How Do I make a Claim for Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage ?
While not necessarily a direct factor used in determining the value of your personal injury claim, an experienced Baltimore personal injury lawyer will tell you: The amount of your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is a direct factor in determining the amount you may be able to recover in a car accident case. Let’s say you... Read more »
My Insurance Company Won’t Pay or Denied my Uninsured Motorist Insurance Claim
Let’s say you have the misfortune of being injured in an automobile accident, and you sustain personal injuries, incur medical bills, and experience wage loss. What if the at-fault-driver had the statutorily mandated minimum coverage of just $30,000? In a more ominous situation, what if that at-fault-driver had no coverage at all? You’ll need the... Read more »
Do I Have to Pay Taxes on My Personal Injury Settlement or Award?
NO TAX /BANKRUPTCY/ESTATE PLANNING ADVICE: Eric Kirk does not handle tax, bankruptcy or trust and estate matters, and does not render legal opinions pertaining to those issues. Please consult a qualified professional in these disciplines. I’m Attorney Eric T. Kirk not a tax attorney. I do not handle tax cases, and I do not render tax... Read more »
After the Accident I Can’t Have Sex With My Wife/Husband, or Have It as Often
If you’re injured by the negligence of another the law recognizes your right to recover. What if you are married, and your injury affects the nature and quality of your relationship with your spouse? Attorney Eric T. Kirk says as for your medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering, an experienced Baltimore personal injury lawyer... Read more »
Do I Have to Repay Medical Bills from My Personal Injury Settlement ?
Many injured people are fortunate enough to have insurance, and their Personal Injury Protection [PIP]*, health, employer, private disability insurance, or any combination of those sources pay for some past or future lost wages, or some past or future medical care. In some instances, a federally funded insurance substitute such as Medicare or Medicaid makes... Read more »
Is There A Limit On How Much I Can Recover In A Personal Injury Case ?
Maryland, through it legislature, has chosen to limit the amounts recoverable by those injured by the negligence of others. Experienced Baltimore personal injury lawyers are all too aware that “in an action for personal injury, pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, loss of consortium, or other nonpecuniary injury…”and “[i]n an action for wrongful death, mental... Read more »
Does the Insurance Company Use A Computer to Determine How Much I Get for my Personal Injury?
Many major insurance companies allow a computer to determine how much injury victims should collect. This may come as shock to many, but more than ten years ago, most insurance companies began using computer software to determine the amounts they would pay to a victim of negligence. The maker of “Colossus” -Computer Sciences Corporation– realizes enormous... Read more »
Does The Amount Of Damage To My Car Effect The Value Of My Personal Injury Case?
It absolutely does. The insurance industry’s approach to cases in which the property damage is less than $1000 is explored in other guides. For the purposes of this discussion, note that a low property damage number may mean the insurance company will refuse to pay you anything at all. Several years ago, 70 of the... Read more »
Low Speed Collision, No Property Damage, Insurance Denials and Denied Claims
The insurance industry created the argument years ago that low-speed collisions or accidents where the cars are not mangled cannot lead to significant injury, and have successfully argued that position to juries and judges, repeatedly, throughout the country. Not all doctors think so. As attorney Eric T. Kirk will tell you, “It is wrong to assume that maximum neck... Read more »
Can I Recover Punitive Damages in a Car Accident Case?
In an extraordinary case, you may be able to recover damages beyond those awarded for your economic [lost wages, medical bills etc.] and non-economic [pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life etc]. But the facts must be truly extraordinary. Punitive damages are not available, for example, in the typical personal injury or Baltimore car... Read more »
Does a Pedestrian in a Crosswalk Have the Right of Way?
The drivers of motor vehicles on Maryland roadways have a duty to use ordinary care to prevent car accidents and injury to others, and those crossing Maryland streets owe a duty to use ordinary care for their own safety. Crosswalks have some associated special rules. A crosswalk may be marked or “unmarked” [i.e. within the... Read more »
Slipped on Black Ice. Can You Sue for your Injuries?
I slipped on the ice. Can I sue? Does it matter if it was “black ice”? As discussed in other articles, Maryland employs the archaic doctrine of “contributory negligence” which bars any financial recovery to a Baltimore accident victim if they bear even the slightest responsibility for contributing to their injury. Baltimore personal injury lawyers... Read more »
