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Most car accidents can be prevented. In fact, the National Safety Council estimates that driver error causes or contributes to as much as 90 percent of all car accidents nationwide. This means that the driver who caused your crash could have done something differently to prevent the accident and your resulting injury.
Knowing the underlying cause of your crash is key to determining how best to pursue a potential personal injury lawsuit when you’ve been hurt in a car accident on the Beltway or anywhere else in Maryland. For example, any of the following would be pertinent information to your personal injury case:
- The driver was drunk or drugged when he or she hit you.
- The driver suffered a medical emergency just before the crash.
- The driver failed to obey traffic laws.
- The driver was distracted.
You should know that some driver distractions are actually illegal. For example, as of October 2013 it is against the law for all drivers in Maryland to talk on a handheld phone while behind the wheel or to text while driving. The only exception is to call 911 in case of an emergency. If the driver who caused your crash was engaged in any of these illegal activities while driving, that may affect the amount of compensation that you are allowed to recoup because it shows a disregard for the law and others’ safety.
For more information on what to do following serious injury in an accident in Maryland, we encourage you to request your free copy of our book, 10 Tips to get the Maximum Compensation After a Maryland Auto Accident. We also invite you to check out our other articles to learn more about distracted driving.