You Have The Right To Seek Compensation After an Injury
When you are trying to determine the best steps for filing a personal injury lawsuit in Maryland, you should speak with our Rockville, MD personal injury lawyer. Assigning blame to someone for causing you to become injured can be difficult, especially when you are taking legal action and trying to recover from your injuries. However, when you have our firm in your corner, you know you are getting what you need. We will work with you every step of the way to protect your right to fair financial compensation. Leave the legal hurdles of your case to us while you focus on seeking necessary medical treatment and recovering from your accident. Contact Azari Law, LLC now to schedule a free consultation and learn how we can help.
Table of Contents
- You Have The Right To Seek Compensation After an Injury
- Maryland Personal Injury Laws
- Common Types Of Personal Injury Accidents
- Rockville Personal Injury Infographic
- Personal Injury Statistics
- Personal Injury FAQs
- Azari Law, LLC
- Your Recovery Begins Here
When you’re recovering from an accident, you may be forced to contend with physical pain and financial losses. As a result, it may be in your best interest to seek compensation by pursuing a personal injury claim with Azari Law, LLC. To see that your case runs smoothly, it’s recommended that you take the following steps:
File A Police Report Or An Accident Report
When an accident occurs, filing either a police report or accident report will be imperative. Not only will these reports create a paper trail, but they will also act as an essential piece of evidence in the wake of an accident. Such a report will help tie the accident to the injuries you have experienced. Know that the type of report filed will depend upon the situation. For example, if an accident occurred on someone’s property (such as a restaurant), you should request that the manager or property owner complete an accident report. However, in the wake of a car accident, victims should file a police report. To ensure this occurs, victims should contact law enforcement at the scene of the accident.
Seek Emergency Medical Treatment
Chances are that if you have been injured in an accident, you required medical treatment as a result. Immediately after an accident, your adrenalin will be pumping, and you may not even realize that you have been injured. Sometimes, you may not be aware of injuries for a few days. Seeking medical care should be one of your top priorities. Medical care can be life-saving and ensure that you receive the treatments necessary to provide the best possible recovery and prevent complications from arising. Know that when pursuing a legal claim against the responsible party, the documentation produced by medical providers outlining your injuries will be critical to receiving the best possible outcome for the injuries you have experienced.
Gather Evidence
Substantial evidence can ensure that victims receive the compensation they require for the losses they have sustained. When victims bring forth their case, they hold the burden of proof, meaning that they will need to provide evidence that proves their claim. Your Rockville, Maryland personal injury lawyer can assist with gathering evidence such as accident reports, photographs and videos of the accident, photographs and videos of your injuries, eyewitness statements, paystubs proving lost wages, medical documentation of your injuries, medical bills, and proof of any other expenses.
Maryland Personal Injury Laws
Maryland has specific laws and regulations in place to address personal injury claims and protect the rights of those who have been harmed.
Statute Of Limitations
This law sets a strict time limit for filing a personal injury lawsuit. In Maryland, the statute of limitations for most personal injury cases is three years from the date of the injury. Failing to file your claim within this timeframe may result in losing your right to seek compensation. It’s vital to consult with a lawyer promptly to ensure you meet this deadline.
Contributory Negligence
Maryland follows a legal principle known as contributory negligence, which can significantly impact personal injury cases. Under this doctrine, if you are found to be even partially at fault for the accident that caused your injuries, you may be barred from recovering any compensation. It is essential to understand how contributory negligence works and how it may affect your case.
Types Of Damages
Maryland allows for various types of damages in personal injury cases, including economic damages (such as medical bills and lost wages) and non-economic damages (such as pain and suffering). Understanding the types of damages you can seek and how they are calculated is key when pursuing a personal injury claim. Our experienced Rockville personal injury lawyer can help you assess the full extent of your damages.
Insurance Requirements
Maryland law requires drivers to carry minimum liability insurance coverage. However, not all drivers comply with this requirement, and some may be underinsured or uninsured. In the event of a car accident, this can complicate matters when seeking compensation for injuries. Our legal team can help you explore your options for recovering damages when dealing with insurance issues.
Strict Liability In Dog Bite Cases
Maryland has strict liability laws when it comes to dog bites. If you are bitten by someone else’s dog while you are lawfully on private property or in a public place, the dog’s owner can be held liable for your injuries, regardless of the dog’s prior behavior or the owner’s knowledge of its aggressive tendencies.
Public Entity Liability
If your injury occurs on public property or involves a public entity, such as a government agency, special rules and timelines may apply. Claims against public entities often have shorter notice periods, so it’s critical to consult with our team as soon as possible if you believe your case involves a public entity.
Our Maryland attorney has extensive experience in handling personal injury cases in Maryland and a proven track record of helping our clients seek the compensation they deserve. When you’re ready to discuss your case, give us a call. Our bilingual firm is here to address your legal questions and concerns, whether your primary language is English or Spanish.
