Legal Question in Personal Injury in Virginia

Re: Auto Accident Compensation

You really need to let an attorney handle this for you. Please make an appointment with an attorney of your choice to help with the settlement negotiations, payment of your medical bills and further treatment.

A personal injury case is very complicated and one such as yours involving injury to the ankle can be very difficult in determining the amount of fair compensation.

You will not be charged for representation, instead, a fee can be arranged where a percentage of the total settlement is paid to the attorney. By arranging a fee like this, you do not have to worry about paying for excellent representation and you are able to get the best attorney available to help you with your injuries.

Re: Auto Accident Compensation

What you have described (a drunk driver) is the ONLY situation in Virginia in which punitive damages are available. Therefore, you can actually collect quite a lot (if the defendant has money or sufficient insurance to actually pay).

However, the question of exactly how much is very complicated. It depends on how much you have lost, including lost time away from work, etc., etc. It really does require a lawyer to go through a check-list of categories and to itemize the details in order to come up with a total dollar amount. Punitive damages will often be roughly proportional to that underlying dollar claim, but the exact amount of punitive damages is totally up to a jury. There is no exact formula.

Re: Auto Accident Compensation

Yes, you need a lawyer for this one, because you might get tricked by the insurance company into giving recorded statements or signing papers which could possibly hurt your case. If the drunk driver was convicted in a criminal court, this improves your case greatly. Your damages include your actual medical bills, lost past and future wages, pain and suffering, and punitive damages on top of that. You will readily be able to find an attorney to take the case on a contingent fee (no money paid to the attorney until and unless there is a recovery). The attorney you eventually retain will find out how much insurance the defendant has, and whether the defendant has other assets on top of that. Keep good records of your medical bills and other expenses, and save those prescription drug records. Remember to act quickly, because there are legal time limits that can bar your right to recover if you delay too long. And I am sorry this happened to you.

Re: Auto Accident Compensation

As many of the other responses have pointed out, damages depend on your medical bills, loss of wages, and contributory negligence defenses the other person may have. There is no hard and fast rule. For example, much of what you may expect in settlement is also determined by which insurance the drunk driver carries. For more free informaiton you can go to www.personalinjuryinvirginia.com