Personal Injury Lawyer Maryland

Contact the Maryland injury lawyers at Parker, Pallett, Slezak & Russell today to learn more about how you can recover compensation under the state personal injury law, or file a wrongful death claim. Call our personal injury firm today at (443) LAWYERS.

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What Is
Personal Injury?

A personal injury arises when one party causes injury to another, resulting in losses. Not all personal injury attorneys handle the same types of cases, so it's important to do research on a law firm to find out if they practice the area of law you need. For example, if you have been bitten by a dog, then you should seek the help of a personal injury attorney who has handled a number of those types of cases.

Generally, the at-fault party, or the defendant, does not pay their damages directly to the injured person.

Instead, the insurance company for the defendant pays out the settlement or award.

Insurance companies are notorious for trying to reduce the defendant's liability and how much they pay out in personal injury cases. They, just like our law firm, will investigate your claim, but they will look for evidence of wrongdoing on your part. They will scour your medical records and may even argue that some treatments you received were not medically necessary, and that they are not going to cover them.

The Maryland personal injury lawyers at Parker, Pallett, Slezak & Russell have over 250 years combined legal experience, and we are ready to stand up to the insurance company and their defense attorneys for you. There are many different types of personal injury cases our law firm handles.

Maryland is a contributory negligence state which means that injured victims cannot recover compensation if they contributed to the cause of the crash and share fault. Therefore, if the Maryland court finds that both the victim and the defendant share liability, then the Plaintiff will not be able to recover any damages as their own actions contributed to the collision. This can result in some very harsh outcomes. You should talk to one of our personal injury lawyers if you have questions about liability and who may be responsible for paying damages after your recent accident.

Here are the steps that you should take after a car accident:

  • Call 911 and report the accident.
  • Exchange contact information with the other driver, including their auto insurance information.
  • Take wide-angle photos and videos and closeups of the details from the scene of the accident. Don't forget to get pictures of the entire accident scene, any posted speed limit signs and nearby street signs.
  • Go to the nearest emergency room to be evaluated for injuries.
  • Contact our personal injury attorneys. You will need to report the accident to the insurance company but unfortunately, that puts you at risk of being taken advantage of by them. Call us first so we can talk to them for you to protect you.
  • Remain at the accident scene, and do not leave, otherwise, you could seriously jeopardize your personal injury lawsuit before you have even had a chance to file it.

Our Maryland personal injury attorneys have achieved successful results at trial in hundreds of car accident cases in Baltimore County, Harford County, Cecil County and surrounding counties, and we are eager to provide you with the same tenacious advocacy. We can hire accident reconstruction experts, review the police report, or accident report and leave no stone unturned in your investigation.

Workplace injuries can severely harm a person, and prevent them from going back to work. The most common types of workplace injuries are:

  • Slip, trips, and falls
  • Struck by or caught in machinery
  • Repetitive use injuries
  • Falls from heights

In order to qualify for Maryland workers compensation insurance, you must have been injured in an accident while performing within the scope of your employment.

Medical professionals have a legal duty to provide a certain standard of care to their patients. When they breach this duty, they can lead to dangerous or even fatal medical mistakes. These are the most common types of medical malpractice cases:

  • Birth injury (brachial palsy, caput succedaneum, etc.)
  • Delayed diagnosis
  • Misdiagnosis
  • Medication error
  • Surgical error

Unfortunately, motorcycle accidents can lead to some of the most serious personal injury cases. Because a motorcyclist does not have a protective barrier around them like they would in a vehicle, they are more vulnerable to brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, road rash, fractures, and facial disfigurement. Head-on collisions, left-turn accidents, lane-switching accidents, and corner-turning crashes are the most common types of motorcycle accidents.

The question of liability is different in a truck accident than it is in a car accident. The liable party could be the driver, the employer, or even the manufacturer of the truck parts. The trucking industry is heavily regulated, and there are various laws that all employees have to follow regarding alcohol, rest, and maintaining their vehicle.

