Use of Photos of PD to Disprove PI Claims

The Maryland Court of Appeals has ruled that a defendant may use photos showing relatively little property damage to a vehicle to argue that the plaintiff did not have a significant personal injury.

The decision is Mason v. Lynch. There is also a great dissent on the issue; it makes the point that there is a substantial body of scientific literature that actually disproves the argument that “minor” impacts do not cause serious neck injuries. Accordingly, the dissent argues, a lawyer should not be able to make the argument that an injury is not real or significant simply based on the lack of property damage seen in photographs.