There are many causes of auto accidents that are more prevalent then others. There is some behavior a driver may demonstrate that is almost guaranteed to cause an auto accident.

Poor Road Maintenance and Design

Some roads may be poorly designed, decreasing visibility or other dangerous conditions. They also may be poorly maintained. Road signs may become blocked or knocked down and not replaced. There may be turns that hard to navigate, especially sharp turns where you can’t see oncoming traffic.

Distraction

Drivers often become distracted, and this is a very common cause of accidents. Performing any activity that causes you to take your eyes or attention from the road is a possible catalyst for an auto accident. This includes activities such as using a cell phone, consulting a map, reaching for something on the floor, talking to passengers, or fiddling with the radio.

Negligence

Drivers that are deliberately negligent are a hazard to everyone on the road. Negligent driving includes activities such as speeding, ignoring road signs and traffic signals, tailgating, making improper lane changes, aggressive driving, etc. Drivers that display this type of behavior are asking for an accident.

Intoxication

Alcohol impairs judgment and makes tasks such as driving difficult. Drunk drivers cause 40% of all auto accidents. Though the legal drinking age is 21, it is common drivers younger than that are the drunk drivers that cause accidents. More often than not, the drunk driver is the one that will walk away from the accident.

Have you been injured in an auto accident from someone else's negligence? Contact our firm today to speak with our Maryland auto accident lawyers for a free case evaluation.

A question that is often debated when it comes to Maryland law and auto accidents - are our laws strong enough? Should a negligent driver that caused a death be charged with vehicular manslaughter and stay up to ten years in prison? Or should it be less? Last week a Maryland man was involved in a two car accident hitting a minivan with seven children inside. The accident happened here in Maryland on route 152 near Joppa. The at fault driver drove over the middle line and side swiped a minivan then continued to drive a mile down the road until his vehicle was disabled. The at fault driver was then charged with failure to stop at the scene of an accident, failure to give insurance information, and failure to control speed to avoid a collision. The driver was then let go and not arrested. Should he have been let go? He had a DUI over 13 years ago and several speeding tickets and had his license suspsended twice and revoked once. Typically the driver would not be arrested if no injures were incurred at the accident. Just 90 minutes later the same driver got behind the wheel again and got into another accident. This time the accident was much more severe - killing a family of four. My question to you - was this an acceptable action?

If you caused an accident with no injuries should you be arrested or detained? In this particular case doing so would have saved the lives of two children, and their mother and father.

When deciding payouts to accident victims the court system must know that the at fault driver was negligent. What is negligence? In referring to auto accident cases negligence is also known as carelessness. Carelessness is in this case can mean serious injury or death for the accident victim. What are some real world examples? Was the at fault driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol? Were they driving over the speed limit?

Some cases may be decided without going to trial. All and all most cases are settled without the need for trial (as known as to 'follow suit'). In this case negotiations are made between the injured party and in the insurance company to arrange a 'fair' compensation amount. This is where it is extremely important to have a qualified auto accident / serious injury attorney on your side. We understand the tactics used by insurance companies to not only minimize payouts but in some cases try and not pay out anything at all. This leads us to the topic at hand.

Contributory Negligence

Contributory Negligence is when the injured party may have had some small part in the fault of the accident. What this means is if you were hit by a drunk driver however you were going five miles over the speed limit you may be found be partially negligence and thereby you have contributed to the negligence. In Maryland this may very well put your entire case at risk. In some areas the injured party may have to prove the negligence of the 'at fault' driver. Other times the roles can be reversed and the 'at fault' driver may have to disprove that they did not act neligently.

The point here is that contributory negligence can be a scary thing. Your entire case can be put a risk. Unfair? Perhaps, but until the law is changed that is the way it'll be in Maryland.

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