Car Accidents

Single page“They came out of nowhere.”

“I didn’t know what hit us.”

“My car is totaled. Now what?”

No one plans to get in an auto accident. No one plans to be critically injured or killed in an auto accident. According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel, more than 37,000 people die in auto accidents every year while another 2.35 million are injured or disabled. What’s more, auto accidents cost more than $230.6 billion every year in the U.S. alone. The best way to recoup your share of those costs is to enlist the help of a qualified attorney who can prove the other party was negligent in causing the accident.

What is negligence?

According to the American Bar Association, a person is considered liable, or at fault, when they have been negligent in their actions. This means they did not set out to cause an accident or injury but were careless or thoughtless in what they did. In the case of auto accidents, every person who gets behind the wheel has a responsibility to act reasonably to not cause injury to themselves or someone else. If a person does something outside of what the law considers reasonable and causes an accident, they can be found negligent in an auto accident case. For instance, if a person texts while they drive and runs a red light, hitting a car in the process, they are likely to be found negligent because they were texting while they drove.

If I was partially at fault in an accident, can I still sue for damages?

Maryland is one of few states in the country to have a “contributory negligence” clause in their laws. This means that if a person is injured and has even a small amount of fault in the accident, he/she cannot receive compensation for any damages they have received. Unfortunately, contributory negligence favors the person who is negligent rather than the victim, but it is not something that is impossible to overcome. A skilled attorney, with experience handling auto accidents, can often show that the victim’s actions were reasonable under the circumstances and did not amount to contributing fault in causing the accident. The victim can then pursue the negligent party for compensation for disability, injury, lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering.

My insurance company offered me a settlement, do I have to take it?

No. Insurance companies often want to settle a case as quickly as possible, for as little money as possible. Often the physical effects of an auto accident take months, and sometimes years, to overcome. Once you accept a settlement from the insurance company, the case is closed, and it is no longer possible to take legal action to recoup any additional money for medical expenses or lost time at work. If you have been involved in an auto accident, before you accept money from an insurance company, call Orshan Legal Group LLC to discuss your case. Orshan will not only personally discuss the details of your accident, but he will also help you decide whether or not you should pursue further legal action.