Essex Personal Injury Lawyer
A sudden and jarring accident can throw off your short-term plans even if you are able to walk away from the incident without any serious injuries, so it is hard to overstate how life-changing a severe personal injury borne of someone else’s negligence can be. On top of prohibitively expensive medical expenses, you may also find yourselves dealing with a significant loss of income, difficulties replacing damaged property, and immense physical and emotional pain—all because someone else acted irresponsibility around you.
Fortunately, you may be able to hold a negligent individual financially responsible for the harm they did to you with help from an Essex personal injury lawyer. While Maryland is not exactly plaintiff-friendly compared to many other states, there is still a lot that a seasoned personal injury attorney could do to improve your odds of case success.
The Basics of Legal Negligence
With a few noteworthy exceptions, almost every civil claim seeking restitution for a personal injury revolves around the legal concept of negligence, since it is this principle that allows people to bear financial liability for harm they did not intentionally cause. To hold a “defendant” at fault for an accident, the injured “plaintiff” must first prove that the defendant had an explicit or implicit responsibility to act reasonably around them.
Then, the defendant’s breach of this responsibility must have been the direct cause of an accident that proximately led to the losses the case seeks restitution for. The applicable standard of proof for civil litigation is “a preponderance of the evidence,” which means that a plaintiff or their Essex personal injury attorney must show that defendant negligence was more likely than not the cause of their damages.
Unique Restrictions on Civil Recovery
Unfortunately, the state of Maryland imposes several restrictions on civil recovery that can make it challenging to effectively recover after a personal injury in Essex. Perhaps most notably, Maryland is one of only four states—not including the District of Columbia—to still maintain a pure contributory negligence system. In practice, this means that any civil plaintiff found even one percent at fault for their own damages cannot recover any compensation at all.
Furthermore, Maryland Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings §3-2A-09 sets “caps” on recovery for non-economic damages, meaning there are maximum limits to how much compensation individual plaintiffs can recover for “pain and suffering.” As of 2021, the applicable cap in most personal injury cases is $890,000, with a maximum cap of $2,225,000 applying to combined non-economic damages in related wrongful death and survival action claims.
Finally, MD Code, C&JP §5-101 sets a three-year statutory filing deadline for most personal injury cases. If a personal injury victim in Essex fails to get their case started or have a qualified lawyer do so on their behalf within three years of discovering they were hurt due to negligence, they may be time-barred from seeking any compensation for that particular incident.
Talk to an Essex Personal Injury Attorney
The fact that “accidents happen” does not mean you have to simply accept the consequences of an accident you did nothing to cause. If you suffered any physical injury that required professional medical care because of someone else’s misconduct, you may be able to file suit against them for significant compensation.
A dedicated Essex personal injury lawyer could provide compassionate guidance and support throughout your entire claim, whether it involves a private settlement or progresses all the way to civil court. Call today to schedule a consultation.
