Does A Computer Program Determine the Value of a Personal Injury Case?
The use of settlement software by the insurance industry is a well-kept secret, generally. Allstate, which is believed to still use a specific computer program to arrive at a settlement offer-called Colossus- has been compelled by regulatory authorities to disclose the use of the system. Indeed, they now send you a letter if they stating... Read more »
Slip And Falls On The Ice And Snow: Parking Lots, Sidewalks, And Apartment Buildings?
A “premises liability case” is the more formal name, both within the legal industry and outside it, for what most people call “slip and falls”. Not surprisingly, there is a rash of personal injuries resulting from falls on ice in the winter, generally, and specifically after major many weather events. Personal injuries in these cases... Read more »
Can A Homeowner’s Insurance Be Held Accountable for a Slip and Fall on Their Property?
If you slip and fall on someone else’s property, the owner of the property could be responsible for your injuries. Determining liability and who is accountable in any personal injury incident is a key component and vital first step of any case. There are many situations where people trip, slip, or fall under certain circumstances (such as an icy... Read more »
How Can a Personal Injury Attorney Prove Negligence in a Slip and Fall Case?
“Slip and fall” is a phrase used in personal injury cases as shorthand to describe a situation where a person may trip, slip, and fall on another person’s property. This is not to be seen a a trivialization of the occurrence. Many people are seriously injured when they trip over an uneven floor surface, or an irregular piece of... Read more »
When Can the Police Search Me or My Car ?
There are limits on what they police can and cannot do. The Constitution, and, in this instance, the Fourth Amendment, provides an important buffer of protection between citizens, and the power of the State. We are all guaranteed the right to be secure in our person and effects, and to be free from warrantless or... Read more »
Common Mistakes Made By Not Hiring A Personal Injury Attorney
It’s a common refrain, and a typical internal debate. “Should I hire a personal injury attorney?” There are articles in these guides that discuss suggested factors to be considered in making a decision to hire an attorney. Let’s take a moment to look at the downside. What are some of the pitfalls involved? Are their mistakes... Read more »
Is There A Limit To How Much I Can Recover In A Maryland Personal Injury Case?
I Attorney Eric T. Kirk discussed the various and myriad factors that go into assessing and assigning a value to a personal injury case in other Articles. Maryland law divides damages into two broad categories: economic and non-economic. Economic damages in the typical personal injury case will include past and future wages lost because of any... Read more »
Can I Carry A Stun Gun Or Taser In Maryland?
The short answer is that it depends. Maryland law allows you to possess a stun gun or taser under certain circumstances. As attorney Eric T. Kirk will tell you, under the law, stun guns and tasers are called Electronic Control Devices. This is defined as a portable device designed as a weapon capable of injuring, immobilizing, or... Read more »
How Long After A Baltimore Car Accident Do I Have To Report The Claim To The Insurance Company?
There is no specific time frame governing when one must report a claim to an insurance company in Maryland. We need to draw a distinction here between what is known as a first-party insurance claim and a third-party insurance claim. In the context of a Maryland automobile accident wherein personal injuries are sustained, claims that... Read more »
How Do I Calculate a Maryland Personal Injury Settlement?
The easy, short answer is that there is no calculator that can be used to determine a fair, reasonable personal injury settlement, although many of the nation’s largest insurance companies began to utilize settlement software several years ago. The process at work with settlement software involving a claims adjuster inputting preset variables, and the software,... Read more »
Drug/CDS Possession Charge? What If I Had A Prescription?
It is illegal in Maryland to possess a controlled substance “unless obtained directly or by prescription or order from an authorized provider acting in the course of professional practice” Md. CRIMINAL LAW, Code Ann. § 5-101. As Attorney Eric T. Kirk will tell you. The drug laws define a narcotic, generally as an opiate, or a... Read more »
Why Do I Have To Pay My Health Insurance Company Back From My Personal Injury Settlement?
Every major health insurance company that I Attorney Eric T. Kirk am aware of has provisions in their insurance policy that allow them to recover, from your recovery, for expenditures that they made for medical care for an injury caused by an at-fault third-party. Moreover, the substantive law of subrogation likely allows insurance companies responsible for medical... Read more »
