Many times the at-fault insurer doesn't think their insured was at fault in the first place but is happy to have the injured person provide them information such as recorded statements or medical records which they can twist into a more concrete defense against legal responsibility.

We have helped many of these people overcome their own mistakes and receive fair compensation but sometimes the damage has been done and it is too late to salvage the case.

AS a consequence we offer these five recommendations in order to avoid a bad ending.

1). IMMEDIATELY DOCUMENT HOW THE CRASH HAPPENED.

This is many ways the hardest one but it is also one of the most important. If you are in a crash while at the scene, once you have recovered your wits, immediately document how the crash happened through pictures and witnesses. You may have been stopped at a red traffic light when you were rear-ended and the at-fault driver may have come up to check on you and apologize but later once their liability insurer has spoken to them, at-fault drivers often recant and if there is no photographic or witness evidence it can become their word versus your word.

2). FIND A GOOD LAWYER WHO HAS EXPERIENCE WITH ACCIDENT CASES. 

I know it is self-serving but lawyers who have done this successfully on a sustained multi-year basis have seen it all and have formulated strategies for problems that frequently crop up.

For example, insurance companies routinely freak out about gaps in treatment or loss of income claims that aren't easily determined by traditional pay stubs and letters from employers. There are ways to deal with these things but they may not be obvious to injured victims or inexperienced lawyers.

3). DON"T TALK TO THE AT-FAULT DRIVER"S INSURANCE COMPANY 

They aren't talking to you to see how you are doing but rather to ferret out information on how you contend the crash happened or what injuries you might have suffered that aren't well documented. The insurance companies make billions by subverting the claims of crash victims. That is why you need a lawyer so necessary communication about for example your property damage can be addressed without sabotaging your personal injury claim.

4). GET THE MEDICAL CARE RECOMMENDED BY HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

Many crash victims tire of the inconvenience of going to physical therapy or cringe at the thought of an MRI but failure to follow through on prescribed treatment or diagnostic tests, aside from hindering your recovery can also lead to the at-fault insurer and their hired gun doctors suggesting that your continuing symptoms are a by-product of your failure to follow medical orders.

5). DOCUMENT EVERY EXPENSE, EVERY BIT OF LOST TIME AND EVERY MEDICAL BILL

Just because you couldn't do that side hustle ride share driving or hair-styling, it doesn't mean that the insurer and for that matter jurors will see fit to pay you. If you don't declare it on your taxes you better have documentation of who's hair you were supposed to style and what they typically pay you.

Similarly, the expenses and medical bills you incur along the way are important to you and if you had enough sense to hire a good lawyer.

WE cover all of this and more in our book Seventeen Secrets and its free to download. Good luck.

It is also wonderful to have the opportunity to nominate some of the younger members of the Maryland bar to this august body. As always thanks go out to our crack staff, who make it all possible.

It is very much in fashion for auto insurers to make grossly inadequate settlement offers which leave injured victims little or no compensation. Like all Maryland auto and truck accident attorneys, we hear ridiculous offers from adjusters who tell us " that is my top offer".

Some lawyers roll over and accept these settlement sums which is a great disservice to their clients and other crash victims as this encourages liability insurers to keep engaging in what we would describe as bad faith claims practices.

Two recent smaller cases are illustrative. Injured driver#1 was struck and put into a spin by a cement truck in Prince Georges County, Maryland. Because the truck driver never saw our client in his car before the collision, the at-fault insurer denied any liability whatsoever and made a zero offer for settlement.

Depositions and other discovery including police body-cam video proved our client's case and a healthy confidential settlement ensued.

Another recent case featured a multi-year Air Force veteran who was rear-ended in Talbot County, Maryland.. The insurer wouldn't budge over $29,000.00 despite the fact that paying the vets bills and his lawyer would have left $5000.00 in the way of pain and suffering compensation for the vet. A lawsuit and extensive negotiation by attorney Robert Clark more than doubled the last offer before litigation.

