Personal Injury Lawsuits

The law requires every person to live up to standards of care that help to keep others safe. However, people injure each other every day, whether on the road or in the doctor’s office. If you or someone you love has been injured due to someone failing to maintain these standards of care, our Virginia personal injury attorneys may be able to help you get justice for your losses through compensation. 

Call the attorneys at Commonwealth Law Group today for a consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Types of Personal Injury Cases

Personal injuries can occur in many ways, but most cases fall within a few different categories. The category in which an injury is classified determines the standard of care used to judge the injurer’s actions. In other words, whether a person is liable for an injury or not depends on the context in which the injury took place.

Car Accidents

Traffic accident injuries are common in Virginia, with over 50,000 people injured on the roadways each year. Due to the great forces generated in a car accident, injury victims typically face extensive, life-changing injuries and need all the compensation they can get to move forward in life. 

Common acts of negligence in traffic accident cases include:

• Driving before or during the consumption of intoxicating substances
• Driving while engaged in distractions such as texting
• Driving without regard for traffic signs and signals
• Reckless driving and excessive speeding

Traffic accidents are sometimes also the result of the operation of unsafe vehicles; bald tires lead to blowouts and rollovers, and faulty brakes cause dangerous rear-end crashes.

Medical Malpractice 

Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals must meet high standards of care when treating patients. However, perfection is not a human characteristic. When mistakes are made in healthcare, the potential for significant injury is high.

Common examples of medical malpractice that leads to personal injuries include:

• Diagnosis errors, including misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis
• Surgical errors, such as wrong-site surgery and leaving foreign objects inside patients
• Prescription errors, such as wrong prescription and wrong dosage errors
• Injuries caused during birth
• Medical device errors, such as faulty medical equipment and tools

Filing a medical malpractice case typically requires your personal injury lawyer to obtain a certificate from a medical expert stating that the medical professional facing the claim did, in fact, deviate from the established standards of care.

Defective Products

Sometimes, the products people purchase harm them. When the injury comes about because of a defective product, the injury victim may have a path to compensation. 

Examples of defective products that have been known to cause injuries may include:

• Tools and other work equipment, such as ladders, cranes, and safety equipment
• Defective medical equipment
• Contaminated food and drinks
• Defective vehicle parts and equipment
• Inadequate warning or instructions for use

In most states, personal injury attorneys need only prove that an unreasonably safe product caused an injury. They do not need to demonstrate that a company somehow deviated from the standard of care. However, in Virginia, attorneys must prove that negligence was involved, making defective product cases more involved in Old Dominion.

Dangerous Drugs

Injuries relating to unreasonably dangerous drugs occur more often than they should. Patients face terrible consequences to their internal organs for ingesting defective and dangerous medications. 

Fortunately, drug companies can be held liable to pay for the consequences of putting unreasonable drugs in the marketplace, whether they are prescription or over-the-counter products. 

Dog Bites

Nearly 5 million people receive dog bites each year in the U.S. In other states, dog owners and handlers are strictly liable for the injuries their pets cause. However, dog owners in Virginia face liability when their dog bites or attacks someone only when they know or should know that their animal is dangerous.

Premises Liability 

When you are on someone else’s property, you have the right to be safe from unreasonable dangers. However, property owners and tenants sometimes fail to maintain their properties, which leads to accidents and injuries. 

Some of the most common dangerous property conditions that cause injuries and accidents include:

• Slippery walkways and surfaces
• Broken steps and deteriorating walkways
• Poorly lit areas of passage and congregation
• Electrical hazards
• Dangerous, unkempt landscape
• Faulty or absent handrails

Premises liability also deals with contamination and poisonings due to hazardous conditions found on a person or company’s property.

Recovering Compensation for Your Losses

Successfully recovering compensation for your losses requires your accident attorney to demonstrate negligence according to your personal injury category. Once this is done, they must also show that the negligence led to your injuries. Achieving these goals is accomplished by investigating the accident thoroughly and gathering the appropriate evidence that strengthens your compensation claim. 

As far as your losses are concerned, your lawyer must also prove their value, which can be done with receipts, bills, and account balances for monetary losses, including medical expenses and loss of income. 

For your non-monetary damages, it is important to have a skilled personal injury lawyer calculate these losses to avoid losing out on value compensation since dollar values are not inherent in these types of losses and must be assigned.

Personal Injury Lawsuit FAQ's

1. How Much Does a Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer Charge?

When you hire a personal injury lawyer, you will be billed at the end of your case. The cost will be based on the amount of compensation your attorney recovers for you. If they recover zero, then you will owe nothing. 

2. Should I Accept an Insurance Company’s Settlement Offer?

You should not entertain any settlement offers from an insurance company until you have discussed your case with an experienced accident attorney. A realistic idea of the worth of your case is necessary before you can judge whether an insurance company’s settlement offer is valid. 

3. Is There a Deadline for Filing a Personal Injury Claim for Compensation?

Yes. You have two years, in most cases, to take legal action for compensation after you have been injured. There are exceptions to this statute of limitations, however. If your injury occurred more than two years in the past,  you might still have a viable claim for compensation. Contact a personal injury lawyer to find out.

4. Will My Case Go to Trial?

Probably not, but it depends. The vast majority of personal injury claims never see the inside of a courtroom. However, suppose there are complicated issues involved in your claim, such as issues with liability and damages disputes. In that case, your personal injury attorney may likely have to file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf and go to court. 

5. When Will I Get My Compensation Payout from a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

It depends on the specific circumstances of your case. Those circumstances include, the severity of your injuries, the length of time associated with recovering from those injuries, and determining the applicable insurance coverage.  ome cases have complexities that end up extending the time it takes for car accident victims to get paid. In some cases, a trial is necessary, which could lead to a wait time of over a year or more. With that being said, most cases are resolved far before a trial is necessary. Contact one of our personal injury attorneys to get an idea of how long your case might take. 

Get Skilled Help for Your Personal Injury Case

Don’t go through this process alone. You deserve to be on equal footing with the insurance companies. Contact the Commonwealth Law Group today. We have a Virginia personal injury attorney ready to review your case and help you move forward.

Contact us today for a free consultation.