Charlottesville Personal Injury Lawyer
Whether it stems from a serious auto accident, a hazardous condition on another person’s land, a mistake by a healthcare professional, or any other circumstances, a personal injury can sidetrack your life in multiple ways and for much longer than your physical injury takes to heal. On top of that, civil litigation may allow you to recover financially for your accident-related losses, but doing so effectively and in a way that leads to comprehensive compensation can be immensely challenging.
Retaining a knowledgeable Charlottesville personal injury lawyer could make a big difference in your case’s chances of a favorable resolution. In addition to helping you form a strong argument in favor of someone else’s liability for your accident, your compassionate attorney could also ensure appropriate valuation of your losses while also working on your behalf to avoid common pitfalls that could inhibit your pursuit of fair restitution.
What Makes Personal Injury Litigation Complicated?
In terms of the legal concepts involved, personal injury lawsuits are fairly straightforward. Most cases are based on negligence, which entails an injured party proving that another party violated a duty of care through reckless or careless behavior that directly led to an injurious accident.
However, it is extremely rare for any case to be as simple as showing evidence of fault and cashing a settlement check. To start with, defense lawyers and insurance providers are very skilled at manipulating information—and injured claimants—in their favor, so questions of how someone’s behavior directly led to an injury or whether their behavior was even negligent under the circumstances can be surprisingly difficult to answer.
In addition, and perhaps more importantly, Virginia courts abide by a “pure contributory negligence” standard when ruling on personal injury cases, under which plaintiffs who are even one percent at fault for any aspect of their accident or ensuing injuries are ineligible to recover compensation, even if someone else bore the majority of the total fault. Guidance from a Charlottesville personal injury attorney may be crucial to navigating around these roadblocks and protecting an injured party’s right to recovery.
Recovering for Damages within Statutory Deadlines
Assuming they can prove someone else negligent while also proving that they themselves were not at all to blame for their accident, a personal injury plaintiff can demand restitution for every form of harm—economic or non-economic—that they sustained as a direct consequence of the negligence of their named defendant(s). Damages that personal injury lawyers in Charlottesville often factor into cases of this nature include:
- Emergency medical expenses
- Costs of future medical care, equipment, and medications
- Lost short-term work income and/or long-term earning capacity
- Personal property damage
- Lost consortium with a spouse
- Lost enjoyment of personal opportunities
- Physical and psychological suffering
Importantly, though, Code of Virginia §8.01-243 sets an effective deadline of two years following discovery of injuries caused by negligence for an injured party to get the litigation process started. In light of that, it is generally best to contact legal counsel and begin building a case sooner rather than later after a severe accident.
Get in Touch with a Charlottesville Personal Injury Attorney Today
Monetary compensation cannot truly erase the pain of a traumatic personal injury, nor can it make up for every loss a serious accident may result in. That being said, it can be critical to protecting your and your family’s financial security after such an incident, as well as to granting you some form of justice for the injuries you unfairly suffered.
A qualified Charlottesville personal injury lawyer could review your options and offer custom-tailored guidance during a private consultation. Schedule yours by calling today.
