On This Page
- Types of Cases We Handle in our Eastern Shore Office
- How Can I Hold Someone Else Liable for Causing My Injuries?
- Common Reasons for Auto Accidents in Rural Areas
- Quality Legal Representation for Auto Accidents on the Eastern Shore of Virginia
- Aggressively Seeking Full Compensation for Serious Injuries
- Knowledgeable Counsel for a Variety of Personal Injury Cases
- How Can an Attorney Help File a Civil Claim?
- Contact an Eastern Shore Personal Injury Attorney
Residents of Northampton and Accomack Counties on the Eastern Shore of Virginia are separated from urban Hampton Roads by the 23-mile-long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. But residents and visitors to Northampton and Accomack Counties are no different from other Virginians when it comes to accidental injuries.
If you’ve been harmed due to someone’s negligence, you’re entitled to compensation. We also believe you deserve high-quality legal representation so you can receive full value for your losses. Our firm has a long tradition of helping people on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and we know many families on the Shore. We have a client meeting location on the Eastern Shore. Every year we host a picnic in Northampton County to say thank you to our friends.
Our lawyers make regular visits to Northampton and Accomack Counties to help people who were injured in locations including Cape Charles, Eastville, Onancock, Chincoteague, and Onley.
Types of cases we handle in our Eastern Shore office
How Can I Hold Someone Else Liable for Causing My Injuries?
Even if the person responsible for the accident did not mean to do any harm, injured parties can still hold these individuals financially responsible for damages if the injured person can prove the defendant was negligent. A defendant can be considered legally negligent if all the following criteria are true:
- The defendant owed a duty of care to someone else;
- The defendant did something reckless or careless to violate that duty;
- The defendant’s violation of that duty directly resulted in an accident, and;
- The person to whom the defendant owed a duty of care suffered compensable harm as a direct result of the accident
An attorney on the Eastern Shore can help someone establish these elements of negligence in a personal injury claim. It is important to note that if a claimant is found partially to blame for their own injuries, the court may deny this person any compensation whatsoever, even if the defendant was primarily at fault.
Common Reasons for Auto Accidents in Rural Areas
Densely populated areas with high volumes of traffic naturally have motor vehicle accidents. But that doesn’t mean rural areas and small towns don’t have specific problems that lead to accidents. The main north-to-south highway on the Eastern Shore is US-13, also known as Lankford Highway.
It is a divided highway, with varying speeds, many traffic signals and intersecting roads. U.S. 13 is a very dangerous highway frequented by big rigs. Often drivers accessing U.S. 13 from smaller rural roads fail to gauge the speed of traffic on U.S. 13 and cause crashes. Routes 183 and 618 have brisk traffic flowing in both directions without any barrier, creating a risk of head-on collisions and side-swipe crashes, especially when drivers are distracted, drowsy, or operating their vehicles under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In 2021, six of the eight intersections with the most traffic accidents on the Eastern Shore involved U.S. 13. In fact, the three Eastern Shore intersections with the most 2021 traffic accidents all involved U.S. 13 stretching from Exmore to Temperanceville.
Another problem for country roads is visibility. Many roads are not adequately lighted, and fog accumulating along the coastline can blind a driver even during the day. These conditions raise the danger of rear-end collisions and multivehicle pileups. Country roads are not patrolled as regularly as major highways, so drivers often feel free to speed. Finally, many country roads don’t have passing lanes, but aggressive drivers will take the chance to pass unsafely.
Additionally, U.S. 13 on the Eastern Shore is a route used by many out of state drivers and truckers to travel from the northeast to our southern states. Many of these drivers have been on the road for several hours and are at the risk of drowsiness or inattentiveness. Furthermore, out of state drivers are unfamiliar with the roadways and traffic patterns on the Eastern Shore leading to unexpected and sudden turns and stops.
Ask The Car Crash Experts - What types of damages are available after an auto accident?
Griffin O'Hanlon, Personal Injury Lawyer
“In general, it’s more of a common-sense approach to fault, the right of way, and the rules that govern drivers. Generally, I would say if a vehicle is backing up, let’s say backing out of a parking spot into a travel lane within a parking lot, that driver backing up generally has a duty to ensure that the travel lot they’re going into is free and clear of both drivers and pedestrians. Whereas if they back out and cause a wreck, a strong argument can be made that the driver is at fault. Another wrinkle when it comes to parking lots: drivers are expected to know that there could be pedestrians anywhere and everywhere. It’s an area where people are parking, getting out of their vehicles, going into stores, restaurants, so the rules for how mindful a driver has to be of pedestrians is increased, and there’s just a more general duty of awareness of what could be around you given the set of circumstances for a particular parking lot.”
