Mount Airy Personal Injury Lawyer
Anyone who has ever gotten caught up in someone else’s mistake knows how stressful and long-lived the ensuing ordeal can be, so it takes little imagination to predict how harmful a moment of negligence that leads to someone getting physically hurt could be. Unfortunately, these types of accidents happen every day in Maryland, causing millions of dollars in financial, professional, and personal losses each year.
Filing a personal injury claim against the person who caused your accident can be a proactive way to seek financial recovery after an experience like this, but effectively exercising your legal rights and maximizing available compensation can be next to impossible without guidance from a seasoned attorney. A knowledgeable Mount Airy personal injury lawyer could explain your options to you in a confidential setting and, once retained, work tenaciously to achieve a positive case result on your behalf.
Establishing Fault for Compensable Losses
The principle of legal negligence forms the foundation for almost every successful personal injury claim, as it allows individuals to be held financially responsible for the consequences of harm they caused unintentionally. Definitionally, a person is negligent if they owe a duty to someone else to act reasonably around them under certain circumstances, subsequently do something to violate that duty, and directly cause an accident as a result that leads to a physical injury.
Assuming all these criteria are met, the injured party—or plaintiff—may hold a negligent “defendant” accountable through a settlement demand or lawsuit for any “compensable loss” that stemmed directly from their accident, including medical bills, physical suffering, lost work income, lost enjoyment of life, and personal property damage. A Mount Airy personal injury attorney could discuss on a case-by-case basis what damages might be recoverable in a particular plaintiff’s situation.
What Could Potentially Hinder Recovery?
Unfortunately, Maryland is one of just five U.S. states and territories—the others being Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia—that still maintains a “pure contributory negligence” approach to civil litigation. In practice, this means that courts in Maryland will not allow a plaintiff who bears any fault whatsoever for their own accident from seeking any compensation at all for their damages, regardless of whether another party was primarily to blame.
Furthermore, Maryland Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings §3-2A-09 establishes a “cap” on recoverable compensation for virtually all personal injury claims. As of October 1, 2020, this limit stands at $890,000 for most types of cases, and it currently rises by only $15,000 on a yearly basis as a check against inflation.
Finally, MD Code, C&JP §5-101 allows prospective civil plaintiffs—just three years after discovering they were hurt due to negligence—to file a suit for the losses they sustained as a result. A personal injury lawyer in Mount Airy could explain these and other legal obstacles further during a private consultation.
Speak with a Mount Airy Personal Injury Attorney about Legal Options
Given the various rules and restrictions under Maryland state law that apply to prospective personal injury plaintiffs, pursuing a claim like this alone rarely has a positive outcome for the injured party. For a fair chance at civil compensation following an accident someone else caused, you should strongly consider getting help from experienced legal counsel.
A compassionate Mount Airy personal injury lawyer could be your tenacious and unshakeable ally from start to finish of the litigation process. Schedule a meeting by calling today.
