Summer is a prime time for traveling, and that means the potential for personal injury is higher. What happens if you are visiting another state and are injured there? The simple answer is that you can file a personal injury claim in a state where you do not reside. Here’s more on that process.
What is an Out-of-state Injury?
Basically, it is an injury that occurs when you are not in the state where you reside. The most common type of out-of-state injury occurs due to a vehicle accident. Other types of accidents can also occur while you are vacationing. These include slips and falls, battery, premise injuries, and others.
What Happens When You Are Injured in Another State?
Generally, the law that applies to your case is the law where the injury occurred. So, even if you are in a vehicular accident in MD and you live in Florida, the law that governs that case would be Maryland law. To make matters more confusing, it is not overly uncommon that a driver from one vehicle that causes an accident is from another state too. That means that both parties are from out of state. Think of the number of people who attend Spring Break festivities.
Even if both parties are from separate states, the law that covers that accident is in the state where the accident occurred.
Other Types of Personal Injuries
Thus far we have used vehicle accidents as examples, but personal injuries also occur when vehicles are not involved. Slip and fall injuries are common, and they can occur almost anywhere.
If you are on vacation, and you trip, slip, or fall, you may suffer a personal injury. You don’t always notice the extent of the injury until you return home and see your doctor. If you file a personal injury case, you must do so in the state where the injury occurred.
Call The Jaklitsch Law Group If You Were Injured While Visiting Maryland or District of Columbia
The process is a little more complicated due to distance, so it’s best to call a personal injury lawyer in the state where you were injured. The lawyer can handle your personal injury claim and make arrangements for medical records and other data from the injury to be sent to them. If there is a motor vehicle accident, a police report from that state will help to prove that you were there and an accident occurred.
You may have to travel back to that state for court appearances, but not always. Sometimes the court will allow you to phone in or do video testimony. If you were injured in Maryland or in Washington, D.C. and need legal representation for your personal injury claim, reach out to our experienced personal injury lawyers at The Jaklitsch Law Group.
