JGL Law, Author at JGL Law

Is it possible to maintain a long-term relationship without fighting?

Get the answers here.

The decision from the Court of Appeals today made clear that the Prince George’s County Council could not override the redistricting plan drawn by the County’s independent Redistricting Commission, by passing a simple resolution, when the County Charter unambiguously required the Council to pass a law, subject to veto by the County Executive, if they wished to override the Commission’s plan.

The redistricting process outlined in the County Charter requires the Council to pass a law, instead of a simple resolution, to provide meaningful protection against the Council’s self-interest when they draw their own district lines.

As a result of the decision today, the communities split apart by the Council’s unlawfully adopted redistricting plan will stay together, and the Commission’s uncontroversial, fairly drawn map will be in effect until the next census in 2030. This is a victory for the voters of Prince George’s County, for fair redistricting processes, and for representative democracy, which is stronger when voters can elect their chosen representatives, not when legislators choose their constituents.

If you think you have a possible personal injury lawsuit, you may be wondering what the process is like, the timeline, and how to navigate it. A personal injury lawsuit can vary from state to state, and a wide range of situations can arise depending on the case.

As a result, legal issues can be overwhelming and challenging. This blog will walk you through the process to better understand the timelines and what you can expect. Below, we break down the general timeline of a personal injury lawsuit, so you know the appropriate steps to take over time.

Personal injury lawsuit timeline

1) Seek medical attention
Before doing anything else and most certainly before considering legal action, you need to get assessed by medical professionals to get the proper diagnosis and treatment. This will help to avoid any questions later on from insurance adjusters or a jury, about whether you actually suffered an injury in the accident.

2) Find and have an initial meeting with a lawyer
It’s essential early on, after the initial medical care, to research and find an attorney who actually specializes in personal injury cases and trials. Once you have selected an attorney, your first meeting will involve a discussion regarding the circumstances of your accident to determine if you have a winnable case. Your attorney will ask questions regarding the accident, your medical condition, and treatment and prior medical history, as well as your work history, and your background. Obviously, it’s critical that you provide the specific and accurate details so that the attorney can assist you. The attorney will decide if the case can be successful. If so, you will retain the attorney by signing an agreement and provide authorizations to obtain your medical records and information regarding your employment and lost wages

3) Negotiating
After accepting your case, your attorney and their staff will obtain information from the various witnesses. They will collect all the facts about the accident and all the medical records regarding the medical care and treatment as well as the medical expenses and the income you lost due to the accident.

Once you have recovered and discontinued treatment or it become clear that you will not benefit from further treatment, your attorney will often provide all the relevant information on the harm you suffered to the insurance company adjusters to see if the case can be settled before suit is filed. If the insurance company has any interest in settlement, then negotiations will begin. You will be kept informed regarding the negotiations, since the decision to take the offer from the insurance company is up to you. Your lawyer will file a lawsuit if it is clear the case cannot be settled. The defendant will be served with a notice of the lawsuit.

4) Discovery process
After the lawsuit is filed, “discovery” begins. This is the process by which each side obtains information from the other. This process can last approximately six months to a year, depending on the court deadlines and the complexities of your case.

It involves each side sending written questions to the other. The answers to all the questions are given under oath. Your attorney will help draft your written answers to the questions posed by the other side. Each side also has the right to obtain documents from the other about the case. This can include medical records and expenses, tax returns (if a claim for lost wages is being made) and other written material which has to do with the case.

After written discovery, each side can subpoena witnesses to give a deposition, which is live question and answer under oath. Your attorney will help you prepare for this critical part of the litigation process.

5) Mediation
Mediation is a process where the parties and their attorneys have a meeting with a neutral mediator to attempt to settle the case before the trial. If the Court orders mediation, you must attend, but the decision to settle is voluntary and no one can force you to settle. The mediator will attempt to get each party closer to a point where the case can be settled. Oftentimes it will involve the defendant paying more than it was willing to and the injured party accepting less than they believe the case is worth. In other words, it is an effort to get the parties to compromise. It is a helpful process because it helps achieve a settlement. Even if the case is not settled, oftentimes you can gain valuable insight into how the other side views your case and your evidence. This can help to shore up weaknesses before the trial.

6) Trial
If the case cannot be settled, the next step is the trial. The trial can be before a single judge. It can also be decided by a jury if certain conditions are met.