The bottom line: hire experienced lawyers like Clark and Steinhorn,LLC and better results will follow.

The Prince George's County Police Department cites population density and thoroughfare roads as a significant reason and certainly Laurel neighborhoods adjacent to Laurel-Bowie Road are densely populated.

Laurel-Bowie Road also serves to connect the I-95 corridor with 295 and fields a lot of traffic that is not merely local residents. As a regular driver on the road there are many vehicles weaving in and out of the ever shifting lanes in an effort to cut through heavy traffic.

There are also school zones which properly serve to slow down the traffic but the response to them sometimes is abrupt and swerving vehicles is commonplace.

The Baltimore-Washington Parkway also seems prone to engendering chases that end on Laurel- Bowie Road with collisions.

Finally parts of the road near Powder Mill Road are vastly less developed and were the situs of a recent crash.

The answer is drive defensively and gently and don't drive buzzed or distracted.

Routes 95 and 295 have their fair share of terrible accidents and Prince George's County has led the state of Maryland in traffic fatalities from 2019 to the present.

The cause of so many bad accidents is hard to arrive at although drunk driving, excessive speeding and the failure to use seat belts are the most cited reasons.

The magnitude of the problem is easily illustrated by the calendar years 2024 where traffic fatalities fell to 91 which was still 17 more than runner-up Baltimore County.

Some recent sociological theories cite a higher incidence of single  parent households in Prince Georges County as an issue implicating less time for parents to be involved in imparting safe driving practices and policing in the County has decreased.

Perhaps the prevalence of major crowded highways and commuter routes is also a factor. The criminal sanctions for Maryland drivers are also said by some to be too lenient but obviously that applies to all Maryland counties and doesn't explain why a jurisdiction like Montgomery County with a larger population than Prince George's County has substantially fewer crash deaths.

The bottom line drive gently and soberly.

Periodically we hear how difficult it was for the client to find an experienced personal injury lawyer that actually has an office conveniently located in Laurel rather than everywhere else in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

It is understandable why lawyers in Baltimore, Greenbelt and elsewhere would want to represent Laurel residents as they are lovely people but the issue iof convenience is a factor in choosing a lawyer that should not be overlooked.

When you have a car or truck accident claim, getting your vehicle repaired and necessary and  appropriate medical care, can eat into what little spare time one has. Having an attorney 5 minutes away can be enormously helpful. Driving to Greenbelt or Baltimore can take 30 minutes to over an hour or more.

Laurel features several five star personal injury firms including ours at Clark and Steinhorn, LLC. So if you look for an actual Laurel, Maryland personal injury lawyer don't be fooled by the out of town giants. They aren't really " Lawyers Near Me Laurel, Maryland" but rather inconvenience not near you.

It is awkward for us because we have a reputation for keeping our clients informed and can't conceive of failing to do so. The whole point of the attorney client relationship is to allay the need for injured crash victims having to negotiate with multi-billion dollar insurance behemoths.

So what we advise is for people dissatisfied with their lawyers is that they reach out to the lawyer to set up either an in-person meeting or at least a Zoom or telephone call to get their questions answered. If the lawyer has no time or appetite for this then the client can make up their own mind about whether that is in line with their expectations.

Often the supposedly unresponsive attorney repairs their communication problem and we never hear from the prospective client again. Of course, often they remain uncommunicative and the injured person discharges them and goes elsewhere.

The bottom line is that if you hire an attorney who can't be bothered to return your calls, emails or texts, you can fire them and find an attorney who will answer your questions and keep you informed.

This gives rise to the question of whether they can claim workers compensation benefits such as pay for lost work time, medical care and other associated costs. The answer in Maryland is generally yes.

Theoretically the crash victims are entitled to but one recovery for their injuries but many claimants make workers comp claims in addition to receiving benefits from the at-fault driver's liability insurance.

