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Traumatic accidents may be over in an instant, but the physical, financial, and emotional harm they cause can last for months or even years after the dust settles. Unfortunately, many such incidents occur only because one or more parties involved did not act in a responsible or reasonable way, causing avoidable harm to other people around them.
If you believe your injuries stem from someone else’s reckless or careless conduct, you may want to speak with an Havre de Grace personal injury lawyer about pursuing civil litigation. Once retained, a qualified attorney could walk you through your recovery options, help you argue the strongest possible case for compensation, and work on your behalf to pursue fair restitution for each form of harm you can connect directly to your accident.
How Negligence Creates Liability for a Personal Injury
While any number of different circumstances could lead to someone getting hurt due to another person’s misconduct, the basic element that nearly all personal injury claims have in common is legal negligence. In short, a person is negligent under civil law when they owe and subsequently breach a duty to act reasonably under the circumstances, and an accident resulting in compensable losses occurs as a direct consequence of that breach.
If a personal injury plaintiff can prove that a defendant’s negligence is to blame for the conditions that led to them getting hurt, they could hold that defendant financially liable to pay for their medical expenses, lost work income, physical pain, property damage, and various forms of emotional harm. However, since Maryland civil courts follow a “pure contributory negligence” standard, plaintiffs who bear any degree of fault whatsoever for their own damages are not eligible to seek civil compensation for those losses regardless of fault held by other parties. An Havre de Grace personal injury attorney could explain these rules in more detail and provide crucial assistance constructing a case for compensation around them.
Damage Caps and Filing Deadlines
Even if a personal injury victim can show that someone else is entirely at fault for their injuries, there are limits imposed by Maryland law on how much compensation they can demand for the consequences of those injuries. Specifically, Maryland Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings §3-2A-09 establishes a cap of $890,000—as of 2021, and pending a cap increase of $15,000 on October 1 of each year—on total recovery for economic and non-economic damages combined in most cases.
On top of that, MD Code, C&JP §5-101 limits prospective personal injury plaintiffs to just three years after the discovery of their injuries to get the litigation process started, or they may be time-barred from filing suit for that particular incident. Once again, guidance from a personal injury lawyer in Havre de Grace could be essential to understanding these regulations and minimizing their impact on recovery efforts.
Discuss Legal Options with an Havre de Grace Personal Injury Attorney
Because of the various hurdles that Maryland state law sets out for personal injury plaintiffs, successfully filing suit after a serious accident can be an immensely complex endeavor. In addition to complying with numerous statutory regulations and deadlines, opposition from defense counsel and insurance companies can make effective recovery almost impossible without skilled legal representation on your side.
Fortunately, an Havre de Grace personal injury lawyer is available to fight on your behalf and tirelessly pursue the restitution you deserve. Learn more by calling today.
