Virginia Personal Injury Law

Personal injury laws are very broad and cover a wide variety of cases. These laws are intended to hold negligent parties responsible for their actions. They do, however, vary depending on what state the accident occurs in, and can also be difficult to understand.

If you are ever injured due to someone else's negligence or recklessness, it is important that you take some basic first steps to ensure that you receive the compensation you may be entitled to.

First, write everything down. Write down all the details you can remember about what happened, the names, addresses and phone numbers of all the parties involved, as well as any witnesses, and even the police officers, if any, who were called to the scene.

If possible, take pictures. Take pictures of your car if you were involved in an auto accident, pictures of any injuries you suffered, or just the area in general where the accident occurred.

The state of Virginia's personal injury laws are specific, and following these simple steps may make it much easier on you in the future. It is also imperative that you contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible following your accident. This is mainly due to the fact that Virginia has a two year statute of limitations regarding personal injury cases. This means that if you fail to file your claim within two years of the date of your accident, you are barred from filing and will receive no compensation.

If this time period has already passed in your case, be sure to contact an attorney anyway, since there are numerous exceptions to the statute of limitations rule and they may be applicable to your situation.

Virginia also has a contributory negligence law. Contributory negligence is an element of Virginia's personal injury law stating that, even if another party was negligent, if you failed to exercise reasonable care for your own safety, you are not entitled to receive compensation. In other words, if you are found to be at fault in any way, you cannot be successful in a personal injury lawsuit.

Virginia personal injury law does, however, include the principle of joint and several liability. Joint and several liability means that more than one party was negligent, resulting in your injury, each party is responsible for the total sum of damages.

Principles such as contributory negligence, the statute of limitations, and joint and several liability make personal injury laws difficult to interpret. This is just another reason why contacting an attorney, even if you are unsure if there was any negligence to begin with. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you to fully understand the requirements for personal injury cases and whether you are entitled to compensation.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of someone else's negligence in Virginia, please contact an experienced personal injury today for your free consultation.