What Factors Can Impact a Virginia Pedestrian Accident Case?

Below are frequently asked questions regarding how outside factors can impact a pedestrian accident case in Virginia. To learn more contact a Virginia accident lawyer today.

Can You Recover Property Damage in a Pedestrian Accident Case?

Damages for property is typically handled in a different context than the bodily injury claim. But yes, if you’re involved in a pedestrian accident that wasn’t your fault, then you very well can expect to recover the lost value of your property.

Will the Insurance Company Try to Speak to Me?

Sure, absolutely. Insurance companies will absolutely try to contact you as an injured party. What they’re going to want to know is the extent of your injuries. Their job is to determine what their exposure is, how much of the claim somebody has against their insurer, and then pay that claim promptly and for the least amount of money.

Insurance companies are very good at what they do. They’re very good at gathering information in a timely fashion. So they will try to reach out to the injured party shortly after the accident to determine the true nature of their injuries. It may be the time when you’re not ready to answer that question but they will hold you to those statements you make in a period of distress. So it’s important to understand that you are not obligated to provide them any information other than your identifying or biographical information. You don’t have to talk to them about the nature of your injuries and things like that. You can turn that over to an experienced attorney who can help you navigate that process so you can focus on recovery.

If The Individual Driving is Charged Criminally, How Does That Impact The Personal Injury Case?

Criminal charges  can have a big impact. From one standpoint, it makes a case a little more likely to settle because insurance companies realized that they’ve got a problem on their hands when they’re insured not only caused the accident but actually was charged with a criminal offense resulting from it.

Oftentimes, if those cases are not able to settle at trial or prior to trial, at some point during the litigation stage, the defendant would stipulate to liability to try and prevent any mention of those criminal charges from happening and that can be the subject of pretty involved pre-trial motions. But, it absolutely helps make a stronger case for a plaintiff.

Now, criminal conviction is really either a plea of guilty,  no contest or a criminal conviction, that’s what you want because the charge in and of itself, is not going to help because that won’t be admissible. If the defendant is acquitted or if the charge is dismissed, that’s not going to help so much. A criminal conviction or a no-contest plea absolutely helps to drive the value of a case and also to help maybe make a settlement offer, get to a reasonable offer much more quickly.

Is the Legal Process Different if a Loved One Died in a Pedestrian Accident?

It changes the procedure whenever there is an unfortunate loss of life due to a pedestrian accident. It can no longer a personal injury claim according to statute it Is now a wrongful death action. Wrongful death claims are governed by specific statutes that require the family or the beneficiary of the deceased person to qualify under the Virginia law and make sure that they have proper standing to bring civil action. It may be tough to discuss immediately after the accident but we want to make sure that all the procedural steps are followed because if they’re not followed it could lead to an adverse outcome in a potentially otherwise strong case.

All those types of things, I want to know as much as possible about the “at fault” party or the alleged “at fault” party. Where were they coming from? Did they remain at the scene?  All this information helps me to do my due diligence to find out about them.

What Makes You Qualified to Handle Pedestrian Accident Cases?

A Virginia civil litigation attorney handles all types of accident cases. Pedestrian accidents to some extent are no different than other types of civil negligence litigation. But on the other hand, they’re very specialized. There’s a lot of laws that govern pedestrians that could affect how the case are viewed. For me personally, as an accident attorney, I do handle pedestrian accidents as well as having a lot of experience in Virginia traffic law. So I know how traffic is supposed to flow. I know the laws regulating pedestrians in traffic flow and I can assist a potential client in analyzing how their plea may help or hurt their potential case.