For anyone who has ever driven on the Capital Beltway, taken a local bus, or ridden the Washington Metro, it should come as no surprise that the Washington, D.C. capital area rivals almost any major metropolitan area in terms of transportation congestion. The mere mention of “rush hour” can strike fear into even the most battle-hardened commuters. It should come as no surprise either that the greater Washington metro area experiences among the most transportation-related accidents in a given year. The sheer volume of accident claims is enough to keep D.C. personal injury lawyers plenty busy.
In addition to the sheer volume of cars on the roads, drivers in the D.C. metro area are among the most distracted. People in the D.C. area are more likely to own a smart phone than their counterparts in other areas of the country. Therefore, D.C. drivers are naturally more likely to break the law by texting or internet browsing on their phones. The D.C. area is also home to a wide range of residents from all over the world, some of whom may not be properly licensed to drive. It is important to remember that this will not keep these people off the road. Law-abiding drivers must be extra vigilant.
The D.C. metro area is also home to one of the most extensive and intricate public transit systems in the world. At any given time, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is operating dozens of metro trains and hundreds of buses. With this volume of transit service, it is unavoidable that metro transit employees will occasionally have a lapse in concentration and cause negligent injuries to law-abiding area residents. When this happens, you need an experienced capital area personal injury attorney to help you recover money damages to help pay for medical bills, physical therapy, lost wages, repairs to your vehicle, and to compensate you for your pain and suffering.
Claims against WMATA are notoriously difficult for several reasons. For one, WMATA employs an army of defense attorneys whose sole purpose is to try to have your case thrown out of court. If that fails, their second purpose is to use scare tactics to bring about the lowest possible monetary settlement, and to keep you from paying off your bills that are piling up. Another reason that claims against WMATA can be difficult is that WMATA operates as an interstate compact rather than a traditional state or metropolitan entity. This means that WMATA defense attorneys have a host of special rules and ploys at their disposal: ones that may prove too daunting to less experience plaintiffs’ attorneys.
For this reason, it is important to consult a D.C. accident attorney who is familiar with these tricks and has experience winning law suits against WMATA.
The D.C. transit system may be a jungle, but a little extra care can go a long way toward avoiding injury and death. This is especially true since you can never be sure how careful or conscientious someone else will be when your wellbeing is at stake.
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