Legal Question in Administrative Law in Maryland

Maryland Contributory Negligence

Farm trailor did not contain a stoplight, as prescribed by MD Law. Accident occured in broad daylight, while p/u truck turning left with signal on. Trailing coal truck attempted to pass on left and struck pu w trailer. Are you aware of any case law which would be helpful in overcoming Md contrib neg? Our argument is that the failure to have a stop light was not the sole and proximate cause of accident.


Asked on 6/11/01, 10:54 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Holzman Holzman Law Firm, LLC

Re: Maryland Contributory Negligence

You should contact an attorney as your facts are not clear. In general, the whole point (and the harsh reality) of the doctrine of contributory negligence as it is applied in MD is that if a plaintiff is even a little bit negligent, then they lose the whole case. The Plaintiff does not have to be the "sole proximate" cause of the accident to lose -- if a jury finds that the plaintiff was negligent, even a little bit, that plaintiff loses (even if the defendant was MORE negligent).

Lawrence R. Holzman, Esquire

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400

Greenbelt, MD 20770

(301) 220-2200

fax (301) 220-1214

Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.

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Answered on 6/29/01, 12:05 pm


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