How Car Accident Compensation Works in Maryland

Every driver in the state must have car insurance, and their policies must meet minimum requirements for coverage. These minimum requirements include: 

• $30,000 bodily injury coverage per person
• $60,000 bodily injury coverage per accident
• $15,000 property damage coverage.

All drivers are also required to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage with liability limits of at least $30,000 bodily injury per person and $60,000 per accident. This can help protect you if you are injured in an accident caused by a driver who does not have insurance, or who does not have enough to cover all of the damages you suffered. 

A serious car accident can result in damages that are much higher than these minimum coverage requirements. That’s why all drivers should consider buying policies that have higher liability limits.

There are also optional types of coverage available that can provide additional protection. These include: 

• Personal injury protection (PIP) – This type of coverage is not required in Maryland, but insurance companies are required to offer at least $2500 in PIP coverage. It can help you pay medical expenses for treating injuries you suffered in an accident. 
• Collision – If your car is damaged in a vehicle collision, this type of coverage will help you pay for repairs, or pay you the current value of the car if it can’t be repaired.
• Comprehensive – If your car is damaged during an event other than a collision, this coverage will help pay for repairs. Examples include fire, theft, vandalism, and acts of nature.

That means that the driver who caused the crash is responsible for paying damages. However, the process of recovering compensation can be complicated. Negligent drivers often deny doing anything wrong, even if they were speeding, driving recklessly, or texting behind the wheel. If you were hurt in a car accident, that puts you in the position of having to prove negligence. 

Insurance companies may also dispute car accident claims. Their goal is to process claims while paying out as little as possible. There are a number of tactics they use in pursuit of this goal. They include: 

• Questioning the seriousness of injuries 
• Challenging the need for certain types of treatment
• Seeking access to medical histories to look for evidence of pre-existing injuries
• Offering lowball settlement offers that fall far short of covering all damages. 

Another tactic used by insurance companies is to blame you for being partially responsible for the accident. Under Maryland’s contributory negligence system, if you are found to be even 1% at fault for causing an accident, you are unable to receive financial compensation in a third-party car accident injury claim. 

Insurance companies are very familiar with contributory negligence and will try to use it to their advantage. That’s why it’s important to have an experienced Maryland car accident lawyer on your side. 

That may be necessary in order to recover the compensation you deserve. A lawyer can advise you of your options. First, you can file a third-party claim with the other driver’s insurance company. But you can expect them to dispute your claim or make you an offer for substantially less then you deserve. 

The amount of compensation you can recover in a lawsuit will depend on many different factors. These include the type and severity of injuries and policy limits. But in general, you can seek compensation for: 

• All current and future medical expenses related to your injuries (including surgery, hospitalization, medication, physical therapy, and home health services)
• Lost wages if you had to miss time from work
• Other damages, such as pain and suffering.

An experienced lawyer will have a thorough knowledge of state law and how insurance companies process claims. Your attorney can: 

• Conduct an independent investigation of the accident
• Gather evidence (such as video of the crash taken by traffic cameras)
• Interview witnesses
• Consult accident reconstruction experts, if needed
• Build a strong case for compensation 
• Refute arguments that you were partially at fault
• Calculate the total damages you suffered 
• Deal with the insurance company directly on your behalf
• Negotiate a settlement
• Pursue a lawsuit if a settlement can’t be reached.

It’s important to get legal advice as soon as possible after being hurt in a car accident. In Maryland, the statute of limitations for taking legal action is three years from the date of the accident. That sounds like you have plenty of time. But the longer you wait, the more likely it is that key evidence will be lost or destroyed. Witnesses may also forget important details about what they saw.

Talk to an experienced Maryland car accident attorney to learn about your legal options for compensation and get answers to your questions.