Baltimore Personal Injury Attorney
Following your involvement in an accident in Baltimore, Maryland, a close friend or family member may tell you to contact an experienced Baltimore personal injury lawyer. Although you may be somewhat familiar with the term “personal injury”, you may be uncertain if calling an attorney makes sense in your situation.
What Exactly Is a Personal Injury?
In the legal sense, personal injury refers to any type of injury you may sustain. This legal term accounts for physical injuries victims may sustain, such as a broken foot or a jammed shoulder. But that is not all.
When discussing personal injuries from a legal standpoint, we also need to cover the emotional aspects of the incident in which you were involved. For example, a car accident caused by another party may have traumatized you. Dealing with your injuries in the aftermath of the accident may also be stressing you out and causing you great anxiety.
The injury’s mentally draining and emotionally exhausting aspects are also considered personal injuries. Damage to your reputation could also be a personal injury. Therefore, an experienced personal injury attorney in Baltimore, Maryland, may pursue a case based on that.
What Are The Different Grounds for Pursuing a Personal Injury Case in Baltimore, Maryland?
Personal injury cases in Baltimore, Maryland, can be brought on three specific grounds. Learn more about them below to determine if you need a legal representative to assist with your accident or injury claim.
- Negligence: Negligence is the most common basis for personal injury cases. It comes into play when an accident occurs after an individual fails to exercise the proper level of care expected of them. For example, if another driver hits you because they were texting while controlling their vehicle.
- Strict Liability: In strict liability cases, the defendant can be responsible for an accident even if they had no intention of harming the plaintiff. Common examples of strict liability cases include product liability incidents and dog bite accidents.
- Intentional Acts: Lastly, personal injury cases can also be intentional acts. Assault and trespassing cases are examples of people harming others intentionally.
To learn more about whether you have a valid accident or injury claim contact Leppler Injury Law today. John Leppler offers free case evaluations and is never too busy to speak with you.
How Can an Attorney Assist With My Personal Injury Claim in Baltimore, Maryland?
The services provided by an experienced attorney are invaluable in accident or injury cases. Let’s discuss those services in greater detail in this section of the article.
Investigate Your Case: An attorney will not sit back and wait for the police to release their findings that are relevant to your case. Instead, they will proceed with their own investigation to find out what happened. Your attorney will determine the facts in your case so they can make a stronger argument for compensation.
Discuss Your Legal Options: As you proceed with your personal injury case, different legal options will become available. Your personal injury attorney in Baltimore, MD, can discuss each option and highlight which makes the most sense for your situation.
Negotiate with the Other Parties Involved: Settling personal injury cases is a common tactic. However, to ensure you get the best deal possible, you should allow your accident lawyer to handle those settlement negotiations on your behalf. Count on them to keep your best interests in mind as they negotiate.
Represent You in Court: If the other side is not negotiating in good faith, you should not hesitate to take the matter to court. However, with an experienced Baltimore personal injury lawyer by your side, you do not need to worry about a potential trial.
What Types of Cases Does Leppler Injury Law Handle?
Here at our Baltimore injury law firm, we handle various personal injury cases. Allow us to discuss some of our areas of expertise below.
Auto Accidents
Many of the personal injury cases we deal with involve car accidents. That should come as no surprise, considering how common they are. According to the Maryland Department of Transportation, they recorded a total of 108,656 car crashes in the state in 2021.
Towson residents should be extra careful while driving because crash data for Maryland shows that 20,331 accidents were in Baltimore County. Following close behind is Prince George’s County, where they recorded a total of 19,961 car accidents that same year. Also, 17,898 car crashes occurred in Baltimore City over that same timeframe.
Certain Maryland roads, such as the Jones Falls Expressway and Washington Boulevard, are known for being accident-prone. Therefore, Maryland drivers should also be cautious when using the Northern Parkway at Jones Falls Expressway and South Monroe Street at Washington Boulevard intersections because they are similarly dangerous.
Car accidents can be damaging, and their origins often become disputed. Therefore, you must hire an experienced Baltimore personal injury attorney to ensure you do not get unfairly blamed for one of those incidents. We also handle rideshare accidents such as Uber and Lyft accidents in Baltimore.
Truck Crashes
We also handle truck accident cases here at Leppler Injury Law. Over the years, we have learned that truck accidents tend to be worse for other motorists as opposed to the truck drivers themselves. The numbers bear that out too. Back in 2020, around 71% of the people who died in truck accidents were occupants of other vehicles.
Baltimore and Towson’s residents need to pay close attention whenever they share the road with a large truck. That is especially important for drivers who regularly use the I-95, MD 90, or MD 202. Those are some of the more notorious roads for truck accidents in Maryland, so attorney John Leppler recommends you exercise caution whenever you need to use them.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Accidents
Baltimore, Maryland, accommodates cyclists and pedestrians more favorably compared to other major cities in the United States. Found all throughout the city are easily accessible cycling routes. Use them to reach your destination without dealing with too many cars. Baltimore City also ranks well in terms of walkability. As a result, you can get to many points of interest throughout the city without relying too much on public transportation.
