If you or a parent was hurt in a crash in Maryland, almost everything that follows happens in English: the police report, the calls from insurance adjusters, the medical bills, and eventually the release the insurer asks you to sign. In many Korean-speaking families, that means an adult child ends up translating every conversation, or a document gets signed before anyone fully understood it.
Robert J. Kim (로버트 김) is a partner at Blank Kim Injury Law in Silver Spring, admitted in Maryland and Virginia, and he handles car accident cases himself. He is fluent in Korean and consults in Korean and English, so you or your family member can hear how the claim works, what the insurer is asking for, and what a settlement offer really means, in Korean, from the first consultation to the end of the case.
This page explains how car accident claims work in Maryland, where the rules can surprise people who learned to drive in Korea, and how a case with Rob moves forward. It is general information, not legal advice. If you would rather read in Korean, visit the Korean-language home page.
What to do after a car accident in Maryland
What happens in the first few days tends to set the course of the claim. If you are physically able, work through these steps:
- If anyone is injured, call 911 and ask that a police report be made. Note the officer’s name and the report number.
- Before the cars are moved or repaired, take photos of the damage, the road, any traffic signals and your own injuries.
- Collect the other driver’s name, license, plate number and insurance details, and the phone numbers of anyone who saw the crash.
- Get checked by a doctor soon, even if you feel fine. Symptoms of a concussion or neck injury can take hours or days to appear.
- Tell your own insurance company about the crash, as your policy requires.
- Be cautious when the other driver’s insurer calls. You have no duty to give them a recorded statement, and early remarks can be used to argue you were partly at fault.
- Save every medical bill, receipt, repair estimate and record of missed work.
Before you sign a release or cash a settlement check, talk with Rob about your claim. Once a release is signed, the claim usually ends there. If you are also seeing an acupuncturist or chiropractor, mention it at the consultation so all of your treatment is part of the picture.
Maryland’s contributory negligence rule, explained for Korean drivers
In Korea, drivers are used to fault being divided by ratio, such as 80/20 or 90/10, with compensation reduced by the injured person’s share. Many U.S. states work in a similar way. Maryland does not.
Maryland follows contributory negligence. If you are found even slightly at fault for the crash, you can be barred from recovering anything from the other driver. Only a few U.S. jurisdictions still keep this rule, such as Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama and Washington, D.C.
Insurance adjusters know the rule well. A passing comment that you glanced at your navigation screen, or were going a little over the limit, can become the reason the whole claim is denied. A polite “I’m sorry” at the scene may be treated by an insurer as an admission of fault, although that alone does not decide the outcome. When English is not your first language, there is another risk: answering “yes” to a question you did not fully understand.
There are limited exceptions, such as the last clear chance doctrine, but whether one applies depends on the facts. The more reliable path is evidence, gathered early, that shows how the crash actually happened. Many people in Silver Spring and Montgomery County commute into Washington, D.C. or Virginia, and which law applies is mainly decided by where the crash happened, so write down the exact location.
Which insurance pays after a Maryland car accident
More than one policy can apply to a single crash, and which ones are available shapes how the claim is put together.
- Personal injury protection (PIP). Maryland insurers must offer PIP. Unless the policyholder waived it in writing, it pays at least $2,500 toward medical bills and lost income, regardless of who caused the crash.
- The at-fault driver’s liability coverage. Maryland’s minimum bodily injury liability limits are $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident. With a serious injury, medical bills alone often go well past those minimums.
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. If the other driver has no insurance, too little insurance, or fled the scene, your own policy may pay.
- Other policies. Depending on who was driving and why, a rideshare company’s insurance, an employer’s commercial policy or the vehicle owner’s policy can also apply.
Policy terms differ from one insurer to the next, and the minimums set by Maryland law can change. If Rob takes your case, he reviews the actual policies involved and explains in Korean what each one covers.
