Experienced College Park Personal Injury Lawyers: Your Guide to Legal Action
Our College Park personal injury lawyers have served the greater Maryland area since 1954. While College Park, MD, is best known nationwide for its Terrapins, it is also home to 35,000 Marylanders. Accordingly, we have enjoyed serving University of Maryland students and more permanent residents. As personal injury attorneys, we handle any accident that harms you due to negligence on the part of someone else. The most common examples include car accidents, bus accidents, truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and falls, and more. Though theoretically, it could be any negligent act that caused you harm. We also handle intentional acts such as assault, battery, conversion, and trespass.
Insurance generally does not cover the defendant for an intentional act unless force is authorized in the scope of employment, such as for a bouncer. Of course, there are other narrow exceptions. Suppose you are trying to decide whether to hire a College Park personal injury lawyer to assist you with your accident. In that case, this article will clarify handling at least the beginning of the process. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation.
Seek Medical Attention
You almost always want to take care of yourself first after a personal injury. Whether it is after a car accident or an assault by a bouncer, make sure you receive immediate treatment if necessary. You should notice this step; no matter what kind of accident you are in, it is imperative.
If you are in a car accident, please ensure your car is safe and away from oncoming traffic. Sometimes, drivers, after a car accident, tend to be afraid to move their vehicles. This is understandable because you may not want to disturb what could be a crime scene. Still, it is imperative to remove yourself from danger if you are around a corner and oncoming drivers from either side cannot see you. This step should be performed before contacting a College Park personal injury lawyer.
Collect Evidence
Next, you should collect information. This step is recommended by top personal injury attorneys in College Park. The more information you obtain from the outset, the more your College Park personal injury lawyer will have to go off of when evaluating your case. This includes the negligent driver’s name, phone number, and insurance information. Note that you should also try to take a picture of the person’s driver’s license. This is critical because this is the person we are suing. While we will likely deal with the driver’s insurance, they only involve themselves because of their insurance contract. But in fact, we are suing the driver himself.
Also, you’ll need to take pictures and document the scene. Take a picture of anything unusual that may have been important from your accident. This may include an obstacle in the road that contributed to the accident. Anything that might be useful for your attorney later down the line.
What about if the adverse driver will not share information with you or speeds off? If the driver who hit you refuses to give you the necessary information, take a picture of his license plate. While this is not always enough to know who was driving, our College Park personal injury lawyers can determine to whom the car is registered.
Consult with a College Park Lawyer
Handling a personal injury case in College Park can be a tricky process. This is especially true if you are away at college and need someone to rely on. Fortunately, we have been in Washington, DC, and Maryland for nearly 70 years and have plenty of experience dealing with these cases. We understand that excellent representation includes a thorough understanding of tort law and civil procedure and a compassionate understanding of what our clients are going through. We will fight to ensure you have someone on your side.
Why Choose Gelb & Gelb, P.C. for Your College Park Personal Injury Case
We have been providing trusted representation and personalized legal strategies to clients in College Park and throughout Prince George’s County for over 70 years. When selecting a personal injury lawyer, you have countless options for law firms in College Park. While there will be many who will get you a decent recovery, specific characteristics should stand out to you as you select a firm. These three key characteristics are experiencing, putting the client first, and aggressively pursuing fair compensation.
Decades of Experience
Our attorneys have practiced personal injury law in College Park for nearly 70 years. Experience in personal injury law is essential. A novice attorney, especially one with little mentorship from older lawyers at his or her firm, will consistently face challenges and risk missing important deadlines. Personal injury law and dealing with insurance companies can be immensely complex. Insurance companies are not in business to make payments. On the contrary, they want to pay out settlements and judgments as infrequently as possible.
A seasoned College Park injury attorney with experience must fight for a successful recovery. An attorney with experience also knows that demanding a certain amount that the defense rejects to offer might later serve you down the line. There are quirks in the law that can be leveraged to your benefit. An injury lawyer with less experience may not be privy to these tricks.
Client-Centric Approach
At Gelb & Gelb, P.C., our College Park personal injury lawyers put our clients first. This is important for several reasons. Instead, clients going through a personal injury case have enough stress. Your goal is to get your life back on track. We understand this. The last thing you need is poor legal representation, adding to your stress. Thus, we aim to destress and demystify the process as much as possible. This way, you can focus on your medical recovery and getting back to work or school. Second, if you have any questions, you need them answered quickly. Certain situations in a personal injury case require a speedy response. With timeliness in certain things like motions or filing suit before the statute of limitations, your case can continue before it begins.
This is why we emphasize putting clients and your needs first. The first way we do this is by promptly responding and answering all calls and messages. While it might sound inconsequential and mundane, it is critically important for the reasons above. We can answer any questions by getting back to you as soon as possible. You no longer have to go through the legal process if unsure of the next steps. If you have any legal questions, you will have no problems contacting your attorney seven days a week.
Aggressive Pursuit
Aggressive pursuit is a critical characteristic of any personal injury case. As a plaintiff in a civil case, the defendant is under no obligation to pursue him or herself. It is our job to be the aggressors. Thus, seeking injury attorneys in College Park means finding one who can display aggression. At Gelb & Gelb, P.C., Managing Partner Roger Gelb leads a team of aggressive attorneys and paralegals. While insurance companies have no interest in paying you for your injuries, we take it upon ourselves to leave no stone unturned in our investigation of your case.
In building the most robust possible case, we will interview witnesses, hire expert witnesses when necessary, and push the insurance company so that you recover the compensation you deserve. Insurance companies are notorious for dodging calls during settlement negotiations and delaying the process as long as possible. While they know this will not shake off the average personal injury lawyer, it does delay them having to make a payment. But it would be best if you did not have to wait. Our aggressive pursuit of the defendant will increase your odds of getting your recovery as soon as possible.
