Maryland Accident Lawyer Blog

More and more police departments in Maryland are joining the rest of us in 2012 and making car accident police reports available on line. Calvert County police reports for car crashes will generally be available within 5-7 business days after the date of the accident.

This is that rare development in car accident cases that is a win-win for everyone: car accident lawyers, insurance companies, and the drivers themselves can get police reports with much greater ease.

To get an accident reports in Calvert County, go to their website.

The family of a promising young man, who was killed while riding his bike by an elderly driver, is opposing a bill that would allow drivers to hold a license for eight years, instead of the current five year renewal requirement.

Sad story here. The driver, an 83 year old woman, was attempting to make a right turn, and turned into the path of the bike rider. The mother of the deceased is lobbying to keep legislators from increasing the span that drivers can go before renewing their licenses, and has said that eight years is too long for people over 40 to hold a driver's license without some kind of regular testing. She has stated that the law is going in the wrong direction, and that it is not going to make our roads safer.

Eight years may be a bit excessive of a time frame when you are considering an 83 year old, but a 40 year old? Speaking for myself, and I'm over 40, I can't see that a decrease in the current five year requirement is the answer either.

Of note, the driver involved in this accident was able to keep her license, and kept driving for several months after the accident.

Tracking Down Car Accident Defendants

As I've written before, we spend a lot of energy trying to track down defendants. Not in most cases, but when we can't find someone with relative ease it can be a big hassle. In 2012, people are moving more quickly and leave fewer tracks when they move. One effective weapon we have used over the years is Accurint which provides access to over 34 billion current public records that you can utilize to find your man or woman.

Apparently, whoever started Accurint sold out to Lexis and this same person (obviously, I'm using hearsay here) has now started a new company. Some plaintiffs' lawyers are saying that it has just a ton of information (and, apparently, is free for law enforcement officers).

We have not tried it out yet because we are chickens that are set in our way. So, changing from a product that you trust is hard. But you can find TLO - which is what is called - here. If you are using it, leave a comment and tell me what you think.

We've all been through it before...trying to locate either the defendant or the "friend of a friend" who was with our client at the time of the accident. When this person appears to be absolutely nowhere, it is worth checking out whether this defendant or witness is a guest of the state of Maryland.

Thankfully, people in jail are relatively easy to find. All but 8 state departments of corrections - including Maryland - makes available to the general public, information and photographs of inmates who are incarcerated. While originally created in the interest of public safety, it has become a tool in which witnesses have been located. There is no charge for these inmate locators, and new states are being added as they become available. You can chose the state you want to search and it will take you directly to their inmate locator. Some states will show pictures, release date, crimes, etc. while others will only list their age with no photo.

You have located your incarcerated witness, now what? If your defendant is in jail, you have an easy means of obtaining service of your Complaint. If you are trying to find a witness to the accident you can arrange a meeting and can videotape the inmate's trial testimony by videotape. This can usually be set up by contacting their caseworker, though every detention center is different. In most cases, you will need the warden's permission, as this process will bring in a lot of outsiders (all counsel, court reporter, videographer, etc.).

Clearly, there are some hoops to jump through to dealing with a defendant or witness that is jail in Maryland. While it may cause an accident lawyer a few headaches, finding and gathering testimony from inmates has and can be done.

The Colorado Supreme Court has upheld a $10 million verdict awarded to a truck driver who slipped and fell on grease while making a delivery to Walmart, resulting in a back injury requiring multiple spinal surgeries.

The Colorado Supreme Court reversed a lower court's determination that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was entitled to a new trial. The female truck driver incurred approximately
$500,000 in medical bills, and was unable to return to work after the fall. As such, her truck, in which she also lived, was repossessed.

The award, originally $15 million, was reduced by $5 million due to the state's cap on noneconomic damages, making this one of the highest judgments ever in a slip-and-fall case.

Throughout the day, our law frim might access a hundred websites. The internet has become an absolute necessity to the daily workings of a law office that is hitting on all cylendars. Here are just a few useful links to push the ball forward on Maryland accident cases:

• Zip Codes - Have an address with no zip code? No problem, enter your address here and you are provided with the zip code you need.
• County Look Up - Don't know what county your accident happened in? Once again, no problem, enter the zip and you are provided with the County.
• Online Video Search Site - This site searches over 100 video sites on the Internet. You can find a video of almost any surgical procedure imaginable on this site.
• National Freedom of Information Coalition - Offers resources if you are doing a FOIA request, as well as gives you samples.
• Resident Agent Information - With this link, you have access to every state's website for obtaining corporation resident agent information.
• Doctor Search - This is an excellent physician locator service, with links to most states. It also gives you licensing information as well as whether they have had any disciplinary action against them.

Tracking Down Car Accident Defendants

Before filing a lawsuit in Maryland, or anywhere for that matter, you need to be able to find and serve the defendant. Usually, this is a breeze. But in a painful minority of cases, it can take real effort. Tracking down and locating defendants can get costly. In this economy, people are moving more quickly and leave less tracks when they move. Certainly, the most complete option is to hire a private investigator. Before jumping into that money pit, one effective weapon we use is Accurint which provides access to over 34 billion current public records that you can utilize to find your man or woman.

What is your next step….a Whitepages search? Perhaps the Maryland Department of Assessment and Taxation? Well, that will tell you if your Defendant sold his property, if he OWNED the property, but not where he went. Maybe a Maryland Judiciary Case Search? Let’s be serious, not everyone can be found….you may have a fresh defendant that has never been sued, and has never broken the law. And let’s not just pick on the Defendants. I have certainly had clients whose mail is returned as “moved – left no forwarding address”, that’s always appreciated, right?

In my office, Accurint gets used on a daily basis, probably hourly. Accurint provides information that allows users to quickly and easily extract valuable knowledge from huge amounts of data. You can access thousands of data sources, from phone directories to property records to motor vehicle registrations.

As with anything, the more information you have, the better. But, simply having the first and last name will get you started. A name like Robert Smith is clearly more of a challenge (which is where extra information comes in handy). For a relatively small fee ($2 to $11) per search fee, you have access to Accurint’s database of twenty-two years of address history. Accurint can instantly find people, as well as their relatives, associates, and even their assets.

Accurint requires a promise to use this information for appropriate uses. So don't use it to track down your high school sweetheart or to get that number your got and lost from the club. But for Maryland accident lawyers trying to track down defendants, it is one of our first lines of attack.