of most car accident claims. As mentioned, you must prove that the other driver breached a duty they owed you to prove that they were negligent in causing the crash. This duty is typically defined either by law or by analyzing how a reasonable driver should have acted in that situation.
Most duties behind the wheel come down to following the law. Traffic laws are designed to keep people safe, and violating them is often seen as a breach of duty that can lead to liability for a car crash.
What Are Common Duty Breaches in Waldorf, MD Car Accident Claims?
Speeding, driving under the influence, running a red light, or otherwise violating traffic laws and endangering others on the road are common duty breaches that make drivers liable for car accidents and resulting damages.
Do You Have to Testify in Your Waldorf, MD Car Accident Case?
Your testimony may be one of the best pieces of evidence that you have in a case. If you did not have other witnesses in your car, there were no traffic cameras, and no outside witnesses saw the crash, you can still testify to what you saw and how the crash happened.
Keep in mind that the other driver can also testify, which may make your case a battle of who is more believable to the jury.
What Photographic Evidence Can Prove Your Car Accident Case?
Photos of the damage to the vehicles can help show a jury where the cars were damaged, helping our lawyers piece together how the crash happened and explain the sequence of events to the jury.
This kind of evidence may be vital to proving where the cars were located and who hit whom. Expert witnesses may also help us reconstruct the accident based on skid marks, damage, and other factors. Your attorney will help build your case and work to make it presentable to a jury.
Who Can Sue for a Fatal Car Accident in Waldorf, MD?
In Maryland, any primary beneficiary of a driver who died in a fatal car accident may bring a wrongful death claim against a liable driver. These parties include the victim’s surviving spouse, children, and parents.
If there are no surviving primary beneficiaries after an accident, secondary beneficiaries may bring a claim. A secondary beneficiary may be anyone related to the victim by blood or marriage who was substantially dependent on the victim at the time of their death.
How Do You Know if a Car Accident Settlement is Good Enough to Sign?
You most likely will not know whether a car accident settlement is good enough without an experienced attorney to identify, tally, and pursue damages for you. What might seem like a good settlement could be too small to cover all your damages, especially future damages, so confirm an offer is good before signing, as doing so is binding.
What if You Miss the Filing Deadline for a Car Accident Case in Waldorf, MD?
The statute of limitations dictates how long you have after sustaining an injury to pursue compensation for it. In Maryland, the statute of limitations for general personal injury claims, including most car accident cases, is 3 years. If you miss the filing deadline and a tolling exception does not apply to your case, you lose your right to recovery.
What if You Share Fault for a Car Accident in Waldorf, MD?
Sharing fault for a car accident can block you from recovering any damages at all because Maryland is a pure contributory fault state. Because of this strict rule, car accident victims should be extra careful not to apologize to negligent drivers and should watch what they say to police officers who arrive at a scene and document a crash.
What Are Economic Damages in a Car Accident Case?
Economic damages are any concrete financial expenses caused by negligence.
Lost Wages
For example, suppose your injuries are too painful and disabling for you to return to work right away after a car crash. Because any lost wages you incur would be due to another driver’s negligent driving, that driver might be liable for all lost or reduced wages that you incur, no matter how long you are unable to work.
Medical Bills
Medical bills are also recoverable, up to any amount. Car accident victims should not have to foot the bill for any ambulance rides, emergency room visits, surgical procedures, testing, imaging, long hospital stays, physical therapy sessions, or general follow-up appointments related to their injuries.
What Are Non-Economic Damages in a Car Accident Case?
Non-economic damages in a car accident case refer to the subjective harms you have suffered. An injury and the procedures necessary to treat it might cause extreme physical pain, which is a compensable loss.
Mental suffering, emotional distress, and reduced quality of life are other compensable non-economic damages as well.
How Do You Prove Economic Damages from a Waldorf, MD Car Accident?
Proving economic damages from a car accident requires detailed records of all medical treatment, lost wages, and any other out-of-pocket costs that you only incurred because of the accident. Our car accident lawyers can keep track of all economic damages for you so you do not underestimate the value of your case at any point.
How Do You Prove Non-Economic Damages from a Car Accident?
Proving non-economic damages requires different kinds of evidence, such as testimonial evidence from the victim who has experienced pain and suffering and the mental health experts who have observed it.
Can You Get Punitive Damages if You Were Injured in a Drunk Driving Accident in Maryland?
You cannot get punitive damages if you were injured due to drunk driving alone in Maryland. Punitive damages are only available in claims involving actual malice, which many drunk driving cases do not, though some might.
What Can Happen if You Pursue Compensation Without a Waldorf, MD Car Accident Lawyer?
Pursuing compensation without a car accident lawyer is not good for your recovery. Not only might you pursue the wrong route to recovery in your specific case, but you also might misunderstand your deserved damages and think a bad settlement is worth accepting.
If your case goes to court, you might be totally unprepared for a trial if you do not have an attorney by your side.
Waldorf, MD Car Accident Injury Lawyer Offering Free Consultations
Contact our car accident lawyers at Rice Law today for a free legal consultation by calling us at (410) 694-7291.