When people are injured in accidents that were caused by someone else's negligence here in Maryland, they can typically recover compensation for any resulting medical care, rehabilitative expenses, lost wages and more. However, in most states it is possible to recover this compensation even if the injured person him- or herself is somewhat to blame for the accident. In cases like these, in the vast majority of states, juries assign a certain amount of responsibility to each party involved and then award damages based on that division.
Maryland completely bars injured people from winning personal injury lawsuits if they are found to be responsible in any way for the accident. Only three other states and the District of Columbia have laws like this. A current case that stemmed from a soccer field injury in Howard County, Maryland, now has the state's highest court reconsidering this stringent legal standard.
A now 20-year-old soccer player was injured on the field in 2008 after he took a warm-up shot into an empty goal, and went into the goal to retrieve a ball. As he went to grab the soccer ball, he held onto the goal's crossbar, which then came crashing down onto his face, crushing the bones around his eye. He had to have three titanium plates put into his head after the accident.
The man sued the Soccer Association of Columbia,?which was running the practice that day, but a Howard County jury found that although the association was at fault for not properly securing the goal, the man was also partly responsible--thus he could not receive a payout under Maryland personal injury law known as contributory negligence.
His lawyers have appealed and called for the contributory negligence standard, which was written 165 years ago, to be reformed. If the Maryland Court of Appeals agrees, this could have a far-reaching effects.
As previously mentioned, 46 states already award damages based on the fault levels of different parties. Most of these states do bar injured parties from receiving a payout if they were 50 percent at fault or more.
Source: Baltimore Sun, "Soccer field accident could remake Maryland personal injury law," Ian Duncan, Sept. 18, 2012
- Our firm handles personal injury cases. To learn more about our practice, please visit our Towson Personal Injury page.
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