Liberty Mutual car accident claims have been increasingly difficult to deal with in recent years because Liberty Mutual has changed its tactics. Although I think they have been slower to adopt the advice than other insurance companies, Liberty Mutual joined State Farm and Allstate in hired consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to boost its bottom line by fighting all car accident claims, including good claims.
Recently in Auto Accidents Category
There are three possible exceptions to uninsured motorist coverage in Maryland: (1) the "owned but uninsured" exclusion, (2) the owned but otherwise insured exclusion, and (3) the named driver exclusion.
It is important for Maryland auto accident lawyers to keep in mind there are no other exclusions permitted in Maryland, regardless of what is contained in the client's insurance policy.
- Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Maryland (an overview)
- Uninsured Motorist Lawsuits (blog topic directed at Maryland auto accident lawyers)
- How to Try an Uninsured Motorist Lawsuit in Maryland
Based on the number to times our auto accident lawyers are asked this question, I think it is fair to say there is a huge misconception about this issue. If there is no insurance or inadequate insurance on behalf of the at-fault driver, your insurance company - the uninsured/underinsured insurer - essentially steps in the the shoes of the defendant and is obligated to pay all damages that you could make against the real bad guy. Settlement of these cases are never disputed on the basis that the UM carrier is no obligated to pay for pain and suffering.
So, yes, absolutely, pain and suffering damages in Maryland are compensable in an uninsured motorist claim.
Chris Earley wrote a good post about this last week in his Massachusetts Auto Accident Blog.
I'm not a big fan of demonizing insurance companies. They are in the business of making a profit. Our job as car accident lawyers and your job as consumers is to stay informed, keep them in check, and be ready to fight when they cannot be kept in check.
We get a lot of hits on Google for lawyers asking for a sample lawyer representation letter in an auto accident case. You can find one here. But a word of caution. If you are getting on Google looking for a sample lawyer representation letter to send out for your injured client, there is a good chance you don't have the experience to handle the case. Here is the better play: refer it to a good lawyer. In Maryland and in many states, they will split their fee with you consistent with the Rules of Professional Responsibility (we will do this too, hint, hint.)If you one day want to handle these cases on your own, ask the experienced accident lawyer to take you along for the ride for the entire case. Pay attention and learn. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Keep doing this until you are reading to ride solo. By that point, the lawyer you referred the cases to should be kind enough to shadow you on the case to make sure you are doing what you should be doing.
The fee for filing a personal injury lawsuit in Maryland in Circuit Court is $120. This is court where we spend most of our time. This is the Maryland court where you get a jury trial. For smaller case, you file in District Court and the fee is $30, hese are the fees in state court. In federal court in Maryland, the fee for filing a personal injury complaint rises to $350.
Our personal injury law firm advances all of the client's litigation related costs in our personal injury auto accident lawsuits, including filing fees such as these.
Auto accident victims in Maryland want an accident settlement calculator to determine the value of their case. "What numbers do I punch in to find out how much my case should settle for with the insurance company?" A settlement calculator would be great in an ideal world. We are all wired to hate uncertainty. In lab experiments, our wiring in this regard is underscored by the fact that we actually prefer physical pain to uncertainty.
The unfortunate reality is that personal injury cases are far more complicated that than. The battle over value between Maryland auto accident lawyers and insurance companies is fought not over a settlement formula but over the nuances of the medical records including what were the injuries, how painful and life changing were/are they, and were the bills fair, reasonable and casually related to the accident.
- How is the Value of Personal Injury Claims Is Calculated? (how lawyers, insurance companies and, ultimately, juries determine settlement value)
- Is There a Formula to Computer Value of Personal Injury Claims? (more on why there is no formula for settlement)
- How to Maximize the Value of Your Case (thoughts on getting the most of of your personal injury claim)
In theory, speeding can be contributory negligence. Under Maryland law, speeding can lead to a finding of negligence if it contributes to an auto accident and it can be "inferred from such testimony as that the brakes were put on too late, or that the car did not stop until it had gone an extraordinary distance after the brakes were applied." Speed in excess of the maximum legal rate may be prima facie evidence of negligence or of unreasonable and improper driving.
So what is to stop defendant's auto accident lawyer from just arguing speed is the cause of the accident? Maryland law. Maryland car accident lawyers must vigorously fight efforts by defense attorneys in auto accident cases that try to confuse the court introducing into evidence the argument that the Plaintiff was speeding without a legitimate foundation that the plaintiff's speed was a proximate cause of the auto accident. Typically, the defendant's argument that speed was a factor is purely speculation. How does the Defendant know how fast the Plaintiff was going? Every Maryland accident reconstructionist will tell you that a layperson is awful at estimating speed. Moreover, Maryland accident law is clear that mere conjecture that the accident might have been caused by the alleged speeding is insufficient to send the case to the jury.
For more details on Maryland law on speeding and contributory negligence, click here.
This from the Georgia Personal Injury Report that I found yesterday in my research on average back injury settlements.
"Just received this month's Georgia Trial Reporter. This is a monthly report that publishes settlement and jury verdicts from around Georgia. It is what attorneys use to research the value of your case. Your attorney, if they have a subscription to the report, can go online and query for facts similar to yours to figure out how much your case is worth.
This month's publication reports the average value (settlement & verdicts) of a case involving a lumbar (i.e. lower back) disc injury with surgery is $115,000. The average value of a cervical (neck) disc injury with surgery is $125,000. Keep in mind these are only averages. Most of the cases we see that involve back surgery usually also involve a herniated disc that is pushing on a nerve. So why the $10,000 difference in the two types of injuries? First, a ten thousand dollar difference represents less than a 10% gap. If I had to guess what is behind the numbers I would have to say that many people (i.e. jurors) suffer from lower back pain so they tend to diminish the value of such a problem because they have all felt the pain themselves. Versus most of us instinctively protect our necks which would lead jurors to take such an injury more seriously, not that every spinal injury is not serious."
Again, this is Georgia, not Maryland or any other jurisdiction where the value of neck and back injury cases may differ. But certainly it is interesting data.
The Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog has a post on some interesting data on median back injury verdicts. Missouri Lawyers Weekly ("MLW") verdicts and settlements database found that the median plaintiff's verdict award for motor vehicle cases that involved back injuries is $212,500. For all car, truck and motorcycle accident injury cases in MLW's database that earned a plaintiff's verdict, the median award is $300,000. These are median numbers; the average back injury settlement/verdict is almost invariably higher than the median.
What do these numbers say to Maryland back injury from a car accident victims? Not much. But it is still interesting data.
If you have suffered a serious back injury in a Maryland auto accident, call one of our Maryland car accident lawyers at 800-553-8082 or click here for a free consultation.
- How the value of your case is calculated?
- Inside scoop on dealing with all of the major car insurance companies, including GEICO, State Farm, Allstate with specific information on negotiating with each company