At trial, both parties will present evidence and witness testimony. Before the evidence is presented, each attorney will make an opening statement which outlines what the dispute is about and what evidence they will hear and see. After all the evidence is presented, each attorney will make a closing argument, outlining the evidence and emphasizing why the judge or jury should find in their favor.

Finally, the judge or jury will make a decision and issue a “judgment.”

7) Appeal
The last aspect of the personal injury lawsuit process can be an appeal. Generally, losing party can appeal if they are unhappy with the decision. An appeal can be pursued, if the losing party believes that the judge committed an error during the litigation.

Contact JGL to speak with our personal injury attorneys

When you or a loved one has a potential personal injury lawsuit, look to the expert team at JGL Law. We have over five decades of experience handling a wide range of cases, and we are committed to our client’s long-term success. Contact us today for a consultation!

This is an excerpt of a program that can be found on JGL Law Podcast, and informative series our firm produced during the year. We were actually awarded top 20 Best Commercial Litigation Podcasts of 2021- Welp Magazine – if you want to check us out.

*************************************************************************************

Life has changed for all of us. Once again, however, the workers’ compensation system does some heavy lifting and stays in the spotlight in the social, economic and political arenas.

The workers’ compensation system has long been termed “The Grand Bargain” between employees and employers. The employers are protected from liability suits in exchange for providing benefits for certain injuries and illnesses.

Paradigm shifts in our lives and workplaces have raised many questions within the system.

Three Relevant Case Types in Worker’s Compensation:

1. The new GIG economy and Service Apps.

2. The COVID pandemic contracted illnesses.

3. The remote work or home office accidents.

How Workers Compensation Laws are Affecting the GIG Economy

I. One of the most controversial phenomenon, not only in our state, but nationally and internationally is taking place in the “GIG” economy. These “Service Apps,” whether it is Uber/Lyft or Doordash, are changing the landscape from traditional employer-employee relationships. They do not fall into independent contractor status either. They are a very successful hybrid of both terms.

There is a constant “give-and-tug” going on between the parties, only to be intensified during the pandemic. The prime example is taking place in California, where Uber has roots and resources. California passed a law that essentially classified most workers as employees, with very few exceptions. Uber waged a multimillion-dollar campaign, in a referendum, to exempt their workers. They won that battle only to be challenged in other ways. The constitutionality of the proposition was challenged and a judge agreed. Uber threatened to shut down. It appears the case is headed to the state Supreme Court.

I have contended that all these battles, expending millions of dollars, are only putting out fires as they arise. These GIG giants have the opportunity to think outside the box, create a new entity. They need to make sure to satisfy each player. The government needs to be able to tax, the workers need some insurance coverages, and Uber can keep their distance from actually being an employer to the growing number of folks who want flexibility accessing platforms for either full-time or secondary jobs.

One can look at several examples of prototypes that already exist. Amazon is using franchise type independent contractors for delivery vehicles. A popular method in the DMV, here in town, is a model created by general contractors. They rely heavily on sub-contractors in the construction field and cannot afford for smaller subcontractors to let their insurance lapse. So, they came up with a plan, whereby they remain independent contractors, but must pay into the general (usually out of their payments) to a workers’ compensation policy purchased by the general.

This could easily be achieved by charging the Uber drivers for that workers’ compensation policy, deducting it from paychecks. Other delivery services such as food delivery apps have already added a surcharge and provide benefits similar to an AFLAC policy.

The possibilities exist and must be explored. Otherwise the issue will not get resolved. We all recall it was only a matter of time; after FedEx lost its battle to keep drivers independent.

When the Biden Administration Labor Department issued it’s recent interpretation of these drivers as employees, Uber’s stocks plummeted. The GIG companies have urgency to resolve these issues on a mass scale.

Why not devise a plan, where all parties get a piece of the pie and continue to grow the Apps? First, as I stated before, the government wants to collect taxes. It believes it is missing out on payroll taxes. Furthermore, there is even a split of opinion between the workers. Some want true independence and no boss to control them. They want to pick up some extra cash when they need it or they want to be their own boss, as it is with many independent Amazon drivers. The other half want protections, benefits and structure that unions have traditionally provided. We saw that play out in California on the vote on the referendum.

I believe the first scenario will continue to dominate. More platforms will pop up, such as is the case of temporary worker apps or handyman and maid service apps. The marketplace will not be able to stop them. The only way forward is to self-insure or insure under an umbrella.

