Obstacles We Commonly See in a Paratransit Injury Case in Maryland
There are a variety of obstacles and challenges that victims face in a paratransit injury case in Maryland. These include:
- Pre-existing conditions. If you’re a disabled victim with medical issues that pre-date your paratransit accident, the defendant’s insurer is likely to dispute your claim and try to blame your injuries on your pre-existing condition, especially if you’re a senior citizen.
- Multiple Defendants. Trains and buses are commercial vehicles. That means, the liability for your accident could be shared by more than one of a number of defendants:
- The transit agency
- The driver/operator of the bus or train
- The company that manufactured the bus, train, or wheelchair lift
- A mechanic or repair service that serviced the bus/train
- A parts manufacturer that supplied a defective part that was installed during repair of the lift
Each of these defendants might have a different insurance company that will do its best to dispute or devalue your claim. Dealing with more than one defendant/insurer to get fair compensation for a paratransit accident can create complex and difficult challenges for the average person, especially one recovering from recent injuries.
An experienced personal injury lawyer can handle these challenges and utilize the following strategies to get you a significantly higher award than you’re likely to get on your own:
- Investigate your accident with the help of an accident reconstructionist
- Document your injuries and organize/present your medical evidence persuasively
- Interview any witnesses to the accident
- Determine which defendants are responsible for what percentages of your damages
- File multiple claims, negotiate with multiple insurers, and possibly file multiple lawsuits
- Contributory negligence. Maryland is one of only four states that follow a contributory negligence standard in personal injury cases. This means, if you’re found to be even one percent responsible for your own accident, you will collect no compensation at all. The insurer’s lawyers will be fighting their hardest to prove you were partially responsible. Having an attorney in your corner to prove you were not responsible could make the difference between collecting fair compensation and collecting nothing.
- Statute of limitations. Your attorney will know how to spot and resist stalling tactics by the lawyers and be sure you observe the statute of limitations for filing a paratransit injury case in Maryland. In MD, the statute of limitations is three years.
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