When you are in a car accident, it is reasonable to wonder what the highest settlement could be for a Maryland car accident. The theoretical answer to this question tends to be drastically different from the practical answer. In theory, you are entitled to receive compensation for all reasonable damages causally related to the car accident. However, there is not always enough car insurance to cover those damages. Further, even with insufficient coverage, it may be worthwhile to consider filing suit against the individual regardless of insufficient coverage. However, this is rarely fruitful and can cost a plaintiff more money than they may recover via a judgment. Suppose that you are in a car accident where your damages are $10 million. In this example, perhaps you have $1.5 million in medical expenses and lost wages.
Then, you have an additional $2 million in future medical expenses to cover your required nursing care because you can no longer care for yourself. Next, let’s suppose we go to trial, and a jury evaluates your loss of enjoyment of life, and ongoing pain is worth $7 million. This may sound like you are on your way to a big payday. We just won a $10 million verdict, and there are no appealable issues that the defendant can cling to to drag the case out. While this sounds great, it does not mean you will walk away with $10 million. Unfortunately, very few defendants have that much money. Even larger defendants max out at about $1 million in coverage. However, if you get into a Maryland car wreck with a defendant like Amazon, we can go beyond their insurance policy and recover from the defendant directly.
This is the primary way of recovering the highest settlement for a Maryland car accident.
Factors Influencing Settlement Amounts in Maryland Car Accidents
Several factors influence settlement amounts in Maryland car accidents. We start any evaluation with liability. The clearer the liability is and the more evidence we have to support our claim, the more aggressive we can be in any settlement negotiation. In larger cases, we start by asking the defendant what their insurance policy limits are. For example, if you have a $75,000 hospital bill, we will immediately ask this question of the defendant’s insurer. Many auto insurance policies in Maryland do not exceed $30,000 per person, as that is the minimum amount. Thus, we then know to look for other sources of recovery, such as your own policy. Under your policy, we can make an underinsured claim. We then look at many other factors.
The Importance of Liability and Insurance Policy Limits in Determining Settlements
The next most important factor to consider is the severity of your injuries. Not only does this relate directly to any general damages such as pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, but it correlates with your medical expenses and lost wages. A case with life-threatening injuries that put a claimant into a two-year coma, of course, should settle for more than a case with only minor bumps and bruises. Of course, one can only settle a case for as much money as is available.
Nonetheless, the severity of the injury is a significant factor. Then, a factor that relates to your injury’s severity is medical expenses. If you treat for several months in physical therapy and require follow-up care or prescription medications for the rest of your life, that cost should be accounted for. A note about prescription medications is that your health insurance covers them. However, if you recover against the defendant, your health insurer may place a lien on that recovery and be entitled to a share, which will be paid back under law.
For the vast majority of cases, insurance limits set the highest settlement amount for a Maryland car accident. It is only the choice defendants who we can sue that have sufficient assets to cover your damages in a severe accident.
Understanding Settlements Versus Judgments
The highest examples of Maryland car accident settlements will not be as high as the largest verdicts or judgments. The reason for this is clear. A defendant only settles for a couple of reasons. The first and most obvious reason is to avoid negative publicity. The second reason, which is pertinent here, is to mitigate risk. A defendant may know the case against them is worth $5 million. The plaintiff wants to recover exactly that amount but understands there is a degree of risk in going to trial. Thus, the plaintiff may be willing to settle the case for $4 million despite the case being worth about $5 million.
Examples of High Maryland Car Accident Settlements
The highest car accident settlement we have successfully resolved in Maryland is $2 million. Our client knew that the case may be worth more, less, or nothing if the jury dislikes the client for whatever reason. That is part of the unpredictability of trials. This case may have been worth significantly more in a state like South Carolina, where the personal injury laws differ from Maryland’s. In Maryland, even the county where it happens affects the case’s value. When we settle a case, we must consider how a jury would evaluate you as a plaintiff. For example, if you are an out-of-state claimant, a jury tends to favor an in-state defendant. In the $2 million case referenced earlier, that was an in-state plaintiff. However, if the defendant was from outside Maryland, the case may have been worth more to a jury.
Why Hiring an Experienced Attorney Maximizes Settlement Potential
Hiring an experienced and skilled attorney maximizes settlement potential for several reasons. First, a good attorney knows how to negotiate effectively. This starts with an understanding of how to value a case. By understanding what a case is worth, we can explain to the defense why the case has such a value. We can point out the flaws in their defense that led to us evaluating the case’s value where we did. We understand the holes in our own case, so we know where to minimize as irrelevant and where to push as critical to the case. Understanding a case’s value can only be done with experience. It takes decades of courtroom experience and resolving thousands of cases to value a case with unique facts. While there are many run-of-the-mill car accident cases in Maryland, the cases that call for the highest settlement amounts are rare.
These are the unfortunate cases in which the victim is airlifted to the nearest hospital and requires weeks of intensive care. In these cases, every aspect of the case is critical. These are the cases where the insurance company will make every effort not to pay. They will argue liability from every conceivable angle, and they put their best attorneys on these cases. This is why you want an experienced attorney you can trust to argue the complexities of your case and help you navigate the legal process.
Call Our Office Today
Contact our office today for more information on the highest settlement amounts for a Maryland car accident. We offer free consultations and case evaluations to all prospective clients. Having successfully resolved over 10,000 personal injury cases, we stand ready to assist you today.
Call our office at (202) 331-7227.
