Hurt by someone else’s carelessness in Laurel — a crash, a fall, a dog bite, or a workplace injury? Maryland follows contributory negligence, so even a small share of fault can bar a claim, which is why early legal help matters. We serve the City of Laurel and the three counties that meet here — Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, and Howard — plus neighboring Montgomery County.
At Pinder Plotkin, the initial consultation is free, whether by phone or in person. You have the right to an attorney, and we work on a contingency basis — you do not pay attorney fees up front while dealing with medical bills and lost wages, and our fee comes only after you win.
Our personal injury lawyers will immediately begin negotiations with the at-fault party’s insurance company in hopes of reaching a settlement. Your chances of reaching an ideal settlement are much higher if you have our personal injury lawyers representing you.
If the other party fails to meet your settlement expectations, the next step in the personal injury claim will be to file a lawsuit. Fortunately, this is something our lawyers can help with since we have been doing it for a long time and can help you file the relevant paperwork within the set deadlines.
If no settlement is reached, the case will eventually end up going to trial. Our lawyers are skilled litigators and have no problem taking your case to court to pursue the justice and financial compensation you deserve.
Your top priority should be your health following the accident. The doctor will know what injuries to look for and how to treat them.
Physical evidence always strengthens the value of your claim. That’s why you should take pictures of anything that’s relevant to your case such as the accident scene or your injuries.
If there are any witnesses present, note down their names and contact information. Eyewitness testimony can strongly support your claim.
You should also report the accident to the appropriate party. For instance, if it is a workplace accident, you should report it to a supervisor. If it is a car accident, you should report it to the police, and so on.
Never take the blame for what happened when talking to the police or others involved. If you admit fault, the defendant or their insurance company may use that admission against you.
Always speak to a lawyer before you provide any statements to insurance companies. Claims representatives will record any statements you make, and your lawyer will ensure that you aren’t manipulated with tricky questions that could compromise your compensation claim.
Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to recover three types of damages in a personal injury claim.
Economic damages are the verifiable financial costs and expenses that you experience due to your personal injury. Maryland doesn’t have a cap on economic damages, but you must prove your losses with receipts, invoices, bills, tax returns, or other documents. Examples include but aren’t limited to:
Non-economic damages are those that are difficult to quantify in monetary terms. As of 2021, the cap on non-economic damages is $905,000 for an injury case and $2,262,500 for a wrongful death case with 2 or more survivors. Examples of non-economic damages include, but aren’t limited to:
Punitive damages are not paid to make you whole following your accident. They are not paid to compensate you for your suffering. Instead, punitive damages are paid for the sole purpose of punishing the defendant. Punitive damages are not always available in personal injury cases. They are only awarded in situations where the defendant’s actions were malicious. In other words, the defendant acted with ill will or intended to harm the victim. There’s no cap on punitive damages in Maryland, unlike in many other states.
To win a personal injury claim, the plaintiff is required to prove that the defendant was at fault for their injuries. There are 4 primary elements of negligence claims:
The vast majority of states use the comparative negligence doctrine to address shared fault. In this system, the court attempts to determine each party’s share of the blame and assigns an appropriate share of the damages. Maryland, however, is one of the few states that uses the contributory negligence doctrine. This is why it is so important to have the experienced lawyers at Pinder Plotkin review your case and represent you. We will help you build the strongest case possible to avoid being assigned any percentage of the blame.
Maryland places limits on the time you have to file a claim for damages from a personal injury. Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings §5-101 sets the time limit for filing a personal injury lawsuit at 3 years from the date of the accident. If you don’t file your personal injury claim within those 3 years, you will no longer have a legal standing to do so.
While the details might vary, if you need to file a personal injury claim, the general process is usually the same:
Once you have received medical treatment for your injuries, you should hire a lawyer. Even if you believe that your case is simple and straightforward, you should still take advantage of the free initial consultation our lawyers offer you.
The first thing we will do after you hire us to represent you is interview you to learn more about the accident, injuries, and treatment. We will then request records for any medical treatment you may have received. We may also decide to hire accident reconstruction attorneys or other attorneys to build a stronger case for you.
We will then send an official notification letter to the insurance company, informing them of your intent to make a claim. The insurance company will then send back a reservation of rights letter that acknowledges your notice and informs you that it will investigate the claim, without ever admitting liability.
Our lawyers will usually wait until you have reached your maximum medical improvement (MMI) level before proceeding. MMI refers to a situation where you have either physically recovered as much as is possible from your injuries or completed your treatment. A demand letter details the facts of the accident and includes a list of your damages and expenses.
The insurance company will in most cases not agree to your demands immediately. Instead, you will receive a counteroffer for a sum lower than that originally demanded. Our lawyers will handle the negotiations for you and may go back and forth with the insurance adjuster several times.
If the negotiations are successful, our lawyers will first confer with you before accepting any settlement offered by the insurance company. If you decide to take the settlement offered, the personal injury claim ends there.
If settlement negotiations fail because the insurance company has refused to make a reasonable settlement offer, we can file a lawsuit. While most personal injury claims end in settlements, going to court may sometimes be the best way to get the compensation you deserve.
The court may recommend mediation to try settling the matter before trial. Mediation is where a neutral third party facilitates discussion and negotiations. The mediator cannot issue a binding decision or judgment; instead, they simply encourage mutual agreement.
If mediation fails to work, your case will proceed to trial. Our lawyers will then make your case before a judge and/or jury. While this stage may be complex, our lawyers will usually handle all aspects of the trial. The judge and/or jury will then deliver a judgment or verdict at the end of the trial.