If a driver broke rules on how long they are allowed to drive without a break and caused an accident while fatigued, for example, then they can be held responsible for the accident rather than their employer. However, if the employer failed to conduct an adequate background check and hired a driver with prior DUIs, then the trucking company can be held responsible. An investigation will be done in your truck accident case to determine if the cause was related to:

  • Distracted driving
  • Driving while fatigued
  • Drunk driving
  • Not adjusting driving to what weather conditions
  • Negligent hiring by the truck company
  • Improperly-loaded cargo, causing the truck to lose its balance

A dog bite is a traumatic type of personal injury case because of the emotional impact on injury victims, especially if the owner of the dog was a neighbor. In Maryland, the owner of the dog is strictly liable for any personal injury, death, or damage to personal property that is caused by the dog, even if they did not know that the dog had aggressive inclinations.

How long it will take for your dog bite wound to heal will depend entirely on the specific circumstances of your dog attack. It could heal within a few days, with the skin taking a few more months before it returns to its previous appearance. Moderate to severe injury could take a few months to heal, particularly if there are complications or infections.

If you are unable to work due to your injuries or have mounting medical bills to see specialists for your scars and wounds, then contact our Maryland personal injury lawyers.

Although there is no dollar amount that can be put on the life of a loved one killed by medical negligence, car accident or any other personal injury, the surviving family members may file a wrongful death claim to recover losses such as:

  • Funeral and burial expenses
  • Loss of lifetime earning potential
  • Medical expenses the deceased accrued before they succumbed to their injuries

How to evaluate Personal Injury Settlements

To understand the evalutation of your personal injury settlement, you need to understand the types of compensation available in a personal injury lawsuit. You can be sure that your Maryland personal injury lawyer from Parker, Pallett, Slezak & Russell will rigorously pursue full and fair compensation for your losses after your serious accident.

Economic damages include all financial losses related to your personal injury case like your medical bills, lost wages, property damage and other expenses. It is important to provide our personal injury law firm all of your receipts, statements, invoices, and financial documents so that we can calculate your total economic damages.

In a more severe accident, like a medical malpractice case or in a truck accident, the victim may require extensive medical care to treat their condition and injury. They could spend many days, weeks or even months away from work, and may require physical therapy, occupational therapy and other expensive health services.

All of your medical expenses related to your personal injury case should be included, like travel expenses to see a specialist in another city to treat your injuries, or installing a ramp to make your home more accessible if you are in a wheelchair. Additionally, if your Maryland injury accident prevents you from taking care of your home, your kids or basic needs, like grocery shopping, then you may be eligible to receive compensation for childcare or home care.

An accident does more than physically injure a person. Injury victims report feeling like their life will never “go back to normal,” and that on top of dealing with their injuries, they have to deal with life passing them by. Family and friends may have noticed changes in your behavior and mood since the accident.

​​Noneconomic damages try to compensate you for your intangible losses. Accident victims can recover for the pain, suffering and inconvenience from their injuries, and can also seek damages for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and loss of enjoyment of life. Generally, the more severe the injuries, the more the accident victim could receive in noneconomic damages.

Now that you have a better understanding of how damages are calculated in a Maryland injury case, it's time to understand how your total settlement is reached. Insurance companies don't share their formulas publicly, but they often use computer models and related methods based upon extensive databases to calculate their settlement offers.

After your personal injury lawyer has calculated all of your economic damages, they provide it to the insurance adjuster, with a detailed analysis of the non-economic damages and how your injuries have affect you and your life. Each person is different and the affects an injury has will vary for everyone. Having good communication between client and their lawyer will allow the lawyer to understand these differences and to be able to differentiate their client’s claim to the claims adjuster.

Let's say another woman is severely injured in a truck accident, particularly her hands. She is a music teacher and cannot play piano for her students. Not only does she suffer from lost wages, but she misses her students, and she misses her life in the classroom. The accident has been emotionally distressing and mentally traumatizing. In this case, because of the significant impact the accident has had on the victim physically, emotionally and professionally, her claim for non-economic damages will need to address all of these aspects of her claim.

In a wrongful death case, the families of the deceased can claim the loss of the society, companionship and support of their loved one. As these losses are the greatest there is never enough compensation for these claims.

