Owings Mills Car Accident Resources

Owings Mills is located within Baltimore County, Maryland, and it is a heavily traveled area where motor vehicle collisions occur with high frequency on the main roads of Interstate 795, Reisterstown Road, and Owings Mills Boulevard, and also on the rural roadways like Greenspring Avenue and Caves Road that formerly served mainly a farmer’s tractor. Our Maryland auto accident attorneys have handled hundreds of cases that have occurred in Owings Mills, and neighboring areas like Pikesville, Ruxton, Towson, Randallstown, Reisterstown and Baltimore City.

What happens in the first minutes following the occurrence of an automobile accident will be important to preserving your legal rights to be fully and fairly compensated for your injuries and damages that may include pain and suffering, broken bones, strains and sprains to muscles, ligaments and tendons, herniated discs, concussions, lacerations and scarring, as well as damage to your vehicle which may be a total loss, cost of towing, storage and rental car, and lost wages and medical bills.

In order to protect your rights under the law, we suggest that you print out the following list and place it in the glove compartment of your vehicle. We also suggest that you consider placing a camera in your vehicle so that if you are in a motor vehicle collision, you can take photographs of an accident scene and the involved vehicles. However, if you do not have a camera, a cell phone is another option.

1. STOP your car, no matter how minor the accident.
2. CALL THE POLICE to investigate the accident, and cooperate fully with the police officer once he or she arrives to the accident scene.
3. DO NOT DISCUSS THE ACCIDENT with anyone except the police officer on the scene.
4. EXCHANGE INSURANCE INFORMATION with the other driver before leaving the scene of the accident.
5. GET THE NAME, ADDRESS AND LICENSE PLATE NUMBER of the other DRIVER.
6. GET NAMES, ADDRESSES AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF ALL WITNESSES.
7. TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS of the damage to your vehicle, the other vehicle, and any skid marks left on the road.
8. DO NOT GIVE A RECORDED STATEMENT to any insurance company until a sufficient period of time passes for you to ascertain whether you have sustained injury in the motor vehicle accident, and the severity of the injury.
9. IF YOU ARE INJURED, get evaluated by a medical doctor, or go to the nearest emergency room as soon as possible.
10. IF YOUR VEHICLE IS TOWED, remove as many valuables as practical.

Police Reports:

Baltimore County Police will typically complete an accident report if one of the persons involved in the collision is injured severely enough to require emergency treatment, or if an involved automobile is so heavily damaged that it must be towed away from the scene. Although the police do not always complete a police report following an automobile accident in Owings Mills, if one is completed, it can be an invaluable source of information.

In Baltimore County, a central records section is responsible for maintaining all accident reports completed by county police. A copy of a report from your accident can be requested by completing a police report request form and mailing it to the following address:

Baltimore County Police Department
5th Floor Records Section
700 East Joppa Rd
Towson, MD 21286-5501

The request form must include your name, the reason for the request, the case number (if known), the location of the accident, the date of the accident, and the names of other individuals involved in the accident (if known). With your request, you must include a check or money order for $5 (payable to the Baltimore County, Maryland), and a self addressed, stamped envelope.

Here is a sample State of Maryland Motor Vehicle Accident Report. No matter whether a report is completed by a city, county police officer, or by a Maryland State Trooper, all reports will be completed on the same form.

Local Emergency Rooms:

Below is a list of Baltimore area hospitals where you may seek treatment for injuries caused by an Owings Mills automobile crash:

• University of Maryland Medical Center
• Johns Hopkins Hospital
• Maryland General Hospital
• Mercy Medical Center
• St. Joseph’s Medical Center
• Franklin Square Hospital
• Greater Baltimore Medical Center
• Sinai Hospital
• Northwest Hospital

If you have been treated by the emergency medicine providers of any of the above medical centers, then you or your lawyer may wish to obtain the associated medical records and medical bills. The links attached to each hospital will direct you to the medical center web pages that explain how to request medical records.

Tow Yards:

Following accidents, if your vehicle is too severely damaged to be driven from the scene, the police will have it towed to a tow yard. The Baltimore County Police contract with various local area tow truck companies to remove damaged vehicles following automobile wrecks. These companies are licensed and insured against damage that may occur to a vehicle while it is being towed.

If you or a family member has been involved in an automobile crash in Owings Mills, and your vehicle was towed, you should contact the police precinct that responded to the scene of the accident in order to determine which tow company has your automobile. If an accident report was completed by the responding officer, his or her precinct number will appear in Box Number 11 on the top, left hand side of the report. If the accident occurred in Owings Mills, the responding county officer will likely be from either precinct three or precinct four.

Before attempting to pick up your vehicle, you should contact the tow yard and determine what type of identification you will need to present before they will release your car. Additionally, if you plan to have a relative or friend retrieve your car, you should advise the tow company of this fact and ask what form of written authorization you need to provide the person picking up your car.