Helping the Uninsured--New Maryland Law is a Step in the Right Direction

The Maryland General Assembly passed a new law that will provide health insurance by expanding Medicaid to about 140,000 Maryland residents who were previously uninsured. This is a huge step in the right direction. It is estimated that about 14% of Maryland residents do not have health insurance. While this new law only provides coverage to a fraction of these people, it is a step in the right direction and it shows that the O'Malley Administration and the Maryland legislature are aware of the problem and are actively taking steps to address it. Of course the bill was opposed by big business groups. This is no surprise. The bill can be seen at: http://mlis.state.md.us/2007s1/bills/sb/sb0006e.pdf

Many of our clients do not have health insurance and this is a true tragedy. These people are unable to get regular checkups (and necessary medications), and when they do get sick or have an injury that requires them to go to the hospital emergency room, they are financially wiped out by the bills. We fight for the uninsured. If people without health insurance are injured as a result of someone else's neglgigence, we pursue legal claims against those repsonsible so as to make sure that our clients can get the care that they need, and pay for the care without becoming financially devastated. We work with many medical providers who agree to provide care to our injured clients with the understanding that they will not get paid until the legal case is resolved.

If you or your family members have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, call us for a free telephone consultation at 301-589-2999.

Maryland Car Accidents

If you have been in a Maryland car accident, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that if you are insured by a Maryland insurance policy, you probably have at least $2,500.00 in PIP coverage (aka "personal injury protection" coverage). This is no fault insurance, and it will cover your medical bills and/or a portion of your lost wages. The PIP money is collectable from your own insurance company and it is in addition to what you can collect from the other driver's insurance company if you are not at fault for the accident. Maryland car accident victims can often get paid twice for the medical bills and lost wages: once from their own PIP coverage and again from the at fault driver's insurance company.

The bad news is that Maryland is a pure contributory negligence state. That means that if you are found to be even one percent at fault, then you are completely barred from recovering from the other driver even if the other driver is 99% at fault.

The attorneys at Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester will help you maximize your financial recovery and will fight for you to get what you deserve. Call us at (301) 589-2999 x102 for a free telephone consultation.