Car accident cases Rob handles on Maryland roads
Rob represents drivers, passengers and pedestrians hurt on Maryland roads, from the Capital Beltway (I-495) near Silver Spring to Colesville Road (US 29) and Georgia Avenue (MD 97). The car accident cases he handles himself include:
- Rear-end crashes at lights or in stop-and-go traffic, including chain-reaction collisions
- T-bone crashes at intersections when a driver runs a light or fails to yield
- Collisions during lane changes
- Head-on collisions
- Hit-and-run crashes and crashes caused by uninsured drivers
- Crashes caused by drunk or drug-impaired drivers
- Distracted driving crashes, including phone use behind the wheel
- Crashes involving Uber and Lyft vehicles
The claim is not always only against the driver who hit you. As the insurance list above shows, the vehicle owner, an employer or a rideshare company’s coverage can be involved depending on who was driving and for what purpose. Crashes with larger vehicles raise separate questions about federal safety rules and commercial insurance, and Rob handles truck accident cases as well.
Evidence that shows how a Maryland crash happened
Because a small share of fault can end a Maryland claim, the case often turns on what the evidence shows about how the crash unfolded. Much of that evidence does not last long.
- The police report and the responding officer’s notes
- Scene photos showing where the vehicles ended up, the damage, signals, road markings and weather
- Names and phone numbers of witnesses
- Dashcam footage and video from nearby stores or traffic cameras, which can be erased within days
- Vehicle data showing speed and braking
- Medical records and bills that document your injuries from the first visit onward
If Rob takes your case, he gathers this material, deals with the insurers and answers any argument that you were at fault. If your car has a dashcam, save the file now and mention it early.
What a Maryland car accident claim can include
Every case is different, and no web page can tell you what yours is worth. In general, a Maryland car accident claim can seek compensation for:
- Medical treatment to date and treatment you are expected to need
- Income lost while you could not work, and a reduced ability to earn in the future
- Pain, suffering and the ways the injury has changed your daily life
- Vehicle repair or replacement and other property damage
Maryland caps non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, in injury cases, and the cap is adjusted every October 1. The severity of the injuries, the length of treatment, the insurance available and how clearly the evidence shows the other driver’s fault all affect what a claim is worth. Results in other cases do not predict the outcome of yours.
Maryland car accident deadlines
In Maryland, an injury lawsuit after a car accident generally must be filed within three years of the crash. Several things can make the practical deadline much earlier:
- Claims against a government body, such as a crash with a county bus, police car or state vehicle, can require written notice much sooner, often within one year.
- Claims for someone who died, or for someone who was a minor at the time, follow different timing rules.
- Insurance policies have their own notice requirements, and evidence such as video footage can disappear quickly.
Do not assume there is plenty of time. If you were hurt, request a free case review so the deadlines that apply to your crash can be checked.
How a car accident case with Rob works, in Korean
- Free consultation. Tell us what happened through the form on this page or by phone. You can speak with Rob in Korean or English, and there is no obligation to hire the firm afterward. If your injuries make travel hard, the whole consultation can be done by phone.
- Investigation. The police report, photos, witness accounts, video and vehicle data are gathered to show how the crash happened.
- Medical records. Treatment records and bills are collected so the full extent of your injuries is documented.
- Insurance negotiations. Rob handles communication with the insurance companies and presents a demand supported by the evidence.
- Court, if needed. If the insurer will not make a fair offer, the firm can file suit in a Maryland court and pursue the claim there.
Throughout the case, progress is explained in Korean, and you can have English insurance letters, settlement releases and court papers explained in Korean. Court proceedings themselves are conducted in English, and interpretation is arranged where it is needed for hearings and depositions.
No fee unless we recover money for you. We advance the case costs and are repaid only from a recovery. The agreement is in writing before you sign.
Rob mainly meets clients at the firm’s Silver Spring office in Montgomery County and works with Korean-speaking clients from across Maryland, including Wheaton, Rockville, Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Ellicott City and Columbia. Read more about Robert J. Kim, or see why working with a Korean-speaking lawyer in Maryland matters.
