Maryland Injury Law Center

March 1, 2023

Can I Sue for a Auto Accident If I’m Not Injured?

The most common question I get from friends and acquaintances is whether you can sue if you are not injured in a car accident? The answer is yes, but with caveats.

Most auto accidents do not result in any physical injuries (75% according to the NHTSA). Even when your vehicle is the only thing that is damaged, you can still file a lawsuit after an auto accident if you were not at fault. This is what is known as a “property damage” auto accident lawsuit. If you file a property damage auto tort case, you can get compensation for the full cost of any damage to your vehicle.

Can I Still Sue If I'm Not Insured in the Auto Accident?

Let’s set aside the property damage because I address that below. The question here is do you have pain and suffering in a car accident where you either had no physical injuries or did not seek medical treatment?

February 28, 2023

Valuing Car Accident Cases in Maryland: 14 Factors That Matter

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Valuing car accident cases for settlement in Maryland is a challenge. The most important thing is the severity of the injuries.

That is probably all that should matter. But many more variables drive how much money the insurance company will offer to settle an injury claim before a lawsuit is filed. This is a list of 14 factors that really matter in determining the settlement value of any auto collision injury claim:

February 22, 2023

Contaminated Eye Drops Infection Lawsuit

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The CDC recently announced that EzriCare Artificial Tears lubricating eye drops have caused a wave of very serious bacterial infections across the country. Infections from the contaminated eye drops have caused very serious injuries including vision loss and at least one death. Our product liability attorneys are currently investigating potential eye drop infection lawsuits from individuals who used EzriCare eye drops and developed a bacterial infection that caused serious physical injuries.

The FDA is working with the CDC, and state and local health departments to investigate a rare, drug-resistant type of bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa that has caused infections in 55 people across 12 states as of January 31, 2023. The infections are linked to the use of EzriCare Artificial Tears, which has led to hospitalizations, one death from a bloodstream infection, and permanent vision loss from eye infections. The CDC has recommended that people stop using EzriCare Artificial Tears until further guidance is provided by the CDC and FDA.

Anyone who was harmed by bacteria in the EzriCare artificial tear drops could be entitled to substantial financial compensation in a civil lawsuit.

February 20, 2023

High-Low Agreements in Personal Injury Cases

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

I dislike trying personal injury cases with high-low agreements that contain the size of the verdict. If you will force us to take the case to trial, I would prefer the chance of the upside. My gut-level reaction is no deal.

But the problem with this bravado is clients. Our law firm has a decent volume of personal injury cases, which means our lawyers can spread the risk of the possibility of an unacceptable outcome at trial. Clients have just one case, so their risk calculus is very different. An added force of inertia for high-low agreements that makes the numbers more reasonable for injury victims is that insurance companies want to limit the possibility of a verdict exceeding the policy limits. Continue reading

February 19, 2023

Good Samaritan Law in Maryland

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Good Samaritan laws are intended to protect people from liability when they voluntarily assist others in emergencies.

Here is an example of how Good Samaritan laws work. Let’s say you’re driving to work and you witness a car accident. One of the vehicles flips over the driver is stuck and yelling for help. You pull over to help, but in extracting him from the car, you end up breaking his leg and causing other injuries.

Under traditional tort law, you could be liable for the driver’s injuries. The rationale was that you have no duty to render aid. But if you helped, you assumed a duty of helping safely and reasonably.

February 14, 2023

When Do You Call an Accident Reconstructionist?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Let me start off by saying I’m generally skeptical of the benefits of an accident reconstructionist as an expert witness in most car accident cases.

Why? Generally, I think in most liability dispute cases, jurors feel like they have all the information to make the call. Jurors think they understand basic physics and who is telling the truth and rarely look for help from an accident reconstructionist. We had a young lawyer trying his first case against a big law firm in a liability dispute case. The defendants hired one of the best accident reconstructionists in Maryland. Our client barely spoke English. We did not bring an expert. But we won because the jury heard the facts and believed our client.

February 11, 2023

Settlement Compensation for an Amputated Toe

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Our lawyers have handled scores of car accident and product liability cases where the injury is an amputation or serious injury to the victim’s toe or toes.

This page is about the settlement compensation payouts in toe injury and amputation cases and the issues that are presented in these injury claims. This page was last updated on February 22, 2023.

How much is a toe worth?

A recent Jury Verdict Research analysis of jury verdicts found that the overall median award for the amputation of one toe is $119,008. The median award for foot nerve damage or tarsal tunnel syndrome accident cases was $143,265. Underscoring the difficulties of the healing process in the complex structures that are our feet, the median award for foot injuries is $98,583.

February 10, 2023

Settlement Value of Loss of Vision in One Eye

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

What is the settlement value of a personal injury claim where you have lost your vision in either one eye or both?

Metro Verdicts Monthly has a graph that reflects the median verdicts and settlements when the injury victim loses vision in one eye in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

What Is the Average Settlement Compensation for Loss of Sight in One Eye?

The median for compensation for losing vision in one eye in Maryland is $231,000. You could drive a truck through the gap between Washington, D.C., and Virginia’s median settlements and verdicts with loss of vision in one eye cases: Washington, D.C.’s median is $162,500; Virginia’s is $320,000.

These numbers are a bit misleading. I think because most loss of vision cases are product liability cases. Many product liability cases have questionable liability, decreasing the average and median eye injury settlement amounts. If liability is not an issue, the compensation payouts in loss of sight in one-eye cases are much higher.

What Kind of Money Can I Expect for an Eye Injury at Work?

Workers’ compensation laws work differently than claims against other third parties. So if the claim is against your employer, a different set of laws apply. You can typically expect less in an eye injury settlement in a workers’ comp case against your employer than you would for the same injury when a third party was responsible.

But in some cases, the victim has two claims: a workers’ comp claim and a claim against the party that caused the harm.

February 10, 2023

Pitbulls, Maryland Law, and Homeowner’s Insurance

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Maryland made the right call by getting rid of the “one bite rule,” which created an assumption that dog owners know their dogs can bite. In doing so, the Maryland legislature effectively nixed a Maryland Supreme Court ruling that said pit bulls are inherently dangerous and imposed strict liability for owners and landlords.

At the end of the day though, insurance companies are most interested in these sorts of decisions, because they’re the ones paying out dog-bite claims. And although the dog breeds may not be as big an issue for Maryland legislators anymore, your insurance company may still discriminate and charge you more based on the dog you have.

Yes, I’m mostly talking about pit bulls. I agree not all pit bulls are dangerous. Many are well-behaved and loving pets. But because of the breed’s reputation, owners of pit bulls often face discrimination and prejudice from landlords, insurance companies, and others.

February 10, 2023

Statute of Limitations on Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Maryland

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Wrongful death lawsuits in Maryland are subject to a 3-year statute of limitations that runs from the date of death. In this post, we will look at wrongful death claims and this 3-year limitation deadline in more detail.

Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Maryland

The purpose of a wrongful death lawsuit is to seek compensation for the surviving family members who have suffered a loss as a result of the death of their loved one. This compensation can come in many forms, including monetary damages, reimbursement for funeral and burial expenses, and compensation for loss of companionship, support, and other damages.