Common Types Of Personal Injury Accidents
There are several types of personal injury accidents that qualify a victim for compensation by filing a lawsuit. However, to pursue a case, it is required that the victim sustained a serious injury that led to financial hardship and that another entity was at least partially responsible for the incident occurring. Here we have described the most common personal injury accidents:
Car Accidents
The most common personal injury cases in the U.S. are car accidents. When a collision occurs, it’s often because someone failed to abide by the rules of the road and was not operating the vehicle as carefully as they should have been. A reckless driver can be held responsible financially for the victim’s injuries that resulted from the accident. Examples of damages and losses that a victim can seek from the at-fault driver include medical bills, an ambulance ride, vehicle damage, cost to replace the vehicle, loss of wages from missing work, loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, and more.
Medical Malpractice
You might have a case against a doctor if he or she failed to provide a standard quality of care, resulting in harm to you as a patient. It’s important to remember that a negative result from treatment does not automatically mean that an incident of medical malpractice occurred. If you want to learn more about whether you have grounds for a medical malpractice case, don’t hesitate to call Azari Law, LLC today.
Dog Bites
Many of us love dogs, and most owners are reasonably attentive and responsible in keeping others safe from a severe bite or attack. However, when dog bite events do happen, the pet owners should be held responsible for the resulting injuries and damages. Dog bites can result in significant pain, scarring, and disfigurement. If you or someone you love was recently bitten by a dog and sustained injuries that surpass what a first aid kit can offer, we encourage you to call us now for further guidance.
Slip And Fall Accidents
When you visit an establishment, such as a hotel, retail store, mall, or other property, it is justifiable to expect that you are reasonably safe from hazards and harm. Property owners have a duty legally to ensure the premises are safe so that others do not get hurt. Not every injury that happens on a property is grounds for suing the property owner or related party. A victim does have a stronger case if their injuries required medical care, they experienced financial loss because of it, and the area was deemed especially hazardous and risky.
Rockville Personal Injury Infographic
Personal Injury Statistics
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 31 million Americans require medical treatment due to general injuries each year. More than 173,000 deaths result from unintentional injury. These accidents happen practically everywhere: on the road, in the workplace, in retail stores, and in any other location where people are going about their normal routines.
Personal Injury FAQs
What is the first step in my personal injury case?
After you have spoken with your lawyer, the first step to officially beginning a lawsuit like this is to file a complaint. This is the formal document that we file with the court that identifies all involved parties and what you are stating has caused you to become injured. We will also need to serve the defendant with a copy, so they are aware that you are taking legal action.
How important are deadlines?
The statute of limitations for your case is extremely important to keep in mind. You may have a relatively straightforward case and ample evidence to show that someone else’s negligence caused you to become injured. However, if the deadline has expired for you to file a personal injury lawsuit, then you may have no chance of bringing a case forward. Typically, you will have three years to file a lawsuit from when your injury occurred or when you discovered that you were injured.
How do I know if I have a case?
Some people may assume that they have no case after they have been injured, and we want to encourage you to take a moment to call our office before you move on from the accident. The accident could leave you with thousands of dollars of medical bills or property damage that you have to pay out of pocket or use your insurance for when someone else (the person responsible for the accident) could be paying instead. There are a few questions you will want to ask yourself after you have been in an accident:
- Did the other person involved have some kind of duty to keep from harming you?
- Did the other person involved cause the accident to occur?
- Did the accident specifically cause you to become injured or have property damage?
- Are you left paying for this (this could be through taking your car to the shop, paying for medical bills)?
If you answered “yes” to the above questions, you likely have grounds for filing a personal injury claim.
How can hiring a personal injury help me?
When you work with an attorney from our firm, you are getting someone who will go over the minutiae of your claim. We will want to know every step that happened before, during, and after the accident. We take our clients’ cases incredibly seriously and want to make sure that you are getting the exact representation you need when you work with us. We will walk you through the process when you meet with us for your first consultation.
What is a wrongful death claim?
Unfortunately, there are many accidents where the victim sustains such severe injury that they die. Losing a loved one is always a challenging experience, but when their death resulted from another party’s negligence, that loss can be even more devastating. Our personal injury lawyer understands that family members don’t just suffer emotional difficulties, but the death can leave you dealing with overwhelming financial hardships, as well. This is why Maryland law allows the families of victims killed because of the negligence of others to pursue damages in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Maryland law defines wrongful death as one resulting from “an act, neglect, or default including a felonious act which would have entitled the party injured to maintain an action and recover damages if death had not ensued.” This means that had the victim survived and could have sued to recover damages for their injuries; then their survivors are entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Any party whose actions or behavior contributed to the victim’s death, whether intentional or unintentional, can be found legally liable for the victim’s death. This includes individuals, companies, and organizations.
