Maryland Injury Law Center

February 8, 2018

Court Finds for Victim Against Encompass in Uninsured Motorist Claim

In Duckett-Murray v. Encompass Ins. Co. of Am., Encompass did its best effort to refuse coverage when its insured needed it after thirty years of receiving premiums from its insured.

This has to be the least shocking development since Kim Kardashian’s last divorce. Listen, unlike a lot of lawyers, I understand when insurance companies fight like crazy in third party claims where the claimant is not their client. But this is a case where the family had been paying premiums for almost 30 years. When an insurance company loses an appellate case on coverage involving their own insured, they should be ashamed of themselves. Sure, perhaps it is a close call. But don’t you want to err in favor of your own client?

Thankfully, the Court of Special Appeals ruled for the victim. The key take-home lesson here is if there is any question about an umbrella or uninsured coverage, turn over every last stone. Because there is a real good chance you will find a path to move coverage.

February 4, 2018

Subrogation in Maryland | How Does It Work?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Our plaintiffs’ personal injury lawyers frequently receive calls from defendants who have been involved in auto accidents who do not understand why they are being sued by an insurance company because of an auto accident they had that was not their fault.

Most people involved in an auto accident in Maryland do not realize that if they do not have auto insurance and the accident is their fault, the other party’s insurance company can sue them for the money it paid out in property damage. Many of these callers are surprised when, years later, they receive suit papers for an auto or truck accident in which no one sustained a personal injury, yet they are being sued for thousands of dollars, either for property damage or for medical bills paid by an insurance company. The insurance company is exercising its right to subrogation, which literally means the insurance company is substituting itself for the actual party involved in the auto accident and collecting the money for the damage done to that individual’s property (for which they have already paid under their insurance contract with that person).

How is this possible? The insurance company is exercising its right to subrogation, which literally means the insurance company is substituting itself for the actual party involved in the auto accident and collecting the money for the damage done to that individual’s property (for which they have already paid under their insurance contract with that person).

January 31, 2018

What Is a Malpractice Claim Under Maryland Law? New 2018 Opinion

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

I’ve been waiting patiently for the first tort opinion of 2018. I’ve muscled through the attorney grievance opinions and criminal cases for 19 days until I finally got one: Davis v. Frostburg Facility Operations LLC. This nursing home fall case is a cautionary tale for lawyers who step outside of their practice areas.

The issue in Davis is the distinction between ordinary negligence claims and professional malpractice claims. In most cases, you know whether you have a malpractice case or you don’t. You trip and fall on a slippery floor in a hospital; that is not malpractice. The doctor operates on the wrong leg; that is malpractice. The question is: what do you do when it does not feel like malpractice, but you fear a court might see it differently? The Maryland Court of Appeals has acknowledged that the phrase “medical injury” can be a bit ambiguous, making it sometimes different to determine whether a case should be started through HCADRO or a Circuit Court.

The answer is simple. Just file suit under the Health Claims Act. It can’t hurt. But many Maryland lawyers — usually those that have not felt the weight of the nuances and technicalities of the HCA on their shoulders — choose a different path.

December 4, 2017

“Car Accident Lawyer Jobs Bill” Passes Senate

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Early Saturday morning, the United States Senate passed a bill that, if enacted, will be a boon for car accident lawyers in Maryland and around the country. The Senate’s tax reform bill included language which would decrease the federal alcohol excise taxes by 16 percent and lead to steep cuts in the cost of beer, wine, and liquor. It is a “car accident lawyer jobs bill” although sources tell me this is not the official title of the bill.

The newly passed Senate’s bill would, for example, cut the federal taxes on beer from $7.00 to $3.50 per barrel on the first 60,000 barrels and from $18.00 to $16.00 per barrel on the next six million barrels. I am unfamiliar with how big a barrel is, but I know that it will cut the cost of buying alcohol.

Fewer people die in drunk driving accidents than when I was a kid. Even though billions of dollars have been spent trying to eradicate drunk driving, we have gained little ground. Every year, over 10,000 people die in drunk driving accidents. That is not the half of it. About 88,000 deaths every year are because of alcohol, which makes it the third leading cause of preventable deaths after smoking and poor diet/lack of exercise. But we are not talking about just deaths. Alcohol destroys families and leads to crime, illness, and non-fatal car accidents. Not for nothing for those who are excited about the ostensible economic benefits of this tax plan, alcohol use slows down economic productivity and leads to job losses.

