Injury Lawyer in Chesapeake Virginia

Injury Attorney Serving Clients in Chesapeake, VA

Injuries occur more often than many Chesapeake residents might expect. In many situations where people suffer preventable injuries, those injuries occur because another party behaved in a negligent manner. An injury victim should not have to suffer financial losses in addition to physical, emotional, and psychological consequences of a serious injury. Anyone who has been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence should consider filing an injury claim. An aggressive injury lawyer in Chesapeake Virginia can get started on your case today. The team at Breit Law PC has years of experience serving clients with a wide variety of injury claims.

What Should I Do After an Injury Accident in Chesapeake, Virginia?

If you sustained an injury in an accident or because of another party’s negligent or reckless behavior, it is important to take steps to ensure that you remain eligible to obtain financial compensation. In general, for most types of injuries, you should consider doing the following:

Documenting the incident and your injuries: Whether you were injured in a motor vehicle crash, a slip and fall accident, or after using a dangerous product, your first step should be to document the scene where the incident occurred. For example, you should use your smartphone, if you are able to do so, to take photographs of the scene where your injury occurred. You should also document any obvious evidence that may be helpful in your case, such as a liquid spill that caused your slip and fall. In addition, if you are able to do so, you should document your injuries.
Gathering witness contact information: If anyone nearby witnessed the accident that caused your injury, you should obtain contact information. Your Chesapeake injury attorney may be able to reach out to witnesses to obtain more information about how the accident happened and to use information from witnesses to negotiate a favorable settlement for you.
Seeking medical attention: As soon as possible, you should seek medical attention to have your injuries properly assessed and treated. In some cases, signs and symptoms of serious and life-threatening injuries can take hours, or even days to appear. According to WebMD, internal bleeding caused by trauma often requires surgery, as can other severe traumatic injuries. By seeing a doctor as soon as possible, your healthcare provider can document your injuries. That documentation can be essential in negotiating a settlement or winning an injury lawsuit. If you wait too long to seek medical attention, you can also risk the defendant arguing that you are partially at fault for the accident. In such a case, Virginia’s pure contributory negligence law can bar you from recovery.
Hire an experienced injury attorney: While you may need to deal with the immediate aftermath of a serious injury before you speak with a lawyer—from documenting the scene to seeing a doctor—it is extremely important to begin working with an injury attorney as soon as you can. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that evidence supporting your case may be lost and your case could become more complicated than it needs to be.

Who is Liable in a Chesapeake Injury Case?

The question of who is liable in a Chesapeake injury case depends largely upon the facts of the case. The following are examples of some types of injury claims and parties who may be responsible for injuries:

Motor vehicle crashes: Liable parties may include a drunk driver, distracted driver, aggressive driver, negligent mechanic, or designer or manufacturer of one of the motor vehicle parts;
Medical malpractice: Parties that may be held responsible for medical negligence injuries can include a surgeon, physician, anesthesiologist, nurse, pharmacist, laboratory, lab technician, or hospital;
Premises liability accidents: Responsible parties may include any property owner, property manager, or tenant who failed to remedy a hazard on the property or failed to warn people about a dangerous condition; and
Product liability claims: Liable parties can include the designer of a product or one of its parts, the manufacturer of a product or one of its parts, or the marketer of the product.

What is the Average Settlement for a Chesapeake Injury Claim?

We often hear from clients who want to know about the average settlement in a Chesapeake injury case, or the average settlement or verdict in a particular type of injury claim. Without examining the specific facts of your case, it is nearly impossible to cite a specific figure for your case or to provide you with an average settlement amount. However, there are some key factors that tend to affect the amount of an injured person’s settlement. Those factors can include but are not limited to the following:

Severity of the injuries;
Egregiousness of the defendant’s actions that caused the injuries;
Amount of hospital bills associated with the injuries;
Future necessary medical care;
Current lost wages due to the injured person’s inability to work; and
Future lost wages.

Time Limits for Filing a Chesapeake, VA Injury Lawsuit

Most injury lawsuits in Virginia have a two-year statute of limitations. Accordingly, under Virginia law (Virginia Code § 8.01-243), a civil claim must be filed within two years from the date of the person’s injury. Except in rare and specific circumstances, failure to file a claim within the time window set by the statute of limitations will result in a time-barred claim.

A Chesapeake Virginia Injury Attorney Can Help

Were you recently injured in a serious accident or as a result of someone else’s harmful or careless behavior in Chesapeake? Regardless of how your injury occurred, if you believe another party may be responsible, it is important to discuss your case with an experienced injury attorney in Chesapeake Virginia as soon as you can. You may be eligible to file an insurance claim or to initiate a lawsuit against the negligent party in order to obtain the financial compensation you deserve. An advocate at our firm can speak with you today about the options that may be available to you. Contact Chesapeake VA attorneys at Breit Law PC to learn more.