Typically the injured person files a workers comp claim first inasmuch as comp responsibilities falll to the workers comp insurer quite swiftly whereas settlements with the at-fault driver's insurance only takes place when all treatment has been completed.

The worker's comp insurance company usually has 30 days to decide whether to fight a case and ends up paying for medical expenses and lost time from work, so-called " Temporary Total Disability", shortly after the collision which started the chain of events.

So yes you can claim workers comp benefits from a work-related crash although sometimes employers are unhappy about this.

That employers are some mad when their employees are in crashes resulting in comp claims is something of a misunderstanding on their part.

The theoretical rule is that injured people are entitled to but one recovery. Thus, when plaintiffs have collected workers comp benefits and then make an auto liability claim the employer and their comp insurer have a lien to be repaid out of the claim's proceeds.

There are complexities to this scheme but the basic answer to the question posed is YES you can and should claim workers comp benefits if you are in a vehicle accident while working.

One can understand why multi-billion dollar corporations with thousands of claims to pay might find it effective to draw thrifty lines in the sand but the reality is that at least in Maryland property damage claims, like personal injury claims, are not subject to absolute determinations by insurance companies.

How can I negotiate the value of my car if it is totaled in an accident?

The measure of damages for a total loss is to replace a vehicle with a comparably equipped one with the same mileage and in the same condition. There can be disputes about condition but generally there are enough used vehicles in the market to indentify a comparable. Of course the advantage of the marketplace is that the seller prices their vehicle and that assigns a benchmark for the crash victim and the at-fault driver's insurer.

The reality of what actually replacing a vehicle with it's automotive doppelganger costs, often differs substantially from what the insurer offers. Unless the insurer can locate a purchasable twin for their offer, the marketplace dictates a higher payment.

CCC: The Insurance Company's Valuation Tool (and how to use it to your advantage)

As a consequence many insurers subscribe to internet based services such as CCC that identifies available vehicles within a certain radius of the carsh victim's home. CCC will often list multiple versions of a specific car or trucks with differing equipment, mileage and conditions.

It always pays to haggle for the top end and be ready to explain why your crash damaged vehicle belongs there. Recent new tires, equpiment or repairs can put you in the higher end of CCC value.

What if my car was damaged, but not totaled?

It's trickier with vehicles that are repairable. Obviously the cost of repair is the base-line but is a fully repaired vehicle worth the same as one that has never been in a crash? Probably not.

Increased value can be found in getting genuine factory replacement parts or OEM parts. Many insurers will fight this in vehicles that are more than several years old but lets be real, your Toyota is made of genuine Toyota parts and that doesn't change because some negligent driver ran a stop sign and hit you.

The bottom-line don't roll over on the first insurance company offer. Examine what you are entitled to and maybe get a lawyer? What is the harm? Call us at 301-317-1001 for a free consultation. 

The "Big Guys" & Adjuster Burnout

Think about it. Some adjuster is assigned the unenviable task of satisfying the needs of who knows how many crash victims. Various discussions on Reddit suggest big insurers like GEICO, Allstate, or State Farm assigning between four and six new claims to adjusters per day. Since cases don't immediately settle themselves, one can imagine boatloads of cases piling up and crash victims are not famous for being easily satisfied customers.

Adjusting claims of any kind has a high burnout rate and as a consequence, if you angrily scream at the adjuster about the value of your totaled motor vehicle you just might find yourself at the bottom of pile.

Lose Your Cool ... Lose Your Opportunity

Today my law partner Allan mentioned to me a client who took the angry path when hearing the initial offer from the property damage adjuster. Their vehicle suffered $18,000.00 in damage and consequently the insurer was willing to declare it a total loss and pay out $21,000.00.

