Friday, June 8, 2012

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF MY PERSONAL INJURY CASE? The problem with "priors"


What are priors? A lot can depend on the context. If you are a criminal defendant about to be sentenced, the state is gong to tell the Judge about your "priors" [i.e. your record]. In the context of a Baltimore car and automobile accident, your "priors" are going to be the number of times you've claimed injury in other, previous Baltimore car and automobile accidents. Any Baltimore personal injury lawyers will tell you it matters. A lot. The adjuster is likely aware of prior accidents and will reduce any offer to you accordingly. A jury may hear about prior injuries to the same body part, and take that into account when fixing your recovery. Seasoned Baltimore personal injury lawyers that try their cases have likely had the gut wrenching experience of the "undisclosed" prior injury to the same body part being drawn out on cross examination, in the face of a prior denial of any prior injury. Experienced Baltimore personal injury lawyers will advise you talk about prior injuries when asked. It can only hurt you if you don't.

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