If you or a loved one were injured in a car accident anywhere in the state of Maryland, seeking legal counsel from our Waldorf car accident lawyers is the best way to start your claim. At Hardball Law, our Waldorf car accident lawyers are very experienced and have a long history of obtaining very favorable settlements and verdicts for MD accident and injury victims. Please click here to contact our injury attorneys serving all of Maryland. You can also listen to our Maryland Injury Attorney Podcast here.
If you’ve been injured by a distracted or negligent driver, you’re entitled to receive payment for the losses you’ve incurred. Due to the complex nature of filing and litigating a car accident claim, it’s important to have a skilled lawyer by your side throughout the process. They’ll ensure that you get the highest possible compensation for your injuries and related expenses.
Our Charles County car accident attorneys have decades of experience working on reckless and negligent driving cases just like yours. They’ve seen every kind of case imaginable, so you can be confident that they’ll be able to secure a fair payment for all the losses you’ve endured, including:
- Medical bills
- Rehabilitation expenses
- Lost wages
- Future earnings
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
Determining The Value Of Your Accident Claim
There are many factors our Waldorf, MD injury attorneys will need to consider to establish the full amount of your lawsuit. For starters they’ll collect as much evidence as possible, work with experts to determine the value of your claim, and prove that the offending driver caused your injuries. If needed, they will also recreate the accident as well as events leading up to the accident.
The documents and testimonies they collect will help them negotiate a fair settlement, or provide the jury with an accurate account of your accident if your case goes to trial. Here’s what your attorney will do to ensure your case is rock solid:
- Gather photo or video evidence: Your lawyer will start out by collecting any photos or videos of the accident scene. This type of evidence can significantly help your case if it goes to trial.
- Utilize police reports: If the police responded to your incident, they likely wrote up a report detailing what happened. Your lawyer will be able to get a copy of the report and use it to build your claim. If your case goes to court, a police statement can lend credibility to your side of the story.
- Interview eyewitnesses: If there were any witnesses to your accident, their testimony can help a great deal. Your attorney will interview them to gain more insight into what happened and call them to the witness stand if you end up taking the offending driver to court.
- Work with accident experts: Accident experts can help decode a crime scene by observing physical evidence like tire marks and property damage. Your lawyer can call on them to help prove that the driver’s actions caused the accident you were injured in.
Determining Liability
To win your case, we have to prove that the other driver was negligent. When drivers fail to fulfill their duty of care toward other drivers, accidents happen. The at-fault driver is then liable to pay damages.
Some common forms of negligent driving include:
- Drunk driving
- Reckless driving
- Drugged driving
- Speeding
- Fatigued driving
- Distracted driving
- Driving without insurance coverage
If you believe the at-fault driver was doing any of these things, speak with our Richmond car accident attorneys as soon as possible. You may have a strong case and could gain substantial compensation.
Let Our Waldorf Car Accident Lawyers Negotiate With The Insurance Carriers
With car accident injury cases, it’s common for the offending driver’s insurer to attempt to ambush the victim with a low-ball settlement offer. They’ll often call soon after the accident, before you’ve had time to speak with a lawyer, and try to trick you into accepting a settlement that doesn’t even begin to cover the losses you’ve incurred.
Luckiy, our car accident attorneys can review any settlement offers you receive and determine if they account for all the expenses you’ve been saddled with. They’ll also be able to negotiate with the insurer to get a settlement that works for you. If a fair settlement isn’t reached, your attorney is fully prepared to file a lawsuit for you.
If you’re worried that pursuing damages for your injury isn’t worth the cost of hiring a lawyer, we have some good news for you. Our car accident lawyers work on a contingency-fee basis, which means they take a portion of your settlement or jury-awarded compensation.
Contingency fee legal representation can be a great help to the economically disadvantaged or anyone who might have trouble affording skilled legal counsel. With contingency, you won’t have to pay a dime out of pocket for our legal services. Even if you lose your case, you won’t be charged a cent.
Auto Accidents Resulting In Wrongful Death
If you lost a loved one in a car accident, we offer our sincerest condolences. Our MD wrongful death attorneys know how hard it is to suddenly lose someone you love, especially when they were taken by the irresponsible actions of another. That’s why our attorneys are prepared to fight for you to receive the following wrongful death damages:
- Emotional distress
- Loss of the deceased’s income
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of companionship
According to Maryland law you have 3 years to file an auto accident, personal injury and or wrongful death lawsuit. Our Waldorf car accident lawyers will ensure all the necessary paperwork is filed on time so that you can focus on healing, recovering and getting your life back on track.
What To Do Following A MD Traffic Accident
There are several actions you can take after being involved in an auto accident that can help you when you’ll need to file a claim and recover damages for your injuries. If you’ve been hurt in a car accident, do your future self a favor by taking these measures:
Collect Evidence
If your injuries aren’t too debilitating, try to make a mental note of the makes and models of the cars involved, their positions, and any other details that might help during the investigation of the accident.
It’s important that you limit your interactions with the other driver to what’s necessary, like exchanging insurance information. At no time should you discuss who’s responsible, or apologize for what happened. Speaking about those matters is not advised because what you say could actually be used to shift blame from the other driver onto you.
Get Medical Care Immediately
Your health is the most important aspect of a car accident. Some injuries don’t present themselves right away, so it’s important to seek medical attention even if you don’t feel pain right after the crash. Make sure to save any bills or receipts from your treatment as they can be used to prove the severity of your injuries and determine how much you are owed for damages.
Contact The Police And Fill Out A Police Report
Make sure to contact law enforcement and calmly describe how the accident transpired. Having a police report during the claim process can help immensely.
Notify The Other Drivers Insurance Company
Even if the accident seems minor, contact their insurance company and brief them on the situation involving their policy holder. This will require you to obtain the driver’s policy number and the name of their agent, so remember to be thorough when exchanging insurance information.
Do Not Admit Fault Or Give A Recorded Statement
Maryland traffic laws, at fault laws and comparative negligence laws are unfair to many victims. The state uses a contributory negligence standard. This means that if the court thinks you’re even a tiny bit at fault for your accident, you cannot get damages in court.
The insurance companies know this and will try to find evidence to keep you out of court. You have far less negotiation power if this happens. Part of the job of our Waldorf injury attorneys is to fight against any claims that our clients shared fault in an accident.
Let our attorneys speak on your behalf and deal with the insurance companies. You may not share fault after all, but if you tell an insurer that you blame yourself for an accident, you could end up losing most or even all your potential compensation.
Maryland Car Accident Statistics
Like most states Maryland has passed many laws designed to keep Maryland roads, highways and interstates safe for motorists. These include impaired driving laws, texting-while-driving laws and others. While statistical data iterates a decrease in accidents, that doesn’t mean you’re immune from being injured, or killed, while operating a vehicle or being a passenger in Maryland. You never know who is driving distractedly or under the influence, which is why it’s important to be prepared for anything. Protect yourself by knowing what to do after an accident. The first step after an accident is getting medical care NO MATTER WHAT. From there contact a Waldorf, MD auto accident attorney.
Speak With Our Waldorf Car Accident Lawyers
If you or a loved one have been injured in a motor vehicle accident in the Waldorf, La Plata or Leonardtown, MD areas please connect with our Waldorf car accident lawyers immediately. They possess a wealth of experience in assisting our clients with their car accident claims and will work tirelessly to ensure you receive the benefits, medical care and financial compensation you deserve.
