Litigation News October 2018

In March of this year one of our clients was involved in a Baltimore rear-end accident. Although there was not significant damage to the vehicles, our client still experienced a decent jolt. Human bodies are not meant to withhold the same impact as a vehicle. The other party’s insurance company did accept liability, however they only accepted liability for the vehicle damage; not our clients injury. After she was finished with the treatment her doctor recommended, it was time to put her demand in for settlement. However, because her bodily injury claim was denied, Geico wasn’t willing to make an offer. Our attorney, Mr. Simran Rahi, took the case to Baltimore City’s District court and obtained a verdict of $12,423.10 plus court costs. At first our client was afraid she wouldn’t receive any compensation after the accident, now she’s grateful she chose Portner & Shure for her accident case.

Employee Spotlight October 2018

Please join us in putting the spotlight on our lead receptionist, Ms. Ana Alvarenga! Before coming to Portner & Shure Ana lived in Canada where she obtained her nursing degree from the College of Ontario. Ana has been with us for a little less than a year and has already proven to be a great asset to our team. During her time with us she has grown from being a new receptionist, to now training our new front desk staff, and even assisting several paralegals on claims work. The fact that she’s bilingual is just an additional plus! While she’s not conquering new tasks at Portner & Shure, she is a devoted mother to her two girls- ages four and six, cares for her many animals, and likes to create pottery. Needless to say, we’re thrilled Ana found her way to our firm and can’t wait to see what else she’s capable of!

Your Cell Phone Can Help or Hurt your Accident Case

If you are injured in an auto accident that wasn’t your fault, and the other driver was using their cell phone at the time, evidence of that driver’s phone use can be used to hold them and their insurance company accountable for all damages. However, if you are the injured plaintiff in the case and the defendant is able to produces evidence that you were using your cell phone at the time of the accident, you could be held contributory to the accident and will not be awarded any compensation. Most states have laws in place that forbid cell phone use while in the car. Don’t risk being held partially liable in an accident- put the cell phone down while driving. If you’ve been injured in a Maryland car accident, call Portner & Shure today.

Employee Spotlight September 2018

Please join us in welcoming one of our newest team members, Diane Lazo. She was born in Manila Philippines and came to the United States when she was six years old. She is fluent in Tagalog, which is the universal Filipino language. She worked with another firm handling personal injury and workers compensation for five years before coming to Portner & Shure. In her spare time she volunteers with various non-profit dog rescues to assure all dogs find a forever home. Other than that, she can typically be found spending time with her two daughters, husband, and Toby- her 95 pound pitbull fur baby. With Portner & Shure, she hopes to continuously expand her knowledge on workers compensation throughout Maryland and Virginia. We’re very excited to have her a part of our team and to watch her knowledge grow.

Dashcams in Maryland

If you’ve ever been involved in an accident, you know there is always the possibility of liability being disputed between parties involved. Dashcams have become more and more popular as a means to protect oneself against false statements. If you choose to install a dashcam, here are a couple things you should know.  

One, it’s 100% legal to record public video of people, including police officers. If your dashcam is recording video outside of your vehicle, on the highway or in a parking lot for example, it doesn’t matter if the parties being recorded are aware of it.

Two, if your dashcam records audio inside of your vehicle, this is considered a private place and your passengers should be made aware of the recording. Otherwise you could be charged on the grounds of Maryland’s wiretapping laws.

If you’ve been injured in an accident you need a top rated attorney regardless of if you have a dashcam or not. Give Portner & Shure a call today.

Recent Case Results September 2018

In December of 2015, our client was involved in an accident where she was rear-ended while sitting in traffic on Rt. 50. The defendant had claimed that she, herself, was rear-ended and the person fled the scene, which forced her into the back of our client’s vehicle. However, our client stated she saw no one drive off in an aggressive manner. Also after Maryland State Police examined the defendant’s vehicle at the scene, a minor scratch was noted, but nothing that would have resulted in her being pushed into another vehicle. Liability was accepted by the defendant’s insurance company, unfortunately there was only $30k available on the policy. After our client was through with treatment she had incurred almost $90k in medical expenses. Luckily, the assigned paralegal, Mrs. Christine Airey, is highly experienced and knew she could find additional coverage for her client. After accepting the $30K from the defendant’s insurance carrier, Mrs. Airey was able to obtain an additional offer of $188k from the client’s underinsured motorist coverage. Needless to say our client was very pleased with her final result and was thankful for all the hard work Mrs. Christine Airey put into her case.   

Recent Case Results August 2018

A while back, one of our clients was injured in an accident where she was riding as a passenger on a golf cart, the driver was being reckless, flipped the cart, and caused her to fracture her femur.  After multiple surgeries, two years of physical therapy, and an accrued amount of $60,000.00 in medical expenses, it was time for her claim to be settled. Travelers insurance company was willing to offer $75,000.00 for our clients injury and medical expenses. Our attorneys did not see that figure as a fair settlement amount and continued to negotiate. By the end of our negotiations, we had doubled their offer and obtained a final recovery amount of $150,000.00. Our client was highly appreciative of the time Portner & Shure had dedicated to her case and very satisfied with her final result.