Personal Injury Lawyer in Virginia

Have you or a loved one been hurt in a serious accident or other incident in Virginia? You wonder how your injuries will affect you and your family physically, emotionally and financially. When your injuries are caused by someone else’s intentional, reckless, or negligent acts, your recovery process can seem much more difficult.

When another person is responsible for your injuries, the law allows you to hold them responsible. That person can be held accountable for the financial damages your injuries caused. Pursuing a legal claim for compensation for injuries can be challenging. That is especially true if you have no prior experience with the legal system.

A Virginia personal injury lawyer can help remove the stress of pursuing compensation from those responsible for your injuries. That will allow you to focus on your recovery and getting back to your normal life after your accident.

How Can a Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer Help You?

When you’ve suffered an injury through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to bring a personal injury claim against those responsible for your injuries. However, pursuing a personal injury claim on your own can be a difficult and time-consuming task.

When you try to navigate the legal system for the first time, you risk accidentally losing or waiving important rights. The insurance companies and corporations that you face in a personal injury claim have thousands of people working for them. Those companies also have millions of dollars in resources dedicated to avoiding liability. They may offer far less than the fair and full monetary compensation you deserve.

If you have a legal claim for compensation, a Virginia personal injury lawyer can help you pursue your claim. The attorney will:

• Investigate your claim by securing accident scene photographs, accident or police reports and eyewitness statements.
• Work with experts, such as medical experts, financial experts, engineering experts and accident reconstruction experts to build a persuasive case.
• Document your damages by collecting your medical bills, calculating your lost income and gathering evidence on your pain and suffering and lost quality of life.
• Negotiate a settlement by fighting the tactics insurance companies and defense law firms use to lower the compensation you deserve.
• Prepare your case for trial, if necessary, by timely filing all necessary documents, preparing witnesses and advocating on your behalf in front of the judge and jury.

A Virginia personal injury lawyer can fight for the financial compensation that you are entitled to. That allows you to focus on your physical and emotional recovery as you get back to the life you enjoyed before your accident and injuries.

Common Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle

Personal injury claims take on many different forms depending on the circumstances of your accident and who bears responsibility for your injuries and damages. At the Law Office of Andrew S. Martin, LLC, we have experience with a wide variety of personal injury cases. The type of personal injury claims we handle include:

• Car Accidents – Car accidents occur all too often on the roads of Virginia. When you’ve been involved in a car accident caused by another driver’s negligence, we can help you hold the other driver accountable. Our goal is to see that you are compensated for your injuries and losses. We will help ensure you achieve a full and fair financial recovery.
• Truck Accidents – Due to their size, shape, and speed, semi-trucks can inflict catastrophic and violent injuries when they are involved in an accident. In any truck accident, several companies in the trucking industry may bear some share of fault. Let us recover the complex evidence needed to show how your accident occurred. We can determine what trucking companies should be held responsible for your injuries.
• Motorcycle Accidents – Motorcycle riders are at risk of serious injuries in the event of an accident. Motorcycle riders lack the protections of a vehicle body. They also lack safety features such as airbags or seat belts. Riders seeking compensation for an accident that wasn’t their fault must often overcome biases about motorcycles. Our firm will fight to ensure you receive the compensation you need for your injuries from a motorcycle accident.
• Bicycle Accidents – Many people in Virginia use bicycles as a form of recreation or exercise. They may also ride a bike as an efficient mode of transportation. Unfortunately, some motorists negligently fail to give bicyclists their fair share of the road. When a bicycle rider is struck by a negligent driver, the bicyclist may face life-threatening injuries. Let our firm hold negligent drivers responsible. We will ensure you get compensation for your catastrophic injuries and the serious damages you’ve suffered.
• Pedestrian Accidents – Although traffic laws give pedestrians the right of way in many situations, negligent motorists sometime fail to yield to that right of way. A car or large vehicles like buses and trucks can inflict catastrophic injuries on a pedestrian. Drivers may try to avoid their responsibility in a collision with a pedestrian. Let our firm fight to secure the financial recovery you deserve.
• Slip and Fall Accidents – When we visit a business or store or restaurant or other property, we expect the premises to be free of hazards that can cause us to lose our footing. When the owner or occupier of property fails to use due care to keep their premises safe, our firm is ready to help a slip and fall accident victim get the compensation they need for their serious injuries.
• Negligent Security – Businesses and other commercial property owners must take reasonable steps to ensure that criminal activity doesn’t occur on the property. However, a property owner may fail to take reasonable security measures, such as surveillance video, proper lighting, or security personnel. When you are injured due to criminal or other violent activity, we can help you hold the business or property owner accountable for your injuries and damages.
• Dog Bites – While dogs can be faithful companions, they sometimes lash out and attack without warning or reason. If you’ve been injured by a dog bite or attack, our firm can help you hold the dog’s owner accountable for serious injuries that require medical treatment.
• Work Injuries – When we report to work every day, we do not think that an injury or illness will occur on the job. However, compensation is available for a work-related injury or illness. Our firm can help you pursue a claim for workers’ compensation
  benefits. We can also pursue a third-party tort claim when someone outside your work bears responsibility for your injury.
• Dangerous & Defective Products – When we buy products, we assume that we will not be injured when we use them as intended and instructed. However, product injuries do happen. Those injuries may be the result of defective design or manufacturing, or because the product came with inadequate instructions or warnings. Our firm can help you hold the manufacturers and retailers responsible for your injuries and damages.
• Wrongful Death – If you and your family have a loved one who died due to intentional, reckless, or negligent acts, let our firm help you and your family fight for the compensation and justice that you, your family and your loved one deserve.

