Maryland Accident Law Blog
Two people were treated at Christiana Hospital last Friday night after being injured in a car crash on Del. 301 in the vicinity of Strawberry Lane near the Maryland line.
According to Maryland State Police, the car collision occurred after a 2000 Ford Taurus pulled out of a service station into the path of a 2005 Acura. Rescue workers spent more than 40 minutes freeing Julia Wickersham, 28, from the wreckage. County paramedics treated her for fractures and she was reportedly in critical condition when she was flown to the hospital. A male passenger in the vehicle she was driving was treated for facial cuts. The other driver, Edgar Ferriera, 25, was also taken to Christiana Hospital in reportedly serious condition. He sustained a leg fracture in the accident.
When a person has been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, they may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. In order to win a personal injury suit, however, you must be able to prove that someone was legally liable for the injury because of his or her carelessness or negligence. A basic rule is applied by the law regarding this carelessness. If one person in an accident was more careless than the other, the less careful person must pay for at least part of the damages suffered by the person who was more careful.
Determining Legal Liability
Liability revolves around the simple fact that most accidents happen because someone was careless — or “negligent.” To this carelessness, the law applies a basic rule: If one person involved in an accident was less careful than another, the less careful one must pay for at least a portion of the damages suffered by the more careful one.
According to Nolo.com, legal liability for almost all accidents is determined by this rule of carelessness, and by one or more of the following simple propositions:
· If the injured person was where he or she was not supposed to be, or somewhere he or she should have expected the kind of activity which caused the accident, the person who caused the accident might not be liable because that person had no “duty” to be careful toward the injured person.
· If the injured person was also careless, his or her compensation may be reduced by the extent such carelessness was also responsible for the accident. This is known as comparative negligence.
· If a negligent person causes an accident while working for someone else, the employer may also be legally responsible for the accident.
· If an accident is caused on property that is dangerous because it is poorly built or maintained, the owner of the property is liable for being careless in maintaining the property, regardless of whether he or she actually created the dangerous condition.
· If an accident is caused by a defective product, the manufacturer and seller of the product are both liable even if the injured person doesn’t know which one was careless in creating or allowing the defect, or exactly how the defect happened.
The personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen handles personal injury lawsuits filed in Maryland and Washington D.C. In addition to car accidents, they handle medical malpractice, pedestrian accidents, wrongful deaths, product liability, motorcycle accidents, dog bites, and other types of personal injury lawsuits. Contact Lebowitz and Mzhen for a free consultation today.
Accident Closes Del. 301 Near the Maryland Line, Delawareonline.com, December 8, 2006
General Rules for Proving Fault in Accidents, Nolo.com
Related Web Resource:
Personal Injury, DMV.org