Montgomery County, Maryland Car Accident Lawyers
Car accidents can be serious and often fatal, and drivers affected often struggle to recover from their injuries while making ends meet. Our Montgomery County car accident lawyer help car accident victims in Germantown, Silver Spring and throughout Montgomery County, Maryland and surrounding areas to recover the compensation they need. Here are a few important answers to questions regarding car accident claims in Maryland.
What Should I Do if I Was Involved in a Car Accident in Maryland?
Your priority after a car accident is to check if you or anyone else needs emergency medical help and call an ambulance right away if necessary. Whenever it is safe to do so, report the accident to law enforcement, and if possible, take pictures and videos of the scene of the accident.
If possible, get the contact information for the other driver (including insurance phone numbers), as well as the contact information for anyone that may have witnessed the accident. If the police show up and write an accident report, try to get a copy of that report, as it may later be used as evidence for your car accident case.
Even if you don’t look or feel seriously injured, it is important to be examined by a doctor because several injuries (such as whiplash) may not hurt or show any symptoms for days, sometimes weeks after the accident.
If you have the medical records showing that your current condition is linked to the accident and not a result of a separate event, it may be easier to prove to the insurance company that you have a legitimate claim.
How Can I Recover Financial Compensation After an Accident in Maryland?
There are a few different ways to recover compensation after an accident, assuming that you can prove beyond a doubt that you did not contribute to the accident and the other driver was 100% responsible for what happened.
The first option is to file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. This option usually does not require a deductible payment but may take longer to yield a settlement check.
Next, you may file a claim with your own insurance company, which may result in a deductible payment but will usually allow you to receive your money faster. Every insurance company is different, and this option may not work for everyone, so check your auto insurance policy to see if this is a feasible option for you.
Finally, if your claims have been denied or you have not been able to reach a positive outcome, speak to an attorney about initiating a lawsuit for a personal injury claim. While going through the insurance company is usually simpler and faster than a civil lawsuit, going to court is sometimes the only way to receive fair compensation, and your experienced car accident lawyer can advise on whether you should take your case to trial or not.
That is why you need to work with an experienced car accident attorney who can explore every possible avenue to settle the case in your favor and take your car accident case to court if necessary.
What Kind of Damages Am I Eligible to Recover?
Most car accident victims may need to take time off work to recover from serious injuries and will often find themselves with a growing stack of bills after receiving medical care. They may also have suffered a total loss of their vehicle and be looking at several weeks of rehabilitation.
All of these situations are examples of economic damages, which are monetary losses directly linked to your accident and injury. Those may include but not be limited to lost wages, medical bills, cost of current and future medical care and rehabilitation, and basic living expenses.
Car accidents can often be traumatic and take a toll on a person’s mental health. For that reason, car accident claims also have a subjective component referred to as non-economic damages (or “pain and suffering”).
This includes mental anguish, emotional distress, and physical pain resulting from the accident and sometimes from the medical treatment necessary for recovery. Victims of car accidents may be entitled to pursue compensation for both economic and non-economic damages resulting from their car crashes.
How Much Is My Car Accident Claim Worth?
As if the car accident wasn’t enough to deal with, now you may be sitting at home feeling anxious and overwhelmed by all the bills you may be receiving, so you may be interested in how much money your car accident claim may be worth.
Maybe you’ve even done an online search and found a personal injury “calculator” that promised to give you a dollar amount for your case. However, those tools are often inaccurate and produce amounts that may be too low or too high.
Because every case is different, the best way to get a more accurate estimate is to speak to a car accident attorney. Generally speaking, the more serious your accident was, and the more severe your injuries were, the higher your potential compensation may be.
A Montgomery County car accident lawyer can take into consideration the specifics of your case and come up with an estimate that will better reflect the economic and non-economic damages you may have suffered.
How Can a Montgomery County Car Accident Lawyer Help?
Playing phone tag with insurance adjusters, filling out endless forms, and dealing with a never-ending stack of bills is not something you should be doing while trying to recover from your injury and get back on your feet. An experienced car accident attorney can handle all of these tasks for you and more – your attorney can take care of every aspect of your case and ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.
The legal team at Paré & Associates, LLC focuses on maximizing the value of every claim. We understand that state laws may not always be favorable to accident victims, and we know how to build a strong case to protect your right to receive compensation and move on from this difficult situation. Call Paré & Associates, LLC today at (301) 962-2492 to schedule a free consultation.