Most personal injuries are the result of accidents where another party did not intend to cause harm, but their carelessness or recklessness nevertheless resulted in your damages.
It may seem obvious that another person or company is liable to provide compensation. However, the burden falls on you to prove that another person was to blame. Complicating this fact is the idea that state law prohibits you from collecting compensation if you were even partially to blame for the incident.
An Accokeek personal injury lawyer may be able to help you. The legal team at the Law Offices of Adam M. Smallow can work with you to explain the laws that affect your case, evaluate how the incident has affected your life, and demand that at-fault parties provide the compensation that you need to move forward with your life. Give us a call today at (410) 777-8960 for your free consultation.
Common Examples of Accidental Personal Injuries
Even something as simple as turning on the stove to cook dinner, driving to work, or shopping for groceries has the potential to result in life-altering injuries if another party fails to keep you safe. The manufacturers of consumer products have a duty to ensure that their products function as intended and do not cause injuries. Similarly, drivers on Accokeek roads must follow the traffic laws and not become distracted while behind the wheel. In addition, property owners must provide protection to invited guests on their land.
Even so, no two cases are exactly alike. An Accokeek personal injury lawyer can work with injured individuals to explain the obligations that other parties have to keep them safe. They can also help investigate the cause of an injury to identify all possible liable parties and seek out appropriate compensation.
Personal Injuries and the Law
The mere fact that an injury involves the actions of another party does not automatically mean that the other party is at fault. In fact, an injured person always bears the burden of proving fault in a claim for compensation.
Usually, this means demonstrating that another party was negligent. Negligence simply means that another party’s carelessness resulted in an injury when that party had an obligation to keep you safe. This common inaction applies to car accidents, slip and falls, and pedestrian collisions.
Injured people must be able to show that another person or company was the only party responsible for the incident. As recently as 2013, in the case of Coleman v. Soccer Ass’n of Columbia, the state’s Supreme Court upheld the concept of contributory negligence. This concept states that if an injured person is even partially responsible for an incident that leads to an injury, that injured person cannot collect any compensation.
The Law Offices of Adam M. Smallow could help meet this high legal standard. To learn more about contributory negligence in Maryland, reach out to us today at (410) 777-8960.
The Role of an Attorney in Seeking Compensation
Suffering a personal injury can be a traumatic event in your life. Your primary concern should be to make your best recovery and get your life back on track. This is difficult enough when attending medical appointments and attempting to go back to work. At the same time, the at-fault party’s insurance company may be pressing you to make a statement, could demand that you provide more information about your losses, or may even deny your claim altogether.
The primary role of an attorney in a personal injury case is to prove that another party is responsible for providing compensation for your losses. First, a lawyer must demonstrate that the law required another party to keep you safe and that their failure to provide this protection resulted in an injury. They then must show how that failure to provide protection affected your life.
In many cases, the ideal result will be to obtain a fair settlement from an insurance company. This applies to car accidents, slips and falls, and defective product claims.
An attorney could also help to pursue a case within the applicable time limits. Regardless of the exact situation that led to your injury, there is a limited time to demand compensation. According to Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings §5–101, most people who suffer personal injuries have three years from the date of injury to file a case in court. If you do not make this three-year deadline, then you risk not receiving any compensation for your damages. This means covering your accident-related expenses is up to you.
Let the Law Offices of Adam M. Smallow Take the Lead in Your Claim for Compensation
Every person who suffers a personal injury because of the actions of another party deserves the compensation that they need to set things right. This may include payments for the costs of medical treatment, lost quality of life, and reimbursement for lost income.
These injuries could affect you or your loved ones at any time. Something as simple as driving to the grocery store could result in a car crash, a failure of a car component can make you lose control, or a slip and fall on a wet floor may lead to your breaking a bone. These resulting injuries were not your fault, and you should not have to pay for the expenses that come with them.
An Accokeek personal injury lawyer wants to fight for you. The Law Offices of Adam M. Smallow can take care of everything from gathering evidence to measuring your losses, to handling communications with the insurance companies. Call us today at (410) 777-8960 for your free consultation, and see how we can help you and your family.
