Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer

Frequently Asked Questions | Virginia Personal Injury Guide

What Should I Do If I’m Seriously Injured?

Usually, the first thing people want to know when they come to see me about an injury that they’ve recently suffered is, “What are the first steps I should take after the accident?” We find that very often, people get confused and upset when they’re involved in an accident. The most important thing to remember is, number one, don’t get terribly upset. It’s not going to make anything any better or make it go in your favor to be accusative or lose your temper.

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Should I Talk to the Insurance Company?

People often come to me for the first time after they’ve been contacted by an insurance company. In those cases they ask, is it really important that I speak to this insurance company, and provide the details they’re asking me about? The simple answer to that is, there’s no need to contact the insurance company or respond to their questions at that stage in your case.

Usually right after the accident is when they’re calling and trying to take what they call a recorded statement to verify what happened. Sounds reasonable enough to most people, but unfortunately, insurance companies have learned a variety of techniques to try to sneak in questions that are designed to find ways to defeat your claim without you even knowing they’re trying to contest the claim, by asking you certain questions in a certain way. For that reason, you need legal advice before you take any kind of recorded statement, in front of an insurance adjuster or by phone.

I might add, also, that in Virginia, we have a protective statute of prohibition against introducing recorded statements at trial of a personal injury case if they’re intended to contradict the statement of the injured victim. However, in many cases, those statements can be introduced when they’re intended to show the nature and extent of your injuries. It’s always best you simply decline the invitation to give a recorded statement and allow your attorney to make the evidence available as it’s fully developed, whether it be waiting until your doctors have made a thorough analysis of your injuries, or until your treatments are completed and you know what the final outcome of your case might be.

Should I Take a Settlement Offer from the Insurance Company?

People often ask me, “Is it okay to accept a settlement offer at the first offer step?” Normally, insurance companies are sophisticated enough to know that if they offer a quick payment for a low sum, that it’s far more likely an injured person will accept that offer without understanding the consequences. For example, when you take that offer, that is the only money you get from the case, regardless of what happens to your injury or your recovery process after that date.

More importantly, the offer is usually extraordinarily low. It probably only covers your medical expense and a few hundred dollars for what they call compensation for other things. They don’t go into the details of all the days that you suffered with headaches, back pain, or neck pain as a result of the accident, or explain to you what the value of those components might be, because they’re harder to value than the actual dollar amount of your bills or lost wages. Don’t take the first offer. It’s far better for you to retain an attorney and thoroughly evaluate your case, because it may be worth much more than what any insurance company is willing to offer you within a week or two after the accident.

What Mistakes Should I Avoid?

Obviously, the most important thing to remember is that you have to get an attorney on your side after the accident as quickly as possible. Making the mistake to delay finding an attorney to help you with a case can cost the entire case because investigation immediately after the incident is the most important thing that you can do to preserve your rights. The other things that are often seen are not getting medical care quickly enough and not making a proper report of what happened in the accident. In each of those instances, it’s always helpful to have an attorney because they’re mindful of all those steps you need to take.

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?

Often, I receive a call from a client who would like to retain our firm to help them with a personal injury case in Virginia. In Virginia, the time in which you must file a lawsuit to preserve your claim for a personal injury case is two years. As a result, people often come out of the woodwork and try to get an attorney very late in the game when they know that two-year deadline is approaching. In my estimation, that’s often a very dangerous tactic to wait that long to see an attorney.

So much about your case depends on a careful evaluation of the scene and preserving the evidence of what happened and the physical evidence. There can be devastating consequences to the merits of your case by not retaining an attorney early on. By all means, if you have the ability to do so, retain a lawyer immediately.

How Long Will My Case Take?

I often tell my clients who have that type of question that it depends on how quickly you’re able to recover from your injuries in that type of case. Don’t be worried that months have gone on before you’ve been able to resolve the case. Instead, focus on what is it going to take to feel better by following the doctor’s instructions during your recovery process. Once that process is completed, we can wrap your case up in a relatively short period of time. To rush the recovery process means that you will also probably have a less successful recovery from your injuries. By giving time to complete the recovery process in the medical care, you will actually help resolve the case more quickly.

What Steps Should I Take to File a Claim Against a City?

One of the first steps that are required is to put the government entity on notice of your claim in writing. That writing has to have special components to it that state the time, exact location, as well as the parties involved in the accident in Virginia.

In addition, the other steps that are typically involved are preserving the evidence that may be available as to how the accident occurred. You have to prove negligence in order to recover from the insurance company. Other steps that are required are following through with the medical care, documenting the medical history of recovery from this injury, and making a proper demand and filing suit within the two-year statute of limitations.

Can I Be Partially at Fault?

The simple answer in Virginia is, no. The reason is because Virginia is one of only four states in the United States that has the doctrine of contributory negligence as a complete bar to any recovery from your injury claim. In those cases where you’re partly at fault, there is no basis for recovering under Virginia law.

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