After a serious car accident, your life can change drastically. If you endured significant injuries, you may face a long road to recovery. During this time, you may be unable to work and may find yourself struggling to pay rising medical bills that you simply cannot afford. If someone else caused your accident, you shouldn’t be the one paying the price. A trusted Virginia car accident lawyer from Arrington Schelin can help you fight for the compensation and justice you deserve.
With more than 40 years of legal experience, our attorneys have the knowledge and the resources to take on the big insurance companies. We can walk you through every step of the claims process and ensure you are being taken care of. Our goal is to take the pressure off you so you can focus on your physical and emotional recovery.
Contact us today to speak with a seasoned Virginia car accident attorney. We will review your case for free, and there is no charge for our services unless we recover compensation for you.
How Can a Virginia Car Accident Attorney Help Me?
Our car accident attorneys can take a lot of the stress off you after a crash. You don’t need to worry about arguments with insurance companies. We take care of everything for you. You can trust our seasoned legal team to:
- Work quickly to investigate your car crash, preserve all the evidence, and determine who was responsible
- Identify all possible sources of compensation, including looking into your own insurance coverage
- Assist you concerning medical treatment and advise you on how medical bills should be paid.
- Advise you concerning your property damage claim ─ at no additional charge ─ if you have problems getting your car repaired or replaced
- Calculate the full amount of damages you suffered, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future anticipated losses
- Negotiate aggressively for the total car accident settlement you deserve
- Be ready to argue your case at trial if a car accident lawsuit is the best way to demand justice for you
- Provide compassionate service throughout your case, with attorneys who are always available to discuss your concerns and answer your questions
If you have been hurt in a motor vehicle accident and need legal advice, let us speak to you by reaching out to Arrington Schelin today. The consultation is free.
How Much Is My Car Accident Injury Claim Worth?
There’s no way to say what your car accident case is worth until there is a good understanding of your injuries. For example, your doctor may start with conservative treatment and then move to more extensive options like surgery if your condition worsens. You may find out that you need additional treatment and rehabilitative therapy down the line. You may initially expect to be out of work for a short period, but then you can’t work for several months. This is why you should never rush to settle a claim.
Depending on the circumstances of your case, you may pursue payment for:
- Medical bills
- Out-of-pocket expenses such as rental car costs
- Vehicle repair/replacement costs
- Lost income
- Reduced earning capacity for the future
- Future care needs
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Lost quality of life
When you work with our Virginia car accident law firm, our responsibility is to make sure that your recovery is adequate to compensate you for all monetary damages that you may be entitled to under the law.
Who Is at Fault Under Virginia Law
Virginia follows a strict legal doctrine known as contributory negligence. Under Virginia law, if a person contributes in any way to a crash, the victim cannot recover compensation for their damages. Even if the other party was 99% at fault, a victim who is found to be 1% at fault can be barred from recovering payment.
This is a weapon that insurance companies use to defend against car accident injury claims. Insurance adjusters will do everything possible to push even a sliver of blame onto accident victims. That’s why you need a seasoned car accident attorney in Virginia who understands the law and has successfully handled cases like yours.
How Long Do You Have to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Virginia?
Virginia’s statute of limitations sets a time limit for how long you have to file a car accident injury claim for compensation. You have two years from the date of your car wreck to file a personal injury lawsuit. This may seem like plenty of time, but there’s a lot of legal legwork that goes into building a case. The sooner you speak with an experienced Virginia auto accident lawyer, the better. Do not wait as delays can damage your claim.
Your lawyer will want to work quickly to preserve all evidence before it is lost or destroyed. Your attorney will also need to collect extensive documentation of your injuries and losses. Your attorney may need to work with experts to assess how your injuries will affect you down the line. You should give your legal team the time they need to build the strongest case possible for you.
Common Types of Car Accident Cases We Handle
Our Virginia auto accident lawyers have more than four decades of experience handling all types of cases. Some of the common types of auto collisions we see involve:
- Head-on collisions
- Rear-end collisions
- Sideswipe accidents
- Left-turn accidents
- T-bone accidents and intersection collisions
- Rollover accidents
- Multi-vehicle accidents and pile-ups
- Highway accidents (especially on I-81)
- Uninsured motorist accidents
- Hit and run accidents
Common Causes of Car Accidents
When we take on a case, we immediately launch an investigation to determine the cause of the auto wreck. Some of the common causes of car accidents in Virginia include:
- Drunk driving
- Distracted driving includes the use of a telephone while driving
- Speeding or driving too fast for conditions
- Reckless driving
- Drowsy driving
- Failure to yield
- Unsafe lane changes
- Tailgating or following too closely
- Aggressive driving or road rage
- Wrong-way driving
- Inexperienced drivers
- Poorly designed roads or poor road conditions
- Defective auto parts
Common Car Accident Injuries
No two car accident cases are alike. Every injury claim is different, depending on the severity of the injury and the person. Our firm works with your medical providers to assess your injury and determine how your life is affected.
Some of the common types of car accident injury claims we help with include:
- Head and traumatic brain injuries
- Back and neck injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Shoulder injuries
- Knee injuries
- Broken bones
- Whiplash
- Internal bleeding and internal organ damage
- Traumatic amputation
- Burns
- Severe lacerations and bruising
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Lifetime disability or death
Car Accident FAQs
It depends. If you only had property damage and minor injuries, you should still obtain legal advice. If you were seriously injured and someone else was at fault, you should seek legal representation immediately. Insurance adjusters are skilled at minimizing the value of injury claims. You will need an attorney who can properly evaluate your losses and fight for the fair payment you deserve as soon as possible.
Many people get overwhelmed thinking about legal fees. At Arrington Schelin, we make it easy for you. We offer a free consultation where we review the details of your case, with no obligation to you. If we believe you have a case, we will begin work with no upfront costs to you. We shoulder the responsibility of your case until it is resolved. If we recover a settlement or court award for you, our fee will come as an agreed-upon percentage of your recovery. If we don’t win, there is no fee. It’s as simple as that.
Insurance adjusters may seem friendly. They are not your friend, and they are trained to get you to make statements that could later be used against you. Remember, their job is to put the blame on you or minimize the value of your injuries. The best thing you can do is to be polite but refuse to discuss the crash or your injuries until you have been advised by an attorney.
You should have an attorney review any settlement offer before you accept it. Insurance adjusters are famous for making lowball offers in the immediate aftermath of a wreck, when accident victims are overwhelmed and just starting to see bills come in. You need to make sure any settlement you agree to takes into account the full extent of your losses, including losses you may experience down the line. Don’t let the insurance company take advantage of you.
At Arrington Schelin, we are always available to talk over any settlement offer you have received. When we are handling your case, we will present you with all offers and help you decide what makes sense for you.
Most car accident cases can be resolved with a settlement. However, you need a lawyer who has the experience to prepare your case for trial. Insurance companies will take settlement negotiations more seriously when they know your attorney will go to trial. If a trial is your best bet at recovering what you are owed, a seasoned litigator can prepare you for what to expect.
Bills are at the top of most people’s minds after a car accident. Treatment can be outrageously expensive, and the bills will start coming in before you can resolve your personal injury claim. If you have health insurance, you can use this to cover medical expenses initially. If you don’t have health insurance, you may turn to your own auto insurance policy’s Medical Payments coverage, known as MedPay. When you meet with us for a free case review, we will go over all your options.
Talk to a Car Accident Lawyer in Virginia Now
Don’t wait to get trusted legal advice after a car crash in Southwest Virginia or East Tennessee. Talk to an experienced attorney from Arrington Schelin today. The consultation is free.
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