FrozenFire’s accident jogged my memory. I need serious help and advice.
On my way to NJ in August of 2003 I was passing through a green light in Baltimore , MD. But all of a sudden I got hit by a car from passenger side. Alhumdulillah everybody was fine. I was feeling a little pain in my left leg. I called 911 using my cell phone . A cop showed up shortly , he asked me if anybody was hurt I told him that I am feeling pain in my left leg.
He called ambulance. He then told me that he is a state trooper and the cops from Baltimore city should be here shortly they will write a report. In the meantime the ambulance came they put me on stretcher I asked the cop what about the report ? He said somebody will come to me in the hospital and make a report.
But nobody showed. I called my insurance company they told me to save all kind of receipts to file a claim. I was not bleeding and was not in excruciating pain therefore I was in ER for about 6 hours. In the meantime I saw an off duty cop in ER who was there with his family. I talked to him and told him my story and asked him to find out what was happening with my report he called his precinct and told me that a report has been written and I can call a number which he gave me to get a copy of it.
The MRI and X-rays at ER showed a hairline fracture in my left leg. Since I was not in excruciating pain I decided to continue my vacation . But car was not drivable so it was towed to the police impound. All my belongings were in my car including my wife’s and mine prescription drugs. So in the night we stayed at a hotel in Baltimore , MD. In the morning I went to the police impound and got our belongings. My 450 dollar camera was missing. Mine and my wife’s prescription drugs which amounted to about 500 dollars were missing.
We had our vacation in New Jersey and went back to our town and filed claim to our Insurance company. My car got totaled.
The sad part is the report which came from Baltimore showed that it was my fault. Right after the accident I wanted to find out why this accident happened then I noticed that on my side there was a traffic light but on the side this other car came from and hit me there was not traffic light , there was a stop sign on that side.
The police report showed a map of the site and it showed a traffic light on my side of the road , the map ,also does not show traffic light on the side from where this guy came and hit me it does not show a stop sign though . Logically I can never be at fault even if I ran a red light this guy had to stop on the stop sign and wait for clearance of the traffic on the other side which he obviously did not do. There were no witnesses on the report and there were no witnesses at the accident site at that time.
My questions:
Can I still sue that guy’s insurance for my pain and suffering. Can I also sue the police station to falsely show my fault on the report ?
My left leg never become normal it is weak.
Re: My car accident , need advice.
If you ran the light, you will be found at fault. If the light was green and the other guy ran the stop sign, its his fault. The police report is supposed to reflect both your version of what happened and the other guy's version. If its incorrect, you need to contact them to try to have it rectified. I hope you added your lost possesions to the police report so that your insurance would cover replacement costs? Much time has passed though so you may not have any luck with it. But most auto insurance these days is "no-fault" - that is, it doesnt matter whose fault an accident is. Your insurance pays for your car and the other guy's insurance pays for his. If you want to sue for pain and suffering, you would need the police report to show the other guy at fault. Then hire an attorney yadayada. But again, i doubt that you'd get anything out of it other than frustration since so much time has passed - doesnt look good, it makes it look like you're answering an ad for one of those ambulance chaser attorneys, know what I mean? The other guy's insurance company attorneys will eat you up and spit you out.
Re: My car accident , need advice.
I agree with mamaof3, I think if you pursue this, the cost of pursuing will be very high, and chances to success very low.
Right now its your word against the other driver and the cop, you will have to prove that all that is wrong, and that will be very hard to prove.
had it been something from a week ago, u could potentially see where any cameras were so u can show that teh cop actually did a mixup of the two cars. not sure how easy it is to get access to any footage that mayhave shown your car e.g. if u drive by a grocery store and their cameras that overlook parking lot saw your car etc. since they are not party to this, not sure how easy it would have been to get that to begin with.
Re: My car accident , need advice.
just wondering why are you considering to pursue this now? it happened almost 5 yrs ago.
Re: My car accident , need advice.
May Allah (SWT) heal you soon, both physically and emotionally and compensate you with wealth that you have lost and with increase and May He reduce your account in the Hereafter ... Ameen.