This infuriated the client and they called Allan. He calmed them down and asked for more details about the reason the car was worth more than what was offered. The answer was that his car was in vintage condition with recent improvements and repairs. Allan then called the adjuster and asked them why the offer was so low and the answer was that the client yelled at her and inhibited communication to the degree that she knew nothing of the improvements and said she would reconsider.

The Happy Ending

Now to be clear, Allan can be both charming and persuasive simultaneously, but an hour later the offer was $26,000.00 and the crash victim was very happy and grateful.

So next time your dealing with an insuarnce claims adjuster, try a little kindness, it just might pay off. If you would rather we deal with your adjuster however, give us a call at 301-317-1001 for a free consultation. 

Uber & Lyft Drivers' Insurance Coverage Can Change Based on Their Status

A ride share vehicle operator is subject to different coverages depending upon a short list of variables which are : personal driving, app on seeking a rider and finally so-called ride in progress. The latter term describes when a Lyft or Uber driver actually has an app-generated passenger in their vehicle.

This seems simple enough but on closer examination it actually dramatically affects what amount of insurance is available and from which insurer or insurers.

Scenario 1: The Rideshare Driver Isn't Logged Into the App

So, for example, if a ride share driver causes an accident when they aren't using the app, then the insurance coverage a crash victim would turn to would be the ride share operator's personal policy. Many ride share operators drive their personal vehicles in service of Uber or Lyft and consequently they are required to have their own liablity insurance policies for when they aren't working.

Scenario 2: The Driver Is Logged In but Not Actively Driving a Passenger

The second category so-called app on waiting for a request, triggers a benefit of $50,000.00 per individual claim and $100,000.00 for all claims arising from an accident. This is more than Maryland's legally required coverage of $30,000.00 per claim and $60,000.00 per incident but is often insufficient.

If a crash victim in category two has a more serious injury they can look to their own uninsured/underinsured coverage if it is greater than the $50,000.00/ $100,000.00 described above.

Scenario 3: The Driver is Driving an App-Generated Passenger

The final category when the ride share operator is driving an app-generated passenger provides coverage of $1,000,000.00 per incident.

The backdrop for analyzing this information necessarily includes the fact that Uber and Lyft don't want to be liable for their driver's negligence as they are multi-billion dollar companies built on the business model of keeping a substantial portion of their driver's earnings.

In the real world ride share drivers would be "employees" of Uber and Lyft but of course that would potentially threaten those companies when their drivers cause catastrophic multi-million dollar crashes. So there is a pretense that the drivers aren't employees.

The bottom line is that ride share crashes are unique and need to be carefully considered.

Injured in an Uber or Lyft Accident? Our Maryland Car Accident Attorneys Can Help

If you were a passenger in an Uber, Lyft, or other rideshare app and suffered injuries because of an accident, our Maryland car accident attorneys may be able to help. Call us today to learn more!

What is a Lien?

A mechanic's lien is easy. The auto mechanic fixes your car and wants to get paid. if you don't do so, he keeps your car until you pay him. This a simplified description as the law in Maryland has a host of legal requirements, but the purpose is straight-forward.

In a similar vein health insurers and healthcare providers either want to secure payment for medical services they have or will render, or in the case of health insurers they want to be reimbursed for healthcare services necessitated by injuries sustained in an accident.

These are liens or legal claims to money or items like cars or homes.

Liens in an Car Crash Case

In car and truck crash cases there are typically two types of lien. Either liens from healthcare providers for services they have or will perform or liens from health insuring entities. Sometimes the entities are governmental programs like Medicare or Medicaid others are private insurers like United, Blue Cross, or Aetna.

Consequences of Unpaid Liens

The leverage they have to get paid is that failure to repay them can lead to loss of health insurance coverage and with Medicare and Medicaid they can seek the money from the injured party's lawyer and/or the at-fault liability insurer.

As a result, lawyers for injured people and liability insurers are highly attentive to governmental liens. Doctors and other healthcare providers establish their liens through patients signing agreements to repay them in return for treatment.

