Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog

Jury Verdict Research reports that the median compensation award in personal injury trials in New Hampshire is $45,000. This is much higher than the national median of $38,460. Also, New Hampshire personal injury victims are more likely to prevail at trial. New Hampshire plaintiffs obtain a recovery in 63% of cases that go to a verdict, as opposed to the nationwide recovery probability of 55%.

In Maryland the median personal injury verdict is only $12,813. Why don't our personal injury lawyers pack up and leave Maryland for New Hampshire? Besides the cold weather, Maryland's jury verdicts are distorted by the defense lawyers from State Farm and Allstate, the two largest auto insurance providers in Maryland, who routinely "bump up" District Court claims to Circuit Court. In other words, if a personal injury lawyer in Maryland files on behalf of a client in District Court for more than $10,000, the insurance company's lawyers may remove the case to Circuit Court, requiring a jury trial. This practice leads to small claims type cases being tried by Maryland juries, leading to smaller median awards. Among cases in Maryland that belong in Circuit Court, we believe the median verdicts are much higher than $12,813. Our firm has never received a jury award less than $36,000.