Justin Browne | Bel Air Personal Injury Lawyer

(Cecil County Circuit Court, Maryland) Overcoming Sudden Medical Emergency Defense (complete bar to recovery)
Mr. Browne’s client was rear-ended at a traffic light by an individual who claimed to have had a sudden medical emergency. This person allegedly “blacked out” and was not in control of the vehicle. If successful, that defense would result in $0 recovery for our client because Maryland recognizes this defense as a complete bar to recovery. Through hard-fought discovery and motions practice, he was able to neutralize this defense and resolve the case jury before trial for 80% of the maximum amount our clients could possibly recover, if they were even successful and did not fall victim to the complete defense.

(U.S. District Court, Northern District) Maryland) Overcoming Contributory Negligence Defense (complete bar to recovery)
Mr. Browne’s client was driving to work one night when the car in front swerved suddenly. A second car appeared in the middle of the highway out of nowhere, leaving our client no recourse but to strike the car from behind. Prior to filing, the insurance company offered no money because Maryland is one of only a handful of places left in the United States where a victim found to be even only 1% at fault cannot recovery anything because of an old legal doctrine called contributory negligence. Aggressive discovery tactics uncovered several pieces of damaging evidence. Justin’s strategic deposition of the defendant and comprehensive preparation of our client effectively established liability and neutralized, if not negated, the contributory negligence defense. As a result, the case resolved well in advance of trial for near policy limits (90%) without any expert discovery being necessary.

(Pre-Suit Settlement – Maryland)
Mr. Browne’s client was a passenger in a vehicle that was rear-ended. The individual had a complicated medical history. By diving into the science and medicine, and demonstrating an ability and readiness to litigate and ultimately try the case, full insurance policy limits were tendered.

(Montgomery County Circuit Court, Maryland) Securing Future Medical Needs for a Client with a Spinal Cord Injury
Mr. Browne’s client was a 27-year old undocumented worker from Mexico who lived in the United States for seven years before working as a contractor at an electric substation. The defendant failed to de-energize a transformer close to where our client was erecting a 10-foot high scaffold. Electricity arced and struck his body, throwing him to the ground. Suffering a broken neck, he remains completely paralyzed from the neck down, unable to attend to his basic needs. He worked on the case with the Yarborough Applegate law firm from Charleston South Carolina. Aggressive discovery and expert development yielded a stipulation to liability from the Defendant before trial – this meant Defendant would not disclaim fault and would not blame the victim to avail itself of the contributory negligence doctrine, under which if a plaintiff is found to be even just one percent at fault, that person can recover nothing. Identifying and working with the right experts as Justin did proved critical in this case. Thanks to diligent discovery of defendants’ cabal of experts and hard-hitting depositions, defendant withdrew some of its experts, including a particularly well known and sympathetic one. Motions practice resulted in exclusion of another one of defendant’s experts, one who intended to eliminate most of our client’s claimed damages. Weeks of tireless trial preparation resulted in a $35,940,757 verdict thanks to the leadership and skill of lead trial counsel at Yarborough Applegate and second chairing by Mr. Browne. Because of a tort reform initiative, our client lost over $14,000,000 from his pain and suffering award. Maryland law allowed him to recover only $770,000, thereby reducing the judgment to $21,710,756.94. The verdict was vacated pursuant to a post-trial settlement for a confidential amount.

(Frederick County, Maryland) Wrongful Death Caused by a Truck
Mr. Browne represented the family of a driver killed by a truck that collided into the back of the driver’s vehicle. An expert had to be retained to help establish liability. The family was entitled to the value of lost services, non-economic damages for the loss of comfort, guidance, affection, companionship, and everything a loved one shares throughout a natural life. The amount of recovery was limited due to the available insurance and Maryland’s cap on the amount of non-economic damages one can recover. Handling a case like this goes beyond investigating the potential claim, securing admissible evidence, filing the lawsuit, conducting discovery, and litigating it. Mr. Browne’s services necessarily included working with other professionals to ensure compliance with Maryland law regarding trusts for minors and financial planning. This case reflects the holistic approach the lawyers at KBA take to working with clients.