What Are Motor Vehicle Crash Personal Injury Cases Worth in Maryland?

How much is an injury case worth in Maryland?

Jury Verdict Research published a new Maryland specific study on the median compensation awards for car, truck, and motorcycle accidents.

In cases that go to trial, the median recovery was $11,328. Only in 1% of the cases did the jury award more than $500,000. The plaintiffs prevailed and received a recovery in 74% of the motor vehicle accident cases that went to trial in Maryland. I suspect a lot of that 26% were just awful cases that never should have been filed.

The median recovery was $11,277, $51 dollars less than the latest study. (As of 2018, the amount of verdicts has been relatively unchanged although I suspect they have trended a bit higher as the cost of healthcare has increased)

I’m excited to see a new study on Maryland auto accident verdicts because I love looking at statistics on jury verdicts. But I think the data is fairly useless. As I have written before, Maryland’s jury verdicts are distorted by the defense lawyers who routinely “bump up” what should be “small” tort claims to Circuit Court. In other words, if an auto collision lawyer in Maryland files a small claim for more than $15,000 but less than $30,000 (which is the new District Court maximum as of today), the insurance company’s lawyers may remove the case to Circuit Court, which generally requires a jury trial and almost invariably leads to greater expenses for both parties.

This practice distorts the jury awards in a downward direction. I read Metro Jury Verdicts every month, and half of the reported personal injury cases in Baltimore are nickel and dime cases that never should go in front of a jury. So I think this data is interesting and useless all at the same time.

2018 Update

Our law firm has successfully handled hundreds of serious injury accident cases, earning tens of millions of dollars for our clients. We handle only serious injury claims. If you want someone to fight tooth and nail for you, call 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation.

I originally wrote this post ten years ago. It is 2018 now. (I’m passing this off as fresh content as opposed to writing a post this week. The new year has not been good for blogging on adding new content to the website, although the Baltimore Injury Lawyer Blog is seeing a lot of fresh content.) But I can tell you that the data has likely remained relatively unchanged. Things are no better or worse than they used to be back in those days.

I have just gone back and put all of our settlements over the last two years into a spreadsheet. I will work on computing our average verdict. Our law firm’s average personal injury settlements range from $2.1 million to $300 (the child of a client who was not hurt in the accident). Miller & Zois’s average settlement is clearly over $50,000. The study I just cited said that only 1% of Maryland verdicts are over $500,000. We have had at least 26 settlements and verdict over $500,000 in the last two years. I will calculate our average verdict when we get all of our lawyers in the office but it is a number that exceeds $500,000. (Look at some of our better verdicts in recent years.)

Does this tell you much about the value of your case? It does not. Every case is different, and our results do not predict yours. So why am I telling you this? I think many people who are badly injured read the statistics in this study and become despondent thinking they are doomed to a recovery somewhere near the Maryland average set out in the above statistics. Don’t be, because you are not.

Motor Vehicle Crash Verdicts and Settlements

YEAR / STATE

CASE / INJURY SUMMARY

RESULT

2021 – Alabama

A man was rear-ended by a truck. He suffered C5-6 stenosis and spurring with radiculopathy, a T8-9 herniation, shoulder, neck, and back subluxations, and right shoulder, hand, and arm pain and numbness. The man alleged negligence against the truck driver. He claimed he recklessly operated his vehicle. The man received a $100,000 verdict.

$100,000 – Verdict

2021 – Kentucky

A 57-year-old motorcyclist was struck by a tractor-trailer. He suffered severe road rash, a rotator cuff tear, a right knee injury, a right hip injury, and leg and ankle pain. The man alleged negligence against the truck driver. He claimed he negligently changed lanes and failed to maintain an appropriate lookout. The jury awarded the man $690,639.

$690,639 – Verdict

2021 – Michigan

A 46-year-old man passenger occupied a vehicle whose driver was doing donuts. Another vehicle struck them. The man died from his injuries. His family alleged negligence against both drivers. This case settled for $515,000.

$515,000 – Settlement

2021 – Maryland

A 62-year-old man was struck in Charles County. He suffered spinal sprains and strains. The man visited urgent care later that day. He subsequently underwent chiropractic therapy for over two years. He alleged that the at-fault driver’s negligence caused his injuries. The man received a $300,000 verdict.

$300,000 – Verdict

2021 – Maryland

A 40-something man was rear-ended in Prince George’s County. He sustained spinal sprains. The man treated his injuries with physical therapy. His neck and upper back sprains were permanent. The man alleged that the at-fault driver’s negligence caused these injuries. He claimed he unsafely operated his vehicle. The Prince George’s County jury awarded the man $253,000.

$253,000 – Verdict

Value of cases based on specific injury
Value of claims based on type of accident (inferior to specific injury for valuation purposes, but still interesting)
Value based on which Maryland county the injury or death occurred.
If you want to get more money for your case, you need to learn to think like an insurance adjuster. They do not think the way you and I do. But there is an opportunity in this insanity to help you maximize the value of your case.