Maryland Car Accident Attorney

When you’re the victim of a car accident, the resulting effects can be life-altering. Your injuries, whether they’re temporary or permanent, could prevent you from working in the field of your expertise now and in the future. Your medical bills could be insurmountable, particularly if you lack adequate health care coverage. You could also experience prolonged pain and suffering and even loss of companionship, forever changing the life you were expecting to lead. The good news is that a Maryland car accident attorney can answer your most pressing questions and fight for your right to the largest settlement allowable given the circumstances of your case. Your attorney will examine each aspect of your auto accident lawsuit in order to build a strong case, potentially even fetching you a sizable monetary award before your trial begins.

If you are looking for information or representation regarding a different kind of motor vehicle accident (truck, bus, motorcycle, etc.) in Maryland, click here now.

Predicting Settlement Values in Maryland Accident Cases

Predicting the value of a settlement in any personal injury case, including ones involving a car crash, can be extremely difficult. In fact, even the most experienced Maryland auto accident lawyers will only be able to arrive at a rough initial estimate due to the fact that there are so many factors in play, including ones that will be examined by a jury, the defendant’s insurance company or both. Juries use human reasoning, logic and the guidance of a judge in order to assess these factors, while insurance companies use standardized software and formulas in order to do the same.

Despite the difficulty of predicting a monetary award, it’s possible to look at existing data in order to get an idea of what to expect. On average, 69% of personal injury lawsuits filed in Maryland fall in favor of the plaintiff, with an average award of just under $13,000. Specifically, the average award for car accident cases is slightly lower at $12,000, though an impressive 83% of plaintiffs win their cases. Medical malpractice cases in Maryland, by comparison, are on average with a mean settlement award exceeding $800,000. However, only 8% of plaintiffs win in these specific cases, counting only those cases that are not settled prior to a trial.

Depending on the circumstances of your case, your settlement could be several times higher than the $12,000 average, particularly if you hire an experienced Maryland car accident lawyer to work on your case. Your attorney will carefully consider all pre-trial offers submitted by an insurance company in order to determine whether to accept the offer or bring the case to court.

Crucial Factors that Affect Car Accident Settlements

Every auto accident case is completely unique from the next, another reason why your final settlement award could differ greatly from Maryland’s $12,000 average. Given that the jury agrees with your case, the actual amount of money you receive will depend on many circumstances of your case, as determined by the jury or the insurance company. Note that if your case never goes to trial, your settlement amount will be based totally on negotiations between your car accident attorney and the defendant’s insurance company.

Some of the factors that a jury will be instructed to look at when determining the value of your settlement can include the following, in no particular order:

  • The strength of the plaintiff’s (the victim filing suit) liability case
  • Whether the accident was avoidable by either the plaintiff or the defendant
  • Whether intoxicants such as drugs and alcohol were at play in the accident
  • The severity of the crash and your resulting injuries (for example, if it was a rollover accident)
  • Whether the car accident was fatal
  • The pain and suffering you endure following the accident
  • Any damage caused to the vehicle(s) by the accident
  • Any defensive arguments that could be asserted by the defendant’s lawyer
  • How easily your attorney can refute these arguments
  • The credibility of any individuals who witnessed the crash (and whether there were witnesses at all)
  • How the jury perceives the credibility of you and the defendant (for example, if the defendant was a teen driver)

In Maryland, juries are not given knowledge of whether or not the defendant has an insurance policy that could contribute money toward a settlement.

One additional factor that will influence the size of your settlement is the location of your scheduled trial. On average, trials held in urban areas like Baltimore City and Prince George’s County result in bigger settlements than ones in rural areas likes Wicomico County and Baltimore County.

The Influence of Insurance Companies on Accident Settlement Values

Before your case even goes to trial, the defendant’s insurance company will typically submit an initial settlement offer to you and/or your Maryland car accident attorney. This offer is typically very small, and often inflates by roughly 2,000% by the time a trial actually occurs. Throughout the entire legal process, the insurance company will assess the following factors using software in order to determine the value of your settlement award:

  • The location of the accident and the trial
  • Any information submitted by your attorney
  • Medical records referring to the injuries you sustained in the crash
  • The accident’s severity
  • The wages you lost stemming from the crash, as well as wages you may lose in the future

It’s important to remember that juries account for pain and suffering, while insurance companies minimize pain and suffering. With the help of a qualified, experienced Maryland auto accident lawyer who will take your case to trial in the absence of a fair offer from the insurance company, this can spell the difference between a smaller settlement that only covers your medical bills and a massive settlement that will restore some level of normalcy to your life.

Finally, the insurance company’s software will look up whether you have retained representation from an experienced Maryland car accident attorney. The insurance company may also examine whether your lawyer tends to settle in or out of court, and the types of settlement values he or she has retrieved for clients in the past. If the insurance company finds that your attorney is confident taking a case trial in order to achieve the largest award possible, this may have an effect on the settlement negotiations.