Workers Compensation Directly Relating to Covid-19

II. The second issue relates directly to the pandemic. The topic is too lengthy to cover in this short blog. Tune into our JGL Law for You legal podcast to hear from me as I go into detail on how COVID-19 affected workers’ compensation practices. (this part was added, please leave it and delete the highlighted, or delete the sentence and keep the content)

To recap the Maryland experience, I can advise that no legislation was passed by the Maryland legislature to provide anyone with a “presumption of compensability” for on the job COVID illness. I sit on the Senate-House Oversight Committee for Workers’ Compensation and Employee Benefits as a public appointed member.

Several bills were introduced and reviewed on COVID, including presumptions for public safety, educators, and health care providers. Some legislation wanted to change well-established law on presumptions and/or occupational diseases. Other legislation was introduced to be temporary and have sunset provisions.

However, after a cautious review, no presumption legislation was passed. Maryland has an established delicate balance between employer and employee rights. Representatives of the plaintiffs’ and defense bar are cautious not to constantly change established statutes and promulgate new regulations. We found that we could still preserve a right to move forward with these COVID claims within our framework. To date, claims have proceeded, with the usual requirement of a healthcare provider stating a causal connection of contracting COVID to the workplace. The defense remains with all defenses, such as proving timing as well as other sources of exposure to the virus.

The Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission and its community of lawyers are unique. They have a long history of working together to solve issues that arise within its subject matter jurisdiction.

How is Remote Work Changing Employer Responsibility?

III. The last growing area of new cases, which follows naturally from shutdowns, is the home office accident or claims. This new wave of “remote working” is here to stay, whether the pandemic finally ends or not. People have found that they can be very successful and often more productive without commutes. Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings are an everyday event.

I believe that it is really up to the employer, who allows the remote or telecommute, to set up the rules. Without rules, the employee has the same rights he/she would have at the office. The employer would retain the usual defenses, however with much more difficulty if boundaries are not set.

For example, the employer gives an employee a computer and printer and states that work on said devices must take place in a separate specified room in the home. If the employee trips over the printer cable, and sprains an ankle, that should be covered, just as it would at the office.

However, if the same person goes for coffee in his/her kitchen during a morning break, trips on a child’s toy and hurts his/her back, that might not be covered in our first scenario because the employer has outlined explicitly the work environment boundaries.

Occupational diseases, like carpal tunnel claims, would still be filed and contested. Most of the time, classical scenarios would dominate and would be decided by the Commission unless the parties worked out a resolution.

I just had a more complex compensation issue, where a sales lady was allowed to work from home and had her “office equipment”; laptop, paper, pens, printer, on her kitchen table. However, she never moved her landline phone into that room. An accident occurred one day, as she was working in the kitchen and her boss called her landline. She rushed to the other room to answer it, fell, hit her head and sustained a concussion.

It was contested and ultimately settled. So, the best conditions for both parties is to set up the work place designations and for employees to stay within those parameters to be safe and protected.

Of interest is the recent international movement to keep work spaces safe for workers and prevent abuses in remote working environment. Portugal recently passed dramatic legislation. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security stated “the pandemic has accelerated the need to regulate what needs to be regulated. Telework can be a ‘game changer’ if we profit from the advantages and reduce the disadvantages,” as cited in Euronews.next, (Jason Strull/Tom Bateman, 8/11/2021).

I hope I raised more questions than I provided answers. Thanks for listening.

Under current law, with few exceptions, employers may force employees to give up their right to a jury trial as a condition of employment – even in the cases of civil rights violations, including sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Under such “forced arbitration” provisions, employees often face employer-friendly “judges” who are paid by the employer themselves, and who may be repeat players. Force arbitration provisions also impose limitations on the right to appeal, and frequently limit discovery, making it difficult for employees to prosecute their cases. Employers may also legally ban class actions in arbitration, limiting low-wage workers from joining together to recover for wage and hour violations. Further, by taking cases out of the public eye of the Courts, employers have been allowed to hide repeat offenses from public scrutiny.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (H.R. 4445), however, would amend the Federal Arbitration Act to exempt sexual assault and sexual harassment claims from forced arbitration, passed in both the House and Senate with rare bipartisan support. The President is expected to sign the bill into law and has expressed support for the bill.

Appearing on WBOC TV – Attorney David Bulitt and his wife Julie tell us how to keep the love alive all year long.

Watch here

Attorney David Bulitt and his wife, Julie Bulitt tell all about how to keep those February 14th vibes going all year long.

