By Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog.

In the past, I have written on the value of fractured and broken legs. Now, in a relentless, unyielding effort to cover the settlement and trial value of every single bone in the human anatomy, let's thin slice broken legs a little thinner: femur fractures in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia.

This month's Metro Verdicts Monthly graph on the front of their publication compares verdict and settlement amounts for femur fractures in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Since 1987 the median verdict or settlement amount of a femur fracture case in the District of Columbia has been $250,000.00, and in Virginia it has been $200,000.00. However, the median verdict or settlement in a femur fracture case in Maryland has been $75,000.00. The national average is $167,000.

Originally posted at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. Please visit http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/.

By Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog.

The average premises liability verdict is $643,099, according to Jury Verdict Research's review of premises lawsuits around the country. The median verdict in premises liability cases is $98,160. Premises liability claims against recreational facilities were higher. The average verdict is $1,007,704 and the median verdict is $125,000. JVR defines these cases, as any premises liability lawyer would suspect, as a lawsuit which is brought against an individual, business, or organization responsible for the maintenance and safety of a property or structure.

When possible, I try to include average and median data. Average verdict data includes large often uncollectable verdicts that tend to distort the reality. While both the silly case that never should have been filed and the $58,000,000 verdict don't really apply to the valuation of your case, the former distorts the result more than the latter. Then again, all verdict data undifferentiated by specifics of the case ultimately should be filed away under "very interesting but ultimately useless."

It is also worth noting that this is a study of successful premise liability verdicts where the plaintiff prevails. Factoring in the losses, the average award is much lower. Most premise liability lawyers who handle premises cases regularly handle only serious injury or death cases. Clearly, the bar in terms of the severity of injury required for a good lawyer to accept the case is higher in premises liability cases than in auto accident cases where, generally speaking, the path to proving liability is more clear and certain.

Originally posted at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. Please visit http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/.

By Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog.

Jury Verdict Research conducted a study of its database of verdicts and found that the average jury award in a bicycle accident case is $279,970. Underscoring how high jury verdicts distort the average verdict, the overall median money awarded in bike accident cases is $50,000. Moreover, Plaintiff's only prevail in 41% of the cases that go to trial.

I think the relatively low success rate of bicycle accident cases at trial is a general bias against bikes that may be even stronger than the bias against motorcycles. Many jurors, who typically drive cars, simply think bicycles shouldn't be on the road.

Obviously, the big problem with bicycle accidents as opposed to car and truck accidents is the lack of a strong steel foundation designed to withstand an impact. But the low hanging fruit to reduce the extent of injuries in bicycle accidents is simply wearing a helmet. The most serious bicycle injuries - and there were 630 fatal bike accidents in this country last year - usually involve a head injury. Wearing a bike helmet is estimated to reduce head injury risk by 85 percent. Maryland has a bike helmet law for those under 16 years-old but no law for adults.

I think there should be a mandatory bike helmet law in Maryland. To make my point, I'm going to slide down what libertarians call the slippery slope of paternalism. I really do appreciate their concern about creating (or furthering, as they would argue) a nanny state. But... that said... we already have helmet laws for motorcycles and seat belt laws in Maryland. A bike helmet law on public roads just makes sense because it would save lives at the cost of such a minor imposition.

Originally posted at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. Please visit http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/.

By Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog.

Obviously, there are a lot of vexing injuries that occur in car and truck accidents. Foot and ankle injuries rank high on this list of hard to solve accident injuries. There are so many bones in the foot and the bones are so small. Just too many things can go wrong.

According to a Jury Verdict Research study, the overall median jury award for foot injuries is $98,583. More serious foot injuries see a corresponding rise in value. Multiple fractures to a foot increase the median verdict to $144,000. In foot injury cases where both feet are fractured, the median rises to $296,940. For plaintiffs' lawyers repeating the "scope property damage does not matter" credo, it is hard to ignore the conclusion that if you have suffered fractures to both of your feet, you were most likely in an extremely serious accident.

Another Jury Verdict Research study found that 39% of the foot injury cases that went to verdict were suffered in auto, truck or motorcycle accidents. A remarkable 11% of serious foot injury cases were in motorcycle accident cases. This stat underscores how dangerous motorcycles are compared to cars or trucks.

One thing I really suggest in foot injury cases is finding an accomplished doctor with a focus on foot and ankle injuries. Baltimore is uniquely blessed in world renowned foot surgeons. If you have an orthopedic problem with your foot - from a car accident or anything else - take advantage of the abundance of riches we have and get yourself someone extremely well-qualified to chart the best path to recovery for you.

• Value of Your Injury Claim (how do adjusters, lawyers and juries determine value of cases?)
• Value of Foot Injury Cases in Your State (some idea of how value varies by jurisdiction)
• Value of Amputated Toe Cases (verdict data)

Originally posted at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. Please visit http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/.