Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer Pain & Suffering MD Accident Attorney

The personal injury clam laws of several states in the United States permit the claimant to request damages for pain and suffering undergone after the accident. The most challenging part of raising a claim for personal injury is the absence of proper guideline as to fixing monetary values on the suffering one has gone through due to the accident.

Fixing a monetary value on the pain endured is difficult to quantify. The pain and suffering caused by an accident cannot be seen but can only be felt by the person who has been injured. A medical expert can understand the pain and can document the same through his reports but such reports and examinations cannot exactly provide a monetary value for the pain undergone.

The fact that each person has his/her own endurance capacity increases the difficulty in the task of analyzing the pain undergone by an individual. For some people an immediate consultation of a medical expert becomes mandatory while for some others over-the –counter pills will solve the problem.

Types of pain and suffering in Maryland

If one is injured in an accident, there are two types of injury that he/she may face. The pain involved may be physical suffering or mental suffering. The law does not provide a clear cut rule for calculating the value for the loss caused to an individual due to the pain and suffering. It is generally believed that if one is injured, it would be painful and may lead to treatment and at times even surgery. The injury will involve healing time. The injury and the recovery period will surely lead to suffering.

In certain cases, the injury is not external and involves internal injury like a tissue injury and other such injuries to ligaments, tendons etc. These injuries are not visible on an X-ray. Though such harms are internal they are extremely painful and merely because they are internal injuries, they cannot be considered painless harms.

Evaluation of the pain and suffering by an insurance company in Maryland:

An important assumption that insurance companies usually have while analyzing a case involving bodily harm is that any one in pain would surely take the assistance of a medical professional. If one has not taken medical advice, insurance companies quickly assume that the injured individual was not in such an extent of pain that required medical advice. Insurance companies are generally driven by another assumption that all injuries that require more medical treatment are more painful and the extent of suffering is more. The time taken by one to recover from the injury caused by the accident is also an important factor considered by insurance companies in order to come to a conclusion as to the extent of pain suffered by the injured person. Such factors and the assumptions of the insurance company determine the compensation fixed by the insurance company.

If you are involved in a car accident and have been injured, then you should immediately seek medical treatment. In case you decide not to take medical assistance, such decision would surely affect your insurance claim. Where the injured person does not seek medical advice, insurance companies assume that the injury is not very serious and assume that the injury is minor and does not require much compensation. Where no medical assistance is sought, it is just the injured individual’s statements about being hurt that supports the claim with no other supporting document.

Where medical assistance is sought after the injury, the injured individual’s statements about the pain and suffering undergone are appropriately corroborated by medical evidence. Medical evidence includes reports by doctors pertaining to the nature and description of the injury, test results and other reports after physical examination of the patient. In the report, the medical professional would surely include details as to the initial complaints about the injury, how medical aid improved the patient’s condition.

In validating an insurance claim after an accident, the insurance company usually accesses the medical reports of the injured individual. In some cases, the number of days the individual had taken leave from office is considered as proof of the extent of pain and suffering.

What evidence is considered by an insurance company to make a determination about the pain and suffering endured in Maryland?

In analyzing the pain and suffering endured by the injured individual, the company considers all supporting documents available. In such a situation, it is important for the injured individual to maintain a careful record of all available documents for insurance claim. Such documents include doctor reports, reports of physical examinations, doctor prescriptions, bills and photographs taken during the accident, photographs about recovery, medical receipts and proof of leave taken from employment.

In some cases, the injured persons are of the view that there is no need to file a personal injury claim as it is assumed that their injury would be compensated without filing a claim. Such assumption is wrong as companies do not compensate bodily harm claims easily. The process by itself is complicated and one cannot obtain the compensation without being represented by a persuasive attorney who is well versed in the personal injury claim laws in Maryland. If one wishes to win his/her personal injury case, hiring a lawyer who is experienced in handling medical bills, medical reports and prescriptions is important.

How a Maryland lawyer would assist in claiming compensation for personal injury case?

If one approaches his/her personal injury case all by himself/herself, it is most likely to be denied or the grant of the requested relief is likely to be postponed. In this situation, an experienced Maryland attorney would accurately assess the case and present the case in the injured individual’s favor. Also, their experience in routinely handling such cases helps them in providing a list of damages for personal injury cases of all types.

For claiming compensation in a personal injury case, it is important to design the paper work with the required details. A lawyer who has years of experience in handling personal injury claim cases would file the same quickly due to his/her expertise in such filing.

If you personally make the claim instead of taking the assistance of a Maryland lawyer, you are bound to commit the mistake of either going for a settlement and receiving lesser amounts or you may file papers for a case that would have fetched you a better settlement if things had gone for mediation. This mistake occurs due to the hesitation of most people to take the advice of legal professionals. This hesitation leads to loss of several thousands of dollars as compensation.

A Maryland attorney who knows how to deal with a personal injury case can provide you with the right advice and will further assist you in negotiating your case firmly to obtain a strong settlement for you.

Most people filing for personal injury claims are unaware of the applicability of the statute of limitations. As per the statute of limitations, an injured person has only three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury claim. If the injured person fails to timely file for compensation for the pain and suffering, he/she may lose the right to claim compensation. In such circumstances, it is important to obtain the professional services of an experienced attorney and file the claim on time.

Though the most challenging task in a personal injury claim is quantifying the damages caused, it is important to understand that the objective of filing for a claim for injury caused is to minimize as best as possible the loss involved.

The amount so awarded as damages include medical bills. Amount allotted for medical bills include present as well as future medical bills. If the individual was compelled to take leave due to the injury, then the loss of pay caused to the individual may be reimbursed. The value of the claim also includes amount for the stress undergone as a result of the accident. Punitive damages may be awarded if the judge decides based on his/her discretion that the case deserves the award of punitive damages.

Amount awarded for pain and suffering in Maryland

No value can specifically be allotted for pain and suffering. Pain and suffering includes physical and mental suffering. Amount fixed for pain and suffering depends on how severely injured the individual is, the effect of such injury on the individual’s life, age of the person who is injured and the extent of trauma the individual was compelled to suffer as a result of the pain. Then the court would use the multiplier method or the per diem method to arrive at a calculation of damages. Under the multiplier method, the amount of compensatory damages is multiplied by a number from one to five based on how severe the harm was. Under the per diem method pain and suffering is calculated for each day the person is in the recovery stage.

If one desired to receive a deserving compensation in their personal injury claim case, it is important to approach the right Maryland attorney and file the claim on time. C