Top Rated Personal Injury Attorney in Annapolis, MD

Bar/Professional Activity

• Anne Arundel County Board of Appeals Member
• District Court of Maryland Settlement Conference Attorney
• Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission, Peer Review Committee
• Anne Arundel County Judicial Nominating Committee
• Anne Arundel Bar Association Member

Honors/Awards

• 10 Best Attorneys for the State of Maryland by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys (AIOPIA), 2014 
• Top 100 Trial Lawyer by The National Trial Lawyers for Civil Plaintiff law in Maryland.  , Top 100 Trial Lawyer, National Trial Lawyers, 2015
• Top 100 Trial Lawyer by The National Trial Lawyers for Civil Plaintiff law in Maryland.  , Top 100 Trial Lawyer, National Trial Lawyers, 2014-2017
• 2016 Global Directory of Who's Who, Who's Who (Top Lawyer), 2016
• Top 100: 2015 Maryland Super Lawyers
• Top 50: 2015 Women Maryland Super Lawyers
• Top 100: 2016 Maryland Super Lawyers
• Top 50: 2016 Women Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers
• 2014 Maryland Super Lawyers
• 2016 Maryland Super Lawyers
• 2014 Washington DC Super Lawyers
• 2015 Maryland Super Lawyers
• 2015 Washington DC Super Lawyers
• 2016 Washington DC Super Lawyers
• Maria Patterson was nominated as one of the "10 Best Attorneys" for the State of Maryland by the American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys.  Each attorney must be formally nominated by a fellow attorney; have attained the highest degree of professional achievement in his or her field of law; and have an impeccable client satisfaction rating., 10 Best, American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys, 2014
• 2017 Maryland Super Lawyers
• 2017 Washington DC Super Lawyers
• 2018 Maryland Super Lawyers
• 2018 Washington DC Super Lawyers
• Maria Patterson was selected as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by The National Trial Lawyers for Civil Plaintiff law in Maryland.  , Top 100 Trial Lawyer, National Trial Lawyers, 2016
• Maria Patterson was selected as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by The National Trial Lawyers for Civil Plaintiff law in Maryland.  , Top 100 Trial Lawyers, The National Trial Lawyers, 2014
• 2016 Global Directory of Who's Who, Who's Who (Top Lawyer), 2016
• Maria Patterson was nominated as one of the 10 Best Attorneys for the State of Maryland by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys (AIOPIA).  AIOPIA is an impartial third-party attorney rating service recognizing excellence of fellow practitioners in the field.  Each attorney must be formally nominated by a fellow attorney; have attained the highest degree of professional achievement in his or her field of law; and have an impeccable client satisfaction rating., 10 Best Attorneys for the State of Maryland, American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys, 2014
• Maria Patterson was selected as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by The National Trial Lawyers for Civil Plaintiff law in Maryland.  , Top 100 Trial Lawyer, National Trial Lawyers, 2015

Educational Background

• Catholic University, Washington, D.C., Juris Doctor, 1997
• University Of Delaware, B.A., Major: Criminal Justice, Minor: Psychology   

Other Outstanding Achievements

• Maria Patterson attended the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) in 2003 for their Building Trial Skills program.  This is a one week intensive program where lawyers are eventually filmed and given feedback to make them successful trial lawyers., 2004
• Maria Patterson has tried over 100 civil jury trials in the State of Maryland.

Verdicts/Settlements

• Maria obtained a $210,000 award for a woman who sustained a shoulder injury requiring surgery from a heavy rear-end collision. , 2019
• Maria Patterson obtained policy limits settlements from the drivers of a chain rear-end collision and the client's underinsured motorist policy limits from her own carrier.  Initially, liability was disputed due to the investigating police officer listing her client as partially responsible for the accident.  Her client's native language was not English, which may have accounted for the inaccurate police report., 2019
• Maria Patterson obtained a Not Guilty verdict for a woman charged with 2nd degree assault by her ex-husband who had visible scratch marks to his body, which were portrayed during the trial., 2017
• Maria Patterson obtained a Not Guilty verdict for a woman charged with a DWI and DUI in Montgomery County.   , 2013
• Donald Berry v. State Farm Insurance Company, Prince George's County Circuit Court. The accident occurred in Upper Marlboro, where a man pumping gas was struck by a car.  The driver of the car was involved in a car accident on Route 301 and lost control of her van before hitting the plaintiff.  The client had a knee surgery and his insurance company, State Farm, refused to tender $50,000 of available underinsured motorist coverage. Shortly before trial, State Farm offered $15,000 to settle the case.  The 3 day jury trial resulted in an award of all of the client's medical bills, lost wages, plus $150,000 in pain and suffering.  Maria Patterson cross-examined the orthopedic surgeon hired by State Farm, Richard Wells, M.D.  Dr. Wells explained to the jury that the knee surgery performed on the client was unrelated to the impact that broke his leg, just below the knee surgery site.  Instead, Dr. Wells relied on pre-existing complaints of knee pain to claim that the knee surgery was the result of pre-existing degenerative changes.  The verdict award suggests that Dr. Wells' allegations, among others, were rejected.    , 2012
• Maria Patterson obtained a $100,000 policy limits settlement for a woman who was struck by a vehicle as a pedestrian.  The vehicle fled the scene without identification or apprehension. The plaintiff did not own a vehicle and lived with her parents.  Her parents had a policy of insurance with Nationwide.  , 2013
• Maria Patterson obtained a policy limits settlement for a woman involved in two MVAs within a year of each other.  Furthermore, the subject UIM policy was an out of state policy which allowed Ms. Patterson to stack the UIM limits instead of using MD's set-off formula.  This resulted in an additional $30,000 settlement to the case.   The other mva was settled for only slightly under the policy limits (<10%)due to causation arguments the same carrier was making due to the accidents occurring somewhat close in time. Total settlements were just over $120,000.00., 2016
• Maria Patterson obtained a Not Guilty verdict for a man charged with 2nd degree assault by his soon-to-be ex-wife who had visible injuries to her, which were portrayed during the trial., 2015
• Maria Patterson obtained a judgment of acquittal, for a man charged with Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol, after successfully suppressing a Calvert County police officer's stop for an alleged unlit rear license plate., 2014
• Maria Patterson reached a $30,000 settlement for a man who was rear-ended in his SUV and had on and off treatment for low back injuries that came and went, even after taking trips involving a tremendous amount of hiking and strenuous activities., 2014
• Maria Patterson obtained a Not Guilty verdict for a woman charged with fraud identity/theft by her soon-to-be ex-husband.  , 2016
• Maria Patterson obtained a Not Guilty verdict for a man charged with 2 counts of 2nd Degree Assault (against 2 Prince George's County police officers) and telephone misuse.  The Defendant called the police on the police, after they came to his residence and forcefully took him to the ground.  After his 911 calls, the police came to his home and arrested him for 2 counts of 2nd Degree Assault and telephone misuse.  During the trial, the 2 police officers' testimony was contradictory to each other. , 2015
• A woman was rear-ended by a vehicle and suffered soft tissue injuries to her neck.  A $45,000 settlement was reached after days of negotiating with a tough claim representative., 2014
• Maria Patterson obtained a verdict just over $100,000 for a woman bitten by a dog roaming loose in her neighborhood.  A Prince George's County jury deliberated less than 45 minutes and awarded the Plaintiff her medical bills of $10,000, minimal lost wages, and pain and suffering of $90,000., 2016

Pro bono/Community Service

• Anne Arundel County Judicial Nominating Commission Peer Review Committee Member, Attorney Grievance Commission for Maryland, 2020

Representative Clients

• Clients involved in personal injury accidents and matters., 2020