What Is Your Personal Injury Claim Worth?

After you’ve suffered an injury in an accident caused by someone else’s recklessness or negligence, you may wonder what kind of compensation you might be entitled to in a personal injury claim. Damages in a personal injury lawsuit may include:

• Past and future medical expenses for hospital bills, doctor’s office visits, surgeries, physical rehab, therapy, prescription medication, medical and mobility equipment.
• Home or office alterations to help you accommodate physical disabilities caused by your injuries.
• Lost wages from time missed from work while you recover from your injuries.
• Lost earning potential, in the event your injuries prevent you from returning to your old line of work and you lose income as a result.
• Lost quality of life, such as from physical disabilities or disfigurement, or from the inability to participate in activities you enjoyed prior to your injuries.
• Pain and suffering, or the emotional and physical anguish or distress brought about by your injuries.

In addition, you may also be entitled to recover compensation for any property damage you suffered. That may include the damage to your car in a motor vehicle accident. Your spouse
may also be entitled to compensation for the loss of your consortium – your companionship and society as a spouse.

Virginia Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury

Under Virginia law, a person who suffers a personal injury due to the intentional, reckless, or negligent acts of another has a limited period in which to file a lawsuit to seek compensation for his or her injuries. This period is called the statute of limitations. For most personal injury claims, the statute of limitations expires two years after the date of your injury.

The statute of limitations can be paused, or “tolled”, under certain circumstances. Most tolling of the statute of limitations occurs pursuant to the discovery rule. That rule states that the statute of limitations does not accrue, or begin, until a plaintiff knows (or should know through reasonable inquiry) of the facts and circumstances giving rise to his or her claim.

The discovery rule most often applies in medical malpractice claims. Certain medical malpractice claims may have their own statute of limitations to account for the discovery rule. The statute of limitations also does not begin to run for a person who was a minor or incapacitated at the time of his or her injury; the limitation period begins when the minor turns 18 or when the person’s incapacity ends.

If you fail to file a lawsuit prior to the applicable statute of limitations in your case, the court can permanently dismiss your lawsuit.

In addition to the statute of limitations, if you have a personal injury claim against the government, you are required to provide the government with notice of your claim. That notice must usually be provided in a time period that is shorter than the statute of limitations.

For example, claims against the federal government or the state of Virginia or a state agency must be accompanied with a notice filed within a year of your injury. For counties and municipalities, the notice period is six months from the accrual of your cause of action. Failure to provide the government with timely notice can lead to the dismissal of your claim.

Steps to Take to Protect Your Rights After an Accident

If you’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, take these steps in the hours and days following your accident. The steps help protect your legal rights and options for seeking compensation for your injuries and damages:

1. Report your accident. You should promptly report your accident. Notify a property or business owner for an injury such as a slip and fall accident. Call the police in the event of a motor vehicle accident. Reporting your accident and having a contemporaneous written report made means you will have important evidence in a later personal injury claim.
2. Get contact information. Be sure you have contact and insurance information from those who may bear some legal liability for your injuries. You may later need that to assert a claim for compensation.
3. Document the accident scene. If possible, take photographs or video of the accident scene. If you suffered visible injuries, you should document those as well.
4. Seek medical treatment. Even if you don’t feel as though you were seriously injured, follow up with your doctor or another medical provider. The adrenaline and endorphins that are released from the shock an accident can mask the pain of your injuries for hours or even days. A medical professional may be able to identify these injuries in an examination. You should also follow all treatment recommendations you are given. If you don’t, the at-fault party may argue that you were not as injured as you claim or are not entitled to compensation if more extensive treatments become necessary.
5. Speak to an experienced Virginia personal injury attorney. Finally, you should speak with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney. The attorney can help you understand your legal rights and options. The attorney can also begin the process of securing the financial compensation you need and legally deserve.

Common Types of Catastrophic Injuries

Many accidents and incidents result in minor injuries like cuts and bruises. However, in some unfortunate cases, accident victims can suffer catastrophic, life-altering injuries. Those injuries include:

• Broken bones
• Knee injuries
• Shoulder injuries
• Burns
• Internal organ injuries and internal bleeding
• Back injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Disfigurement

If you’ve suffered one of these or another significant injury due to someone else’s acts or negligence, let a Virginia personal injury lawyer help you recover the financial compensation for your injuries.

Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer in Virginia Now

If you or a family member have suffered an injury in Virginia due to another person or entity’s intentionally wrongful, reckless, or careless acts or omissions, you deserve to hold that party accountable. You can recover compensation for your injuries and damages, including medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, lost quality of life, and pain and suffering. With experienced legal representation on your side, you can give yourself the best chance at securing the maximum financial recovery you need and deserve.

Contact the Law Office of Andrew S. Martin, LLC, today to schedule a consultation with a Virginia personal injury lawyer. You can discuss the details of your case and learn more about your legal rights and options.