GREENBELT, MD., February 14, 2022 – Joseph Greenwald & Laake P.A. is pleased to announce that Matthew M. Bryant and Erika Jacobsen White have been elevated to Partner status.

“The firm is thrilled to add them both to our Board as Partners. They are incredibly bright and unwavering advocates for their clients.” said Paul Riekhof, Managing Director. “It is extremely well-deserved, and we look forward to their continued success at JGL.”

Matthew M. Bryant is in the firm’s Civil Litigation practice group. He is an experienced trial and appellate attorney representing businesses and individuals in state and federal court.

Erika Jacobsen White represents victims of employment discrimination, sexual abuse, civil rights, and personal injury matters throughout Maryland, DC, and California. Her career-long commitment to representing real people facing tough challenges in their lives has resulted in significant results for her clients at trial, mediation, and arbitration – recovering millions of dollars for her clients over the course of her career.

About Joseph Greenwald & Laake

For more than 50 years, Joseph Greenwald & Laake has worked with individuals and businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia, taking on the most complex of legal issues with sophisticated counsel and a personal touch. JGL serves clients in virtually all areas of the law.

Joseph, Greenwald and Laake has been representing clients in suburban Maryland and the District of Columbia for almost 50 years. With offices in Greenbelt and Rockville, Maryland, we have lawyers who focus their practices in diverse areas of the law, including employment and whistleblower actions, family law, estates and trusts, civil rights, business planning and commercial litigation, personal injury, medical and professional negligence.

In this episode, Allison McFadden & John Faggio discuss the following issues and more:

Falsifying information on contract proposals
Misrepresenting a project’s status to continue receiving government funds
Concealing cybersecurity vulnerabilities and falsely certifying compliance with applicable cybersecurity laws

JGL LAW FOR YOU brings you up close and personal with our lawyers who will be discussing how to navigate the many legal processes, developments in the law, other current events and how they may affect you.

In this episode, Robert Scheer & David Bulitt discuss the following:

How and why Comfort Cases was founded?
When youth age out of foster care – what are their options
What government is/is not doing enough of to help youth in foster care?
How foster parents are abusing the system/going in to it for the wrong reasons.

Hopefully you don’t have to make this decision often, but it’s important to understand when to hire a personal injury attorney.

If you’re ever hurt or injured in an accident, you should hire a personal injury attorney shortly after the incident. Although you can hire a personal injury firm at any time, the reason it’s important to hire one shortly after you’re injured is due to the fact that the process immediately begins and you want to avoid being without an experienced personal injury attorney early on.

Personal Injuries Can Occur in Various Ways

Car accidents are probably the first situations that come to mind when you think of when to hire a personal injury attorney, but personal injury claims can arise from many other situations as well. Serious injury can occur from unsafe property conditions that cause you to trip and fall, dog bites, negligent security, construction accidents, unsafe products, aviation and maritime accidents, excessive force by police, and medical or hospital malpractice. All of these claims can be handled by an experienced personal injury attorney.

Some Reasons Why You Should Hire a Personal Injury Attorney

Cases Can be Complex
Some personal injury claims involve multiple parties, such as a multi-vehicle accident. Product liability that causes an injury will have to be supported by evidence and a case will need to be carefully built. Often the defense insurance company will try to make it seem you’re the one at fault. Building a case involving medical malpractice or defective products requires experts that are able to decipher medical records, or product designs. Expert medical professionals must be able to determine the extent of an injury and relate the cause to the incident. A competent personal injury attorney will work through the various intricacies of the law and come up with a solid case for you.
Major Injury or Trauma Occurred
What you may think is a minor injury can turn into life-changing, long term injuries. Major injuries could require lifelong care. A personal injury attorney will have the staff available to help determine the compensation needed to ensure you get the right care. This includes medical experts as well as investigative staff.
Your Interests are #1
Insurance companies, like any other business, need to take care of their shareholders. This means they are motivated to make as large a profit as possible. What does this mean for you? Your interests are not remotely considered. No defense insurance company has ever worried about doing the right thing. Your own personal injury attorney is only concerned with your best interests, and not the insurance company’s. Their only job is to ensure that you’re properly compensated for the injuries you have suffered. During every phase of your case, you should expect to be kept informed and treated with compassion and respect.