If you have lost a loved one, our Rockville personal injury attorney can determine if you have grounds to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Under Maryland law, a case can be filed by the victim’s spouse, child, or parent. If there are no family members that fall under one of those categories, a wrongful death action can also be filed by a person related to the victim by blood or marriage and who was substantially dependent on the victim for support.
What damages can I recover in my claim?
Victims’ families can recover several different types of damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. Our personal injury lawyer can determine what those damages are in your case, but generally, these damages include the following:
- Financial expenses: This includes medical treatment costs before the victim’s death, funeral and burial expenses
- Emotional anguish: Financial compensation for the grief, sorrow, and mental pain experienced by the family over the death of the victim
- Loss of support: Financial compensation for the loss of income, benefits, and services that the victim would have contributed to their family had they survived.
- Loss of society: Financial compensation for the loss of the love, support, and companionship the victim gave to their family. This is also sometimes referred to as loss of consortium.
Personal Injury Glossary
Whether you are a victim seeking justice or simply trying to understand the legal landscape, our Rockville, MD personal injury lawyer can help you navigate the process effectively. When dealing with personal injury cases, understanding key legal terms is essential. Dedicated to providing high quality legal services, our team at Azari Law, LLC understands that personal injury law governs disputes in which individuals seek compensation for harm caused by another party’s negligence or intentional actions. Below are five fundamental legal terms frequently used in personal injury cases, along with detailed explanations.
Negligence
Negligence is the failure to exercise a reasonable level of care that a prudent person would use in similar circumstances, resulting in harm to another party. It is the foundation of most personal injury claims, as the injured party (plaintiff) must prove that the defendant acted carelessly or recklessly. To establish negligence, four elements must be demonstrated: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. If any of these elements are not met, the claim may be dismissed. Examples of negligence include a driver texting while driving, a store owner failing to clean up a spill, or a doctor making a preventable surgical error.
Damages
Damages refer to the monetary compensation awarded to an injured party to cover losses and suffering caused by the defendant’s actions. In personal injury cases, damages are generally divided into two categories: economic and non-economic. Economic damages include tangible financial losses such as medical bills, lost wages, and rehabilitation costs. According to our Rockville personal injury lawyer, non-economic damages cover intangible losses like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. In some cases, punitive damages may also be awarded to punish the defendant for extreme negligence or malicious intent, serving as a deterrent for future misconduct.
Statute Of Limitations
The statute of limitations is the legally defined time frame within which a lawsuit must be filed. If a personal injury claim is not filed within this period, the injured party may lose their right to seek compensation. The time limit varies by state and depends on the type of case. For instance, many states impose a two- or three-year limit for filing personal injury claims, while medical malpractice or wrongful death cases may have different deadlines. Our experienced Rockville personal injury lawyer understands that there are some exceptions to the statute of limitations, such as cases involving minors, individuals with mental incapacities, or injuries that were not immediately discoverable.
Comparative Negligence
Comparative negligence is a legal doctrine used in personal injury cases to determine how much compensation a plaintiff can recover if they are partially at fault for their own injuries. Instead of barring recovery entirely, the court reduces the plaintiff’s award based on their percentage of fault. For example, if a court finds that a plaintiff was 30% responsible for a car accident while the defendant was 70% responsible, the plaintiff’s total compensation would be reduced by 30%. Different states follow different comparative negligence rules—some states use a pure comparative negligence system, while others follow a modified system that prevents plaintiffs from recovering damages if they are more than 50% or 51% at fault.
Tort
A tort is a civil wrongdoing, separate from criminal law, that causes harm to another person, leading to legal liability. Personal injury law is primarily based on tort law, where victims seek compensation for damages caused by another party’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct. Torts can be classified into three main categories: negligence-based torts (such as car accidents and slip-and-fall cases), intentional torts (such as assault or defamation), and strict liability torts (such as product liability claims where harm occurs regardless of fault). Understanding tort law is crucial in personal injury cases because it forms the legal basis for filing claims and seeking restitution.
Azari Law, LLC
3110 N Washington St Unit #105 Suite 2B, Rockville, MD 20850
Your Recovery Begins Here
While it may be tempting to pursue your case without assistance from a professional, it’s not recommended. It’s important that you at least initiate the process by having a professional review your claim and the specifics that surround it. Begin by researching area lawyers and taking advantage of the complimentary consultation offered by many. While the cost associated with legal counsel can leave many feeling apprehensive, a no-cost, no-obligation consultation can provide victims the ability to have their questions answered regarding the most appropriate way to move forward.
Our firm, Azari Law, LLC, has the necessary experience to guide accident victims during a time that may be incredibly challenging. We offer knowledgeable guidance and compassionate representation to clients who have suffered from unexpected injuries that have left them significantly impacted. With our assistance, we can help you to be prepared with the curveballs often associated with the legal process. Get started today by scheduling a free consultation with our Rockville personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.
