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.   

Litigation News July 2018

One of our clients was rear ended on an access lane while waiting to merge onto a busy road. She had immediate pain but waited to go to the doctor as she thought the pain would go away. The insurance company for the driver who hit her refused to admit fault or pay damages because she allegedly stopped two times on the access lane and she waited several days before obtaining medical treatment. However, when we went to trial, the judge agreed that it doesn’t matter how many times you stop on an access lane, there is a duty for a travelling vehicle to maintain a safe distance behind the vehicle in front of it. As to damages, the judge found our client extremely credible. The court agreed with our attorney, Ms. Molly Cross, and awarded our client full reimbursement for medical expenses as well as a large amount for pain and suffering, an amount that was triple her medical costs.

What Clients are Saying June 2018

Wonderful experience with Portner & Shure!
Especially Grace, she was such a good communicator with an understanding and warm heart. Due to her hard work and caring nature, we were comfortable throughout the process. Also, we really appreciate Jonathan Portner for bringing the best result. If anyone asks us to recommend a law firm, we would definitely recommend Portner & Shure!

This case was handled by Mr. Portner and our Paralegal, Mrs. Grace Chung, out of our Columbia, MD office.

Litigation News April 2017

On March 6, 2015, our client was involved in a rear-end accident when she was stopped at a red light in Montgomery County, Maryland. She suffered injuries to her neck, back, and legs. An offer of $4,300.00 was made to settle the case, but this was less than half the total of our client’s medical bills. Our client rejected this offer and we filed suit to handle this matter in court. The District Court Judge awarded our client $14,758.40 plus all court costs. Here, the insurance company refused to make a good-faith offer of settlement, and as a result, they lost in Court and were required to compensate our client more than $10,000.00 more than their highest offer. Our client was very happy with this result in her case.

What Clients Are Saying November 2016

“I am very happy with the services that Portner and Shure gave me. From the very beginning they were extremely kind and helpful. They made sure I received the compensation I deserved! They constantly kept me informed of what was going on in my case. I would definitely recommend them! Thank you.”

This case was handled by our Paralegal, Christine Airey, in our Columbia office.

Case Result September 2016

             This month, Portner & Shure won yet another case against Geico where there was no settlement offer made. In fact, Geico denied all liability because they alleged there was a phantom vehicle that caused the accident. Our client suffered shoulder pain and a thumb injury in this crash that happened when the Defendant failed to yield to our client’s vehicle while merging onto I-295. In Court, the Judge determined that there was no phantom vehicle and it was the Defendant that caused the accident because of a failure to yield. The Court awarded our client $12,000 plus court costs. Attorney, Kevin Ruby, successfully argued this case in Court. 

Maryland Auto Accident Lawyers: Fatal Accident in Bethesda Kills 3, Seriously Injures Another

            Saturday night, a horrific accident occurred in Bethesda on Pyle Road.  Two cars were involved in the accident, a Chevrolet Volt and a BMW sedan.  There were 4 passengers in the Volt and they were the ones struck with tragedy.  Three of the passengers did not survive the crash, and the fourth passenger suffered life-threatening injuries.  The young driver of the BMW only suffered minor injuries.

            

            The cause of this devastating crash has not been determined yet.  Since it was a Saturday night, it is always possible that alcohol played a role.  Based on accident scene pictures, the Chevrolet Volt suffered significantly more damage than the BMW.  Whatever the cause may be, it is likely that one of the parties was at fault.  This area of Bethesda is a residential area, therefore, with the amount of damage to the Volt vehicle, speed is a likely factor in the crash.

Remember, actions you take immediately after a car accident will affect your personal injury recovery!

Most crash victims do not understand that an auto accident entails complicated issues, including:

   ·         What should never be discussed with the Adjuster;

   ·         The two critical guidelines to follow when seeking medical treatment;

   ·         The method to “get more” for your property damage and an immediate rental car;

   ·         The one document always needed for your lost wage recovery, and other critical accident related         proof;

   ·         The three essentials for building and evaluating the case for pain and suffering compensation.

If you or a family member have been injured or killed in a Maryland pedestrian accident and would like to consult an experienced personal injury attorney for free, contact our office at (301) 854-9000 to schedule an appointment at one of our office locations in Rockville or throughout Maryland or visit us online at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Personal-Injury/

Maryland Car Accident Lawyer: MD State Plow Driver Seriously Injured in Accident with SUV

           Last night, a Maryland State Highway Administration snow plow driver was standing outside his truck at Ridge Road and Hoffman Drive.  An SUV was driving by and hit the plow driver, resulting in life threatening injuries.  Police are still investigating the cause of the accident to determine who was at fault and if any charges need to be filed against the SUV driver.

           

           It is unclear where exactly the plow driver was standing when he was hit—was he standing on the side of the road, was he standing in the middle of the road.  These types of accidents happen far too frequently on highways when drivers are pulled over on the shoulder, get outside of their car, and another driver hits them.  Even when something like this occurs on a main road as opposed to a highway, the effects are just as bad.  A driver standing outside of his or her vehicle is never safe and should always stand as far away from travel lanes as possible.

            

          It is also unknown whether the SUV driver was distracted while driving, under the influence of alcohol, or simply just did not see the truck driver.  The police investigation will make these determinations.

If you or a family member have been injured or killed in a Maryland pedestrian accident and would like to consult an experienced personal injury attorney for free, contact our office at (301) 854-9000 to schedule an appointment at one of our office locations in Columbia or throughout Maryland or visit us online at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Personal-Injury/

Greenbelt Auto Accident Attorney: Litigation News December 2015

                Recently, Portner & Shure attorney, Kevin Ruby and paralegal, Amy Patton, settled a Virginia auto accident case for $112,000 just before trial was set to begin.  This accident occurred on Duke Street in Alexandria, Virginia in the midst of stop and go traffic.  The Defendant admitted to not paying attention and rear-ended our client.  Since the Defendant driver was not paying attention while driving in heavy traffic, he hit our client’s vehicle with great force because he did not apply the brakes.  The insurance company involved in the case refused to make any settlement offers initially because they were arguing that a majority of our client’s injuries were pre-existing.  Injuries to our client resulting from the accident included injuries to her head, neck, hip and knee. We filed suit in this case, which likely prompted the insurance company to begin settlement negotiations in order to avoid going to trial.  Eventually, the insurance company made a very favorable offer of $112,000 that our client was more than happy to accept.