Common Injuries in a College Park Personal Injury Case
In general, any injury related to your negligence or intentional conduct cause of action is compensable under tort law. Below is a list of our cases’ five most common personal injuries. If you have any of these injuries due to the conduct of a third party, you can contact a College Park personal injury lawyer today for a free consultation.
Whiplash
Whiplash occurs when your head is thrown forward and then forward forcefully. As a result, pain in the neck occurs. Physical therapists treat these injuries for two to three months, on average. Negligence law governs these types of injuries.
Traumatic brain injury
This is the most severe of the typical personal injuries we encounter. Although, of course, injuries can range anywhere from somewhat mild to life-threatening and painful. The underlying problem with a traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) is it can have long-lasting impacts. Of course, if this is the case, we will ensure this is accounted for in your recovery. The law that governs this is also negligence law. However, intentional torts like assault and battery can also play a role here.
Spinal Cord Injury
While this can relate to whiplash, it also generally covers back pain. Along with neck pain, spinal cord injuries and prevalent soft tissue injuries in your back are commonplace in personal injury cases. Whether from a car accident, truck accident, or some other motor vehicle, spines have a lot of nerves that are vital to your health. An injury to your spinal cord is something to look out for if you are unfortunate enough to be in an accident. The law that governs this is civil negligence law.
Broken Bones
Broken bones are the least common out of these five injuries we are featuring, but it is worth highlighting due to its unique compensation structure. Unlike a spinal cord injury or a whiplash/neck injury, a broken bone is not going to benefit from physical therapy much of the time. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions. But, your damages are unique for the broken bones that do not benefit from treatment. A broken bone might be more painful than a neck or back injury.
And yet, you are receiving less medical treatment and thus will need less compensation for medical expenses. Fortunately, you may still receive compensation for your injury. We do so by increasing our demand for your pain and suffering. This is the umbrella category for the noneconomic damages you suffer due to your injury. The law that governs this is negligence law. Contact a College Park personal injury lawyer today if you suffer a broken bone.
Lacerations
Lacerations are deep cuts that can cause permanent damage and scarring. These are very common in personal injury cases. A multitude of accidents or intentional conduct can cause them. Deliberate conduct that causes a laceration may include knife attacks, attacking with some other sharp weapon, or even a fist. Meanwhile, lacerations can also occur from dog bites or even motor vehicle accidents. The law that governs these injuries is negligence or intentional torts like civil assault or battery.
How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?
Our firm operates on a contingent fee basis. We only charge our clients a fee if we win your case. So, there is no retainer fee and no fee for our consultation. Additionally, we do not bill by the hour. If there are costs associated with your case, we advance them on your behalf. And you will never have to worry about paying them if we are unsuccessful on your claim. However, if we win your case, you are ultimately responsible for these costs.
Typical costs, which are standard in personal injury law, include filing fees for the court, postage, expert witness costs if applicable, etc. If we can settle your case before filing suit, our fee is one-third of the recovery. But, if we take your case to trial, our fee bumps up to 40% to litigate the case.
Types of Damages
If you successfully prove the liability aspect of your personal injury case, you may move on to damages. As a disclaimer, just because you prove damages does not mean you can recover them. This is one instance when the value of a College Park personal injury lawyer comes into play. There may be multiple defendants that we can name in your case. Also, you can claim with your insurance provider. Nevertheless, below is a list of the types of damages recoverable in a typical case.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are damages that you incur as a result of your accident. They should be precisely quantifiable. Meaning that if you receive a bill from a medical provider, that bill is precise. It may be for $10,000. In that instance, you should receive compensation from the tortfeasor for $10,000. This differs from noneconomic damages below. Medical expenses are a classic example of economic damage.
Other examples of economic damages include lost wages and property damage. Lost wages include income that you would have earned but for your injury, prohibiting you from being able to work. For example, if you work in construction and injure your back, your doctor may excuse you from working. Of course, there are other examples, but that one is clear and should get no objections from the defense team. Moreover, if you have a bag of golf clubs in the trunk of your car in a car accident and they are destroyed, you may receive compensation for those, too. This is a form of property damage as economic damage.
Noneconomic Damages
A plaintiff receives noneconomic damages for pain and suffering due to their injuries. For example, if you fracture three ribs in your personal injury accident, you may not need extensive medical care. Broken ribs merely take time to heal on their own. However, it can also be an excruciating injury. Fortunately, the law provides you compensation for this pain. For example, how much money you will recover for one broken rib depends more on the jury pool and the county in which we file suit.
Process of Filing a Personal Injury Claim
The process of filing a personal injury claim is simple. However, we only get to this point once we determine that the defendant will not agree to terms for a reasonable settlement. This can be for several reasons. Most commonly, they deny liability, or we cannot agree on damages.
So, if we file your claim, we start by filing the complaint and serving the summons on the defendant. We have service processors that handle service on our behalf. The serving process is more complex than it seems and often needs to be done in person. For many reasons, using a reputable company to handle this is best. Then, after several months, we get to trial. Of course, we will spend time building our case between filing our complaint and bringing it to trial. In addition to going through the discovery process and filing preliminary motions, we may need to prep witnesses and hire expert witnesses. Then, the typical personal injury case in College Park is about two days, though this can vary.
Afterwards, we receive a judgment. Then, there may be an appeals process. Regardless of whether there is an appeals process, actually receiving money from the defendant is not always instant. But, once we have a judgment from a court, it should be only a matter of time. Of course, the defendant files for bankruptcy in some instances, but this is unusual.
Contact a College Park Personal Injury Lawyer Today
Call a College Park personal injury lawyer today for a free consultation if you have recently been injured due to someone else’s negligence.