Answer:
Based on the possible ramifications of a conviction, it would be prudent to consult with a local attorney who specializes in this type of case to assess your individual situation, to scrutinize the evidence of the case against you, and formulate a plan. Part of this analysis will include consideration of the customs and procedures of the local court where you stand accused. In Fairfax County, for example, prosecutors are not involved in Reckless Driving case unless the accused has an attorney. This policy is a response to the large volume of cases on the court’s docket on any given day. An unrepresented defendant will face the judge alone, with the evidence presented to the Court by the police officer. The unrepresented accused does not have the opportunity to present information to a prosecutor and perhaps negotiate a reduced charge. This is just one example of local procedure can have a broad impact on your experience at court and the final outcome you might anticipate.
Whether or not you need to hire an attorney will depend on your particular circumstance. Of course one of the factors to be considered will be the cost to retain the services of an attorney that specializes in this type of case. Typically, this type of case would involve a flat and fixed single fee. Specific costs can be discussed during a free consultation and those costs will vary depending on a number of factors. Keep in mind that the potential costs that could be incurred as the result of a conviction may far outweigh the fixed expense you would pay for legal counsel.
Answer:
In the District of Columbia, you have three years from the date of your injuries (the day of the motorcycle crash) to either file a lawsuit for injuries sustained or to settle your case. If you fail to do either within the required time period, you will never recover a penny for your injuries. The three year time limit is called a “statute of limitations.”
If you’re thinking about waiting until two years and eleven months after your crash to try to get a lawyer involved, you’re probably making a mistake. It is important to hire a personal injury attorney early in your case so that they can conduct an investigation into the accident, locate potential witnesses, and collect all of your medical bills and records in time to file your claim.
It is the policy in our office not to accept cases that are brought to us only a couple of months before the statute of limitations expires.
Answer:
In Maryland, you have three years from the date of your injury to either settle your motorcycle accident case or file a lawsuit. If you do not do one of these two things within the three year statute of limitations, your claim will expire. A lawsuit filed even a day after the statute of limitations is “dead on arrival” and you will not recover a dime.
If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident in Maryland, it is important to get in touch with an attorney within a reasonable period of time after the crash. This lets the attorney investigate the case and interview potential witnesses while the accident is still fresh in their mind.
You may also have sources such as PIP or MedPay on your own auto insurance policy that can serve as sources of payment for your medical bills.
Answer:
Tort reform is variety of ideas and laws that are designed by big business and the insurance industry to limit the recovery of the Plaintiff in a personal injury case. Most commonly, we see tort reform in the medical malpractice field.
Tort reform ideas include:
- Limiting an injured person’s right or access to a jury trial by requiring that cases be tried before a medical panel first,
- Placing an arbitrary cap on the injured person’s right to recovery for non-economic damages (pain and suffering)
- Placing an arbitrary cap on the injured person’s right to recover for all damages (Virginia a $1.85 million cap for recovery in medical malpractice cases regardless of what your medical bills or lifetime care plan totals)
- Imposing a system where the loser in a lawsuit has to pay all of the winner’s litigation costs
Answer:
Tort is one of those words that almost no one uses outside of law school, except to talk about “tort reform.” But to understand what they’re trying to “reform,” you first have to know what a tort is.
A tort is a wrong caused by the breach of a duty. Typically, when we’re talking about torts, we’re talking about the following types of cases:
- Personal injury from an auto accident
- Dog bites
- Wrongful death cases from fatal car crashes
- Medical malpractice
- Assaults
- Slip & fall
- Failure to warn about dangers on the land such as exposed wiring or faulty stairs
- Defective products that cause injury
The personal injury lawyers at David Marks Law work to get our clients full compensation for injuries that they’ve suffered because of someone else’s negligence. For your free consultation, please call us at (703) 385-1100 or fill out the contact form on our website.
Answer:
The definition of a frivolous lawsuit is one that is brought with no legal merit and little or no chance of success.
Frivolous cases are those that are brought based on absurd legal theories or that have no underlying basis in fact. While the insurance industry has done a wonderful job of creating the illusion that these cases are filed by personal injury lawyers every day, the reality is that frivolous suits are few and far between.
Why?
Personal injury lawyers are, in almost every case, paid on a contingency fee basis. This means that they make no money at all if they lose the case. There is, therefore, very little incentive to bring a case that has little or no chance of winning.
Answer:
All of our fees are contingency based. This means that whether you owe us any money at the end of your case is contingent upon us getting some recovery for you. You may have heard these referred to before either as “no fee if no recovery” or “we don’t get paid unless we get you money.”
In auto accidents, dog bites and other personal injury cases, our fees are one-third of the total recovery.
In medical malpractice cases, our fees are forty percent of the verdict or settlement.
Here’s a list of all the things that we do for our Virginia personal injury clients.
Answer:
The law firm is advertising that they are taking the case on a “contingency basis.” This means that they will not take a fee if they can’t either get your case settled or win it at trial.
However, it does not necessarily mean that you don’t owe them any money. In most cases, you will still be liable for the “costs” that the firm incurred while pursuing your case. This can include fees for filing the lawsuit, money paid to your doctors to testify as experts, copying costs, mailing costs and the like.
Medical Expense Payments Benefits, also known as “MedPay,” is an optional insurance coverage that is offered in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. MedPay is essentially a supplemental health insurance policy that pays for your medical bills when you have been in a car crash or motorcycle accident.
MedPay is a no-fault provision. It pays out if you are either hit by another driver or are the one who caused the accident.
MedPay is a good purchase even if you have regular health insurance because it can help you maintain a steady cashflow while you are waiting for your case to settle. You will not recieve any money from the insurance company of the driver who hit you until you have actually settled your case. Therefore, MedPay can be used to pay your co-pays as they come in or to offset some outstanding healthcare balances.
Additionally, the MedPay carrier does not have a right to be repaid at the end of the case if you ultimately get a recovery from the liability carrier.
We typically advise that our clients carry at least $5,000 in MedPay coverage. Remember that, under most auto policies, the amount of MedPay that you carry is multiplied by the number of vehicles on the policy. So, if you have a $5,000 policy and three vehicles, you have $15,000 in coverage.