Whenever someone acts recklessly or carelessly around other people, they run the risk of causing an accident that results in serious and sometimes lasting harm. Fortunately, if you get hurt because of another person’s negligent conduct, you may have grounds to file suit against them and seek financial recovery for every form of harm you can trace back to the incident in question.
If you believe the circumstances of your recent accident may justify civil litigation, you should strongly consider speaking with a Clarksburg personal injury lawyer about your legal options. A knowledgeable and experienced attorney could discuss your unique situation with you and help you make the most of whatever legal action you ultimately pursue.
Establishing Fault for a Personal Injury
Holding someone else accountable for a personal injury generally requires proving that they were legally negligent in some way. More specifically, an injured “plaintiff” must provide evidence against a named “defendant” demonstrating that it is more likely than not the defendant owed them a duty of reasonable care, violated that duty somehow, and caused an accident as a direct result that proximately led to compensable losses.
Many different actions—or failures to act—could conceivably qualify as “negligent” under this definition, from a traffic violation prior to a collision to a mistake by a healthcare provider during a medical procedure. However, it is crucial for plaintiffs in Maryland to not only prove negligence by the defendant(s) in their claims, but also to prove that they were not at all to blame themselves for their own injuries.
This is important because of the pure contributory negligence system that state courts follow, under which personal injury plaintiffs are ineligible to recover compensation if they bear any percentage of fault whatsoever for the circumstances that led to their accident. A Clarksburg personal injury attorney could go over this system in more detail during a confidential consultation and, once retained, work tirelessly to ensure it does not unfairly prevent recovery.
What Damages Could Be Recoverable?
A successful civil claim allows a plaintiff injured by another person’s misconduct to recover for every past and future consequence they can trace directly back to that injury. This includes not only objective economic damages like medical bills and lost wages but also non-economic forms of physical and emotional suffering like lost consortium and lost enjoyment of life. Punitive damages may also be available in rare circumstances, but only if the court hearing a personal injury case decides that the defendant should be punished for extraordinarily egregious negligence or intentional malice.
Filing Deadlines for Personal Injury Claims
As per Maryland Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings §5-101, personal injury victims usually have three years at most after discovering their injuries in which to file suit. Attempts to file suit after this deadline will almost always end with a court throwing the case out and not awarding the plaintiff any financial restitution. That being said, there are exceptions to this rule under specific circumstances, so it may still be worth talking to a personal injury lawyer in Clarksburg about filing options even if some time has passed since an accident occurred.
Get in Touch with a Clarksburg Personal Injury Attorney Today
Unfortunately, financial compensation can only do so much to make up for the physical and emotional repercussions of a traumatic accident. Nevertheless, effective civil recovery can still be crucial to preserving your financial security and getting you a measure of justice for the harm you unfairly sustained.
Getting a positive result from a settlement demand or lawsuit could be much easier with guidance and support from a Clarksburg personal injury lawyer. Call today for a private consultation.
