Our Hyattsville personal injury lawyers have been practicing injury law in Hyattsville and the greater Maryland area since 1954. The fee structure we operate on is simple. Our fee is one-third of the gross recovery if we settle your case before filing suit. If we file suit and win your case, our fee increases to 40% of the recovery. But, if we do not take any fee in your case, we won’t be able to take any fee. So, there is no cost for a consultation because we will not have had the chance to win your case. Moreover, we do not bill clients by the hour. This enables clients to ask as many questions as they feel appropriate.
The chances of winning your case will be different depending on several factors. Remember, unless the defense is willing to admit liability, the burden is on us, the plaintiff, to prove that the defendant is liable for your injuries. This involves going through the steps and establishing each element of a given cause of action. For a negligence cause of action, for example, we must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that there is a duty, breach, causation, and damages. The likelihood of winning your case is only as good as the odds of proving the most challenging element. Of course, hiring excellent legal counsel will only bolster your chances of winning on the merits.
One thing to consider is that your chances of winning your case are never 100%. While you may not be pleased with a given settlement offer, the nice thing about settling a case is knowing you will win. It simply becomes a matter of how much your case is worth. This, too, is an opportunity for a Hyattsville personal injury lawyer to make a meaningful impact on your case. The amount you get as an offer of settlement depends significantly on the skill level of your attorney. In calculating your damages, you may have a different idea of a win. Fortunately, we have a strong understanding of what makes up the value of a case. In the next section, we summarize a case’s worth.
The graph above provides a simple breakdown of where you can expect compensation. All bubbles above, except for the punitive damages in the bottom right, represent compensatory damages. This means each dollar you get is intended to compensate you somehow. So, it should be proportional. For example, for the hospital bills, if you have $30,000 in hospital bills, you have a legitimate claim to $30,000, plus whatever other damages you incur due to your injuries. The way the graphic above is broken down is the very general way in which any evaluator of claims would analyze your claim. In theory, each bubble has the potential to be compensable.
Economic damages are quantifiable damages you incur or are reasonably sure you will incur due to your accident or injury. A future expense, like a future medical expense, is for the continuous care for an injury. For example, you may be permanently and irreparably paralyzed due to a truck accident. You will likely need someone to live with you for the rest of your life to care for you. The law provides you compensation, so you do not have to pay this expense yourself. This is not a benefit. Instead, it is meant to bring you back to the whole. Of course, no amount of money will make you feel whole if you have paralysis. But, this is the civil legal system’s imperfect solution.
You also should receive compensation for past medical expenses. In addition to hospital bills, this can include any reasonable medical treatment, such as physical therapy from a chiropractor to treat neck or back pain. This category includes ambulance fees and anything related to your medical treatment.
A second category of economic damages is lost wages. Suppose you cannot work due to a personal injury caused by a third party’s negligent or intentional conduct. In that case, you should not lose the ability to support yourself or your family. The rules for this basis of recovery are strict, but with proper adherence, you can make a wage loss claim. Most importantly, a doctor must excuse the time you miss from work and causally relate it to the accident. That is arguably the most crucial part. Unfortunately, some personal injury victims miss work and then later claim wage loss. But if it is not excused by a doctor who is willing to testify in court, then you may be out of luck on that part of the claim.
In the graphic, noneconomic damages represent the third column. But noneconomic damages are not limited to the bubbles you see above. The most general category is pain and suffering damages. This is a compensation award you should receive based on the pain you suffer due to your injury. For example, if you break three ribs, there is not much a doctor or physical therapist can do to treat you. But, the law still looks to compensate you for such a painful injury. Because three broken ribs are, in general, more painful than a sore lower back, you should receive more pain and suffer damage.
Punitive damages are a form of noneconomic damages. In Hyattsville, courts award punitive damages for intentional conduct that leads to injury. This is a rule throughout Maryland and in the District of Columbia. While rare in personal injury cases, they do become available often in nightclub assaults and batteries. This is due to the aggressive nature of patrons in bars and clubs. Punitive damages act as a multiplier of the compensatory damages. So, while they are technically a form of noneconomic damages, they act based on the rest. In other words, after combining the total number of compensatory damages, let’s say that number is $100,000; the amount in punitive damages can be anywhere from $1 to $900,000. According to the United States Supreme Court, the maximum amount of punitive damages a court should award is up to nine times the amount of compensatory damages.