Have patience bro ... sometimes things are for the better ... we lose in this life only so we can gain in the next. Perhaps if you tell yourself this, then you can move on.
P.S. Always treat other drivers on the road as if they are out to get you.
Re: My car accident , need advice.
Thanks everybody for your replies. I agree to everyone of you, looking me still limping sometime one of my friends was trying to convince me to go for it.
This guy has successfully gotten about 30,000 dollars from two of his accidents so he is confident about it but I am not.
I moved on after the accident thinking along the line as Brother Psyah advised. I thanked Allah for saving our lives, things would have been much worse with my family being in the car. They were all terrified but Alhumdulillah nothing happened to anybody else.
Re: My car accident , need advice.
If I am not wrong, you can sue within 2 years I guess!!!?
Re: My car accident , need advice.
^ depends on the statute of limitations for the state.
Re: My car accident , need advice.
limitation date is 3 years for the UK, not sure about the US, do you have legal expenses cover on your motor or home insurance policy to fund a case? if not you could enter into a 'CFA' known as a no win no fee with a personal injury firm.
Defiantly see a personal injury lawyer, you may be able to claim for causation even if you are partly to blame for the ax. You can be represented on a 50/50 basis.
I think you should go for it, get some legal advise ASAP, if you want you can PM me and I will get your more info.
Re: My car accident , need advice.
looks like the statute of limitations in maryland is 3 years
Maryland Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations in most Maryland personal injury cases is three years. There are a variety of exceptions to the statute of limitations that may shorten or lengthen this three year statute of limitations that is applicable to most, but not all, personal injury cases. If you are unsure about the applicable statute of limitations in Maryland, you should contact a Maryland lawyer immediately without delay because the clock is literally ticking. There may also be notice requirements, particularly against local municipalities, the state of Maryland, the federal government, or any related governmental entity, that require specific notification of particulars of the accident and your claim. The moral of the story: that statute of limitations can be extremely harsh and you should contact a lawyer immediately if you have not already obtained professional legal advice applicable to your situation.
That said, under Maryland law, there are four exceptions that may extend the statute of limitations if you find yourself with a personal injury claims for which the statute of limitations has passed. The first and most frequently discussed is the discovery rule. Under the discovery rule, an action accrues on the date when the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known of the negligence and the harm that ensued. This exception also has exceptions, most notably in medical malpractice case where the outer limit from the date injury is five years, regardless of when the injury was discovery (an awful, draconian rule the medical malpractice insurance lobby was able to push through the Maryland General Assembly).
The second “backdoor” to the statute of limitation in Maryland is the continuation of events theory. This may apply in cases where there is a continuation of services, or the party's right depends upon the happening of an event in the future. In these cases, the statute of limitations in Maryland may begin to run from the time the services can be completed or from the time the event happens.
The third exception is fraud. If the negligent party fraudulently conceals knowledge of a cause of action, Maryland law provides that the cause of action accrues at the time when the injured part discovered, or should have discovered, the fraud.
The final exception is when a person is under a disability, which his defined as minor (under 18) and people who are mental incompetent. Accordingly, in most cases, minors have until they are 21 to bring most personal injury cases.
The operative word with the statute of limitations and all its exceptions is “usually” or in most cases. There is a book of exceptions that shorten and lengthen the statue of limitations. Again, and I realize we are beating a theme dead here, if you have any question about the statute of limitations in your case, call a lawyer.
See The Application of the Discovery Rule in Maryland Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations Cases (how the discovery rule is altered in medical malpractice cases in Maryland)
See Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog (discussion of personal injury issues)
Return to Maryland Injury Victim Help Center (information for Maryland accident and medical malpractice victims)
Return to Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer Help Center (resource for lawyers handling personal injury medical malpractice or accident cases)
Re: My car accident , need advice.
where exactly in balto did this happen? coz i dont think there is any place in balto that has a traffic light on one side and just a stop side on the other. Do u remember the street name?
btw what happened to the camera and the prescription drugs? did u file a missing report for that?