What Everyone Should Know About Car Accidents in Maryland

If you are interested in proceeding with a car accident case what you should do is document the accident as best you can. You can do this by getting information from all the other drivers involved and making sure they have the description of all the vehicles, including the license plates. Additionally it is important you take photographs of any damage to your car and others.

You should also seek medical treatment immediately and follow up until all the injuries sustained in the accident has been resolved. As a victim, your first priority should be to follow up with your doctor’s advice as best as possible.

What Is A Treatment Gap? How Can It Affect My Case?

A treatment gap is just what is referred to as a period of time between treatments. So if you had an accident in January and you were treated from January to March for your injuries and then didn’t go back to the doctor until December the treatment gap will be between March and December. A gap in treatment will raise questions as to the cause of any injuries which are treated after the gap in treatment. Even if there is a gap in treatment for injuries you receive, this will not be harmful to your case if you are able to explain the reason for the gap in treatment.

Contributory Negligence In Maryland

Maryland is only one of the four or five states to still have contributory negligence so they have the rule that if you are found to be even just 1% at fault for the accident then your case will be dismissed or you will lose your case. So that is unique compared to most of the country. This contributory negligence rule can be overcome by working with your attorney to fully investigate all the aspects of liability for the accident.

How Often Do Maryland Car Accident Cases Go To Trial?

Well it depends because in Maryland they have a district court system and a circuit court system. In the district court there are two levels. There is the $15,000 limit and $30,000 limit and the circuit court is all the cases above the $30,000 limit.

District court cases once you file a complaint to start the lawsuit they often issue a trial date within 60 days from the time you file the complaint. In the circuit court the trail date is typically scheduled 12-18 months from the date the complaint is filed.

For the district court cases it is more than likely that there will be a trial date, as approximately 25% – 30% of cases in district court go to trial. In the circuit court maybe 10% – 15% of the cases go to trial in the circuit court. The reason that there is a large probability of these cases proceeding to court is that these types of cases will often reach a settlement acceptable by both sides prior to the trial date. In circuit court cases mediation or arbitration is a mechanism that can resolve a case prior to trial with the help of an impartial 3^rd party (i.e. a mediator). A trial is a risky proposition because sometimes it will be difficult to predict how a jury will decide your case and what compensation will be awarded.