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Washington DC Personal Injury Claims

Committed to maximizing the value of your case.

Although Miller & Zois is based in Maryland, Washington DC remains one of the firm’s primary home jurisdictions. All of the lawyers at Miller & Zois are barred and fully licensed to practice in DC and a significant percentage of our firm’s personal injury work has historically been based in DC. Our attorneys have handled hundreds of major personal injury cases in Washington DC ranging from medical malpractice to serious car accidents and everything in between.

Despite general misconceptions, Washington DC is actually a very favorable jurisdiction for personal injury plaintiffs. Jurors in DC have a well-earned reputation for being fair and understanding towards plaintiffs in civil tort cases. The judicial system and laws in DC are also very accommodating – Washington DC remains one of the few jurisdictions in the country that has no maximum cap on the amount of pain & suffering damages.

DC Court System

The District of Columbia Court System has two simple tiers comprised of:

Superior Court District of Columbia
Superior Court of D.C. 500 Indiana Ave, NW Washington, DC 20001
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
D.C. Court of Appeals 500 Indiana Ave, NW Washington, DC 20001

The DC Superior Court is the general jursidiction / trial court that essentially handles all civil and criminal judicial matters in Washington DC. The Superior Court has five divisions: the Civil Division, the Criminal Division, the Family Division, the Domestic Violence Division, and the Probate Division. Unlike most state courts, which are made up of different court systems that each have specific functions and separate jurisdictions, the Superior Court has jurisdiction over all legal matters in Washington D.C. The Court of Appeals handles all appeals of Superior Court cases. Any appeal from the District of Columbia Court of Appeals goes directly to the United States Supreme Court.

The Superior Court is located in the heart of Washington D.C. at 500 Indiana Avenue, N.W. in the Judiciary Square. The main courthouse, the Moultrie Courthouse, contains most of the courtrooms and relevant administrative offices. It is really in the eye of the storm, just a few blocks from the Capitol Building, Smithsonian and other historical attractions. The other buildings that comprise the Judiciary Square house many of the court agencies and services.

The Superior Court has a Chief Judge (Hon. Robert E. Morin) and over 60 associate judges and magistrates. Each judge is assigned to a particular division for a designated length of time, usually 18 months to 2 years. During this time, the judge hears only cases filed in that Division. We have found this to be an extremely efficient system since each judge has only one area of the law to focus on at a time and are typically well-versed in current case law and trends. In general, the Civil Division of the Superior Court runs very smoothly and efficiently. While our attorneys have found that trial dates are often postponed by the court, the parties are always given ample notice, months usually, so that rearrangements can be made without any hardship or costs to the parties.

Administration of Civil Tort Cases in DC

With respect to the administration of personal injury case, there have been some productive changes in the way cases are handled in the District of Columbia. In car crash injury cases, both the mediation date and the pretrial conference will be set at the initial scheduling conference, with the pretrial date calendared within 2-3 weeks of the mediation date. With respect to dispositive motions that are not anticipated, the time built into the track for the filing and ruling of such motions will now be completely eliminated. This should help move auto accident cases in Washington D.C. move along with greater ease.

In each civil case, there is an initial scheduling conference. At this scheduling conference, the parties are given the option of selecting civil mediation or case evaluation. Both of these settlement tools are run by the Multi-Door Dispute Resolution Division of the court. Mediation is by far the most popular option among Washington D.C. injury lawyers. Mediations are conducted by an attorney from the community who is experienced in the applicable area of law. The mediator hears from both parties and attempts to facilitate settlement discussions. Mediators do not give an opinion of the value of the case or probable outcomes on liability. They will point out, however, in conversations with each side individually, problems with the case and hurdles that will need to be overcome to prevail. Mediations are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursday in the Mediation Center, Suite 114 of the Superior Court, Court Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W. Case evaluation, on the other hand, is also run by an attorney from the community, but the evaluator will give an opinion on damages, liability, and chances of prevailing. This option is sometimes unpopular among attorneys because it tends to give an artificial floor and ceiling to the value of the case and can, in fact, stall settlement negotiations. Moreover, mediator quality is potluck.

Statute of Limitations

In DC personal injury claims are subject to a 3 year statute of limitations - DC Code § 12-301. This does mean that you simply get 3 years from the date of the injury to file your claim. Like many other jurisdictions, DC has adopted the "discovery rule" for calculating when the 3 year statute of limitation period begins to run. Under DC's discovery rule your 3-year period starts when you discover or reasonably should have discovered that your injury was the result of negligence. In other words, your 3 years starts when you should have known that you could sue someone for your injury.

In a simple auto accident case the 3-years will almost always start on the date of the accident. The accident is when the injury occurs and everyone understands (or should understand) that you can sue the other driver if your injured. However, the application of the discovery rule and calculating the 3-year limitation period can get much more complex in medical malpractice and other types of tort cases. It also gets even more complex when the injured person is a child or someone under the age of 18.

There is one significant exception to DC's 3-year limitation period for tort claims. If the case involves a wrongful death claim (i.e., the person dies as a result of the accident, malpractice, etc.) then the statute of limitations in DC is only 2-years.