There are also statutory liens for hospitals that arise by law and should not be ignored.

The bottom line is that liens are helpful in getting essential medical care rendered and paid for and should not be disregarded. The world of liens, insurers, and negotiations can be difficult to navigate. For assistance, contact a lawyer. You can call us at any time at 301-317-1001 for a free consultation.

The Simple Value of Having a Lawyer

Finding a doctor, a car repair shop, a rental car and myriad other tasks await you. Locating the at-fault driver's liability insurer and persuading them to pay the fair value of your property damage and the full period of your rental is far harder than it should be.

All good reasons to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer to maximize your recovery and simplify your life.  

In the end whether you represent yourself or hire a lawyer, you won't get paid until you sign a release.

What is a "Release"?

In its simplest form, a release is a contract embodying terms (typically financial) of agreement between parties terminating a disagreement or claim. In a car or truck crash, releases typically reflect a payment from a liability insurer to an injured party compensating them for injuries and/or economic consequences because of an accident. 

Insurers won't issue a settlement check until such time as a release protecting their at-fault insured and the insurance company is executed.

What is in a Release?

While larger cases often contemplate more complex terms, all releases recite the compensation amount from the liability insurer to the injured party and exculpate the insurer and its insured from any future liability. The injured party explicitly gives up any and all lawsuits or claims stemming from the crash or incident described in the release.

All releases require the injured party to sign acknowledging the fact that once they are paid the amount designated in the release, they no longer can pursue the at-fault driver or their insurer for any additional compensation for the crash or incident that gave rise to the claim.

Additional Release Terms You May Find

Often releases make clear that no additional inducements have been made beyond the specified payment.

Many releases in larger cases include provisions that the injured party won't disparage the at-fault party or use social media to do so.

Other releases often note that the insurer and its insured are not responsible for any medical bills or liens once the settlement payment is made.

Many companies require releases in which the at-fault company formally denies liability, despite their making payment.

The bottom line is that understanding the substance of the release is a good idea although effectuating changes in standard form release provisions is virtually impossible.

In our work as personal injury attorneys in Prince George's County, Maryland we regularly see crash victims who sustain concussions and sometimes are diagnosed as suffering from traumatic brain injuries or T.B.I.

Traumatic brain injury is defined as a trauma that disrupts brain function and is classified by its degree of severity. Diagnosing such an injury can be difficult as is treatment.

There are possible manifestations of TBI that are physical in nature such as difficulty with coordination, movement, dexterity and balance. There are also mood or emotive signs such as increased anxiety, depression and irritability. Finally and logically brain injuries can affect brain function such as memory and cognition.

 The Centers for Disease Control report that TBI's killed more than 69,000 Americans in 2021.

As a consequence the state of Maryland along with numerous other states have created a state fund to assist victims of TBI. When you renew your registration in Maryland you can donate to the fund. For more go to: https://www.biamd.org/maryland-brain-injury-trust-fund.html

17 Secrets: Chapter 2 - What Next?

Step 1: Call Someone

Many crash victims leave the scene of the collision in rough shape. Thus, if you can reach out to friends and/or loved ones, that would likely be very helpful. They will be better able to appreciate how the crash has altered your thinking and movement and may well pick up an injury before you do.

Step 2: See a Doctor, ASAP!

Often crash victims suffer concussions without losing consciousness and thus the headaches, confusion, fatigue and orneriness they exhibit after a substantial collision are not necessarily connected to it in their minds. These people need to be evaluated promptly to ensure they are not suffering from a traumatic brain injury or other serious injury.

They may not find it convenient but getting prompt, appropriate medical care is essential to the fullest and speediest recovery while also documenting for claims purposes the extent of accident-related injuries.

Step 3: Document Your Injuries and Lost Income

Injury documentation is also important in the event that you need to miss time from work. A lost work slip or medical document can help support use of PTO and also buttress a lost wage claim from the at-fault driver's insurer. If you don't have supportive paperwork you may not get paid by either your employer or the the auto insurer.

