The most frustrating thing about a motor vehicle accident is trying to deal with the insurance company about the property damage to your vehicle. However, understanding how property damage coverage works in Virginia Beach can be difficult. This is where a well-versed car accident attorney from Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers can help.
The Virginia Beach car accident settlement process can be confusing. Further, if you do not have the necessary experience, it is easy to be taken advantage of. Therefore, it is important to work with an experienced attorney when considering whether to settle a case. A skilled attorney from Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers can help you reach a resolution to your case that is fair to you.
There are few things in life quite as unsettling as a car accident. In a matter of seconds, your life can be changed by a serious injury. Even if you don’t seem to be seriously hurt at the scene of an accident, a minor injury can become a major injury if it is overlooked, and in many significant conditions – such as brain injury or spinal injury – symptoms may not appear until later. Our Virginia Beach car accident team at Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers has helped clients like you throughout Virginia and beyond to get the compensation you deserve. With all of this in mind, it is important to take a few key steps to protect your rights and your health in the immediate aftermath of an auto accident.
Carrying auto insurance surprisingly is not required in the state of Virginia. Many drivers choose to drive without insurance. Others choose minimal insurance coverage, making it increasingly difficult for victims to collect full compensation when they are injured in a car accident. At Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers, our Virginia car accident lawyers fight for your recovery if you’ve been injured by an uninsured or underinsured driver.
In Virginia, a lawsuit is always brought against the at-fault driver and not against the insurance company directly. This rule is different than some other states which under certain circumstances allow you to name the insurance company for the at-fault driver as a party defendant. If you are hurt in a Virginia car wreck the insurance details will not be obvious in a case.
In Virginia, the jury is never told whether there is or isn’t automobile insurance. As far as the jury is instructed in a Virginia personal injury action the lawsuit is just against Bob Smith or whoever the at-fault driver is. In a Virginia personal injury complaint which is the initial pleading against Bob Smith, the at-fault driver, you are not allowed to mention the fact that the driver is insured by GEICO, Allstate, Nationwide, State Farm or Progressive Insurance Company.
We are often asked by people who have been hurt in a car wreck if they can claim compensation for emotional distress after a Virginia car accident. The answer is yes.
All vehicles must follow Virginia’s right-of-way rules to safely cross intersections. Right-of-way helps you decide who goes first at an intersection. Right-of-way rules, together with courtesy and common sense, help to promote traffic safety.
Vehicles often come into conflict with other vehicles and pedestrians because their intended courses of travel intersect, and thus interfere with each other’s routes. The general principle that establishes who has the right to go first is called “right of way.”
Getting into a motor vehicle accident is always stressful and confusing. To add fuel to the fire, sometimes drivers do not stay at the scene of the accident. As a personal injury attorney in Hampton Roads, I have seen many accident scenes made more complicated by the fleeing of the at-fault party. Leaving the scene of an accident in Virginia is not only reprehensible – it’s a crime.
Imagine you are hit by another driver and are injured in a car wreck and face a long time off work. You will likely lose wages and wonder how you can feed your family going forward. The issue of lost wages is one of the most common things we face as Virginia auto accident lawyers.
This is one of the most common questions I have heard in nearly three decades in personal injury work. The answer is that the insurance companies do not and will not increase your family’s automobile insurance rates if you make a claim like underinsured motorist, uninsured motorist or Medpay, all of which are based not on your fault but on somebody else’s fault. The whole purpose of UM, UIM and Medpay coverage is that your insurance company has already been paid to cover some things which may occur that injure you or your family members or the occupants of your vehicle. These coverages are not based upon anything that you did wrong behind the wheel but rather something that was done to you by some other at‑fault person. Because of this an uninsured motorist claim against a hit and run driver or an underinsured motorist claim where you get the benefit your higher limits if you’re hurt seriously by somebody with.
Most people know that if someone negligently damages your car, truck, or motorcycle, the insurance company for the at-fault driver is required to repair it, or pay you fair market value if it is a total loss.
Even if the insurance company agrees to repair your vehicle, you still have a problem. Your vehicle has now been in a wreck and is worth less because of it. It is unlikely you will be able to sell your vehicle following the accident, even if repaired, for the same amount as immediately prior to the accident. This is where a diminished value claim under Virginia law comes in handy.
© Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers 2023. All rights reserved.
