Car Accident Injury FAQs

The biggest thing you can do is to say as little and get as much information as you can. Tell police what happened if they come to the scene. But do not provide the other driver with unnecessary information and keep your answers concise. If you are injured, make this known, but you do not have to go into extensive detail.

Get as much information as you can, including witnesses, time, photographs, weather, the nuances of the crash, etc. If your injuries do not allow you to do this, delegate this task to a friend or family member. Calling the police and getting them to document the details of the crash is almost invariably going to be necessary because you want an unbiased third party's information as well.

Insurance companies will dispute every last detail in personal injury claims. Taking or dictating copious notes can make your path to compensation a great deal easier.

• More on what to do after an accident
• Should I give a recorded statement to the insurance companies?
• Am I legally required to report an accident?

The driver at-fault in a car accident is the driver who did something that a reasonably prudent driver would not have done, resulting in injuries to other users of the road.

In most car accident cases, fault is not a big challenge, even when the insurance companies pretend that it is. When a texting driver rear ends another car at a stop sign or an inattentive driver blows through a red light there is rarely a significant debate about liability.

The bigger issue is usually the amount of compensation the victim should get. This amount ranges wildly depending on the severity of the victim’s injuries and the ability of their lawyer to articulate why they deserve more for those injuries.

• How to prove fault

The at-fault driver’s insurance company will pay for the property damage to your vehicle. When the insurance company does not step up to pay for repairs to your car, you can file a lawsuit to force them to pay. Delays happen either because the insurance company is not able to gather evidence quickly enough or because it believes that their driver was not at-fault.

If you have collision coverage, you can go ahead and use your own insurance to get your car back on the road. You can recover the cost of the deductible when both insurance companies determine that you were not responsible for the crash.

• Ways to get a better property damage settlement
• More on who is responsible for the cost of property damage after a car accident

Hopefully, the at-fault driver’s insurance will provide you with a car until yours if fixed or until money comes through to replace your car if it was totaled. If not, your only other option may be to front the cost of a rental car and send the bills to the insurance company hoping that they eventually accept responsibility. If you have rental insurance through your insurance company, they will front the cost of your rental car until issues of liability are settled.

• How to get insurance to pay for a rental car

The first step in paying your medical bills is using your own health insurance coverage. However, in many cases, victims are left with outstanding medical bills.

The majority of Maryland drivers have personal injury protection (PIP) coverage worth anywhere from $2,500 to $20,000. PIP can be used to cover the cost of lost wages, medical bills, and other expenses resulting from a car accident. You can use PIP regardless of whether you were the at-fault driver. PIP can help you get money quickly.

Finally, you can file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver to pay for your medical bills, lost wages, and non-economic costs such as the pain & suffering you suffered due to your injuries. Any medical bills we be payed out of your settlement, which is paid by the at-fault driver’s insurance company.

A lawyer can also help you reduce the interest and other costs that your health insurance is charging and help to delay their payment deadlines until after you have received a settlement.

• More on how much money to expect from car accident settlements

It’s a good idea to speak to an attorney immediately after an accident, especially if you or a loved one was seriously injured. A lawsuit cannot undo the damage of a car accident. However, lawyers can help you reduce your financial burden and recover costs that you are unable to pay through other avenues.

If you have a serious injury or wrongful death case, having experienced counsel at your side can make all the difference. In smaller accident cases, you may want a lawyer, or you may not. There are some cases where the injuries are minor enough where proceeding without a lawyer is reasonable.

• Should I hire a lawyer?
• When you need a lawyer vs. when you can handle a claim yourself

In most cases, Maryland statute of limitations law stipulates that you have three years from the date of the accident to bring a claim. There are exceptions that can lengthen or shorten that three-year period. There are also notification requirements that in some cases have time limits as short as 180 days. Talk to a lawyer soon rather than later to find out how long you have to bring a claim.

Insurance companies are not trying to give you fair compensation for your injuries. These companies want to collect as much as they can in insurance premiums and pay out as little money as possible on every claim. When insurance companies offer less than a claim is worth, victims and their lawyers have to work hard to fight for a fair offer.

Your insurance rates will not go up in Maryland if you are not found at-fault for the crash, even if you make a claim. However, your insurance rates will go up an average of 22 percent if your negligence is found to have caused the accident.

Maryland drivers are required to have uninsured motorist coverage. If you have car insurance, you have uninsured motorist coverage. This means that if you suffer injuries as the result of the negligence of an uninsured driver, your insurance company is required to pay you fair compensation for the harm and losses you have suffered.

Under most Maryland car insurance policies, your uninsured motorist coverage mirrors the policy limits of your liability coverage. In other words, the insurance company pays you the same amount as they would if you had been the negligent driver. There is often a battle between you and your insurance company over how much money you should receive for your injuries.

Uninsured motorist coverage also protects you if the at-fault driver fled the scene of the accident.

You do not need car insurance to bring a claim in Maryland. The focus of the inquiry for determining whether you have a claim is simply whether someone else negligently caused you injury. You can be driving on a suspended license, underage, and the like and still bring a personal injury claim.

If neither you nor the at-fault driver have insurance, you have a problem. The at-fault driver is still responsible for compensating you for your property damage and injuries. However, it is unlikely that they will have the out-of-pocket funds to do so even if you bring legal action.