Glen Burnie, MD - Negligence is a legal concept used in many different types of accident and injury cases. It essentially means that one person or business acted recklessly or made a mistake when caused harm to the plaintiff. The person who was harmed is then allowed to ask for various kinds of damages, which are monetary compensation for specific losses. However, negligence is made more complex in situations where the person bringing the lawsuit is considered partially responsible for the accident. A car accident lawyer in Maryland can explain this concept more thoroughly.  What is contributory negligence?Contributory negligence is a concept which says that someone who has any percentage of fault for their own injuries cannot collect any money at all as a plaintiff in an accident lawsuit. Most other states in the country use a system called comparative negligence where partial fault only results in a reduction in damages rather than an absolute bar to compensation. This means that plaintiffs should be especially careful about choosing the right lawyer who has significant experience practicing in civil injury and accident cases in the state.

Two-car accident; image courtesy of State Farm, via Flickr, CC BY 2.0, no changes made.

In practice, this can make collecting money in a car accident lawsuit more difficult than in most other states. A person who had a greater degree of fault for their own injuries could potentially collect money in another jurisdiction, while a driver in Maryland would not be able to collect any damages at all if they are found to have just a small amount of fault. How is a determination of contributory negligence made?In accident lawsuits, there needs to be a factual analysis of what the drivers were doing prior to the crash. If the defendant driver was speeding, distracted, or committing any other traffic infraction, this is normally beneficial to the plaintiff as evidence of negligence. However, the defendant can also review the evidence and conduct their own investigation to find out if the plaintiff was also making any of these kinds of mistakes at the same time. In practice, just a small error by the plaintiff can possibly be considered contributory negligence and eliminate their ability to collect any money. Car accident lawyers in MarylandMurnane and O’Neill is a firm that handles accident lawsuits for clients who have recently been injured in the Glen Burnie area. Their attorneys can meet with anyone who is thinking about bringing a civil case for compensation. USAttorneys.com is a site that lists lawyers throughout the country. Anyone who needs to find a legal professional in their area can call 800-672-3103 to get connected with a local attorney.