Finding an Annapolis Injury Attorney

When a person is injured in an accident that is not their fault, they should contact an Annapolis injury lawyer as soon as possible. In terms of the statute of limitations in Annapolis, in a personal injury case, a person generally has three years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit. That time period is important, and if the suit is not filed within that time period, the person is forever barred from making a claim in Annapolis, and the insurance company would then have no incentive to even settle the case.

For this reason, it is very important for a person who has been injured to contact an attorney right away to ensure they are on the proper path to file a claim. An experienced attorney can provide a person with firm legal advice and can help them ensure that they are acting in their best interest.

What to Look For

A person needs a lawyer who regularly handles personal injury cases. For example, if someone was in a motor vehicle accident, it is helpful to have a lawyer who represents mostly plaintiffs in car accident cases. They should have an attorney who knows what to look for and who has experience representing people who sustain these kinds of injuries, particularly whiplash injuries or soft tissues injuries. They know how insurance companies operate and how to obtain the maximum value for your case. An attorney who has been practicing personal injury law for a long time understands what these insurance companies and their adjusters look for and how they attempt to discredit plaintiffs’ cases.

Cases cannot be filed just anywhere in Annapolis. They must be filed typically in the county where the accident happened. Sometimes the case can be filed in the county where the defendant resides or works, but, usually, a suit is filed in the county where the accident happened.  There may be a choice of venue if there is more than one defendant or if one of the defendants to the case is an insurance company.

Importance of a Lawyer

A person should seek treatment right away because treatment is another time-sensitive issue. If a person does not treat right away, or if there are large gaps in treatment, the insurance adjuster will pick up on this when reading the person’s medical records and it will diminish the value of their case. Rightly or wrongly, from the insurance company’s perspective, if a person does not treat immediately after the accident, they will argue the person was not injured all that badly. Moreover, once the case reaches the litigation stage, during discovery depositions, there will be questions about why the person waited to treat, why they missed appointments, why they arrived late for appointments, and why there were gaps in their treatment; all of this could potentially be used against a person and could weaken the value of their case.

For this reason, a person needs to have an experienced lawyer involved in the process as quickly as possible so they can better know and understand their legal rights, so that they know the deadlines, and so that they understand the importance of getting treatment early and getting the process moving. A lawyer can bring their knowledge and experience from previous cases to help a person pursue the greatest amount of compensation possible.

Although a lawyer is involved, these cases do not resolve overnight. If a lawsuit is filed, an initial trial date in Annapolis district courts is usually set several months down the road. In Annapolis circuit courts, trial dates are usually set for 12-15 months down the road.