Manassas Car Accident Case: Damages
If you have been injured in a car accident as the result of someone else’s negligence, you may recover certain categories of damages pursuant to Virginia law. Call and schedule a consultation with a Manassas car accident attorney to discuss how to proceed with your case.
Recoverable Damages in Manassas
In all cases, if you are injured due to no fault of your own, you may recover the totality of the medical charges that are deemed reasonable for the treatment that you received. This means that if you are charged $2000 to go to the doctor’s office, the minimum you can receive and that you should accept is $2000. Those are called special damages, and they can also include your lost wages if you are forced to miss work as a result of someone else’s negligence.
However, there is another category of damages called general damages, also known as pain and suffering. These damages are not quantified the same way that special damages are, and they are often more difficult to calculate. An experienced Manassas car accident attorney can help you understand what to expect in terms of pain and suffering or special damages and how to maximize your compensation for those damages.
In certain cases, there is a special category of damages called punitive damages. These are not available in all car accident cases, but are rather reserved for certain cases under certain categories of law. Punitive damages exist to punish persons who have acted inappropriately, mainly applying to those who have demonstrated unwarranted disregard of the rights of others. Punitive damages often arise when the car accident is an intentional act or the result of DUI under certain circumstances. If you’d like to learn more about punitive damages, make sure you ask your attorney whether punitive damages are applicable to your case.
Caps on Damages
It is very common that someone’s ability to recover damages is limited by the insurance coverage available. This is not a cap per se, but it is the common-sense reality. When reviewing insurance policies, you may notice numbers that dictate what level of coverage you have.
In Manassas, the minimum level of required coverage is $25,000 per person or $50,000 for the entire accident. This minimum coverage is carried by many drivers in Virginia. Some drivers have additional coverage that goes above and beyond these policies, often up to $100,000 or more per person. There are also different kinds of policies available for commercial drivers and company policies.
Typically, the caps on damages in car accident cases are simply limited by the amount of coverage available. Otherwise, there is no fixed cap on what you can recover.
Contributory Negligence in Manassas Car Accidents
Contributory negligence in Virginia means that if you are even 1% at fault, you are barred from recovery. In practical terms, this means that if your driving behavior led to an accident, even if it wasn’t as significant a factor as another driver’s behavior, you may be barred from recovery.
For example, if you were speeding and the other driver performed an illegal maneuver that led to the accident, your speeding may bar you from recovery. Another scenario is if you failed to pay attention and ran a red light and the other driver also ran a red light. Chances are that you will both be considered contributory negligent and will be barred from recovery. Basically, the doctrine of contributory negligence is a defense for limiting the potential types of claims that are available in a Manassas car accident case.
