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Personal injury protection (PIP) is insurance that comes from the car you are in when you are hurt. It is sometimes referred to as no fault, and if you have PIP coverage it will provide benefits regardless of whether you caused the accident, or the accident was caused by someone else. It is also quick–in most cases, you can start to recover money from a PIP policy within 30 days after you submit the documents to the insurance company. Those documents might include an application, lost wage statements from your supervisor, medical records and medical bills.

PIP App (04-23-14).png

How do I know if I have PIP?

In most cases, if you are driving your own car, and you have insurance coverage, your insurance company will provide you with PIP benefits.

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Talbott County Courthouse.jpgYour auto case value is affected by the courts and counties where you are permitted to file the lawsuit. The reason is that (1) some courts have different limits on the amount of money you can recover; and (2), in general, the decision makers (judges and juries) have attitudes toward personal injury cases that makes them more or less likely to give a favorable verdict.

You might wonder why the court, judges or jury matters–after all, if you are seeking a Maryland car accident settlement, you won’t go to trial, right? Well, it matters for a couple of reasons. First, not every case settles. Sometimes the other side will deny that they were negligent, or they will deny that their negligence caused you harm, or they will claim that your injuries (damages) are not as extensive as you think they are. If they won’t settle your case for what you think it’s worth, the only other choice you have is to file a lawsuit.

Second, even if your case will settle before a lawsuit is filed, the insurance adjuster should know about where you can file suit. Savvy adjusters will understand that the value of a case that can be filed in Prince George’s County is likely higher than a case that can only be filed in Allegany County. That adjuster’s perception of the attitudes of the decision makers will reflect the value they place on your auto collision case.

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Norwood jury box 2.jpgWe’ve discussed how the strength of your case (liability and negligence) affects your case value, and we’ve discussed how the economic damages, like medical bills and lost wages, impacts your case value. Now we’ll talk about non-economic damages.

Most people think of non-economic damages as “pain and suffering.” Each state has its own rules, but in Maryland, non-economic damages are much more. The Maryland jury instructions explain that non-economic damages are recoverable for past and future:

The “Noneconomic Damages” sustained in the past and reasonably probable to be sustained in the future. All damages which you may find for pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, loss of consortium, or other nonpecuniary injury are “Noneconomic Damages.”

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Medical Bills (02-28-13).jpgProbably the most important factor in determining the value of your Maryland auto accident case is the amount and type of economic damages. Economic damages are, simply put, those things which can be calculated with mathematical precision. This is different from non-economic damages (which we’ll talk about next time), which have no universal method of calculation.

Common economic damages include:

  • medical bills
  • lost wages
  • property damage
  • cost of services
  • mileage
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Car Accident (2 people)(11-22-11).jpgTwo major factors in deciding the value of any automobile accident case are liability and damages. Damages, which we’ll discuss in a later post, include things like medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering and incapacity.

Liability is used (often incorrectly) by lawyers to refer to negligence. In some cases, lawyers might tell the judge or jury that they have conceded liability, which is taken to mean that the defendant admits to being negligent. Technically, if a driver is liable, he was negligent, and his negligence caused damages. However, in some cases, a driver may admit negligence, but argue that his negligence did not cause damages.

So, though lawyers sometimes use the terms liability and negligence interchangeably, we’ll use the correct term “negligence.” Negligence is simply a fancy way to describe fault. A negligent driver is one who caused the accident–it’s as simple as that.

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Calculator.jpgOne question common to all Maryland auto accident victims is “what is my case worth?” It’s a simple question with a complicated answer–so complicated, that we’re going to spend the next seven or so blog posts breaking it down for you.

Here’s the outline of what we’ll cover:

  • Liability (how easy is it to prove that the other driver was negligent and you were not)
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Smartphone Camera (04-10-14).jpgWith smartphones everywhere, Maryland accident victims have the ability to record and document almost every aspect of an accident, almost in realtime. It’s no surprise that witnesses in auto accident cases are scarce, negligent drivers frequently lie about what happened, and testimony in at trial is inconsistent. So what’s a judge or jury to do?

Ideally, the judge or jury will have the opportunity to look at the vehicles, the accident scene, and overhead maps of the collision site. People involved in a collision should take pictures of their cars, the other driver’s cars, and important landmarks that show where the accident occurred. Those photographs should include close-up shots, and wider views (you’d be surprised how hard it is to determine what a narrow angle shot shows). Pictures of the damage are important, but so are pictures of non-damaged areas.

What do these photos show? They can help a judge or jury to determine the exact area of impact, that is, where the cars came into contact. This can be crucial to determining who was at fault. They can help to show how bad the collision was. To be fair, though, the extent of damage does not always correlate with actual physical injuries. We’ve all seen people walk away unharmed from serious accordion-style wrecks; and we’ve also seen people require multiple surgeries from mere “bumper-tap” cases. But, high damage will almost always help in an effort to secure damages.

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Record Button.jpgAttorneys are an argumentative bunch. We disagree on many things, so when we agree on something, you should take notice. Something we agree on–don’t give a recorded statement to the insurance company after an automobile collision. It doesn’t matter if it is your insurance company, or the negligent driver’s insurance company.

Let’s talk about why the insurance companies want to get you on an audio recording. First, the mundane–they want to know the facts of the accident, the nature of your injuries, and what medical care you have received. They want to know what evidence you have, and whether there is anything that will help them to muster up more evidence.

Now, the insidious–the insurance companies want a recorded statement from you so that they can use it against you. They will take a recorded statement shortly after the accident. Down the road, when you file a lawsuit, you will answer written questions (called interrogatories) under oath. Then you may have a deposition, where they ask you more questions under the penalty of perjury. Finally, you will testify at trial, perhaps two or three or four years after the accident.

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Crash (2 vehicles).jpgLawyers, like high-pressure used-car salesmen, want you to sign on the dotted line right away. Like all businesspeople, they understand the value of inertia–if you don’t hire them now, then it’s not likely that you’re going to hire them later.

My goal is for you to get good representation when you need it. Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s another lawyer. I just don’t want you to lose your case. Partly, this is because I’m a plaintiffs’ lawyer. Helping people is what I do. Partly, this is because I understand that businesses and insurance companies sometimes take advantage of people, which isn’t very nice.

So, understand when I tell you that you should hire a lawyer within 2 weeks of your accident, I’m not trying to round up business for myself (though, that would be nice, and I’d be thrilled to help). I just want you to protect yourself. It’s important to be concerned about Maryland deadlines in car accident cases. If you miss these deadlines, you might lose your claim forever. We’ll start with the earliest deadlines first:

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This month Maryland drivers will have to live up to the state’s new expectations. There are two important new rules for drivers, effective October 1, 2013.

Cell Phones

In the continuing march of more severe cell phone laws, the legislature has seen fit to increase penalties and make enforcement easier. In 2010 drivers were prohibited from talking on cell phones without a hands free device. These were only secondary offenses, meaning that drivers could only be cited if they were violating some other law (like speeding). In 2011 the use of a cell phone for writing, reading or sending text messages also became illegal, and it was set as a primary offense, meaning that drivers could be cited even without violation of another law.

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