When to hire a personal injury attorney is an extremely critical decision. You should certainly consult a personal injury attorney before making any statements, recorded telephone calls, signing any documents or authorizations to obtain medical records, or accepting any settlement from an insurance company. It’s important to realize that insurance companies may offer what sounds like a reasonable settlement but which is in reality a much smaller settlement than they deserve in order to preserve their profits. Only an experienced personal injury attorney can help you determine whether an offer of settlement is reasonable under your particular circumstances.

If you’ve been injured and need a personal injury attorney in the DC/Maryland area, click here to contact Joseph, Greenwald & Laake. Since the firm’s inception, JGL’s experienced personal injury lawyers have achieved excellent results for seriously injured people in cases involving car and/or truck accidents, dangerous products, professional negligence, and premises liability, among others.

When you get a ticket, it can be difficult to gauge just how much trouble you’re in, as the penalties for different laws vary across states. By understanding your charges, and the defenses available to you, it’s possible to reduce the charges or be acquitted entirely.

If you’ve been ticketed with reckless driving, don’t just resign yourself to accepting the charge. Joseph Greenwald & Lake Law’s experienced traffic violation defense attorneys know best defenses for reckless driving, and want you to know whether you have a case against any undue claims.

What Does Reckless Driving in Maryland Mean?

In Maryland, a person considered to be guilty of reckless driving must (1) drive a motor vehicle (2) with a “wanton or willful disregard for the safety of persons or property” or “[i]n a manner that indicates a wanton or willful disregard for the safety of persons or property.” Md. Code, § 21-901.1(a) of the Transportation Article. Examples of reckless driving can be anything from speeding, to drunk driving, to passing another vehicle at a railroad crossing.

Typically, the penalties for a reckless driving violation result in six points against a person’s driving record, resulting in mandatory enrollment in a Driver Improvement Program (DIP). On top of that, individuals found guilty of reckless driving face a possible fine up to $1,000, increased insurance rates, and a mark on their driving record.

Potential Defenses

There are several defenses that may apply in cases of reckless driving in Maryland:

1. The defendant wasn’t the driver

As in all criminal defense cases, the defendant has to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in order for the charges to stand. That burden of proof isn’t on the defense attorney, but the prosecutor or the Assistant State’s Attorney to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was driving the vehicle when the charges were made. A lack of sufficient evidence can lead to an acquittal or dropping the charges.

2. The driving was not reckless, but inadvisable

In Maryland, reckless driving must be done with intent, or carelessness, for the safety of the people around you. Regardless of whether they’re passengers, pedestrians, or fellow drivers. Depending on why the defendant was charged with reckless driving, an attorney may be able to use evidence to show the defendant was actually negligent, speeding, or making an unwise driving decision.

Negligent driving in Maryland occurs when a person drives his or her vehicle in a careless or imprudent manner, which endangers the life and property of surrounding persons or property in the process. T.A. § 21-901.1(b). It is a similar, but less severe, charge than reckless driving. It results in one or three points added to your driving record, depending if it involved an accident, and a fine up to $500. If this defense was successful, the charge could either be reduced to negligent driving, speeding, or dropped entirely.

3. The driver was distracted not reckless

As previously stated, for driving to be considered reckless in the state of Maryland there must be a willful disregard for other people’s safety or property on the part of the driver. Meaning there must be an element of awareness that their driving is unsafe, and that they’ve decided to ignore the risks.

People who are driving while distracted do not necessarily have that same awareness; their poor driving may occur merely because they aren’t paying enough attention to the road.

4. The defendant’s reckless driving was necessary

To prove that the defendant’s actions were necessary, there must be proof that the defendant had a good reason to commit the offense and there was no alternative action they could have taken. This defense automatically admits that the defendant drove recklessly, but that they were forced to by circumstance.

Situations that can warrant necessity:

The defendant was under duress, in a situation where they were fleeing from someone trying to harm or kill them.
There was an emergency, medical or otherwise.
The defendant was trying to avoid greater harm, their actions were taken to evade another driver’s erratic driving.

Understanding the charges against you is the best weapon you have in defending yourself. Once you’ve determined you have a potential case, your next best weapon is a good attorney.

Trust JGL Law for Reckless Driving Tickets in Maryland

The beauty of our justice system is that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. If you believe that any one of these defenses may apply to your case, reach out to Joseph Greenwald and Lake PA and our seasoned attorneys will help you reach the best outcome for your case.

Schedule a consultation now or call us at 301-220-2200.

Author: JGL Law

Posts by JGL Law