There are many reasons why you should hire a Hyattsville personal injury lawyer. An injury lawyer and his supporting staff can guide you through a complex process, assist you in avoiding common pitfalls that damage your case, and increase your ultimate compensation. First, there are several essential deadlines you want to attend. Missing one of these deadlines can exclude you under your insurance policy from being able to redeem something like personal injury protection. This, for example, is a form of coverage that you generally must apply for within 60 days. Otherwise, you waive the right to request it under your policy. Other rules that may apply depending on the jurisdiction you are in.
For example, even if the motor vehicle accident occurs in Hyattsville, but you are a Washington, D.C. resident, waiving or accepting personal injury protection benefits can affect your bodily injury recovery. This is all to say that personal injury law can be complex, especially with insurance law. Having guidance from an experienced Hyattsville accident attorney can help ensure you avoid falling into these common mistakes.
Having a responsive lawyer when looking for the best injury attorney in Hyattsville would be best. An attorney can have as much legal knowledge as possible, but the legal representation will be inadequate if they lack proper communication skills with clients. Responsiveness by an attorney allows for adaptability to changes. Many elements of your personal injury case are dynamic. Legal situations can change rapidly. When new information presents itself, sometimes, quick action is necessary. An attorney you need help getting in touch with will inevitably miss an important deadline and make a mistake on your case.
Our staff and lawyers pride themselves on being responsive. We know this is a crucial aspect of our legal service. But beyond responsiveness serving the client directly, it also serves the client indirectly when the lawyer is responsive to opposing counsel. Being prompt in settlement negotiation or other aspects of your claim can, at the least, get money in your pocket faster. At the most, it can increase the monetary value of your case.
Experience is vital for a personal injury lawyer to be able to best serve you. From negotiation experience to trial experience, everyone improves by making many mistakes over years of a long career. No one is great at a job right when they start. An experienced legal counsel directly benefits clients. As a client in a personal injury case, it is expected to have many questions. It requires a lawyer with experience to be able to answer these questions. All lawyers learn the law in law school and have enough knowledge to pass the bar. But the bar tests on only a few state-specific laws. Becoming familiar with Maryland statutes, case precedents, and legal procedures takes years of practice.
This means an experienced lawyer understands how previous rulings and caselaw may impact current cases. This awareness can enable the lawyer to craft stronger arguments and strategies for your case. Experience also allows a Hyattsville personal injury lawyer to anticipate your needs better. Our lawyers have handled over 10,000 cases. Given this experience, we know what you need before you let us know. So then, we can anticipate these needs and give you informed advice to help you make decisions that align with your interests.
Reputation goes hand-in-hand with experience. It takes decades of experience to build up a strong reputation. A strong reputation can lead to positive relationships with judges, opposing counsel, insurance companies, and anyone else our lawyers interact with daily. Ultimately, these relationships have direct impacts on clients. A strong reputation is something clients generally are willing to pay top dollar for. And it typically justifies a more significant legal fee. One naturally wants to spare no expense for something as serious as a personal injury. The difference between a lawyer with a stellar reputation and a lawyer with no reputation or even a negative one can make all the difference in your case. Fortunately, our legal fee is the same as almost any other personal injury lawyer in the country.
If you are partially at fault for your accident, you may be unable to make a claim. In tort law in Hyattsville and all of Maryland, the defendant can raise a contributory negligence defense if you are even 1% negligent in causing your injury. For example, if you slip and injure yourself due to a spill someone else created in a slip and fall accident, you may have a valid claim against the person who caused the hazard and maybe even the store or restaurant. However, if the spill is so apparent that you would have to be negligent not to see it, you cannot make a claim.
You do have a duty to watch where you are going. You cannot be careless, perhaps on your phone, and walk directly into a hazard. For example, the classic slip and fall case works if it is water because it is harder to detect for a reasonable person. Thus, there is no breach of the duty of care or contributory negligence.
So, you are generally unable to claim personal injuries if you are partially at fault if you are filing suit in Maryland. But there are exceptions. There is something known as the humanitarian doctrine. This recognizes that the defendant is liable if he or she had a last clear chance to avoid the accident and failed to do so.
Call our office today for a free consultation if the party’s negligent or intentional conduct caused you to be injured due to another.
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