Bethesda Car Accident Lawyers

Bethesda, Maryland is one of the most affluent communities in the United States. It is located in southern Montgomery County, Bethesda, and sits on the edge of the Capital Beltway and provides easy access to Washington, D.C. through several routes. This is one of the busiest parts of the country because the Beltway is known for its traffic. Bethesda sits only a short drive from Baltimore, close to the busy suburbs of Fairfax County, Virginia, and is home to people who work in Washington, D.C.

Car accidents in the area are inevitable, but there are steps that should be taken by anyone who wants to remain safe as they traverse through Montgomery County. These tips will make drivers safer and help inexperienced drivers learn to navigate some of the most congested roads in the United States.

Contact a Bethesda car accident lawyer when a collision occurs, and it is clear that compensation is due. There are many people who believe it is too much trouble or that they should not make a big deal about a car accident. Rest assured, most car accidents are caused by negligence, and a person, business, or another entity may be held accountable.

How Do Traffic Patterns in Bethesda Impact Car Accidents?

Traffic patterns in Bethesda impact car accidents in the area because I-495, also known as the Capital Beltway, swoops across the northern edge of the city. Anyone who needs to work in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area can use 495 if they like. The highway is packed every day, and congested roads often lead to accidents. Routes 190 and 355 run south into the District of Columbia, and there are other surface streets that easily access the northern sections of Washington, D.C. Residential and commuter traffic comes in and out of Bethesda every day.

Additionally, the city is home to several government installations, corporate headquarters, and stars of popular media who attract news coverage, tourists, and visitors. Since 21 percent of the population is under 18 years old, there will be inexperienced drivers on the road and college students. While drivers are advised to slow down and be careful, an area with such intense activity can lead to many car accidents.

Why are the Streets of Bethesda so Busy?

Given the demographics of the area, there are many high school students driving to school every day. Commuters must make their way to Washington, D.C., or they must drive into other sections of Montgomery County. Everyone leaves for work at roughly the same time, and there are special installations in the city that make it even busier. Additionally, Fairfax County, Virginia residents may choose to drive into Maryland and down to the nation’s capital. Also, there may be commuters who drive into Bethesda from the west every day. Bethesda lacks major surface streets that act as alternate routes for commuters. Due to this, a driver must stick to interstates and state routes that offer the most direct route to their final destination, which is typically Washington, D.C.

What Landmarks Contribute to Traffic in Bethesda?

Government installations and landmarks in Bethesda include:

The National Institutes of Health
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division

Corporate headquarters include:

Lockheed Martin
Coventry Health Care Inc.
Marriott International
Host Hotels
PNC

Capital One
Smith Barney
Merrill Lynch
Charles Schwab
Fidelity Bank

Additionally,

Congressional Country Club is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the world, and it has hosted the U.S. Open and the AT&T National. There are also ambassadorial homes for countries, such as:

Bangladesh
Guyana
Haiti
Lesotho
Morocco

Nicaragua
Uruguay
Cape Verde
Zimbabwe
Honduras

Given how packed the city is with the captains of industry and their employees, it stands to reason that Bethesda hosts a wide range of car accidents.

How are Most Car Accident Victims Injured?

Car accident victims are hurt in almost every accident. Medical treatment is the only way to identify and treat car accident injuries. While the most severe injuries are obvious, hidden injuries are not. Be mindful of these injuries after any car accident, no matter how slow the vehicles were traveling at the time:

Whiplash

A car accident victim can experience whiplash. Neck pain, stiffness, shoulder pain, headaches, and even light nausea may occur. In most cases, the victim will assume they must be sore because of the accident. While this is a completely normal assumption, it is incorrect. Whiplash can remain with the victim for months at a time, and it only gets worse if the victim has not been treated.

Organ Damage

Organ damage may result in abdominal pain, cramping, and bruising. This is an important distinction to make because victims must realize that this pain and discomfort is not normal. Any pain resulting from a car accident should be addressed by a physician.