Insurance companies put up a bigger fight in more complex personal injury claims where the victim has suffered extensive damages and is asking for a large settlement. Our personal injury law firm is ready to fight for your just and fair compensation.

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What Is the Statute of Limitations for My Case?

The statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits, according to Maryland law, is three years from the date of the accident or injury. The Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings say that “unless another provision of the Code provides a different period of time within which an action shall be commenced,” you must file within this time frame.

However, what's most important to understand is that you should not wait to speak to a personal injury lawyer. There are many advantages to filing your claim well before the statute of limitations has expired.

Freshness of Evidence

If you get witness testimony sooner, the accident is fresher in their minds than if you wait. Our Maryland personal injury lawyers can also request footage from nearby surveillance cameras or traffic cameras before the data on them is deleted. If you have suffered injury from a medical mistake, the evidence of your condition might still be detectable.

Strengthens Your Case

The longer you wait to file your injury claim, the more reason the insurance company is going to have to fight back. They have some typical arguments that they make when someone files their claim much later, like claiming that they were actually injured in another incident but have decided to pin their client with blame. Don't give the insurance company an opportunity to try to deny your claim. Call us today to get started on your case.

Helping You Move Forward

The most important reason why you should speak to a Maryland personal injury lawyer about your case is so that you can start to move on. Our legal team fights hard to help accident victims whose financial stability was ruined by the accident.

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Maryland Personal Injury Lawyers

When you work with us, you are assigned a personal injury attorney who will stay with your case from intake to verdict. We build strong relationships from the start by listening to our clients tell us more about the incident that occurred so that we can develop their personal injury claim. We will answer any questions you may have and strive to remove any uncertainty or confusion on your part regarding the legal process.

What Is Commonly Viewed as Pain and Suffering?

“Pain and suffering” is a legal term to describe both the physical pain and emotional suffering a victim endures after an accident. The law recognizes that a personal injury is more than just a singular event. It affects the victim’s future, economic security, their enjoyment of life and adds to their stress. Victims who suffer the loss of function of a body part or organ, or have a permanent disability, are entitled to non-economic damages in recompense for their permanent injuries.

What Can I Expect From the Attorney Client Relationship With Parker, Pallett, Slezak & Russell?

We owe you a duty of confidence and a duty to maintain communication throughout the entire process of your claim. We present to you complex legal theories in simple terms so that you can make decisions for yourself in full awareness of your rights. We are determined to provide aggressive representation to maximize your financial compensation. We will build a strong legal strategy using the evidence from your medical records, witness testimony, and the police report.

We can also hire expert witnesses to testify on your behalf. Expert witnesses are authorities in their field, whether they are doctors, accident reconstructionists or engineers. Their testimony can be used as evidence in your case, as they are very helpful in explaining how an accident or injury occurred.

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How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer?

We work on a contingency fee basis, which means that there is no fee unless our Maryland personal injury attorneys win for you. We structure our fee system this way to take the financial stress off of you so that you can focus on your recovery.

Contact us NOW
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We Get Results

More than $50,000,000 earned for our clients. Over 10,000 cases handled.

$1,300,000

Ronald Parker settled a claim for $1.3 million

$109,603

Tara Westra Wins $109,603 for Car Crash Client

$1,250,000

Karmen Slezak and Perry W. Lericos, Settles Client’s Personal Injury Case for $1,250,000.00

$409,935

Tara Westra and Karmen Slezak Recover Over $409,935 for Injured Bus Driver

$315,000

Karmen M. Slezak, Partner, Obtains Another Verdict Against a Major Insurance Company

$875,000

Perry Lericos Recovers Over $875,000 for Client in Motorcycle Crash Case

$1,350,000

Ronald Parker secured a $1.35 million payoff

$687,500

Tara Westra Obtains $687,500 for Client in Work-Related Car Crash

$430,000

The Parker Team Earns Victim of T-Bone Auto Accident $430,000

$300,000

Perry Lericos and Robert Westra Secure $300,000 for their Injured Client

$200,000

Tara Westra Obtains Settlement for $200,000 in Car Crash Case

$510,000

Perry Lericos Secures an Arbitration Award of $510,000 for Injured Client

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