Petersburg Personal Injury Lawyer
Even if you do everything possible to act safely and be a reasonable person, someone else choosing to act irresponsibly could still lead to you suffering immense physical, financial, and personal losses. In this unfortunate situation, civil litigation may be your only means of recovering from the harm you unfairly experienced—and as anyone who has dealt with personal injury law could tell you, achieving a good outcome from this kind of case much easier said than done.
Fortunately, retaining a skilled Petersburg personal injury lawyer to represent your interests throughout your claim could significantly even the odds back in your favor. Between nitpicking defense counsel, antagonistic insurance providers, and a host of legal and procedural restrictions that could inhibit your pursuit of the compensation you need, a seasoned attorney’s help could make all the difference in how your case proceeds and ultimately concludes.
Possible Grounds for a Personal Injury Claim
There is no real limit to the number of different scenarios that could conceivably lead to one or more people suffering an injury due to another person’s reckless or careless behavior. Motor vehicle accidents are particularly common grounds for personal injury litigation, but other causes of action that a Petersburg personal injury attorney could help build a case around include:
- Collisions with commercial trucks
- Accidents involving cars striking pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcycle riders
- Slipping and tripping incidents
- Dangerous conditions on private property
- Defective consumer goods, including medications and medical products
- Neglect by healthcare professionals, including nursing home staff members and administrators
- Attacks by domesticated animals
Regardless of what specific circumstances caused a personal injury, the legal basis for an ensuing civil claim will almost always be the legal theory of “negligence.” A person who is negligent—in other words, a person who violates an implicit or explicit responsibility to act reasonably and causes harm as a direct result—can be held financially responsible for the consequences of their misconduct, just as someone who acted intentionally and with malice to harm someone else could.
Recovering for the Full Value of Compensable Losses
Assuming they can establish the existence of negligence through a preponderance of available evidence, a personal injury victim could demand financial compensation for economic and non-economic losses they sustained in an accident, including medical expenses, property damage, lost work income, lost enjoyment of life, lost consortium, and various forms of emotional and physical pain. However, there are numerous ways in which Virginia civil law is set up to be less than friendly to personal injury victims in Petersburg, especially those without representation from an experienced and dedicated lawyer.
For example, civil court precedent in Virginia holds that an accident victim who bears any fault whatsoever for their injuries cannot recover any compensation for them, regardless of whether someone else bears a majority of the total blame for the incident. Additionally, Code of Virginia §8.01-243 restricts prospective plaintiffs to just two years to file a claim after discovering they have grounds for litigation.
Consider Working with a Petersburg Personal Injury Attorney
It is understandable to be leery about adding a drawn-out court battle to your plate while you are still hurting—physically and financially—from a severe accident. That being said, taking proactive action could be key to both restoring your financial security and protecting your future prospects from the negative impact of someone else’s negligence.
A qualified Petersburg personal injury lawyer could explain your options in more detail over the course of a private consultation. Call today to set up a meeting.