If you intend to get around the city by walking most of the time, ensure you keep an eye out for negligent drivers. Pedestrian accidents are especially dangerous since the victims often have no protection against the full force of the vehicle’s impact. Unfortunately, as a skilled attorney, John Leppler can tell you that is a big part of why these accidents often lead to someone getting badly hurt.
Like pedestrian accidents, injuries are also common in bicycle crashes; 583 of the 734 bike crashes that occurred in the state of Maryland in 2021 caused injuries. These accidents can get even more complicated if the Baltimore driver flees the scene without stopping. Hire an attorney following your bicycle or pedestrian accident to recoup compensation for your injuries.
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycle crashes can be horrendous and the injuries sustained during one can be life altering. If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident you may require the assistance of a legal representative.
Wrongful Deaths
A wrongful death occurs when an individual dies due to another person’s negligent or intentional acts. In a wrongful death case, the dependents of the deceased individual file a lawsuit to seek compensation from the defendant. The state of Maryland allows the decedent’s spouse, children, or parents to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
If those individuals cannot file the wrongful death lawsuit, other people related to the decedent by blood or marriage can act. That is allowed if those other individuals were dependent on the decedent.
Negligent Security
Lastly, we at Leppler Injury Law also take on negligent security cases. You might be a victim of negligent security if you were harmed while spending a night out at a bar or some other recreational establishment. Owners of those establishments should hire security personnel and install enough security features to keep their patrons safe. If you received injuries, you could have a case on your hands because those security guards or features were missing.
Even a lack of lighting in the parking lot could be the basis for a negligent security lawsuit. Work with experienced Baltimore personal injury lawyer John Leppler to determine what your next course of action should be.
What Do I Do After an Accident or Injury in Baltimore, Mayrland?
How you act following an accident greatly impacts your odds of receiving compensation. In this section, we will highlight the things you must do to keep yourself safe while preserving your chances of winning the case.
- Prioritize Your Safety: Call 911 immediately after your accident and ask for an ambulance if anyone needs it. Even if you feel relatively fine following the crash, you should still head to a doctor ASAP because you may fail to notice some of your injuries.
- Obtain Information and Evidence: No matter what kind of accident you have, gathering information and evidence will also be beneficial to you. For example, if you are in a vehicular accident, go to the other driver to get their personal details and insurance information. Likewise, in product liability cases, you should gather as much information about the defective item as you can. Taking pictures and recording videos will also be crucial pieces of evidence in personal injury cases.
- Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer: Partnering with an attorney is highly recommended if you intend to seek compensation for the injuries you sustained in an accident. Your lawyer can get you in touch with medical experts, collect evidence, and handle important conversations with the other party’s legal representatives, your insurer, and the Baltimore police department. Their assistance will be invaluable, so make sure you hire one.
- Follow Your Lawyer’s Instructions: The things you do or say while going through the process of filing a personal injury claim could jeopardize your current standing. It is better to let your lawyer take the lead here. Follow their instructions regarding how to proceed so you can win your case.
How Much Is My Baltimore Personal Injury Case Worth?
The value of your personal injury claim will depend on the economic and non-economic damages you sustained. If you are unfamiliar with economic and non-economic damages, you can learn more about them below.
Economic Damages
The compensation for your personal injury lawsuit will consist of economic damages. Economic damages compensate plaintiffs for the tangible losses they sustained due to the accident. In most cases, economic damages will include payment for your medical bills. In addition, they will cover your current medical expenses and future bills related to the injuries you sustained from the accident.
Plaintiffs can also expect to receive compensation for their damaged property. For example, if your car or bicycle received damages from a negligent driver, they must cover your losses. You can also seek compensation for lost wages if you miss work due to your injuries.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages in personal injury cases account for the intangible losses you suffered. For example, many victims of personal injury cases suffer from emotional distress. The defendants should provide compensation for that. They calculate the non-economic damages using special formulas. Your lawyer can handle those calculations.
How to Choose a Baltimore Personal Injury Lawyer
Start your search for an attorney by speaking to people you trust. Talk to your close friends and family members and ask them if they can recommend any dependable lawyers in the area. If your loved ones cannot offer any references, you can conduct your search online. For example, look up listings for lawyers and see what their previous clients say about them.
Make sure you interview your potential legal partners before hiring any of them. During the interviews, ask your candidates about their specific approaches to personal injury cases and their experience levels. Hone in on the lawyers with the qualifications you seek. Do not forget to request references from your candidates before you make a final decision. Talk to those references one by one, so you can gain further insight into the qualifications of your candidates. After conducting a thorough search, you should identify the right attorney that you need to hire.
Experienced Personal Injury Law Firm in Baltimore, Maryland
You never want to be in a position where you need the services of a skilled and experienced Baltimore personal injury lawyer, especially if you were simply visiting Baltimore, but unfortunately, accidents can happen to anyone. If you are ever in that position, remember that we at Leppler Injury can help. Contact us today so we can start working on your personal injury claim.
In addition to Baltimore, some of the locations our law firm serves include Towson, Lutherville-Timonium, Owings Mills, Pikesville, Parkville, and more.
Additional Resources