From car crashes and dog bites to medical malpractice and slip-and-falls, people in Gate City and across Virginia are hurt in preventable accidents every day. These accidents are often quite painful, and they can cost victims quite a bit of money.
The Gate City personal injury lawyers of Arrington Schelin have spent more than 40 years defending the rights of accident victims. We’re here to make your life easier after an accident and fight for fair compensation for your injuries. We have significant experience with a wide range of personal injury cases, and our results speak for themselves.
If you want to know more, contact our office for a free, no-obligation consultation.
What Is a Personal Injury?
Personal injury law is about holding people accountable in civil court when their negligent actions hurt someone else. While there’s no way to undo an accident after it happens, negligent parties should have to pay for their actions.
The idea behind a personal injury lawsuit is that it offers injured people a way to be “made whole” after an accident by recovering financial compensation. The injured person can use that money to pay their medical bills, make up lost wages, and cover any other expenses they incurred due to the accident.
Common Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle in Gate City
Personal injury law covers many different types of accidents and injuries. Some of the common types of cases our injury lawyers handle at Arrington Schelin include:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Premises liability accidents
- Slip-and-falls
- Dog bites
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
- Construction accidents
- Defective products
- Medical malpractice
- Wrongful death
Common Types of Serious Injuries
Every accident is different and can lead to various injuries. Some of the common injuries we see at our Gate City personal injury law firm include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Facial injuries
- Burns
- Broken bones
- Orthopedic injuries
- Internal bleeding
- Internal organ damage
- Soft-tissue damage
- Neck injuries, including whiplash
- Back injuries
- Severed, crushed, or amputated limbs
- Psychological distress
What Can You Recover in a Personal Injury Claim?
You can potentially recover three broad categories of compensation through a personal injury claim. The categories are:
- Economic damages — These are your losses from an accident with a specific dollar value. They include things like your medical bills, lost wages, diminished future earning potential, and damaged personal property. You can help substantiate these losses by submitting your medical bills, repair bills, and other receipts as evidence.
- Non-economic damages — These are your losses from an accident that, while still real, are harder to assign a specific dollar value. Two common examples of non-economic damages are compensation for your physical pain and suffering and payment for your psychological distress after an accident. You can use notes about your recovery and other evidence to help make your case for non-economic damages after an accident.
- Punitive damages — Punitive damages are additional compensation awarded by a judge or jury to punish negligent actors and deter future offenders. Punitive damages can be awarded only in personal injury cases that go to trial. It’s up to the court to determine what additional compensation you receive, if any. To recover punitive damages in a personal injury case, you generally have to show that the negligent party acted willfully or especially recklessly when they caused your injuries.
Gate City Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury Claims
It’s essential to make sure you file a personal injury lawsuit within the deadline set by Virginia’s statute of limitations. In general, you have two years from the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit against any liable parties. If you miss this deadline, the defendants can have your suit automatically dismissed, no matter how strong a case you have.
While you have two years from the date of an accident to file a personal injury lawsuit, we recommend you hire a lawyer as soon as possible. The sooner you talk to a personal injury attorney, the quicker they can start their investigation and help preserve vital evidence for your case.
How Our Gate City Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help with Your Case
Getting help from a personal injury attorney is essential to recover as much compensation as possible after an accident. The Gate City personal injury lawyers at Arrington Schelin can help with your case by:
- Investigating the accident to find everyone who might be liable for your injuries
- Gathering evidence from the scene of the accident and other sources to help build your case
- Filing your claim promptly to avoid any issues with the statute of limitations
- Handling all communication and settlement negotiations with the insurance companies (Most personal injury cases end in settlements rather than going to trial.)
- If necessary, bringing your case to trial should settlement negotiations fail
Steps to Take to Protect Your Rights After an Accident
You need to do what you can to protect your health and your right to seek compensation for injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. Here’s what you need to do after an accident:
- Seek medical treatment right away, even if you feel fine at first. Many serious medical conditions don’t show immediate symptoms.
- File an accident report with the police or the owner of the property where the accident occurred.
- Take as many pictures at the scene of the accident as you can, and make sure to get pictures of your injuries, the damage to any vehicles involved, and the area around the accident site.
- Get the names of any drivers or other individuals involved in the accident, as well as their insurance information and contact information.
- Don’t say anything to any insurance companies, not even your own.
- Hire a personal injury attorney.
Talk to a Gate City Personal Injury Attorney Now
If you’ve been hurt in an accident, the Gate City personal injury attorneys at Arrington Schelin are here to fight for you and make the claims process as easy for you as possible. Contact our office today for a free initial consultation.