Why Choose Us?
Our Baltimore Car Accident Attorney Gives You Peace of Mind and Fights for the Compensation You Deserve
At the Law Offices of Steven H. Heisler, our clients receive quality legal services from a tenacious attorney who knows how to win cases and recover significant compensation payouts for his clients.
Insurance companies unfortunately give car accident victims trouble with getting the compensation they should. Car accident lawyer Steven H. Heisler knows how to fight these efforts at shortchanging his clients — he’s been a fighter all of his adult life.
From Golden Gloves fighter to union organizer, he has taken on opponents in a variety of arenas. In the legal arena, he is a fierce advocate for the needs of his clients and does not shy away from any fight he believes in.
When you go with Baltimore attorney Steven H. Heisler, you get:
- A firm that has recovered multiple millions of valuable compensation for clients
- The services of a nationally recognized trial lawyer
- A firm with deep ties to the city of Baltimore
- A direct line to your car accident lawyer in Baltimore.
Our Baltimore Car Accident Results
Steve represented a 33-year-old single mother of one whose vehicle was struck head-on by a construction truck in 2002. The client suffered life threatening injuries and was in a coma for six weeks. She required two months of brain injury rehabilitation. The client currently has serious permanent disabilities as a result of the accident including short term memory loss, impaired speech, double vision, and right side paralysis.
She is unable to return to her occupation as a dental hygienist or any other occupation. Steve Heisler and his associate Keith Kauffman negotiated a $5.5 million structured settlement at mediation. Should the client reach her life expectancy the payout increases to $9.5 million.
Steve represented the family of a 15 year old Anne Arundel County boy who was killed when the vehicle he was a passenger in failed to negotiate a curve and struck a tree. The defendant driver was also killed. Another passenger survived the crash. The defendant driver had a $300,000.00 liability policy. Steve negotiated a $250,000.00 settlement for the family. The remaining $50,000.00 was tendered to the surviving passenger.
Steve’s client, an elderly lady from West Virginia, was seriously injured when the car she was traveling in was struck by a negligent driver in Garrett County, Maryland. The lady suffered a broken back and detached retina. Steve negotiated a $100,000.00 settlement with the defendant driver’s insurance company and was successful in getting his client’s West Virginia insurance company to “stack” an additional $100,000.00 for a total settlement of $200,000.00.
Steve represented a five year old Eastern Shore boy who was struck by a vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road while the boy was riding his bike. Steve’s client suffered a traumatic brain injury and serious fractures which required him to spend an extended period of time in a rehabilitation center. The boy now has permanent brain damage. The case settled for the driver’s policy limits of $100,000.00.
Steve represented a 36-year-old Cecil County man who was rear ended while stopped at a red light. The force of the impact was severe and his client’s vehicle was totaled. Steve’s client suffered a cerebral concussion, a C5-6 disc herniation, and a L2-3 disc protrusion. He received a 30% whole-body permanent disability rating. Steve settled the case with the insurance company for $95,000.00.
Baltimore Roads and Car Accidents
According to annual reports by the American Automobile Association (AAA), Baltimore is one of the most dangerous driving cities in the country. And as most locals know, I-95, US 1, and US 301 are all magnets for injuries and fatalities.
But how do car accidents occur? In most cases, negligence is behind accidents in traffic, meaning most accidents are preventable. It also means that negligent drivers are to blame for the injuries they cause, and the law allows victims to claim compensation for their losses.
Common types of negligent driving include:
- Driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs
- Failing to pay appropriate attention, also known as distracted driving
- Excessive speeding
- Aggressive driving and road rage
- Following too closely
- Failure to obey traffic signals and rules of the road.
Failing to operate a safe vehicle is also a form of negligence, most notably in the area of commercial driving. Drivers with these specialized licenses must abide by higher standards of care with their vehicles.
Accidents: Featured Article
Car keys are the key to independence. They do more than turn on the engine — they turn on the spirit of adventure, the feeling of freedom, the security of engagement at will. From an adolescent’s anticipation of obtaining driving privileges to an elderly person’s dread of surrendering the car keys, motor vehicles are a central component of the American experience, both emotional and physical. America’s love affair with the motor vehicle is easy to trace through statistics: In 1899, there were 8,000 motor vehicles in the United States; by 1910, there were a half-million; and in 2014 almost 253 million vehicles rolled across more than 4 million miles of roads between our borders. Continue Reading
Car Accident Injuries and Damages
Dealing with Life-Changing Loss
The injuries and harm that follow car accidents lead to destroyed lives. Compensation for this harm plays a big part in injury victims’ putting their lives back together. Under Maryland law, there are two principal types of damages available for car accident victims: economic damages and noneconomic damages.
Economic damages include the expenses and losses you are forced to bear due to your injury, such as:
- Past and future medical care costs
- Past and future lost income and economic activity
- Costs associated with hiring home care help.
These expenses can all be proved with receipts and account records. However, non-economic damages are not so easily verified and often lead to fierce negotiations between Baltimore car accident lawyers and insurance companies.
