Posted on November 30, 2021 in Uncategorized

Truck accidents are often caused by the mistakes of truck drivers or the negligence of the trucking companies that employ them. But did you know that many truck accident cases can be traced back to the negligence of an unexpected third party: a truck part manufacturer?

When a vehicle part fails unexpectedly, it can cause the driver to lose control and get into a crash. This issue is true for drivers of small passenger vehicles and drivers of enormous semi-trucks and big rigs.

Commercial truck parts that can cause a crash if they fail include:

• Brakes: Commercial trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds in most cases without violating Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations. To bring that much weight to a stop in a relatively short distance, trucks need to be equipped with strong and effective braking systems. If there is a defect in the brakes of a semi-truck, then the result can be a terrible collision caused by an out-of-control truck on the freeway.

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 Posted on June 08, 2021 in Uncategorized

America’s Top 100 Personal Injury Attorneys® is a prestigious organization that is known for highlighting and honoring some of the nation’s top attorneys and litigators. The organization focuses entirely on attorneys who work on personal injury cases. Candidates are expected to have an outstanding practice history and a fantastic reputation among their peers.

It is with much excitement that Farmer & Klopfer in Waldorf can announce that Attorney James Farmer has recently been selected to America’s Top 100 Personal Injury Attorneys®! Every day James works on a case, his clients and his peers see his authentic dedication to doing the most possible for people in tough places and who need to go head-to-head with insurance companies and corporations. The aggressive, results-focused approach to casework James takes is certainly one of the many reasons he was chosen for this membership and achievement.

Within his biography page on the America’s Top 100 Personal Injury Attorneys® website, the organization noted how Attorney Farmer has been able to earn more awards under the age of 40 than most lawyers will ever earn in their entire careers. In addition to this title, he has also earned titles, awards, and recognition from many other respectable organizations, such as Super Lawyers®, National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Criminal Trial Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell®, Baltimore Magazine, Avvo, and many more.

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 Posted on September 09, 2020 in Uncategorized

Attorney James Farmer of the Law Office of James E. Farmer in Waldorf has a reputation for always striving for excellence whenever working on a client’s case. The work he has done for his clients has not gone unnoticed, either. It is with pride and excitement that our team can announce that Attorney James Farmer is officially a 2021 Maryland Super Lawyers® member.

From 2014 to 2018, he was named a Super Lawyers® Rising Stars℠ member. This title is reserved for attorneys who have less than 10 years of practice experience or who are under 40 years of age. Now that his career has advanced and our law firm has grown, he has earned a coveted spot as a Super Lawyers® member for the first time.

How Super Lawyers® Members are Chosen

Super Lawyers® is famous around the world for using a patented multiphase selection process. To begin the process, nominations are sent to the organization by legal professionals, third-party legal groups, and sometimes even verified clients. After nominations are collected and analyzed, Super Lawyers® conducts independent research for the most promising nominees.

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 Posted on July 30, 2020 in Uncategorized

The Maryland Court of Appeals has recently ruled that police officers cannot deem a person’s "smell of marijuana" as probable cause to make an arrest. The legal update should make it more difficult for police officers to stop and arrest people on suspicion of drug charges without convincing evidence that a criminal amount of marijuana is on their person or in their possession.

Why Marijuana Smell Does Not Equal Probable Cause

In Maryland, possessing less than 10 grams of recreational marijuana is not a criminal violation, it is a civil offense. You can be cited for a civil offense, but you cannot be arrested for one. In order to establish probable cause to make an arrest, it has always been that a police officer must have reason to believe the suspect or "arrestee committed a felony or was committing a felony or misdemeanor" in the police officer’s presence.

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 Posted on July 27, 2020 in Uncategorized

Nothing can slow down our team from Farmer & Klopfer in Waldorf. Major insurance companies and their corporate defense teams cannot intimidate us. Not even a global pandemic can interrupt our tireless pursuit of justice for our clients, as two recent case results can prove. Many were worried that the lockdown procedures put in place during the coronavirus pandemic would interrupt personal injury claims to the point that new plaintiffs would run out of options. We are proud to show that great work for hardworking people can still be done with focus, determination, and extensive experience.

$100,000 Insurance Payout After a Red-Light Crash

Our client, a 22-year old waitress, was in the car with her mother when another driver ran a red light and crashed into the passenger side of her vehicle. The liable driver only had $30,000 in coverage, which their insurance company offered to settle, hoping to close it out quickly. However, our client had a $100,000 insurance policy that was provided by underinsured motorist coverage. After receiving hospital treatments, chiropractor care, and injection treatments with a pain management doctor, we estimated her case was worth well over $100,000.