Our Laurel personal injury lawyers represent clients injured in car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and Uber and Lyft accidents. We also handle cases such as:
Slip and fall accidents are one of the leading causes of injury and death in Laurel, MD. Our lawyers will carefully investigate your slip and fall accident, gather evidence supporting your claim, and fight to hold the negligent party responsible for the harm they have caused.
Negligence due to medical malpractice can occur in any environment where treatment is received and may include cases against nurses, doctors, or other health care providers. Examples of medical malpractice cases include birth injuries, brain injuries, failure to diagnose, medication errors, etc.
Dog bites can cause serious injuries and trauma to victims. If you or a loved one was recently bitten by a dog, our lawyers at Pinder Plotkin can help you pursue any compensation you might be entitled to for your injuries.
Burn injuries are not only incredibly serious but also cause extreme pain and severe disfigurement. If you or a loved one suffered a burn injury, consult with our legal team to help you file a personal injury claim.
Wrongful death refers to when a person is killed due to another's negligence. If you recently lost a loved one due to wrongful death, contact our Laurel personal injury lawyers today for legal advice regarding the wrongful death case.
Hurt on the job in Laurel? Maryland's workers' comp system provides benefits regardless of fault. We handle claims and denials so you get the medical care and wage replacement you're entitled to.
Car, truck, motorcycle, and rideshare accidents are among the most common injury cases we handle in Laurel. We deal with the insurance companies so you can focus on recovering.
Whether your injury happened in the City of Laurel itself or one of three counties that meet here, plus neighboring Montgomery County, where it happened decides which county's court hears the case and which trauma center treats you.
Maryland follows contributory negligence — even 1% fault can bar your claim — and Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. §5-101 gives you just 3 years to file a personal injury lawsuit.
High-risk corridors: US-1 (Washington Blvd), MD-198 (Fort Meade Rd), Main Street, and Contee Road. Nearest ER: UM Laurel Medical Center on Contee Road — a freestanding 24/7 emergency department. Serious trauma goes to UM Capital Region Medical Center in Largo.
High-risk corridors: US-1 (Baltimore Ave), MD-198 (Fort Meade Rd), MD-295 (Baltimore-Washington Pkwy), I-95. Nearest ER: UM Laurel Medical Center (freestanding 24/7 ER); serious trauma goes to UM Capital Region Medical Center in Largo.
High-risk corridors: MD-32, MD-3 (Crain Hwy), I-97, MD-198. Nearest ER: Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center (Annapolis) and UM Baltimore Washington Medical Center (Glen Burnie).
High-risk corridors: US-1, US-29 (Columbia Pike), I-95, MD-32, MD-100. Nearest ER: Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center (Columbia).
High-risk corridors: I-270, US-29 (Columbia Pike), MD-200 (ICC), MD-355 (Rockville Pike). Nearest ER: Suburban Hospital (Bethesda, Level II trauma) and Holy Cross Hospital (Silver Spring).
Get a fast, free estimate of what your case could be worth — pick the calculator that matches your situation below.
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Download the guidePersonal injury law lets someone who is hurt by another person’s carelessness recover money for their losses. Most cases come down to negligence: someone had a duty to act reasonably, they broke that duty, and their actions caused your injury. From car crashes to falls to dog bites, the core question is the same — who was at fault, and what did their carelessness cost you?
You generally have a claim when four things are true: another party owed you a duty of care, they breached it, that breach caused your injury, and you suffered real losses such as medical bills, lost wages, or pain. The honest way to find out is a free consultation — we will tell you plainly whether you have a case worth pursuing.
It depends on how you were hurt. It might be a careless driver, a property owner who ignored a hazard, a dog’s owner, an employer, or a company behind a defective product — and sometimes more than one at once. Identifying every responsible party is part of maximizing what you can recover.
Maryland follows one of the strictest fault rules in the country. Under contributory negligence, if you are found even 1% at fault for what happened, you can be barred from recovering anything at all. Insurers know this and will try to shift blame onto you. Beating that argument is often the difference between a full recovery and nothing — and it is exactly what we do.
Get medical care right away, even if you feel okay — some injuries show up days later, and gaps in treatment give insurers a reason to doubt you were hurt. If you do not have a doctor or are worried about cost, tell us; we can help you find providers who will treat you while your case is pending.
Bring whatever you have: the police or incident report, photos, the names of anyone involved or who witnessed it, your medical records or bills, and any letters from an insurance company. Do not worry if you are missing something — we can help gather the rest. The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we win.
From our office at 329 Prince George St. in Laurel, we represent injured people across the City of Laurel and Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, Howard, and Montgomery counties. We treat you like a person, not a case number, move quickly to protect your claim, and have recovered millions for Maryland clients. If we do not win, you owe us nothing.
329 Prince George St, Laurel, MD 20707 · Call (888) 844-5373 to schedule a visit. · View on Google
We handle personal injury cases — car accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, burn injuries, medical malpractice, and wrongful death — for families across the City of Laurel and Prince George's, Anne Arundel, Howard, and Montgomery Counties.
Jason Plotkin does not just take Laurel cases — he shows up in the community. He serves as a Director of the Laurel Board of Trade, hosts Around Town on Laurel TV, and has moderated the Laurel Candidates Forum for the past two election cycles. When you work with our firm, you are working with people who know this city — its roads, its courts, and its neighbors.
If you were injured or lost a loved one in an accident where you believe that another party’s negligence was the cause, you may have the right to take legal action in the form of a personal injury lawsuit and the legal team at Pinder Plotkin can help. Our Laurel personal injury lawyers offer personalized, compassionate, and aggressive legal representation, and there’s no fee for you unless we recover compensation on your behalf. Reach out to us now to schedule your free consultation and case evaluation.
Call (888) 844-5373