November 13, 2017

What Is a Nursing Home Death Case Worth in Maryland?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

We have been handling more and more nursing home cases in the last few years. How much is a nursing home case worth in Maryland? Well, nursing homes think a strong liability nursing home death case in Maryland is worth between $200,000 and $250,000.

We disagree. Strongly. This disagreement is bound to come to a head soon.

Let me explain.

November 12, 2017

5 Worst Car Insurance Companies in Maryland

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

I can’t say I’m a fan of any car insurance companies in Maryland. Some are worse than others. Here is my “Top 5 Worst Auto Insurance Companies to Deal With” list in personal injury cases.

#1 GEICO

GEICO has the largest market share in Maryland. We see GEICO regularly. So that familiarity breeds contempt.

Why They Are Awful:

GEICO makes the worst pre-suit offers of the big six insurance companies (State Farm, Allstate, Nationwide, USAA, Erie). So there’s that.

GEICO’s new generation of adjusters are increasingly condescending, laughing at demands, and other histrionics that are very grating. You would never see the old school GEICO adjusters who are almost invariably professional and likable, even when I disagree with them (I’m Facebook friends with GEICO adjusters who I used to fight with in the old days.)

GEICO almost always put more money on a case when a suit has been filed. By then, the claim is switched over to a litigation adjuster who is more likely to be a seasoned adjuster who can really value the case. So the original adjuster never has to put his or her tail between his legs and increase the offer they once thought was hysterical. Instead, these pre-suit adjusters are already on the phone telling another attorney or victim how silly their claim is. These neophyte adjusters are firmly ensconced in their bubble and are never forced to face reality. Continue reading

September 20, 2017

Maryland Bedsore Claims | Answers for Your Questions

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Calls to our law firm by bedsore victims and their families have ballooned in recent months. We have a few more law firms sending all of their nursing home cases to us and our Internet presence has increased the number of calls we get directly from victims.

There are a lot of questions about how bedsore cases and which cases typically get compensation, the type of cases our firm will take, and what really is the deal with bed sore cases.

I try to address some more common questions below.

September 13, 2017

Birth Injury Claims on Behalf of Military Parents | New Opinion

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

I stumbled across a just brutal 9th Circuit opinion in S.H. v. United States earlier this year. This case reversed a $10 million verdict in a birth injury case, finding that the foreign country exception bars plaintiffs’ Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) malpractice claims against the military doctors who treated the mother and child.

Facts of S.H. v. United States

A U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant is transferred to Spain. I don’t know if he wanted to go to Spain, but it does not really matter, right? He was ordered to go to Spain. Before leaving for Spain, they go to Andrews Air Force Base so the military can verify that the family is medically suitable to travel overseas. At Andrews, he and his wife learn they are pregnant with their third child. She had experienced two prior preterm deliveries and a miscarriage in the past.

June 27, 2017

Arm Nerve Damage Jury Awards

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Jury Verdict Research found that the median jury verdict in arm nerve damage cases over the last 10 years was $81,095. Arm nerve damage is defined by the study as injuries to the median nerve, radial nerve, ulnar nerve, musculocutaneous nerve, and axillary nerve which are all branches of the brachial plexus. Carpal tunnel injuries were, however, specifically excluded from this study. Why? The vast majority of carpal tunnel injury cases are not the result of medical malpractice or a motor vehicle accident. Before you get outraged, it is absolutely true that people get CPS all of the time from tensing up and gripping the steering wheel before a crash. It is just that most of these injuries are not caused by car accidents. arm nerve damage cases JVR provides more median verdicts for arm injuries:

Arm amputations: $3,500,000 (75% of verdicts over $1,000,000)
Arm and Elbow Nonfractures, Arm Nerve Damage and Arm Amputations: $61,863 (13% of awards over $1 million).

June 21, 2017

Pointing to the Empty Chair | Maryland High Court Malpractice Opinion

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

More often than not, a jury trial in a wrongful death or severe injury case is about assigning blame. Jurors want someone to blame for the harm that was caused. Usually, this is either the plaintiff or the defendant. In medical malpractice cases, jurors may also point to bad luck as the cause.

For defense lawyers, one of the best targets for responsibility is an empty chair, either a dismissed or unnamed defendant. This is a more substantive target than mere bad luck and it allows the jury to meet its perceived obligation of assigning clear responsibility. It is also just helpful to point the blame to someone who is not in the room to defend themselves. In Copsey v. Park, the Maryland high court addressed the question of whether the defendant could point to the empty chair of doctors who had already settled before trial.

Facts of Copsey