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 Posted on June 09, 2020 in Uncategorized

Global protests against the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Department officers continue. Although the four officers involved have been charged, the situation and its surrounding discussions are not over. The Black Lives Matter movement has broadened to include an anti-police brutality movement as well.

In the last few days, more and more peaceful protesters, bystanders, and news reporters have shared their stories and video footage of them being abused by police officers. More than 10,000 protesters have been arrested so far, and the vast majority complain of being arrested despite protesting peacefully and complying with the law. Ironically, the nationwide police reactions to the anti-police brutality protests have only further encouraged the protesters and escalated the exact issue they are protesting.

Peaceful protesters across the country have been arrested and charged with:

• Unlawful assembly
• Disorderly conduct

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 Posted on April 30, 2020 in Uncategorized

Our attorneys represented a car accident injury victim in St. Mary’s County Circuit Court, resulting in a $145,000 verdict for the client.

The plaintiff in this case was injured in a T-bone accident when another driver ran a red light. He sustained minimal property damage but suffered from painful injuries such as neck and back herniation and a lower disc injury. He visited an emergency room immediately after the collision to treat his injuries and was prescribed medication along with physical therapy.

Attorney James E. Farmer and Attorney Michael A. Klopfer represented the accident victim in a trial held in St. Mary’s County Circuit Court. Through litigation, we pursued benefits from the defendant, Liberty Mutual. Despite the plaintiff’s purchase of a policy and his payment of premiums, the insurance company did not offer substantial benefits. He had a $100,000 underinsured motorist policy, however, the insurance provider only offered $7,000 in coverage. He was also offered $30,000 in liability coverage from Geico. The defense required a medical exam from the plaintiff yet did not use evidence from a medical expert in the trial, a point that was emphasized throughout the case. We presented an MRI scan of the plaintiff’s neck and back as evidence of his injuries.

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 Posted on April 28, 2020 in Uncategorized

Congratulations to Attorney Michael A. Klopfer of Farmer & Klopfer, who was recently named Senior Associate at the firm! Attorney Klopfer is a highly skilled and valued member of our team and is well-deserving of this promotion. Every day, Attorney Klopfer shows his commitment to his clients by providing them with innovative legal strategies and compassionate, attentive counsel. He is a true fighter for the rights of others and is dedicated to doing everything in his power to achieve favorable results for his clients. We are incredibly pleased to have Attorney Klopfer as a Senior Associate Attorney at our firm.

Attorney Klopfer is a native of Charles County, Maryland. He attended college in North Carolina at Lenoir Rhyne University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in 2010. During his time there, Attorney Klopfer spent a semester in Georgetown, thanks to his participation in the Washington Lutheran College Program, where he completed an internship with the Washington, D.C. Superior Court, Land Lord-Tenant Division. Following this, he attended Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, earning his law degree in 2013.

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 Posted on March 26, 2020 in Uncategorized

The spread of the coronavirus is prompting more and more regions across the United States to go into secure-in-place quarantines. During a COVID-19 quarantine, you aren’t allowed to leave your home for nonessential trips and most businesses need to close their doors. But Farmer & Klopfer in Waldorf, Maryland is still open for business!

If you have been hurt through someone else’s negligence, such as in a car accident or slipping in a retail store, then you will want to work with an injury lawyer to build your claim and maximize your chances of getting a maximized amount of compensation. The coronavirus should not get in the way between you and a successful claim, though. That’s why we have done everything we can to make our legal services remote. You can keep social distancing without stopping your claim in its tracks.

Our personal injury attorneys can help you remotely through three methods:

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 Posted on December 18, 2019 in Uncategorized

Our client in Beckert v. State Farm was injured in a car accident caused by another driver. We thought the liability was clear, but the negligent driver’s insurance company did not want to cooperate, and our client’s own insurer, State Farm, was not much better. State Farm thought our client should only be paid $30,000 by the other driver’s insurance provider, and that they owed nothing to our client themselves.

When no settlement was offered, we took the case to court. The extent of our client’s injuries prompted us to ask the jury to award $80,000 to $100,000 in damages to our client. Led by Attorney James Farmer, our firm’s managing partner, we successfully outmaneuvered the opposition in the courtroom, resulting in a win for our client.

The jury returned with a verdict of $89,872. The amount would be reduced to $50,000 due to insurance caps, but this is still $20,000 more than State Farm ever wanted to offer our client.

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