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Appealing a Maryland truck accident case becomes necessary when the trial court and you do not get the compensation you deserve. However, this does not mean you can simply appeal the trial court decision because you disagree with the result. There must be legitimate grounds for appealing the decision to make it to the appellate level. We will cover legitimate grounds for appealing a case below. If you wish to appeal your trial court decision, you may have a limited time to act. Your case deserves to be appealed if there was a legitimate error at the trial level. A serious truck accident in Maryland can permanently alter your life.
To lose a case you should have won can take things from bad to worse. But an appeal is not the same thing as starting over. Courts have finite resources. And you do not get unlimited chances to try your case.
If your former attorney made a mistake due to negligence, you may have a legal malpractice claim, distinct from appealing a Maryland truck accident case. Our goal is to get you the most compensation possible. If you lost at the trial level, we will explore all options. It is possible that no procedural mistake was made at trial. However, maybe your first attorney missed a deadline to file. If that is the case, we can file a malpractice lawsuit against them for legal malpractice. But what if there is a mistake at trial? What are your options? Below, our Maryland truck accident lawyers detail what happens during the appeals process, why it is more complex than a jury or bench trial, the grounds for appeals, and any applicable deadlines.
Note that appealing a Maryland truck accident case is distinct from a trial. At the trial level, the judge or jury evaluates the facts of the case and comes to a conclusion based on some subjectivity. They evaluate the credibility of witness testimony, analyze photographs, and listen to expert witnesses. This does not happen at the appellate level. Instead, the appellate level consists of a panel of three judges. But before we get in front of the appellate panel, we first file the notice of appeal. We must do this within the requisite time frame. In Maryland, you typically have just 30 days (RULE 7-106). Thus, you must act quickly to preserve your right to justice. Then, we prepare the trial record. Note that we generally cannot introduce new evidence at the appellate level, for that is not the purpose of an appeal.
An appeal is a review of the trial record to see if there was a mistake of law. There is no fact finder at the appellate level. We generally have to make do with what we have. We prepare an appellate brief to prepare for an appeal in a Maryland truck accident case. The appellant argues why the trial court’s decision was incorrect based on legal errors, while the appellee (the opposing party) defends the verdict. The brief condenses any applicable caselaw for the judges. Then, our Maryland truck accident attorneys present oral arguments before the appellate judges to further clarify their positions. You should not have to testify at the appellate level because we cannot introduce new evidence. Instead, we use the record from trial and any depositions.
It is not enough that you disagree with the decision at the trial level. Instead, appealing a Maryland truck accident case requires a mistake as a matter of law. Additionally, you can only appeal a final judgment. Thus, you cannot start an appeal until after your trial. Below, we examine a few possible grounds to appeal a Maryland truck accident case.
Several possible legal errors may be made during trial. For example, the judge may provide improper jury instructions to the jury. This is not to be confused with when you disagree with the jury’s decision. The Seventh Amendment places great constraints on a court’s authority to overturn factual findings made by a jury. However, if the judge incorrectly instructed a jury on how to evaluate facts, that may be enough for the appeals court to grant certiorari. Probably the most common legal error during trial that gets raised on appeal is an incorrect application of the law. This is when a strong appellate brief and oral argument by a qualified Maryland truck accident lawyer can be decisive in overturning the trial court’s decision.
Behind an incorrect application of the law, the seecond most common appeal is when there is an improper admission or exclusion of evidence. Then, we must also convince the court that the evidence is material to the outcome of your case. When the trial judge improperly excludes or admits evidence, such as a police report, witness testimony, or an expert opinion, and your trial lawyer objected to that admission or exclusion, you may be able to raise the issue on appeal. If your trial lawyer did not object to the mistake, it may be too late for an appeal in a Maryland truck accident case, leaving you only to make a legal malpractice claim. If your trial truck accident attorney did behave negligently at trial, this may be a viable option and one we can help you with.
A procedural mistake may also lead to appealing a Maryland truck accident case. In our experience, procedural mistakes are less commonly appealed than a legal error. One example of a procedural error is during voir dire. Voir dire is jury selection. Generally, there is only a jury instead of a bench trial in Maryland in larger cases, meaning those that exceed $30,000. If jurors were improperly excluded or included in a way that violated legal standards, the fairness of the trial could be questioned.
An abuse of discretion is another procedural mistake you may appeal for. It is notoriously difficult for an appeals court to reverse on an abuse of discretion standard given the amount of deference given to the trial judge who actually witnessed the trial. However, if the trial judge fails to consider the various options available, fails to consider relevant factors, or considers irrelevant factors, the court of appeals will reverse the decision and may remand to the trial court.
This is a difficult burden to meet when you wish to appeal a Maryland truck accident decision. The trial court receives substantial, though not total deference in some instances. However, for a question of fact, the trial court should receive minimal deference. The standard of review for an issue of fact is clearly erroneous. “A finding is ‘clearly erroneous’ when although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.”
Appealing a Maryland truck accident case can be a complex process. However, due to the short 30-day period you have, you must act quickly to preserve your right of appeal. Contact our office today for a free case consultation at (202) 331-7227 to speak with one of our experienced Maryland accident attorneys.
Copyright © 2025 Gelb & Gelb, P.C. All rights reserved.