Quality Legal Representation for Auto Accidents on the Eastern Shore of Virginia
If a negligent or reckless driver has caused a crash that injured you, we are ready to provide highly professional representation. Our lawyers draw on more than 80 years of combined experience to thoroughly investigate your auto accident and build a compelling case for your recovery.
In addition to millions of dollars for our clients, our attorneys have earned numerous distinctions, such as inclusion on the Virginia Super Lawyers list, membership in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Ratings by Martindale-Hubbell® for high ethical standards and professional ability, and the Client Champion Silver Award. Our law firm has compiled a perfect 10.0 Avvo Rating.
Aggressively Seeking Full Compensation for Serious Injuries
Our team can help you recover appropriate compensation for your losses, including your medical bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering. When choosing an attorney, you should look for someone with a record of success handling accidents and injuries like yours. Our firm has an impressive record, and we are prepared to fight for your full compensation for injuries such as:
- Broken bones — Fractures that require surgery can take many months to heal and may never be the same as they were before your accident.
- Burns and scars — Disfigurement that impacts your quality of life is a compensable injury.
- Concussions and traumatic brain injury — Headaches, motor skill and speech impairment, moods swings, and depression are just a few of the persistent symptoms of TBI.
- Internal organ injuries — You must be compensated for any loss of function.
- Loss of limbs, eyesight or hearing — These are all catastrophic injuries, because they permanently change your life.
- Spinal injuries, including paralysis — These injuries demand sufficient compensation to cover a lifetime of care.
- Whiplash injuries to the neck and back — Soft tissue injuries can cause chronic pain and limit your mobility.
Our legal team consults with your doctors and other medical professionals to document the full extent of your injuries and your prognosis. Then we fight aggressively to secure the compensation you deserve. This includes compensation for pain and suffering. In Virginia, except in medical malpractice claims, there is no cap to the amount of compensation a personal injury claimant and recover for pain and suffering. Our firm also represents next-of-kin and beneficiaries in actions for wrongful death.
Knowledgeable Counsel for a Variety of Personal Injury Cases
Our personal injury lawyers handler more than just car accident cases. We also assist our personal injury clients with slip and fall accident cases on the Eastern Shore. Northampton and Accomack Counties have many attractions and businesses including the Exmore Diner, the Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center at Wattsville, Kiptopeke State Park, Cherrystone Family Camping, and The Shanty, a bar in Cape Charles.
All business owners have a duty to ensure their premises are safe for visitors, and if a hidden hazard causes a customer to slip and fall, the owner is liable for damages. If you sustain a painful injury on public or private property, our skilled lawyers can manage your claim as you focus on your health.
However, if you were injured, you must act promptly to assert your rights. The Virginia statute of limitations typically allows only two years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury claim. After that, you could lose your rights forever. But there’s another important reason to act quickly: your attorney can start an independent investigation and preserve the evidence necessary to win your case. So, don’t delay. Contact our injury lawyers today.
Ask The Car Crash Experts - Is Virginia a No-Fault State?
Bill O'Mara, Personal Injury Lawyer
“Some states in the country are known as no-fault states. And these are states where if you get in a car accident, you sometimes do not go after the other driver, the at-fault driver. You actually process payment for your accident-related bills for your injuries through your own car insurance. These no-fault states are sometimes known as Pip states. Virginia is not one of those states. Virginia is not a no-fault state. Virginia is an at-fault state where you make a claim against the other driver who caused the accident and their insurance, and you seek payment for your medical bills from their company.”
How Can an Attorney Help File a Civil Claim?
Before a case begins, a legal representative can work tirelessly to gather as much evidence as possible to prove what happened and who was to blame, including both documentary evidence and testimony from witnesses and relevant experts. If a person has been injured in an accident and required medical care, a free consultation with our personal injury lawyers is the smart move.
Once a local attorney has built a personal injury case, they can effectively present it to the other party and demand appropriate compensation for all damages. This may be done in either out-of-court settlement negotiations or a trial in civil court. Our team at Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers can deal with insurance companies that help claimants get the coverage they should be provided under your policy.
Contact an Eastern Shore Personal Injury Attorney
If you’ve been hurt due to negligence, our firm would like to offer a free consultation with an experienced attorney at our firm. Call us today or contact our office online to schedule your appointment. We will also come to you. We accept personal injury cases on a contingency basis, so you pay no legal fees until you recover compensation through a settlement or court verdict.
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