Pedestrians injured in Lanham, MD, due to another person’s negligence can seek financial compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other losses. If you or a loved one were injured while walking, an experienced Lanham pedestrian accident lawyer can help review the facts of the accident and pursue justice on your behalf.
Pedestrian accidents – especially those involving vehicles – can be devastating. As you recover from the physical and emotional trauma from your accident, Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers can help you navigate your personal injury claim in Lanham, Maryland. Contact our Lanham pedestrian accident attorneys at (301) 936-0011 to learn more and schedule a free consultation.
How Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You After a Pedestrian Accident in Lanham, MD
If you were hurt as a pedestrian in any type of accident, you could face unexpected medical bills, lost income due to your injuries, out-of-pocket expenses, rehab and therapy, and other expenses. If someone else caused your injuries, you deserve to know what happened and who is responsible.
Our Lanham pedestrian accident lawyers bring a wealth of experience and will make sure your case gets the attention it deserves.
When you hire our Lanham pedestrian accident lawyers, these are the ways we can help you:
- Free Initial Consultation. Meet with a knowledgeable pedestrian accident lawyer for a free, no-obligation consultation. We will discuss the details of your case, analyze the odds of success and potential value of the claim, outline your legal options, and talk about what comes next.
- Case Evaluation. Our attorneys will carefully collect information and investigate the circumstances of your accident. This includes reviewing witness statements, video footage, photographs, medical records, and other key pieces of evidence in your case. We will consult with experts whenever necessary to advance your claim.
- Legal Strategy Review. Our lawyers will build a tailored legal strategy to seek the best outcome for your personal injury claim. We will review the potential worth of your claim, settlement goals, and how to prepare your case for trial if needed.
- Negotiation and Advocacy for the Client. We handle all communications with the other party and their attorney, and insurance company processing a claim, and will fight aggressively to obtain the compensation you deserve.
- Trial Representation. Sometimes, a fair settlement is not reached during the negotiation phases. When a trial is needed to achieve justice, our dedicated trial attorneys will represent you vigorously, using our extensive courtroom experience and resources to prove your claim and obtain compensation to address your injuries.
From medical bills to lost income and more, our Lanham personal injury attorneys can help you recover financially and hold responsible parties accountable for their negligence. If you have suffered due to a pedestrian accident, you will need skilled legal representation.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Lanham Pedestrian Accident Lawyer?
Pedestrian accident lawyers in Maryland typically represent clients on a contingency fee basis. Under contingency arrangements, injured victims of pedestrian accidents can get skilled legal help without paying retainer fees or monthly invoices. Instead, attorney’s fees are collected only if your case wins. Then, the attorney would receive an agreed-to percentage of the total settlement or jury award.
What about the costs involved with a personal injury case? Costs required for filing court documents, collecting evidence, hiring experts, and preparing for trial will not come out of your pocket. Expenses in your case would only be paid out of your financial award at the successful conclusion of your case.
If your case does not succeed, you are not required to pay attorney’s fees or costs. Schedule a free consultation with our legal team to learn more about how contingency fees work at our firm.
How Common Are Pedestrian Accidents In Maryland?
Pedestrians are highly vulnerable on Maryland’s sidewalks and roadways. Unlike motorists and cyclists, pedestrians aren’t surrounded by safety equipment and heavy metal to protect themselves when accidents happen. When drivers fail to follow traffic signs, drive while distracted, drive while intoxicated, speed, or drive recklessly, pedestrians can be hit, and the results can be devastating.
Thousands of pedestrians are involved in traffic crashes each year, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation. Tragically, one in four fatalities in Maryland traffic crashes are pedestrians on foot. With these sobering statistics in mind, it is important to remember that victims of pedestrian accidents in Maryland have legal rights after being involved in a crash.
When an accident happens, and you need legal help, trust the attorneys that have handled these cases before and will stand by our side each step of the way during your case.
Common Injuries In Maryland Pedestrian Accidents
In pedestrian accidents, certain injuries happen more often than others.
Frequent pedestrian injuries caused by negligence are:
- Broken bones
- Concussions
- Neck injuries
- Hip injuries
- Knee injuries
- Skull fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord damage
- Internal bleeding
- Soft tissue injuries
- Loss of vision
- Hearing damage
- Paralysis
- Loss of limbs
- Wrongful death
Any of these injuries can impact your quality of life or cause long-term pain and suffering. Through a personal injury claim, you can seek to address the physical and mental consequences of a pedestrian accident.
What Is the Value of My Personal Injury Case?
What is your pedestrian accident claim worth? Damages in a Maryland pedestrian injury case will include both economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are the actual financial costs of the accident, such as:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income due to the accident
- Reduced future earnings due to long-term injuries
- Out-of-pocket costs
- Nursing assistance and rehabilitation.
Non-economic damages cover the often unseen losses such as emotional distress, mental anguish, loss of companionship, and other effects of an accident. Pain and suffering, disfigurement, disability, and reduced quality of life can also have monetary values assigned to them during the settlement process.
Experience counts when you need to get the most out of your pedestrian injury claim. Personal injury lawyers like ours have 125 years of experience handling pedestrian accident cases and will be able to estimate your claim’s value based on the facts of the case.
What Is Negligence in a Pedestrian Accident Case?
Pedestrian accident cases involve the legal theory of negligence. To collect financial damages in a Maryland pedestrian injury case, plaintiffs must show it was more likely than not that the defendant’s negligence caused the accident.
Proving negligence requires four basic elements:
- Duty of care owed by one party to the other;
- Breach of the duty of care by the defendant;
- Causation – that the breach caused your injuries;
- Damages suffered, such as medical bills, lost income, and other losses.
A Lanham personal injury lawyer will use all available evidence to prove negligence in your case, including:
- Medical bills and records
- Photographs
- Video Footage
- Witness statements and testimony
- Expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction experts and medical experts.
Your Lanham pedestrian injury lawyer will use their knowledge, experience, and resources to prove the connection between a defendant’s negligence and your damages.
Can I Recover Compensation if I Shared Responsibility for My Pedestrian Accident?
Maryland’s contributory negligence rule is strict, and prevents accident victims from receiving damages if they shared any blame for the accident. This rule is contrary to most other states, which allow financial recovery even if the accident victim was partly at fault.
In Maryland, for example, if a pedestrian is hit by a car while walking across the street, they could lose their right to recover if they were looking at their phone or jaywalking. For this reason, it is important to watch what you do or say after you’ve been injured in a pedestrian accident. Admissions of fault or blame – especially if you were not to blame at all – can be used against you at later stages of a personal injury claim.
Insurance companies and defense attorneys will fight hard to prove an accident victim’s shared liability for the accident. Your pedestrian injury attorney will fight back to prove liability by the other side.
What Is the Deadline to File a Lawsuit in a Maryland Pedestrian Accident Case?
The statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Maryland is three years in most cases. While the 3-year deadline might seem like plenty of time, it is often better to file your claim closer to the accident – when more evidence is available and witnesses still have fresh memories.
The time limit usually starts running on the date of the accident or the date of death in a wrongful death claim. If you don’t file your lawsuit by the deadline, you could permanently lose your right to financial payment. An experienced Maryland personal injury lawyer will make sure your case is strong and ready to file by the deadline.
Contact a Lanham Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Today for a Free Consultation
If you or a loved one were injured in a pedestrian accident in Lanham, MD, you could be entitled to financial compensation. The pedestrian accident lawyers at Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers are here to help you move forward after a serious accident. To learn more about how we can help, contact our law office to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a Lanham pedestrian accident lawyer.