Most of us have visited Ocean City. It is a nice place to vacation. It is not a great place for civil injury lawsuits. Berlin is a great place for baseball, soccer and lacrosse tournaments in the summer.
Juries in Ocean City and Berlin are largely older, retired, and conservative. As a group, these people award less in damages.
We are not aware of any significant medical malpractice verdicts in Ocean City in recent years, and there have been few significant verdicts in Ocean City in traffic collision cases tried in Worcester County. At grave risk of over-generalization, many permanent residents of Ocean City – which is a big part of Worcester – are retired. Most retired jurors are more conservative when it comes to placing a value on the pain and suffering of an injury victim.
Worcester County and Talbot County are the most conservative on the Eastern Shore regarding their non-economic awards. Many personal injury attorneys do with accident and malpractice cases connected with Ocean City is trying to remove the case either to federal court or to another jurisdiction (which is often very possible).
In a car accident case in Ocean City, it is not uncommon for the Plaintiff and the Defendant to both reside in another jurisdiction because tourists are often involved and because so many people come down to Ocean City from Delaware and New Jersey.
It is not that injury victims cannot prevail at trial in Ocean City personal injury cases. Our lawyers’ feeling is that a good case wins anywhere in Maryland. We would rather have a good case in Ocean City than a lower quality case in Baltimore City. But, that said, it cannot be denied that it is a tougher row to hoe in Worcester County.
The biggest hospital in the area is Atlantic General Hospital which has some very fine doctors but also seems to garner more than its fair share of medical malpractice lawsuits.
The Worcester Circuit Court
There are three Circuit Court judges in Worcester County: Judge Brian D. Shockley, Judge Richard R. Bloxom, and Judge Thomas C. Groton III (chief judge).
One impressive feature in 2019 is that the Worcester County Circuit Court has installed video conferencing equipment in each of its courtrooms. So many lawyers handling cases in this court are coming from a distance so this is a great logistical help. The court is also now in the process up upgrading its metal detectors.
Worcester County District Court Judges:
Our law firm is not located in Ocean City. But we specialize in personal injury and wrongful death case throughout Maryland and have had some of the largest verdicts in the entire state. If you have been badly injured or have lost a loved one as the result of someone’s mistake, let’s talk about your case. Call 800-553-8082 or get a free on-line consultation.