Types of non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life and companionship
- Loss of consortium
- Embarrassment, humiliation, and disfigurement.
Another type of damages not usually seen in car accident cases is punitive damages. Also known as exemplary damages, punitive damages are used to make an example out of particularly egregious behavior.
Additionally, they can only be awarded at trial and never during settlement negotiations. With that being said, insurance companies representing drivers who acted particularly badly may fear punitive damages and be more amenable to meeting a victim’s demands.
Regardless of whether your case is settled during negotiations or must go to trial, you greatly benefit from having a car accident attorney safeguarding your interests. The claims process is a series of steps that may eventually end with a settlement, which would be zero in the case of a denied claim.
You need a professional who is experienced in every stage of the process and is familiar with the tactics used by insurance companies to reduce and deny claims. One of them is getting a car accident victim to admit things that might allow the insurance company to reduce their claim. You should never agree to give a recorded statement to an insurance company without an attorney present.
For this reason, it is always recommended that you allow an experienced car accident attorney to speak for you in a car crash matter.
Car Accident Injuries
Car accident victims often pay a heavy toll due to the force of car accidents. Although mild injuries are not uncommon, a disturbingly large number of injuries require immediate and long-term medical care.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
The brain may become injured by impact with the skull, which occurs when the neck or head is subjected to overwhelming, sudden force. TBIs may also occur when the skull is penetrated by a foreign object. The consequences of TBIs can range from short-term loss of cognitive ability and neurological function to complete incapacitation, long-term care, and death.
Injuries to the Spinal Cord
Twisting and bending forces come into play during a car wreck and may cause damage to the spinal cord. The spinal cord may also be severed by a foreign object, such as a roof collapse, in a car accident. Temporary and permanent paralysis may result, requiring significant levels of medical and basic-needs care.
Internal Injuries
As with TBIs, car accident victims may experience internal damage through extreme blunt force or by way of a piercing injury. Oftentimes, internal injuries go unnoticed at first, which can be dangerous and even fatal. For this reason, it is important to always get a complete medical examination after any injury accident, no matter how small.
Other types of serious injuries include:
- Burns
- Abrasions
- Lacerations
- Broken and crushed bones
- Amputations
In the case of death, a wrongful death lawsuit may be appropriate.
How Our Baltimore Car Accident Lawyer Can Help
Our Baltimore Car Accident Attorney Doesn’t Settle for Less
Infographic: Common Crash Causes
What are the most common causes of car wrecks in Maryland? Read Fast Facts about Vehicle Accidents.
After years of representing clients, we know that insurance companies typically shoot for a quick, reduced payout. They know that injury victims are in desperate need of resources, and they count on their inexperience with the claims process.
Our car accident attorney prevents this from happening. Once you contract our services, you will have the time to take care of your home and family life and heal from your injuries. In the meantime, your accident lawyer will be fighting at every stage to get you the maximum compensation available.
Various meticulous and complex tasks are involved in car accident claims for compensation. With our car accident lawyer on your side, you will not have to worry about any of these, which include:
- Drafting and filing essential documents for your case, including your Personal Injury Protection application
- Collecting medical records and bills
- Completing an evaluation and appraisal of your case and injuries
- Performing investigations and evidence analysis of the car accident, including retrieving the police report, body camera footage, and video of the collision
- Meeting and negotiating a settlement with insurance adjusters.
Our Baltimore car accident lawyer will also make sure you are well informed on the developments of your claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Baltimore Car Accident Attorney Answers Your Questions
Learning about the basics of the car accident claims process can help alleviate the confusion you may be feeling about it.
Yes! A Baltimore car accident lawyer takes the case on contingency, which means your upfront costs are zero, and you pay nothing (no fee, no costs) if your case is not successful.
Car accident survivors in Maryland have a three-year time frame to seek compensation for their damages. However, filing an insurance claim must usually be completed within a reasonable time after the accident.
It depends on your case. You would need to meet with Baltimore car accident lawyers to get a reasonable idea of your claim’s worth, regardless of what an insurance company adjuster tells you. As you would imagine, the more serious the injuries, the more losses there are. Other factors that are considered include the severity of the damage to the vehicles in the collision, and the county where the accident took place.
The answer to this question also depends on the facts of your case. In relatively straightforward claims, you could receive your compensation within a matter of months. With that being said, more complex cases, such as those needing a trial, can take up to three years for Baltimore car accident lawyers to resolve.
If you have more questions about car accident injury claims, contact us at (410) 625-4878.
Common Causes and Fallout of Auto Accidents
Baltimore Car Accident Lawyer Review
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Steven is a great lawyer and I would highly recommend him if you are injured in an accident!! – Brian D.
Attorney Steve Heisler
Steve Heisler decided in 1996 that he was going to focus his law practice exclusively on injury cases. Since then, he has been representing injured people against insurance companies, disreputable medical practitioners and Big Pharma, and doing it with compassion, honesty and level-headed rationality. [ Attorney Bio ]