Baltimore Auto Accident Lawyers

At some point in a driver’s life, odds are that they will eventually be involved in an automobile accident. In the best cases scenario, the accident will be a minor fender-bender, with only minor damage to your vehicle, and no physical injuries to anyone involved. You may exchange insurance information, and the insurance company will pay your claim. After your car is repaired, you may have to pay a higher insurance premium, but will soon forget all about the accident.

Unfortunately, most car accidents are not so simple. Car accidents that involve multiple vehicles will involve multiple claims, multiple insurance companies, and often times, multiple lawyers. Other drivers can lie about who caused the accident, and others can lie about the extent of their injuries. Even after an accident, your own car insurance company may try and deny your claim. Or your insurance company may only offer you a small percentage of your actual damages. Car accident and insurance complications can be very common, and in order to get the full compensation you deserve for your injuries, you may have to contact an automobile accident attorney who will fight for you.

Common Auto Accident Injuries

Even a minor accident can result in serious and permanent physical injuries to the driver and passengers. Due to the heavy weight and speed of vehicles, a low-speed accident can result in a sudden jolt or jerking motion to the head, neck, and spine. Neck and spine injuries can be some of the most difficult injuries to treat and diagnose. They can also be deceptive.

Neck and back injuries may not manifest as pain for days after the accident. After many accidents, the driver may get out of the car, feeling totally fine, and think that there were no injuries. However, a day or two later, they may quickly realize that the accident was more serious than they thought. They could be suffering neck or back pain, and even be unable to get out of bed due to their injuries.

Other serious injuries could require immediate emergency medical treatment. Car accidents regularly involve head injuries, eye injury, severed limbs, broken bones, crushing injuries, broken ribs, concussion, herniated discs, whiplash, torn ligaments, bruising, and nerve damage. These injuries often result in the patient being taken to the emergency room immediately after a car accident. It may take hours, or weeks before a patient is released from the hospital and able to return home. Unfortunately, even though the patient has to be hospitalized for medical care, they still have to deal with the stress and hassles of filing a claim with the insurance company.

Maryland Auto Accident Lawsuits

Medical care can be very expensive, even if the injured driver has medical insurance. A driver may be facing thousands of dollars in medical bills, expecting the insurance company to cover the costs. However, when the insurance company denies the driver’s claim, they may have to get a lawyer to force the insurance company to pay.

In other cases, the person responsible for causing the accident may refuse to take responsibility for their actions. Many legal claims involving car accidents are based on negligence. Under civil law, a person who breaches their duty of care which results in an injury may have to pay damages to the injured party. An example of negligence in a car accident could be a driver following too close to another car, texting while driving, speeding, or failing to replace bad brakes on their vehicle.

After a car accident, you may be unsure what caused the accident. The other driver may not admit to doing something wrong. The police report and insurance company investigation may also fail to uncover negligence. Your attorney may investigate your case to determine whether the other driver negligently caused your accident. They may also show the jury how the other driver caused your injuries and is responsible for the damages involved.

If you are unsure whether you want to file a lawsuit after a car accident, an attorney may provide a free initial consultation. Your Maryland attorney will look at your case, and let you know what options you may have to seek compensation with or without filing a legal claim. Before you sign a settlement with the insurance company that limits your legal rights you should consider asking an attorney to look at the settlement offer so you don’t lose out on your rights to seek full compensation later on.

You may want to consider talking to an attorney sooner rather than later. If you wait too long to file a legal claim, the statute of limitations may bar your ability to seek compensation. When the accident involves a claim against the government, including accidents with a bus, city vehicle, or government employee, the time limit to file a claim may be shorter than the statute of limitations. For example, a claim against the State of Maryland has to be filed within 1 year after the injury that is the basis of the claim. In most personal injury cases, Maryland’s civil statute of limitations is 3 years. Your attorney will make sure your claim is filed so you won’t lose out on your chance to recover.

Damages in a Maryland Personal Injury Claim

When filing a personal injury lawsuit related to an accident, the plaintiff will be seeking money damages. Damages are intended to compensate the injured plaintiff. This includes damages related to medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and vehicle damage. It can also include non-economic damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of companionship.

Baltimore Automobile Accident Attorneys

One of the most common personal injury lawsuits in Maryland involves automobile accidents. They can involve minor injuries, major injuries to the brain or body, or even death. The law allows an injured party to seek compensation from the individual or company who was responsible for causing the accident. When car insurance companies don’t step up and cover the cost of your claims, you may have to take them to court to get the compensation you are owed.

Contact an attorney with experience in handling automobile injury accidents to make sure you don’t have to pay the price for an accident you didn’t cause. If you were injured in an accident, contact the law firm of Gilman & Bedigian. Our experienced attorneys have years of experience handling motor vehicle and personal injury cases throughout Maryland. Do not hesitate to contact our offices today for a free consultation.