As the victim of an accident due to someone else's negligent action, you or a loved one may be entitled to financial compensation. Navigating the legal system can be an intimidating process, but with the help of an experienced Rockville personal injury lawyer, you can seek compensation for lost wages, medical bills, property harm, or other damages suffered.
To discuss your options, contact Regan Zambri Long for a free consultation with our experienced team of Rockville personal injury lawyers.
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When you or a family member are trying to heal and recover from the aftermath of an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you can rely on your personal injury lawyer to initiate a legal claim for you and to seek just compensation.
Your personal injury lawyers in Rockville, MD, and their legal team will deal with the insurance companies, gather and review all evidence, talk to the witnesses, monitor and manage any deadlines, negotiate a settlement, and prepare for court if necessary.
Contact a personal injury attorney at the law firm of Regan Zambri Long for a free consultation to discuss your case and possible compensation for the damages you’ve suffered.
The term “personal injury” covers a broad range of cases. The common thread that weaves most personal injury cases together is the concept of negligence. When we talk about negligence in the context of personal injury law, we’re talking about a party (the victim or the plaintiff) who has been harmed due to another party’s (the defendant) inattention or disregard.
It’s important to understand, however, that to be considered negligence and to have a valid legal action, the incident must have the following elements:
A duty of care is an obligation to take proper and reasonable measures to keep the people around you safe.
The duty of care owed to someone else was violated by careless or inattentive actions causing a breach.
To justify initiating a personal injury lawsuit and seeking compensation, there must have been actual physical injuries, property damage, medical expenses, or pain and suffering.
Examples
If not for the breached duty of care, the injury would not have otherwise occurred.
Examples
Car accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, and other transportation accidents are leading causes of personal injury cases. In Montgomery County, Maryland, there was a total of 11,181 crashes in 2021. Of those 11,181 crashes, 4,696 injuries occurred with 43 fatalities.
Medical malpractice claims include prescription drug errors, surgical or procedural errors, misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, failure to diagnose, anesthesia errors, childbirth injuries, and wrongful death, to name a few.
According to the United States Department of Health & Human Services’ National Practitioner Data Bank, in 2021, a total of $91.03 million was paid for medical malpractice in Maryland.
Another leading cause of Rockville personal injury is premises liability cases, i.e. injuries that occur on someone else’s property. One of the most common injuries under the premises liability umbrella is slips and falls.
Of course not all fall accidents warrant a personal injury lawsuit, but to put the numbers into perspective, out of 8 million annual hospital emergency room visits due to falls,
Slips and falls account for over 1 million visits or 12% of total falls.
Other types of premises liability injuries our clients have suffered include inadequate security, amusement park accidents, swimming pool accidents, damaged staircases, exposed electrical wiring, malfunctioning elevators or escalators, and fire code violations.
To prove that an owner should be held liable for unsafe conditions on their property, the danger must have been foreseeable. It must be determined that a property owner can be held liable for their failure to exercise ordinary care.
It is important to note that if an injured party was trespassing on someone’s property, it is unlikely that the property owners will be found to have owed them a duty of care even if they experience a serious injury.
Three types of product defects commonly cause injury:
It’s an overwhelming feeling if you’re the victim in an accident or if you’ve sustained an injury through no fault of your own. Your emotions may be all over the place, it’s difficult to think clearly, and you may be unsure of what actions to take.
It would benefit you to take the following steps in the aftermath of your Rockville, MD injury:
If you’ve been injured in an accident with a motor vehicle, you will want to call the police to make sure the incident is on record. You will also want to obtain a copy of the police report; it will be necessary for settlement, or possibly for court.
Seek medical attention. Even if you think you haven’t been injured and don’t need to be examined by a medical professional, do not reject medical attention. You may have an internal injury and your symptoms may not appear right away.
If there are people who were eyewitnesses to the accident you were involved in, it’s important to collect their names and contact information. Eyewitness statements are invaluable to a Maryland personal injury accident action.
If you’re able to, jotting down notes and observations while they’re fresh in your mind can be very helpful in a personal injury case. Additionally, taking photos of the scene or any injuries is useful.
Experienced personal injury attorneys are trained and equipped to handle your personal injury claim and take the lead in navigating the legal process.
Call us at the law firm of Regan Zambri Long for a free consultation with our Rockville, MD personal injury attorneys today. We work on a contingency basis and we only collect money once our clients do.
According to §5–101 of the Maryland Code:
A civil action at law shall be filed within three years from the date it accrues unless another provision of the Code provides a different period of time within which an action shall be commenced.
In medical malpractice cases, §5–109 of the Maryland Code provides that:
An action for damages for an injury arising out of the rendering of or failure to render professional services by a health care provider, as defined in § 3-2A-01 of this article, shall be filed within the earlier of:
The law allows for exceptions to the statute of limitations in certain situations such as if the injury occurred when you were a minor, the defendant is unable to be located, or it took more than three years to discover your injury.
In light of the law’s nuances regarding the statute of limitations in personal injury cases, it is best to schedule a free consultation with a Rockville, Maryland personal injury attorney to discuss the specifics involved in your matter.
There are different types of damages you can seek in your personal injury matter.
Economic damages are calculated by expenses you’ve incurred such as outstanding medical bills, current and future lost wages, the prospect of upcoming medical expenses for future rehabilitation or therapy, property damage, or funeral expenses in wrongful death cases.
Non-economic damages are sought by personal injury victims or survivors of wrongful death victims for the suffering that cannot be quantified by a calculable amount. These damages can include emotional distress, physical pain, and depression.
Punitive damages can be requested in personal injury cases when a defendant is found to have recklessly or willfully caused harm to the victim. The awarding of these damages is to explicitly punish the defendant for their negligent actions and to demonstrate that such negligence will not be tolerated without penalty.
Contact our law firm for a free consultation and speak with an experienced Rockville, MD personal injury lawyer to discuss the damage caps in your personal injury matter.
Maryland is an at-fault state, meaning that the party responsible for the injury covers the damages incurred.
Maryland is also one of only five states that continue to practice contributory negligence. Contributory negligence maintains that you cannot collect any damages after an accident if you are partially at fault.
On the contrary, most of the nation has adopted comparative negligence, which determines how much you may have contributed to your injury or accident but still allows you to recover the portion of damages for which the defendant was at fault.
Despite Maryland still being a contributory negligence state, it’s not always so cut and dried. Even if you think you played a role in your injuries, contacting our Rockville, MD, personal injury attorneys at Regan Zambri Long for a free consultation to discuss your case is in your best interest.
The system is complex and can be frustrating. Our personal injury attorneys are skilled at helping clients pursue justice for their injuries to the full extent of our abilities. We are here to help you throughout the whole process and will guide you through dealing with every aspect of your case.
Contact a Rockville personal injury attorney at our firm to discuss your situation, and we will help determine how you can receive compensation for your injuries.