Serving the Defendant in Maryland Personal Injury cases

The first step to moving forward with your personal injury case in Maryland is to identify the defendant. Once identified, if the case will not settle, then you file suit and serve the defendant. Service can become complicated with people traveling and relocating or avoiding service. The Maryland rules on process service are found in Rule 2-121. Process - Service - In personam.

(a) Generally.- Service of process may be made within this State or, when authorized by the law of this State, outside of this State (1) by delivering to the person to be served a copy of the summons, complaint, and all other papers filed with it; (2) if the person to be served is an individual, by leaving a copy of the summons, complaint, and all other papers filed with it at the individuals dwelling house or usual place of abode with a resident of suitable age and discretion; or (3) by mailing to the person to be served a copy of the summons, complaint, and all other papers filed with it by certified mail requesting: "Restricted Delivery - show to whom, date, address of delivery." Service by certified mail under this Rule is complete upon delivery. Service outside of the State may also be made in the manner prescribed by the court or prescribed by the foreign jurisdiction if reasonably calculated to give actual notice.

(b) Evasion of service.- When proof is made by affidavit that a defendant has acted to evade service, the court may order that service be made by mailing a copy of the summons, complaint, and all other papers filed with it to the defendant at the defendant's last known residence and delivering a copy of each to a person of suitable age and discretion at the place of business of the defendant.

(c) By order of court.- When proof is made by affidavit that good faith efforts to serve the defendant pursuant to section (a) of this Rule have not succeeded and that service pursuant to section (b) of this Rule is inapplicable or impracticable, the court may order any other means of service that it deems appropriate in the circumstances and reasonably calculated to give actual notice.

(d) Methods not exclusive.- The methods of service provided in this Rule are in addition to and not exclusive of any other means of service that may be provided by statute or rule for obtaining jurisdiction over a defendant.

If you have questions about filing suit in a Maryland personal injury case, please feel free to call my office. I will discuss your case over the phone at no cost to you 1-888-760-7339

Document Discovery Maryland Personal Injury

In the course of litigation of a personal injury case in Maryland documents maybe requested by the opposition. The question then arises, who pays for the cost of the production, which in some cases can be very expensive. See Dynamic Corp. v. Shan Enterprises, LLC, 175 MD App 211 927 a 2d 20 (2007). Copying a document is a related act within the meaning of Maryland Rule 2-422 (c). Unless otherwise ordered it is the responsibility of a requesting party, not a producing party to pay the expense of making copies. See also Clever View Investments Ltd. v Oshatz, 233 F.R.D. 393; holding that the producing party need only make requested documents available for inspection and need not pay for copying costs.

Settlement Agreement and Counsel Fees in Maryland Workers Comp Cases

The formula for determining counsel fees in a Maryland workers compensation case is a trifle bit like rocket science. Depending upon whether the fee is earned through hearing or settlement different formulas apply. Relative to the formula for attorneys fees when the award is by settlement agreement see below.

Settlement Agreements.

(a) Notwithstanding a case of a structured settlement of a claim, in a case in which an agreement
of final compromise and settlement is approved, the Commission may approve an attorney's fee
in accordance with this regulation.
(b) For a settlement amount that is less than or equal to 14 times the State average weekly wage,
the attorney's fee shall be 20 percent of the amount of the settlement.
(c) For a settlement amount that is greater than 14 times the State average weekly wage but less
than or equal to 35 times the State average weekly wage, the attorney's fee shall be:
(i) 20 percent of 14 times the State average weekly wage; plus
(ii) 15 percent of the difference between the settlement amount and 14 times the State average
weekly wage.
(d) For a settlement amount that is greater than 35 times the State average weekly wage, the
attorney's fee shall be:
(i) 20 percent of 14 times the State average weekly wage; plus
(ii) 15 percent of 21 times the State average weekly wage; plus
(iii) 10 percent of the difference between the settlement amount and 35 times the State average
weekly wage.
(e) The total amount of an attorney's fee in a case in which an agreement of final compromise
and settlement is approved may not exceed 35 times the average weekly wage.
(f) Any sums placed in a Medicare set-aside may not be included as part of the settlement for
calculation of the attorney's fee.

Lost Future Wages in a Maryland Personal Injury Case

In Maryland, the law presently is that in a personal injury action, as well as in a wrongful death action, any damages awarded for loss of future earning capacity must be reduced to present value. Walston v. Sun Cab Co., 267 Md. 559, 574-75, 298 A.2d 391 (1973) (wrongful death action); Dennis v. Blanchfield, 48 Md.App. 325, 333, 428 A.2d 80 (1981), modified on other grounds sub. nom., Blanchfield v. Dennis, 292 Md. 319, 438 A.2d 1330 (1982) (personal injury action). We believe, damages awarded for loss of future earning capacity must be reduced to present value. The situation requires employing an accountant or economist to reduce a claim for future lost wages to a present value. The situation is encountered where you can expect your client can return to their prior employment but they will not be able to do so for some identifiable future period of time.

Ellicott City Office Space for Rent

I will be renting out one of my office condo locations in Ellicott City, Maryland. The address of the property is 5044 Dorsey Hall Dr. Suite 205 Ellicott city MD 21042. The office is a professional presentation perfect for any business who has the need for a prestigious location, professional presentation with plenty of free parking. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions or to arrange a tour. On 888-760-7339.

Wrongful death in a Maryland personal injury action

An action for wrongful death must be filed within three years of the death of the injured party. The wrongful death action arises at the time of the death and not at the time of the injury or the commission of the tort. The complaint filed with the court must state that it was brought within the proper time frame. The statute of limitations is not tolled by the provisions of courts and judicial proceedings 5-201 which normally would toll the statute of limitations during the claimants minority. A wrongful death action is a separate and distinct action from a survival action. A survivor action seeks recovery for the decedent. Whereas the wrongful death action is brought for the benefit of the decedents survivors. The damages are measured by the harm to those persons resulting from the decedents death. If you have questions regarding wrongful death in the state of Maryland please feel free to call me at 1-888-760-7339. I am more than happy to answer your questions right over the telephone at no cost to you.

Service of a Complaint Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer

Before you can get your case to court you must serve the defendant with the complaint. This generally is a fairly simple task. But what about the situation where the defendant cannot be found or is hiding. Maryland rule 2-121 deals with serving an individual. You can deliver the complaint by handing it to the defendant, by sending it to him by certified mail, or handing it to somebody that he lives with provided they are mature enough to know the papers are important and will give them to the defendant. Well what if the defendant knows you're trying to serve him and purposely made himself unavailable. Section (B.) deals with the issue of defendants evading service. The court requires an affidavit establishing facts sufficient to prove the defendant is evading service. If the defendant is not evading service however you simply cannot locate him you must first make good-faith efforts to locate the defendant and serve him. Thereafter if you still cannot locate and serve the defendant you should petition the court showing your good-faith efforts to get the defendant served and in that case ask the the court to order other means of service. The court can order any other means that it believes is appropriate under the circumstances and is reasonably calculated to give the actual notice. When you file your motion asking the court to allow you to serve by alternate means it is necessary to outline how the alternate means are calculated to give actual notice.

If you have questions regarding serving your complaint please feel free to give me a call at 1-888-760-7339. I am happy to answer your questions for you over the phone at no cost to you.