About 40,000 people died in car accidents in 2018 in the USA, and about 4.5 million of them received severe injuries. If you live in Maryland, you must be aware that over 100,000 crashes happen here every year on average, of which 36,000 cases belong to severe injuries, and more than 66,000 incidents account for property damage. The number of individuals dying from the accident is also significantly large. However, the only bright side is that the fatality rate in this state is still lower compared to other American regions.
Since the main reason behind most automobile accidents is negligence, Maryland applies tort laws to do justice with the victim. Tort laws are a kind of personal injury laws that decide the accountability of the person who committed the act of negligence. The rules are not strictly statutory; decisions may vary based on the nature of a particular case and therefore, become a guiding light for the future ones. Nevertheless, there are still a few statues that play an essential role in matters of car accidents. Some of those prevailing car crash laws in Maryland are shared below for your knowledge in these cases.
Common laws for car accidents in Maryland
Time limitation for filing a car accident lawsuit
A personal injury lawsuit, for that matter, a car accident case also, needs to be filed within three years from the actual date of the incident. If no claim is filed within that period, then your plea can be dismissed quickly.
The accident victim needs to produce proofs
It is a responsibility of the victims to provide evidence for their injuries and prove why the other person should be held responsible for causing him or her hurt. In that order, there are four things that a victim needs to show:
- The person was legally responsible for the safety of the victim
- The person did not conform to the responsibility
- That resulted in the victim’s injuries, and
- The severity of the injuries
For winning a personal injury case, you need to prove all the four points mentioned above. You can lose a lawsuit if even one of these elements goes unproven.
The application of contributory negligence
In many American states, the rule of comparative negligence is applicable, whereby the percentage of negligence is assigned to both the parties and based on it, the victim gets the share of his or her compensation. But, Maryland follows the law of contributory negligence. In that case, if the victim is found at fault, he or she will not get any compensation at all. That means if you are partly responsible for the accident, you cannot qualify for any compensatory amount.
The violation of traffic code
If you can show that the driver violated traffic rules and thus, have been negligent, you can speed up your lawsuit proceedings and expect a positive result.
The law of wrongful death
In the cases of fatality, the family members of the dead victim have to appear in the court to claim their rights and to safeguard the victim’s rights. The court can allow compensation in such situations.No personal injury lawsuit is easy to win. It needs skilled and experienced hands to deal with it. If you wish for a fair judgment, then consider hiring a trusted car accident lawyer firm in Maryland.
