If you have been injured at your workplace, your first step should always be to contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney near Baltimore . Workers’ compensation attorneys who have experience with state workers’ comp laws are best equipped to help you understand your legal rights and make sure you are properly compensated for your injury. Employees who suffer personal injuries are entitled to be paid for medical expenses, time missed from work, loss of future wages, and pain and suffering. Depending on your injury, you may qualify for different benefits. For example, temporary disability means you will be able to work, but not at your full capacity. You may also completely recover from your injuries but be temporarily unable to work. Permanent disability means you are unable to work again and will be allotted compensation for your living expenses. Your workers’ compensation attorney will help you determine the kinds of benefits you qualify for and will fight to ensure you get the money you deserve. Get started by finding a reliable attorney at law!

Drivers who visit DUI attorneys in Baltimore sometimes report being charged with a DUI or DWI after being stopped at a drunk driving checkpoint. These checkpoints are set up on certain roads around the city to stop drivers and screen them for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Drunk driving checkpoints are designed to prevent car accidents and injuries caused by intoxicated drivers. Police officers look for common signs of DUI, like glassy eyes and slurred speech. If a police officer suspects you have been drinking, he will ask you to get out of your car and perform a field sobriety test. If you fail the test, you may be taken to a local jail to take a chemical test and determine your blood alcohol level. As DUI attorneys advise their clients, police agencies often give advance notice of drunk driving checkpoints throughout the city, making it possible to avoid a stop altogether. Talk to a DUI attorney from a DUI law firm to learn more!

DUI and DWI lawyers near Baltimore are often asked how the two charges differ. While both charges are serious offenses that require help from a law firm, there are some important differences. If you have been charged with drunk driving, speak directly to an attorney at law. Here is a simple guide to some of the differences between DWI and DUI.

Intoxication Level

A DWI, or driving while intoxicated, charge means that the defendant’s blood alcohol level was determined to be at 0.07% or higher. DWI is usually charged when someone is less intoxicated but fails a field sobriety test. Because the officer’s opinion plays a major role, DUI attorneys can challenge police judgment. A DUI is issued for individuals with a BAC of over 0.08% and is generally issued after a breathalyzer or blood test is performed.

Potential Fines

For the first DUI offense, individuals must generally pay a $1,000 fine. A second DUI offense carries a stiff $2,000 penalty. Conversely, DWI fines are significantly lower. First-time DWI offenders pay $500—and pay $500 again should they offend a second time. After a third DWI charge, penalties increase.

License Consequences

If you don’t hire a DUI attorney and lose your DUI or DWI case, you can also plan on losing your license. A first-time DUI mandates license revocation of six months, and your license can be revoked for up to one year after a second offense. For your first DWI conviction, you can count on a suspended license for up to 60 days. Second-time offenders cannot drive for up to 120 days.

Prison Time

Even first-time DWI offenders can face prison time of up to two months. A second DWI conviction can put you behind bars for an entire year. For DUIs, the penalties are even stiffer. Even a single DUI carries a prison sentence of up to a year. Second-time offenders face mandatory minimum sentences of five days—with a maximum of two years.

Additional Penalties

If your license is revoked due to either a DUI or DWI conviction, you may also be required to attend an Alcohol Education Program before you can even apply for a new license. These programs also analyze each person to determine whether alcohol abuse may exist. If the division finds alcohol abuse, they can force you to undergo a treatment program.

If you cause a car accident, you may injure someone else, your car may need costly repairs, or you may need to hire a DUI attorney or car accident attorney in Baltimore . To avoid this physical, emotional, or financial damage, you should follow certain safety rules while driving. Keep reading to learn how to reduce your chances of causing a car accident.

Abide by the Law

Many people believe that because they don’t see police nearby, they don’t have to obey the speed limit, follow the rules of the road, or abide by traffic signs. In truth, every time you shirk these safety rules, you’re putting yourself and others in danger. Obey the speed limit every time you’re behind the wheel, and adjust your speed in accordance with road hazards, driving conditions, and the weather. Abide by traffic signs, and follow your state’s traffic laws whenever you’re driving.

Don’t Drive While Impaired

If you’re extremely fatigued while behind the wheel, your judgment may be impaired, and your reaction time is significantly slower. If you feel too tired to drive, pull off the road and call a cab, friend, or police officer for assistance. Do not drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. These substances also impair your judgment, affect your reaction time, and make it difficult to safely operate a vehicle. You can cause a serious accident and risk causing devastating injury to yourself or others if you drive while impaired.