Step 4: Repair or Replace Your Car

After, evaluating your injuries and medical care needs, there is of course the matter of getting your vehicle repaired or replaced and if necessary, getting a temporary replacement (think rental) vehicle. That of course necessarily involves negotiating with insurers and before doing so make sure you are thinking straight.

The Perks of Hiring an Attorney

Obviously having an experienced personal injury lawyer for this purpose is very useful as they perform these tasks routinely and know the lay of the land. The fact is having such an attorney helps make every aspect of the post-crash process easier. They often know body shops, doctors and other useful professionals in your community.

There are many components of an accident claim and anticipating them all is virtually impossible. So if you are in a car or truck crash, take advantage of our free offer of our book. You will be glad you did. Call us at 301-317-1001 or stop by our office for a free hard copy!

It seemed like a throw-in at the time, but our book, 17 Secrets the Insurance Companies Don't Want You to Know about your Car or Truck Accident Case, has helped guide hundreds--if not thousands of victims of crashes through the perilous maze of insurance company roadblocks to fair compensation.

The book originated at the behest of Tom Foster at Foster Web Marketing and grew from there. It starts with a vignette with the car crash victim, Denise as the protagonist and her understandable mistakes resonate in the vignette and the book.

She's in a hurry after being rear-ended and wants to pick her daughter up on-time at daycare and get home. Unfortunate events ensue and provide a lens through which to view the subsequent 17 Secrets.

Really, the secrets are suggestions for issues to be aware of if you have been in a crash particularly where it is not your fault.

Chapter 1: The First Moments

 "What to Do if You're in a Crash". The most important consideration is, of course, your degree and nature of injury and the safety of you and your passengers immediately after the crash. Post-crash scenes are both fraught and dangerous. Tempers flare and often blame is assigned sometimes angrily without regard to reality.

Try and remain calm and evaluate whether your vehicle's occupants can emerge safely. If so, do so and recognize that the evidence of who was at fault is ephemeral, here until it all gets cleaned up and everyone leaves the scene.

Document, Document, Document!

This is where cell phone pictures are essential to establish who hit whom and why. Locations of vehicles, crash impact locations, skid marks and traffic light locations can often be vitally important later on when suddenly the person who hit you in the rear doesn't rememeber it that way.

Conversing with the at-fault driver is fine but if they are apologizing for causing the collision, it is much more valuable if they do so in front of the police or other witnesses. In a similar vein, major crashes require police documentation and if you call 911, be aware that a tape of your call will exist later.

If someone ran into the rear of your car or ran a red light make sure you describe it that way on your 911 call. 

Witnesses

Witnesses at the scene are also both important and unlikely to stick around long. If you speak to them, thank them for remaining at the scene and get their name and phone number so they can later provide support for your description of events. If they are at the scene when the police arrive, connect them.

If witnesses want to hurry off, taking a picture of their vehicle and tag might enable locating them later.

Get the Care You Need

Finally, if you are hurt, at least let ambulance personnel examine you if you feel going to the hospital is too much trouble or unnecessary. Be aware that injuries trigger responsibilities for EMTs and police and actual useful police reports will be authored with names of witnesses, particpants, insuarne companies and determinations of who was at fault and why.

There is much to add to how to navigate a traumatic car accident in the first moments...better yet, read Chapter One.

Traditionally, in Maryland, lawyers in circuit court jury trials submit written questions to the presiding trial judge who then determines which such questions will be asked. Often the actual trial lawyers who know the case facts intimately, disagree with the judge as to what questions might be hypothetically of value to tease out possible biases of potential jurors.

Frankly many trial judges feel pressure to complete their dockets inlcuding trials and are hesitant to probe very far into what animates and motivates jurors. As a consequence Maryland limits voir dire more than virtually anywhere in the United States.

