Looking for a top-rated Maryland personal injury lawyer to guide you through your injury compensation or negligence claim? At Gelb & Gelb, our dedicated team excels in a wide range of personal injury cases, from car accidents to nightclub injuries, ensuring you receive the legal representation you deserve.
As a premier Maryland accident attorney, our office in Prince George’s County is renowned for managing various personal injury claims in Maryland and securing injury compensation for our clients. Our compassionate and dedicated staff has handled personal injury cases since its founding in 1954. While our Maryland personal injury lawyers most frequently handle car accident cases, we have experience dealing with medical malpractice, bike accidents, slip and falls, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. We understand that what makes the best injury attorney in Maryland is not as simple as an in-depth understanding of tort law, evidence, insurance, and civil procedure but compassion in interacting with our clients daily. When you come to us, you are injured and require guidance as you navigate this tricky process. We understand this and are here to make this process as smooth as possible.
From Bowie to Annapolis and beyond, Maryland has unique personal injury laws that make speaking to a Maryland personal injury lawyer essential. Our office of experienced Maryland attorneys provides special attention to accidents because of the, at times, complex nature of Maryland personal injury law. Additionally, the number of car crash fatalities in Maryland has risen substantially from 2022 to 2023 and onward through 2024. If you want individual attention for your specific issue, our consultations are always free.
This question is among the top search queries on Google when seeking legal representation for a negligence claim. It is a valid question. Who is the best Maryland personal injury lawyer? Ultimately, the answer is subjective, and no lawyer will be perfect. A lawyer who guarantees success or perfection acts unethically and should not be taken seriously. You want an experienced attorney who will provide superb communication and compassion and aggressively fight to obtain maximum compensation on your behalf.
It is impossible to say who the best personal injury lawyer in Maryland truly is. There is no objective measure to gauge the best in law. You may choose to look up lists ranking attorneys, but these generally involve self-ranking and are not indicative of actual skill. No attorney who has years of experience is undefeated in court. Below, we list the most critical factors in choosing legal representation in the hope that you will make the most informed decision.
With the abundance of personal injury attorneys in Maryland, it can be challenging to choose the right one. Here’s why Gelb & Gelb stands out as the best choice for anyone with a personal injury in Maryland.
The best Maryland personal injury lawyer has experience. While experience does not guarantee success, it is an important first step in finding the best Maryland injury attorney. A lawyer with experience understands the process. Experience gives an attorney the understanding of when to settle a case and when to file suit. An attorney lacking experience will not know when to push for a larger settlement versus when to accept a reasonable offer. Experience tells an attorney when and how to ask a judge for leniency in court. When selecting legal counsel, identify who has an abundance of experience handling your type of injury claim.
No matter the case, you want as many things to go your way as possible. A professional relationship with the judges in your jurisdiction can go a long way, whether in Clinton, College Park, or Hyattsville. This does not mean anyone has influence over a judge. Instead, this can be as simple as understanding the demeanor of a particular judge and what they prefer regarding courtroom demeanor. It takes experience to build a network, and both are critical pieces in being the best injury attorney in Maryland.
Additionally, time management comes with experience. As a newer attorney, you may spend more time researching a given issue than handling it based on experience. Experience often equates to efficiency. It tells an attorney where to focus their time. This ultimately benefits the client, handling her case faster and more effectively.
The best Maryland personal injury lawyer needs to have compassion. While it may not indicate whether someone has the best understanding of the black letter law, it will drastically improve the quality of your representation. A compassionate legal team understands the complex process you are going through as an accident victim and fights that much harder to provide you with excellent results. This also mitigates your stress and anxiety. After an accident, your emotional pain and suffering may be at record levels. A compassionate legal team will provide compassion and comfort to help get your life back on track.
Aggressive pursuit perfectly compliments compassionate representation towards a client. The best Maryland personal injury lawyer will aggressively pursue the defendant who caused unnecessary harm to his client. The insurance companies putting up the defense for the defendant are in business to maximize their profits. Their goal is not to preserve justice. That is our goal. Their goal is to minimize the payout to you on behalf of their client, the defendant. Getting them on the phone and via mail takes an uncompromising, aggressive pursuit. They are not in business to make great settlement offers. If they make a settlement offer, they may sell it as a good offer. But it takes an aggressive Maryland personal injury lawyer to understand the value of your case and aggressively pursue it.
More broadly, personal injury law is any civil tort claim relating to an injury suffered by a victim of negligent or intentional conduct. In general, personal injury law pertains to negligent action on the part of the tortfeasor. To be clear, negligent action is when a person does not maintain an ordinary duty of care. For example, in the classic car accident case, a negligent defendant driver fails to maintain proper vehicle control, leading to an accident. The key phrase here is that it is an accident or act of carelessness.
This can be distinguished from intentional conduct such as an assault or battery. There are other kinds of civil torts as well, such as common law trespass to land, trespass to chattel, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and conversion.