Focus on the Road

Distracted drivers are just as likely to cause an accident as drivers who are speeding or impaired. Keep your eyes on the road at all times, and scan for hazards, warning signs, and anything else that may require you to adjust your speed or avoid obstacles. Do not use your phone to talk, text, play music, or browse websites. Avoid playing with the car’s mirrors, radio, CD player, or air vents while driving. If you need to adjust something in your car, or use your phone, pull safely off the road first.

Workplace injuries, whether major or minor, must be handled in a very specific way to ensure that you retain the rights afforded to you by your company’s worker’s compensation insurance. If you’ve suffered from an injury, illness, or disease as a direct result of your work environment, and while on the clock, you can consult with a worker’s compensation attorney in Baltimore for advice. For guidance on how to preserve your rights and your health after a workplace injury, keep reading.

Understand What Is Covered by Worker’s Compensation Insurance

It’s important to understand what is covered by worker’s compensation, and what your rights are as an employee, prior to sustaining an injury on the job. Any injury, illness, or disease sustained due to employer negligence, or as a result of your work environment, while you’re on the clock, and in the course of your normal workplace duties, is covered by worker’s compensation. The only exceptions to this rule are accidents that occur as the result of an employee’s own negligence, evidence that proves that the employee wasn’t following company policy at the time of the accident, and accidents sustained while committing a crime.

Seek Medical Attention Immediately

If you are injured on the job, or develop symptoms of an illness, disease, or medical condition as a result of your job duties, you must seek medical attention immediately. Notify your direct supervisor of your condition, and advise him or her that you are seeking medical attention. In an emergency, you can visit any hospital or doctor for medical care. In a non-emergency situation, you must seek medical care from a provider who is authorized by the Workers’ Compensation Board. Retain copies of all documentation regarding your diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.

File a Worker’s Compensation Claim

Once you have received medical care, you’ll need to fill out a worker’s compensation claim form. A workers’ compensation lawyer or personal injury attorney can help you complete this form, if necessary. This form must be mailed to the nearest office of the Workers’ Compensation Board.

Are you in need of legal assistance? Jack J. Schmerling, attorney at law in Baltimore , has more than 36 years of experience as a worker’s compensation attorney, personal injury attorney, DUI attorney, and accident attorney. He is committed to serving the community by fighting for the legal rights of each and every one of his clients in a court of law.

Watch this video to learn more about Baltimore attorney at law Jack J. Schmerling. If you have been the victim of a car accident, workplace injury, or suffer from a temporary or permanent disability, Jack J. Schmerling can help.

If others drive carelessly or fail to pay attention to the road, even the most conscientious drivers can end up in an auto accident. Though seeking the help of a car accident attorney located in Baltimore is an important step, there are other things drivers should do before meeting with an accident attorney. In fact, taking the right steps immediately following an accident can help an attorney file a claim and seek compensation on the driver’s behalf.

Prepare your car

Each time you drive, it’s a good idea to carry emergency equipment in your vehicle just in case. For example, you should carry a set of cones, warning triangles, or emergency flares to help alert traffic following an accident. It’s also a good idea to have a camera, paper, and pen in your car for taking notes following the collision. Your car accident attorney can use the notes you took at the scene to help determine who was at fault for the collision. In case you require medical attention, you should also have a card with any relevant medical information for you and your family, such as medication allergies.

Remain calm

Panicking is one of the worst things you can do following a car accident . Instead, take a deep breath and check for injuries. If you are in doubt as to whether someone requires medical attention, it’s better to err on the side of caution and to call an ambulance. If the accident is minor, you can move the cars to a safe place, out of traffic. However, even if the accident is minor, you should contact the police to file a police report. Your accident lawyer will use this report in filing your claim.

Behave polite

Even if you feel the other driver was at fault for the accident, it’s important to be polite in all of your interactions. You don’t need to place blame immediately following a collision, as your car accident law firm will help you file a claim and seek compensation. Instead, just write down immediately what happened in the moments leading up to the collision.

Someone may meet with a personal injury attorney serving Baltimore following a variety of situations, including car accidents, medical malpractice, and slip and fall cases. A personal injury attorney helps clients when someone else’s negligent or intentional act causes harm. However, it’s important to remember that not every situation in which someone suffers an injury leads to liability.

Car accident cases are some of the most common personal injury claims in the United States. A car accident lawyer represents injured victims when other drivers weren’t following the rules of the road or driving as carefully as they should have been. An accident attorney helps hold negligent drivers financially responsible for injuries stemming from the car accident. However, exceptions exist in no-fault states, which require drivers to collect from their own insurance companies, unless the injury is serious. A personal injury law firm also represents those injured in slip and fall cases. Property owners are legally obligated to keep their properties safe and hazard-free. Though landowner duties may vary by state, landowners who fail to keep their properties safe may be held legally responsible for related injuries.