Internal Bleeding

Internal bleeding may exhibit the same symptoms, and internal bleeding can be deadly. While patients may feel that their pain will go away in a few hours or a few days, they must go to the emergency room, see a doctor, or at least visit an urgent care clinic.

Broken Bones

Broken fingers and toes are often uncomfortable or feel jammed instead of broken. Bruising around a broken bone is common, and victims must seek medical attention. Moreover, these bones must be set as quickly as possible. Waiting to visit a doctor may cause lifelong pain and discomfort because the bone did not set properly. While it is inconvenient, the victim can sue for medical damages after the accident when they have missed work due to broken bones.

Spinal Injuries

Spinal injuries can be severe. Spinal damage, however, may occur in the lower back and people may discard the pain. Damaged discs or bruising around the discs is common. Go to a doctor as soon as possible, and ensure the spinal damage is treated instead of worsened by resuming normal activity.

Any of these injuries may cause a disability, overwhelming medical debt, and a range of other problems. Do not avoid suing for compensation.

What Causes Collisions?

Accidents in the Bethesda area occur for a variety of reasons. Some common causes of car accidents include:

Young woman reaching purse from back seat - rear view

Distracted Driving

Distracted driving is a deadly issue in the Unites States, and almost every state or community has created a campaign to eradicate the hazardous practice. Distracted drivers are most often on their cellphones, talking to people in the car, or they are simply not paying attention.

Distracted driving causes about 27,000 accidents and 185 deaths in Maryland every year. The rise of the young adult population in Bethesda indicates that teenagers are on the roads every day, and they are more likely than anyone to glance at their phones while driving. Busy executives and parents often must check their phones as they get into their cars, and they may receive text messages, emails, and phone calls while driving. One should use a Bluetooth device or a similar system to avoid distracted driving.

Reduce speed road sign on a countryside road with blurry speed truck,dark and dramatic scene with low-speed shutter

Speeding

Speeding accounts for nearly 25 percent of all crashes across the United States every year. Speeding is common because commuters need to get to work as fast as they can. Everyone is on a schedule, and plans are altered when commuters cannot go as fast as they would like.

Speeding cannot be solved in any other way than slowing down. Most people do not want to slow down because they believe they have total control over their vehicle; other drivers, however, may not have control. It is easy to cause a crash with one small error.

Abandoned car in the ditch after the traffic accident. Symbolises the dangerous conditions in winter with ice, snow and snatch

Weather Conditions

Weather conditions in Maryland are volatile because of the state’s location. Bethesda sits in a place where extremely hot summers and bright sunlight make driving difficult. Heavy rain in the spring floods the roads, reduces visibility, and causes hydroplaning. Heavy snow in the winter may be plowed or salted by the city, but ice can form on the road and cause drivers to collide. Since winds come off the Potomac River and hurricanes can make landfall on the Eastern Shore, drivers may contend with heavy winds that can move cars across the road, tip over large vehicles, and make driving extremely dangerous.

Traffic lights with a red light camera, traffic enforcement camera that captures an image of a vehicle that breaking traffic laws

Heavy Traffic

Congestion in Bethesda leaves room for reckless behaviors. A driver who must get to work or a meeting as quickly as possible might cut through traffic, pass cars with very little room to maneuver, or crash into another vehicle. Drivers are encouraged to slow down and obey traffic laws. Drivers must also leave a safe stopping distance. Most drivers think they can stop quickly, but they do not have the reflexes necessary to react to traffic they cannot see. On congested roads, most drivers can only see the car in front of them, and they will not see the line of traffic with brake lights that signal impending danger.

A red wrecked car stands at a crossroads against the backdrop of cars passing by. The concept of reckless and careless driving

Poor Road Conditions

Since the roads in Bethesda are so heavily traveled, they will deteriorate faster than others. Drivers should be aware of this, slow down, and look out for potholes or cracks in the road. While certain drivers will damage their vehicles on bad roads, speeding drivers will swerve, crash into someone else, or cause multi-vehicle accidents.