This author has tussled with trial judges for decades about what information needs to be explored and now Dave Harak has shepherded a voir dire pilot program to multiple counties in Maryland.

What this means is that rather than the trial judge choosing which questions can be asked of possible jurors, now the actual trial lawyers will do so, This inevitably will result in lawyers drilling down further on jury pool responses that are shall we say..equivocal? 

Any trial lawyer who has attended a national trial seminar knows that much time and emphasis is placed on asking the prospective jurors the right questions in the right mannner so as to elicit meaningful responses. Every Maryland lawyer ever has skipped this seminar topic as unnecessary due to the complete absence of useful voir dire in Maryland.

Because if David Harak and his mates this will no longer be the case!

Fairer trials will become the norm and all will be right with the world!

Often we hear our clients say " I have full coverage" in an optimistic manner that suggests they anticipate fair compensation including payment of their medical expenses, lost income and ample pain and suffering.

Sadly, this optimism is often misplaced. Full coverage isn't sufficient coverage. To quote Inigo Montoya in the Princess Bride " You keep on using that word. I do not thonk it means what you think it means."

Which is to say full coverage in Maryland can be as little as $30,000.00 in liability or uninsured motorist's coverage and 0 dollars in PIP or personal injury protection coverage. Obviously many car and truck crash cases produce medical expenses and lost wages that far exceed $30,000.00.

Zero PIP is literally nothing and many people perceive they have " full coverage" but really have grossly insufficient coverage for anything other than a minor crash. Similarly the Maryland minimum limit of property damage insurance is $15,000.00

One can imagine a crash with a late model expensive vehicle causing vastly more than $15,000.00 in repair damage. 

In an era when insurers advertise "only get what you need" it can be a race to the bottom because " need" as defined by the Maryland State Legislature is a very low bar indeed.

So do yourself and your family a favor, look to spend a little more and provide protection for everyone including other drivers and pedestrians with whom you might have an accident.

Is there Personal Injury Protection coverage or Medpay? How bout uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist coverage? How much is available and from whom? 

Does it matter if you are in a ride-sharing vehicle as a passenger or driver? What if the ride-sharing vehicle is at fault? If they are what happens if they have no passengers?

These are all fact variable questions that would benefit from legal evaluation, the one certainty is that Uber and Lyft drivers while transporting App patrons, all have at least the Maryland mandatory minimums.

1). Prospective verdict range. Valuing cases is a mix of experience and guesswork. If you've tried enough cases you know that seemingly strong cases can go sideways but also that jurors sometimes empathize with the injured party more than you might have expected.

It is however important to weigh the injuries sustained, the economics of lost income and medical expenses and whether the victim plausibly has a permanent injury from the accident. From these factors veridct values can be estimated.

2). Where the lawsuit can be brought geographically. It is well-known that some Maryland counties produce larger verdicts than others. While there are a variety of reasons for this there is little doubt that the potential for a larger award is much greater in the wealthier more populated counties of the Western shore of Maryland including Anne Arundel. Charles, Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties.

So if you can bring your lawsuit in one of those counties your upside is greater.

3). Can your case advantageously be brought in Federal Court? Federal court juries are composed of residents of multiple counties and often are perceived to be more generous than jurors in rural counties in Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore.

Given a choice between trying a case in Garrett County or Federal court, the latter would almost always be more likely to produce a higher result.

4). Is there a need for speed in a case with limited value? Smaller cases will be reached for trial much more rapidly in Maryland State  District Court. Smaller means $30,000.00 or less.

5). Can a Maryland crash case be brought in state or jurisdiction outside of Maryland? If a Maryland driver or company causes a collision in another state, generally that state or district can be the location of a lawsuit. Obviously such a choice of venue is subject to consideration as to whether it is more advantageous then any alternative one in Maryland.

These Five Factors are best weighed by experienced trial lawyers familiar with all of the facts of your case and injuries.