Auto Insurance Laws

DC law requires insurers to offer optional no-fault auto insurance requirements which means that minor accidents get covered by the driver's own insurance regardless of fault. More significant accidents involving personal injury claims can be pursued under the traditional at-fault tort law system.

The law in the District of Columbia also requires insurance carriers to disclose the insured's policy limits to a plaintiff on request. DC Code § 31-2403.01.

Comparative Negligence

In tort cases where there is some degree of shared fault between the plaintiff and defendant(s), DC is one of the few jurisdictions that continues to follow the traditional rule of contributory negligence. Under contributory negligence when a plaintiff is found to be even 1% responsible for an accident, they are supposed to be legally barred from recovering any money. So let's say A sues B for a car accident and a jury finds B 90% at fault and A 10% at fault for causing the accident. Under DC's contributory negligence rule A would not be entitled to recover any damages against B.

Damages

Personal injury plaintiffs in Washington DC are entitled to recover all the normal types of tort damages such as lost income or wages; past and future medical expenses; and pain and suffering. Unlike other states, DC law does not impose any caps or limitations on the maximum amount of damages that can be awarded in any type of tort case. Washington DC also allows punitive damages to be awarded when there is "clear evidence" of recklessness or willful disregard.

Infliction of Emotional Distress

Washington DC allows tort claims based on emotional injury alone without any related physical injury, but only under the limited "zone of danger" rule. Under this rule a plaintiff must be within the "zone of physical danger" such that they feared for their personal safety. DC law also allows mental distress claims for intentional torts. These are fairly limited scenarios so you don't see many cases based on purely emotional distress without physical injury.

Dram Shop Liability

Dram shop liability refers to lawsuits against alcohol serving business like bars, nightclubs, taverns, etc. for negligently overserving a patron and getting them too drunk. DC law allows alcoholic beverage vendors to be held liable if a patron get intoxicated and injures someone as a result. See Zhou v. Jennifer Mall Restaurant Inc, 534 A.2d 1268 (D.C. 1987) The classic example of this is where a bar continues to serve alcohol to an intoxicated patron and then that patron drives home drunk and hurts or kills someone on the road. When this happens DC law allows the person injured in the drunk driving accident to sue the bar.

Hire Miller & Zois for Your DC Personal Injury Case

We handle tort claims in the District. If you have been injured, call our lawyers at 800-553-8082 or select here for a free consultation.

DC Court System District of Columbia Court of Appeals building with Abraham Lincoln statue

A 2 tiered system comprised of the Superior Court and Court of Appeals. Personal injury cases are handled by the Civil Division of the D.C. Superior Court which is known for its efficiency.

DC Personal Injury Laws Washington District Columbia flag

Washington DC has its own separate body of statutory law and case law that is applicable to personal injury cases and determines issues such as liability, damages and time limitations for bringing claims.

DC Car Accident Claims Automobile light trails over highway road sign markings

DC is an urban area with a lot of cars and lots of car accidents. Learn about DC car accident statistics; DC car accident and insurance laws; and recent settlements and verdicts for DC car accident cases.

DC Medical Malpractice Claims Red Cross Building

DC is a large city with a number of big, urban hospitals. Every year hundreds or even thousands of people are injured by medical errors or negligence in DC. Learn about malpractice laws and cases in DC.

DC Cerebral Palsy Cases Feet of a disabled person in a special rugby wheelchair

About 10,000 babies are born in Washington DC hospitals every year. Sadly a handful of these newborns will be diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a result of medical negligence during labor and delivery.

Other DC Personal Injury Cases Yellow sign inside building hallway, sign showing warning of caution wet floor

Miller & Zois handles all types of personal injury cases in Washington DC including slip and falls, dog bites, pharmaceutical and product liability cases.

Value of DC Malpractice Cases Gavel and stethoscope on wooden background

Take a look at recent DC verdicts and settlements to see how much an average medical malpractice case might be worth in Washington DC.

Value of DC Personal Injury Cases Ambulance

Review sample DC verdicts and reported settlements for all types of personal injuries and accidents to see how much a typical tort case is worth in Washington DC.

Client Reviews
★★★★★
They quite literally worked as hard as if not harder than the doctors to save our lives. Terry Waldron
★★★★★
Ron helped me find a clear path that ended with my foot healing and a settlement that was much more than I hope for. Aaron Johnson
★★★★★
Hopefully I won't need it again but if I do, I have definitely found my lawyer for life and I would definitely recommend this office to anyone! Bridget Stevens
★★★★★
The last case I referred to them settled for $1.2 million. John Selinger
★★★★★
I am so grateful that I was lucky to pick Miller & Zois. Maggie Lauer
★★★★★
The entire team from the intake Samantha to the lawyer himself (Ron Miller) has been really approachable. Suzette Allen
★★★★★
The case settled and I got a lot more money than I expected. Ron even fought to reduce how much I owed in medical bills so I could get an even larger settlement. Nchedo Idahosa
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