Maryland's Wrongful Death Accident Law
Fatal car accidents claim the lives of thousands of people every year in Maryland and throughout the country. Last year, there were more than 38,000 fatal car accidents which claimed the lives of over 42,000 people in this country. In Maryland, we lost 649 people in car crashes. Incredibly, there were 122 fatal car accident in Maryland in Prince George's County alone, followed by 86 in Baltimore County, 66 in Anne Arundel County, 51 in Montgomery County, and Baltimore City with 36 (Baltimore City is relatively low on this unfortunate list, which is most likely attributable to a dearth of highway driving within the city limits, particularly the lack of large big rig commericial trucks).
Fatal car and truck accidents in Maryland are the leading cause of death for young people between the ages of eight and eighteen-years-old. Frontal impacts are the cause of death in approximately forty percent of all fatal crashes in Maryland. Side impacts account for thirty percent of all fatal car accidents. Drunk drivers naturally contribute to the fatalities. Alcohol was involved in approximately 30% of Maryland's car accident deaths. Speed was also a factor in 30% of the fatal car accidents in Maryland.
When people are killed in fatal car and truck crashes, their family and loved ones have the legal right to seek compensation for their damages and suffering from the party who was responsible for the accident. Historically, wrongful death in Maryland was not recognized under the common law. Under the common law, when a person was killed as a result of the negligence of someone else, any personal injury claim that could be made for the accident terminated with the victim's death and the family could not make a claim. Today, Maryland, like every state, has a statute that allows for the family to recover in event of a wrongful death. So in fatal car accidents or fatal truck accidents, our Maryland accident attorneys seeks compensation on behalf of the victim's family.
See also The Difference Between a Survival Action and a Wrongful Death Claim in Maryland
See also Median Settlements and Verdicts in Wrongful Death Cases in Maryland
See also Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
See also Maryland Cap on Non-Economic (Pain and Suffering) Damages
See also Maryland Wrongful Death Statute