If you are involved in any type of auto accident in Maryland, state law allows you to file a lawsuit against the responsible party to get compensation for any expenses and losses resulting from the accident. Typically, these lawsuits don’t go to court.
Most lawsuits end in a settlement negotiated by lawyers on both sides. The value of that settlement depends on several factors, including the severity of the accident. Truck accidents are typically more serious than other types of vehicle accidents due to the size and weight of trucks. This means that the average truck accident settlement payouts in Maryland are higher than the average car accident payouts. But how much higher? What else determines that value? These are important questions to ask if you are injured in a truck accident in Maryland.
Difference Between Average Truck Accident Settlement Payouts in Maryland and the Median Value
In math and statistics, there are two important concepts: mean value (average) and median value. While these two concepts are similar, they provide two different data points. Often, when people want to know the average value, the median value is more meaningful information. This is relevant to truck accident settlement values.
While there is no definitive data to determine the exact average value of truck accident settlements, in the experience of our law firm, the average value is somewhere around $100,000 or higher. However, don’t think that about half of our cases result in a settlement that is over $100,000. Averages combine the total value of all settlements and then divide by the number of people who received a settlement. That formula allows a few very high outliers to pull the average up.
Conversely, the median value is the middle value of all settlements. This means that all settlements are listed in order of value, and the one in the middle of that list is the median. Half of all settlements are higher than the median, and half are lower. In this case, this value is more likely to be representative of how much money you should expect from a settlement for your truck accident. Again, there is no definitive data to identify the median value of Maryland truck accidents, but our law firm can roughly identify that number as approximately $30,000.
Factors That Affect Truck Accident Settlement Payouts
Truck accident settlements vary widely depending on several factors. Rather than assuming that you will get the average or the median value, you should discuss your case with one of our truck accident lawyers during your free consultation. We examine the details of your case and determine how much it is likely worth based on the specifics you provide. The following are some of the factors that we consider.
The Seriousness of the Accident
The more seriously you are injured in an accident, typically, the more money you will be eligible to get. This is because settlement payouts are based on economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are losses and expenses directly resulting from the accident. For most people, this includes:
- Repair costs for their vehicle
- Medical bills
- Lost wages due to missed work
- Other relevant expenses like transportation costs or medical equipment costs.
Non-economic damages represent compensation that the court awards for pain and suffering. While this may be awarded by a jury after a lawsuit, compensation for non-economic damages can also be included in a settlement. Lawyers for both sides may include non-economic damages in the settlement value to avoid having to go to trial to determine the value of that award.
For both economic and non-economic damages, the more seriously you are injured, usually the higher the value of these damages. Serious injuries cost more to treat and result in more work time missed. Additionally, non-economic damages are typically calculated as a multiple of all economic damages.
Our legal team will typically try to wait until you fully recover from your injuries before negotiating a settlement. This way, we know the exact value of your economic damages when negotiations begin. If the statute of limitations prevents us from waiting this long, we will use our experience to estimate your total damages as accurately as possible.
If you were seriously injured in a truck accident in Maryland, you may be eligible to get compensation for the harm you suffered. Call (410) 625-4878 today to schedule a free consultation with Steven H. Heisler, The Injury Lawyer.
Negligence
Maryland is a difficult state in which to file a personal injury lawsuit. According to Maryland contributory negligence laws, you can get compensation only if the other party is completely responsible for the injuries you suffered. This means that if you are even 1% responsible for your injuries, a jury can’t award you any compensation. Furthermore, the insurance companies are aware of this standard and won’t offer you any money in a settlement if they can show that you were even slightly responsible for your injuries.
This is why it is so important to hire an attorney as soon as possible after getting into an accident. At Steven H. Heisler, The Injury Lawyer, our legal team will investigate your claim and uncover as much evidence as possible to support it.
Personal Injury Claim Cap
If the other party is fully responsible for your injuries, there are no meaningful limits on how much money you can receive for economic damages. If you suffered an expense or loss due to the negligence of another, you can get compensation for it.
However, there is a limit on non-economic damages. According to Maryland law, you can receive at most $920,000 in non-economic damages from a lawsuit. Again, insurance companies are aware of this cap and won’t offer non-economic damages that exceed that value.
No matter how seriously you are injured in a truck accident, you can never receive more than $920,000 for your pain and suffering.
Wrongful Deaths From Truck Accidents
When someone dies in a truck accident due to the negligence of another party, different factors are likely to affect the settlement values. In most wrongful death cases, medical bills aren’t that high. If someone dies in an accident, they likely die before receiving much medical attention. However, the individual will now miss out on a lifetime of wages. If those wages were expected to help support people other than the deceased party, the dependents of the deceased may be eligible to get compensation.
Calculating the value of this compensation is tricky. Experienced lawyers at our law firm will identify factors like:
- How much money the deceased made annually
- How long they were expected to work based on their age and the average amount of time workers spend in that job
- What raises or promotions the deceased was likely to get in their life
- How long any dependents were likely to be reliant on the income of the deceased.
For example, if your spouse died in an accident, it can be assumed that you would have benefited from the income of your spouse for the duration of your marriage. Without any evidence to the contrary, that presumably would have lasted for as long as you both lived. Alternatively, if you are a minor child of the deceased, you would probably be a dependent only a few years after reaching adulthood.
How a Lawyer Can Affect Truck Accident Settlements
Typically, even when the other party is responsible for an accident, insurance companies will try to pay you less than you deserve when you file an accident claim. Your truck accident lawyer from our law firm will fight for your rights to help you get the most money possible. We gather as much supportive evidence as we can, including proof that the other driver was responsible for the accident and records of all medical bills you paid. This prevents the insurance company from undervaluing your claim and gives us more power to negotiate for good settlements.
Contact Steven H. Heisler, The Injury Lawyer Today
Were you or a loved one seriously injured in a truck accident in Maryland? Our law firm can help you get a fair truck accident settlement payout in Maryland.
We are here to help. But we can help only if you contact us and tell us about your case. Don’t wait. Contact our law firm at (410) 625-4878 immediately after suffering an injury to schedule a free consultation.