What Are Virginia Negligence Laws Fairfax Lawyer

In the state of Virginia negligence is the failure to take proper care of something, when the person’s actions fall outside those of a reasonable person. For example, the action of a bus driver driving passengers while intoxicated is considered an act of negligence. If that bus driver crashed and injured any passenger, they may then claim compensation for any pain and suffering caused due to the bus driver’s negligence. Negligence is based on a legal duty and a breach of that duty not moral or ethical duty. For example, if someone sees a person drowning they do not have a legal duty to save that person and this will not be considered as an act of negligence.

Proving negligence involves defining what a reasonable person will or will not do in a situation. This is where an injury lawyer comes in. In Virginia, negligence in personal injury cases revolves around what actions the defendant did or did not take that caused the incident.

Virginia is one of the very few states in the U.S with strict negligence laws. They are known as contributory negligence laws. They state that if the injured party is even as little as one percent to blame for their pain and suffering then under Virginian negligence laws there is no case and compensation cannot be claimed. Because of these strict negligence laws, winning a personal injury case in Virginia can be extremely difficult.

When filing a Virginia personal injury claim, solid, well developed evidence is needed to prove the plaintiff is in no way responsible for his/her personal injuries if some sort of settlement is sought after.

In order for a plaintiff to win a negligence case, the four elements which include duty, breach, causation and damages must be proved to show the defendant as guilty.

Duty- when assessing a legal negligence claim, the first element to be considered is whether the defendant owed the plaintiff a legal duty of care. In some cases the relationship between both already creates a legal duty. For example, a doctor has a legal duty to provide competent medical care.

Breach- the next element the Virginian court will take into consideration when assessing a negligence claim is whether the defendant did or did not do something a “reasonably prudent person” will do under similar circumstances. The legal term “reasonably prudent person” acts as a representation of how the average person will act in that situation.

Causation- the third element requires the plaintiff to prove the defendant did cause his or her injuries. The injured party may only claim compensation if the defendant’s negligence did somehow cause the injury.

Damages- the final element of a negligence case is damages. This requires that the court be able to compensate the plaintiff for any injuries suffered.

Generally, children are not considered as a reasonably prudent person and are not expected to act as adults should act. Instead in Virginian courts, children are held to a modified standard. Under this standard, a child’s actions are compared with the conduct of other children the same age, experience and intelligence. However, in some jurisdictions the adult standard of care is applied to children who take up adult traits such as driving a car or involving in part-time work.

If you need a Virginia Negligence Lawyer to help you with your Negligence case in Virginia, call us at 888-437-7747. Our Virginia Negligence Attorneys can help you. C