You should speak to a Maryland personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Once you receive immediate medical attention, if necessary, a personal injury attorney can help you navigate the early parts of the claims process. Moreover, our attorneys will set you up with doctors who can refer you to specialists as needed. The sooner after your injury, you seek legal counsel, the better. If you wait, it may hurt the value of your case. A jury who sees that you took two weeks to receive follow-up care from a doctor may believe you are not as severely injured as you let on.
There are a couple of ways to file suit in Maryland. These options are available even if you do not live in Maryland. This is an issue of personal jurisdiction. The first and most obvious way to get into Maryland court is when the accident occurs within the state. This rule applies even if none of the parties involved in the accident live in Maryland.
The second method to get into Maryland court is if the adverse driver lives in Maryland. This is true even if the injury occurred in D.C. or Virginia. Other exceptions require skilled effort by a Maryland personal injury lawyer. One such method is to serve the tortfeasor with the process when they are in Maryland. However, this is a limited exception and is fact-dependent. Additionally, you can file suit in a Maryland court if the tortfeasor consents, even if no other rules apply.
Personal Injury law firms differentiate themselves from most other fields of law by their fee structures. The complexity of the case and the lawyer’s experience on your case are not factors in the cost. Instead, our managing partner, Roger Gelb, is directly involved in every case at our firm. Many fields charge clients a flat rate or an hourly rate. However, this is not ideal for victims with less money. Theoretically, without a feasible tort system, tortfeasors could run rampant. Fortunately, our fee structure allows any tort victim to receive top-level legal counsel.
The personal injury fee structure is a contingent fee. This means you, as the victim, pay your attorney nothing upfront. There is no retainer. Instead, the lawyer takes money out of the recovery at the end of the case, and only if you win. If the plaintiff does win, the plaintiff’s attorney takes one-third of the recovery in a settlement. Your attorney will explain this to you in more detail during your consultation.
In Maryland, the statute of limitations is generally three years. You have three years from the accident date to file suit in a Maryland court. This may be different from simply filing a claim with one of the insurance companies involved in the accident.
This is a question our Maryland personal injury attorneys often receive. However, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. A multitude of factors come into play that may affect your recovery.
How much you will recover depends primarily on how substantial your injury is. The more severe your injury, the more you will recover. The law also considers how much pain you suffer due to your injury. For example, a broken rib will net you a more significant recovery than a fractured finger. Of course, this also depends on how much money is available. If the defendant has no assets or insurance, and you have no insurance, there is no source of recovery for your injury. However, if at least one of you has insurance, there should be a source of recovery. How much coverage is available under the policy also plays a decisive role in the value of your case.
Your recovery will be based, in part, on your medical expenses. If you have to go to the hospital and incur expensive bills, you are not responsible if we can prove that the other party negligently caused your injury. Your recovery will also be based on your lost wages, as well as your pain and suffering. There are several factors involved in calculating your pain and suffering. Accordingly, hiring a well-versed Maryland personal injury lawyer is especially important.
Our consultations are free. Due to the contingent basis of our fee structure, there is only a fee if we win your case. Thus, given that we cannot win from a mere consultation, there will never be a fee for the consultation. Moreover, because we do not charge hourly and instead have a flat rate dependent on your ultimate recovery, whether you get a free consultation will not affect your legal fee.
Our expertise extends beyond car accident cases; we’re skilled in navigating the complexities of Maryland negligence claims, ensuring victims receive just injury compensation. While most of the injuries we handle occur in Prince George’s County, our cases span throughout the state. From Camden Yards in Baltimore to Washington, DC’s Mount Vernon to Bethesda Row in Bethesda, our attorneys travel throughout the state to represent our clients. Below is a list of Maryland’s most common personal injury cases and the applicable law for each.
Car accidents are the quintessential personal injury case in Maryland, and we handle them most frequently. The applicable law for car accident cases in Maryland revolves around common law civil negligence.
Truck accidents are another prevalent type of personal injury case we handle. Like car accidents, negligence law governs truck accidents. Negligence is the most common cause of action in personal injury law.
Motorcycle accidents are the third most widespread personal injury cases we handle. However, they are less common than the two previous types of accidents. Due to the lack of safety technology available on a motorcycle, accidents can have fatal consequences. Negligence law governs motorcycle accidents.
A slip and fall is a form of premise liability. It generally relates to landlords or restaurants. As the name implies, this is a slipcase. If you push someone, then they are not slipping. Instead, they are falling forcefully to the ground. Negligence law governs slip and falls.
From Columbia’s busy streets to Annapolis’s scenic routes, our Maryland personal injury lawyers are committed to representing clients across the state. If you have any questions regarding something mentioned here or need assistance with injury compensation, contact us today for a free consultation.
5 Stars
By: Young L.
1634 I Street NW #350
Client Description: My issue was with an insurance company that stopped responding to my emails before my claims process was complete. I was referred to Gelb & Gelb, PC, and talked to Roger Gelb. After that, I did nothing but wait, and the dispute was settled in a way that the insurance agent surely would wish he had responded to my emails.
Rating: ★★★★★ 5 / 5 stars
Gelb & Gelb, P.C.
N/a
Copyright © 2024 Gelb & Gelb, P.C. All rights reserved.