Greenbelt Personal Injury Attorney

Nearly all of us suffer minor types of personal injuries at one time or another. Fortunately, after tripping and falling, little or no harm is done. However, we are all vulnerable to much more serious personal injuries, the kind which is often  inflicted due to the negligence or intentional harm caused by others.

Common Types of Personal Injuries

As you may already know, personal injuries are also called “torts.” Some of the most common types of torts involve the harm we suffer due to vehicle accidents, defective products and various forms of medical malpractice. If you or a loved one has been hurt in an auto accident, your Greenbelt personal injury attorney will normally file a lawsuit on your behalf, claiming that the other driver was guilty of negligence.

Three Different Tort Grounds for Recovery

Negligence can simply be defined as failing to act in accordance with reasonable standards of care that are designed to protect the safety of others. If a person breaches this standard of care, he or she is legally negligent. Many common slip and fall cases often involve negligence. The party who should have maintained a safer environment, frequently a shop owner or a grocery store, can be held liable for your injuries for failing to clean up a spilled substance on the floor prior to your fall.

There are also other grounds for recovery involving intentional acts and a type of automatic, implied liability. If an injured party, the plaintiff, has been injured by an alleged wrongdoer (the defendant) who acted with wrongful intent, that defendant can be found liable for your injuries based upon committing an intentional wrong – as opposed to a negligent one. This is often the recovery theory a plaintiff uses after a wrongdoer/defendant has committed a battery (punching, kicking, attacking) against the plaintiff.

Finally, there’s a third basis for filing a personal injury lawsuit and it’s called strict liability. This argument is usually put forth after someone suffers harm while using a poorly designed or defective product. If this has happened to you, your Greenbelt personal injury lawyer will state in your pleadings that the defendant should be held strictly liable for your injuries, due to the inherent defects in the product involved.

Let’s say you suffered a serious injury shortly after buying a blender. All you did was properly plug it into the correct type of wall outlet before major voltage shocked you.  In this type of case, courts often take the view that the manufacturer of this defective product that harmed you is strictly liable for your injury.

What Happens When You File A Personal Injury Claim?

Your Greenbelt personal injury attorney will go over all of the facts of your case to learn exactly what happened and how you were injured. Your medical records will also be obtained and carefully reviewed. Your lawsuit pleadings will then allege or state that you suffered specific harms and losses.

Economic Damages

Let’s say you were harmed by the negligent acts of a doctor during surgery. In a typical case, your lawyer will claim that as a result of the injury inflicted upon you – or due to some glaring omission – your doctor or other healthcare provider failed to abide by a reasonable standard of care for a professional under the circumstances. When this has happened, you are usually entitled to request compensation for all of your recent medical bills and treatment, as well as for any future medical bills that may also be incurred due to this negligent act. If you have lost wages or earnings due to all of your physical injuries, your attorney can request compensation for these economic losses as well. You may also be entitled to recover all (or part) of your future lost earnings, depending upon the facts of your case.

Non-Economic Damages

In addition to the economic damages referenced above, courts will usually recognize non-economic damages as well. These can include compensation for your pain and suffering, Your Greenbelt personal injury lawyer can discuss all of the possible economic and non-economic grounds for requesting damages during your office consultations.

Maryland Legal Standards Involving Negligence Are Very Strict

Our firm will do all we can to prove that you did not contribute, in any way, to the actual injuries that you suffered. This is important since Maryland is one of the four states (along with the District of Columbia) that still adhere to the strict contributory negligence rule pertaining to personal injuries. This rule says that if a defendant can prove that the plaintiff was even one percent liable for his/her own injuries that plaintiff cannot recover a single penny in damages from the defendant.

Fortunately, your Greenbelt personal injury lawyer should be able to tell you  whether or not the firm believes you can obtain compensation under a negligence theory of recovery.

The Role of a Greenbelt Injury Lawyer

Our firm is prepared to aggressively pursue your case in court if the defendant and insurance company refuse to settle. You can rest assured that we will do everything we can to obtain the highest possible damages available to you.

Keep in mind that a personal injury or tort action is a civil proceeding. We will only be asking the court to hold the defendant (or defendants) financially liable for your injuries. It is up to the government to decide whether to bring an independent criminal case against the party who injured you.

It’s our goal to recover all of the money you’ll need to pay off all of the medical bills you’ve already incurred and to pay for any treatment you may still need so you can move forward with your life. Call a Greenbelt personal injury lawyer with our firm today for a free consultation.