It may be difficult to determine fault in a car accident case. Collecting evidence at the scene is helpful, but a lawyer can be beneficial as well.

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When Can I Collect Compensation After a Car Accident?

Accident victims are eligible for compensation for a variety of things. Moreover, a victim may sue several different groups, people, or businesses. When negligence is apparent, a lawsuit is filed and will include damages. The state of Maryland uses contributory negligence when awarding damages after a car accident. For example, a victim who has suffered major injuries, paralysis, or even lost a loved one can be presented with a contributory negligence defense. The defendant will claim that the plaintiff, irrespective of the scope of their injuries, caused the accident and should not be allowed to collect damages. When this defense is successful, someone who is even slightly responsible for their own crash cannot collect damages through insurance or a lawsuit. Compensation for these lawsuits typically includes:

Medical Bills

Medical bills can mount in the aftermath of an accident. All treatment costs money, and most accident victims cannot afford to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. An insurance carrier might not pay for everything, or the other driver’s insurance carrier might deny all payments. Medical bills and recovery bills are often added together.

Lost Wages: Lost wages can be calculated when a victim shows how much money they typically make in a week. Lost earning potential can be calculated with the help from the employer. The employer can send a letter stating how much the victim would have made had they continued as normal.

Wrongful Death: A wrongful death lawsuit is unique. All the evidence from a personal injury lawsuit will be used to prove a wrongful death. The wrongful death lawsuit allows the family to recover all the medical expenses and earning potential that was lost. Since the decedent cannot work at all, their earning potential is often greater.

The family may need to file both a personal injury lawsuit and wrongful death lawsuit if one immediate family member was injured and another was killed.

Who is Responsible for My Car Accident?

Car accidents in Bethesda can be caused by multiple parties, including:

Construction Crews

Construction crews are responsible for adding the appropriate signs, changing the speed limits, blocking off closed lanes, using barriers when necessary, and even marking the pavements to help traffic flow. When the lanes change or merge, the construction company must mark everything properly. When the construction company does not do so, they have violated their duty of care to all the drivers on the road.

Government Vehicles

Government personnel must also drive safely. When a government vehicle malfunctions, the driver or the agency that owns the vehicle may be liable for compensation. Trucks that are operated by private businesses can malfunction because they were not serviced or inspected correctly. In this case, the business is liable for damages.
Other Motorists

Another driver may be responsible, and they might be named in the police report or not. This is very important because a police investigation is not as thorough as an investigation that would be completed by a lawyer. Give a lawyer time to look at the case closely before filing a lawsuit.

Can I Give My Lawyer Evidence Pertinent to My Case?

In most cases, accident victims and drivers should try to do all they can at the accident scene to make the investigation easier. Victims can provide information that they might have uncovered at the accident. Useful evidence includes:

Any pictures or videos from the accident scene.
Eyewitnesses and their contact information.
A copy of the police report.
Personal accounts from the accident.

When a lawyer receives this evidence, they will begin building a compelling case for compensation. The lawyer must also prove that their client had nothing to do with the accident. Extra evidence can shed light on any inconsistencies that arise due to a lack of evidence. Hiring a lawyer helps initiate the legal process in the right way. The courts in Maryland often expect plaintiffs and defendants to have lawyers because representing oneself can slow down the legal process. A judge might even disallow a plaintiff or defendant from representing themselves pro se.

Why Should I Hire a Lawyer?

Hiring a lawyer helps initiate the legal process in the right way. The courts in Maryland often expect plaintiffs and defendants to have lawyers because representing oneself can slow down the legal process. A judge might even disallow a plaintiff or defendant from representing themselves pro se.

A lawyer knows how to collect evidence, start settlement negotiations, go to court, and argue the case to receive a favorable outcome. Hiring a lawyer that has experience in this area makes the process easier for the family, and the lawyer can move quickly to ensure the statute of limitations does not expire.