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A Jury Verdict Research study looked at jury verdicts. This data is old but still telling.  Oklahoma would at first glance appear to be an awful place for lawyers to try personal injury cases. The median compensation award in Oklahoma trials is $6,824 and plaintiffs receive a recovery in only 43% of personal injury cases that go to a jury. Compared to the national data, these figures are awful.

If you are an Oklahoma personal injury lawyer with a seriously injured client, does this mean you do not have a fair chance of getting a fair and meaningful recovery for your client’s injuries? I don’t think so. A full 10% of verdicts in personal injury cases in Oklahoma were for $500,000 or more. While to some extent this is comparing apples to oranges, only in 1% of motor vehicle accident cases in Maryland does the jury award more than $500,000.

This number of significant jury awards leads me to believe that Oklahoma juries might not award significant damages in soft tissue injury cases or other cases where the harm may be less significant, but they will often give fair compensation to the people that really need it the most: people whose lives have been forever changed because of the negligence of someone else.

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Separation and divorce signal the end of a marriage. Maryland law gives these terms very different meaning. These terms mean different things in every state but particularly in Maryland.  If you are considering a divorce, you want to understand the legal differences between the two.  Separation and divorce are two distinct legal processes, each with its own requirements and consequences. This article examines the differences between separation and divorce in Maryland and provide important information for those considering ending their marriage and why this distinction is important to you.

What is Separation in Maryland? (Limited Divorce)

While Maryland does not allow for legal separation, it does offer limited divorces.  So a limited divorce is what people call a separation.  If someone says, “I’m legally separated from my spouse,” they have a limited divorce.  You can also call it a “legal separation.”

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How much does a divorce cost in Maryland? This post aims to give you a better idea of the cost of a Maryland divorce lawyer.

First, is asking a lawyer how much a divorce will cost similar to asking a barber how often you should get a haircut?  Absolutely.  But the key difference here is we don’t cut your kind of hair.  We are not divorce lawyers and will not represent you in your Maryland divorce.

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Metro Verdicts Monthly looks at median settlements and verdicts in all civil rights cases in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia since 1987.  (This data is a bit older but I think it is still accurate.) The median civil rights award in Maryland is $90,000. The median in Washington DC is $100,000. Incredibly, and I have no explanation for this, the median in Virginia is $200,000, over 100% greater than the civil rights verdicts and settlement in Maryland.

We know for sure that post-George Floyd, we will see a lot more of these. Because juries will be more inclined to believe the victim. The world is changing. Not fast enough. But it is changing.

The following is a sampling of verdicts and settlements that involve the violation of civil rights:

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The Maryland Appellate Court issued a new opinion on security deposits in a landlord-tenant situation  This post discusses Maryland security deposit law and this new case.

Maryland Security Deposit Law

Maryland security deposit law is a set of rules and regulations that govern the handling of security deposits by landlords in the state of Maryland. It sets out the conditions under which a landlord may collect a security deposit from a tenant, how the deposit must be handled and maintained, and the conditions under which the deposit may be returned to the tenant at the end of the tenancy. This law also sets out the maximum amount that a landlord may charge for a security deposit, which is typically one or two months’ rent.

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A bill in the Maryland General Assembly, sponsored by state Del. Joe Vogel, D-Montgomery, aims to require hospitals to conduct a fentanyl test on patients suspected of a drug overdose, in response to the alarming number of overdose deaths caused by fentanyl in the state.

According to data from the Maryland Opioid Operational Command Center, fentanyl accounted for over twice as many overdose deaths as the substance with the second-highest number of deaths. Hospitals are the first line of defense, and testing for fentanyl would help inform opioid prevention strategies.

Fentanyl Problem in Maryland

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As a personal injury lawyer, I get questions from people wanting to know if they can sue in various situations.  All of our attorneys do.  One of the questions we get most often is, “can I sue if my dog gets attacked and injured by another dog?”

The emotional motivation is easy to understand, right? People love their dogs and view them as full family members. If your beloved dog gets viciously attacked and injured or even killed by another dog right in front of you, it’s only natural to want justice.

Our lawyers get this question so often because dog-on-dog attacks are widespread. According to the VCA, attacks by other dogs are the most common reason for emergency veterinarian care.

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In Robson v. State, the court looked at how Maryland judges are restricted in sentencing defendants.  The answer?  Maryland judges have a lot of latitude when it comes to sentencing.

Facts of Robson v. State

Two Sheriff’s deputies, Merle and Sanchez,  went to serve a peace order on the appellant at his home. They approached the appellant’s basement apartment, where they saw a lit window. After knocking loudly on the door, the appellant opened it, allegedly pointing a shotgun at Deputy Merle’s face.  What was he thinking?  Let’s just say Jim Beam was involved.

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The Maryland legislature seems poised to change the statute of limitations for sex abuse.  Our lawyers lay it out the Child Victims Act of 2023 that seeks to provide child sexual abuse victims with expanded opportunities to hold wrongdoers accountable.

Where We Are Now

This week, the Maryland Senate approved legislation on March 16 that would eliminate the statute of limitations on sexual abuse lawsuits. The bill establishes a “lookback window,” allowing survivors to take legal action regardless of when the abuse took place.

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Maryland lawmakers recently withdrew a proposal to encourage companies to implement a four-day work week through tax credits.

The proposal, which would have established a five-year pilot program, giving Maryland companies tax credits to reduce weekly work hours to 32 without decreasing pay or benefits for employees. The bill, SB 197, was withdrawn due to concerns about its chances of passing in the state legislature, according to Del. Vaughn Stewart (D), one of the House bill sponsors.

The Four Day Workweek Idea

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