Virginia Bodily Injury Claims Fairfax Lawyer

Virginia Bodily Injury Claims

In the state of Virginia a person has up to two years to make bodily injury claim and up to five years if it is an infant suffering from an injury. This time period otherwise known as the statute of limitations can be used to allow the injured to recover and for an attorney to assess the case and how it has affected the injured in order to compensate for any losses.

Serious accidents usually result in high payments in the form of compensation, either from an insurance company or from the person at fault. The persons involved in paying compensation for any bodily injuries typically want to make sure of the existence of these injuries and if they are as bad as the victim makes them out to be, before expending large sums of money. Hence, and independent medical evaluation (or IME) may be required. This is an evaluation from a doctor other than the victim’s doctor.

Bodily injury claims usually consist of any physical injuries such as muscle strain, sprains, bone fractures, head, neck and back injuries, deep cuts, burns and puncture wounds. Pain which is associated with these injuries includes the pain endured in the accident itself, pain that was resulted from the treatment of the injuries and future pain that may be experienced after recovery. Suffering may also be taken into account when making a bodily injury claim in Virginia as it is common for anyone with a bodily injury to suffer from psychological and emotional problems as well. This includes any anxiety, fear, nervousness, isolation, depression, sleeplessness, digestive disorders or stress including headaches and muscle pain, suffered due to bodily harm.

IMEs may be issued due to many reasons. Such as to remove any concerns of biased the victims doctor may have towards the patient when assessing bodily injuries. The persons paying compensation may want to have a physical examination of the victim which is independent from his/her previous examination. In some cases, the victim may not have already been examined. The independent physician may need to examine the victim to confirm if they have indeed sustained any injures, if they are indeed as serious as the victim claims them to be and if they have happened due to the same cause the victim claims.

In some cases in Virginia, an injured party may not wish to attend an IME. For this reason the state of Virginia has passed laws which allow an insurance company to seek an independent medical examination when a claim seems questionable. If an IME is ordered the injured party may be required to participate in more than one medical exam. Usually the party seeking an examination is required to pay for it and sometimes may be allowed to choose the physician.

One important factor to consider when making a claim in Virginia is that it is one of the very few remaining states that still use the law of contributory negligence when an injured party is found to share some part of the blame for the accident in which they are claiming bodily harm for. In Virginia, if the plaintiff is found to have even 1 percent blame then he/she will not be able to recover anything from the other at-fault parties.

If you need a Virginia Bodily Injury Claims lawyer to help you with your personal Injury case in Maryland, call us at 888-437-7747. Our Virginia Personal Injury attorneys can help you. C