Personal Injury Lawyers in Chesapeake

What Types of Accidents Fall Under Personal Injury in Chesapeake, Virginia?

Virginia personal injury cases cover a wide range of accident types. Any situation in which you get seriously hurt and it was someone else’s fault can result in personal injury claims. Just a few of the cases that commonly fall under this area of law include:

• Vehicle accidents
• Premises liability
• Industrial accidents
• Wrongful death cases
• Dog bites
• Medical malpractice
• Defective products
• Nursing home neglect and abuse

Auto Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, and Truck Accidents

Motor vehicle accidents in Chesapeake range from car accident cases to commercial vehicle collisions, pedestrian accidents, and beyond. They can be caused by DUI, distraction, speeding, or just plain recklessness, and the injuries they cause can be catastrophic, including but not limited to broken bones, internal organ damage, and traumatic brain injuries.

Premises Liability or Slip-and-Fall Accidents

Most premises liability cases involve falls. They can also, however, involve accidents due to loose pavement, heavy equipment, falling objects, and even animal attacks on someone else’s property. Any time you get hurt on someone’s property due to a danger they should have known about and addressed, it can result in this sort of case.

Industrial Accidents

Industrial accidents at the workplace can involve poisons, diseases, environmental hazards, heavy equipment failures, and vehicle accidents. Common injuries from industrial accidents include sprains, broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, and back injuries. Sometimes, these accidents fall under workers’ compensation, while other times, they become personal injury cases.

Wrongful Death Cases

Wrongful death cases are some of the most tragic a Chesapeake personal injury lawyer sees. They involve situations where you lose a loved one due to the fault of another person. In these cases, besides medical bills up to the point of death, you may be able to collect damages for funeral expenses, burial costs, loss of companionship, lost income and support, and other associated damages from losing your spouse, child, or parent.

Dog Bites

Everyone has a responsibility to restrain their animal. If you are attacked by a dangerous dog and get seriously injured, you might have a case to sue the owner for damages in a personal injury case. A Chesapeake personal injury lawyer can advise you on how to proceed.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice cases involve situations where a healthcare professional makes an egregious error that causes major injuries or disability. It could be a misdiagnosis of a critical illness. Sometimes, it involves prescribing the incorrect medication for a specific illness. Other times, malpractice cases involve surgical errors. There have even been rare cases of amputations that did not need to occur, or foreign objects were left inside a person’s body after surgery.

These cases can be complex to pursue because doctors and hospitals do not like to admit fault.

Product Liability

Product liability law covers cases of dangerous and defective products. Three types of defects exist. The first is design defects, where the core concept behind a product renders it dangerous. The second is manufacturing defects. In these cases, while the conceptual design of the product in question is sound, something happens during the building process that renders it dangerous. The use of cheap batteries that are prone to overheat and explode is an example of a manufacturing defect.

Finally, and most often, product defects come as a failure to warn. This means that either the manufacturer, designer, or seller failed to provide clear instructions on the product’s correct use or that there was a known risk to using it, and the manufacturer, seller, or designer failed to warn you about that risk.

Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

If you suspect that your elder loved one has been the victim of financial, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse or neglect in their Chesapeake nursing home, it is a shocking betrayal. Not only might you be eligible to collect compensation, but the nursing home employee can find themselves on the wrong end of a criminal defense case.

There are three critical steps you must take in this situation. First, get your loved one out of that situation immediately. Second, call the authorities to start an investigation of the circumstances right away. Finally, and as soon as possible, contact a Chesapeake personal injury law firm for legal advice. You can schedule a free consultation to discuss your case with a skilled Chesapeake personal injury lawyer at Montagna Law. Just call 877-622-8100 or fill out our online contact form to get started.

What is the Difference Between Medical Malpractice, Workers’ Comp, and Personal Injury Claims?

Workers’ compensation cases differ greatly from medical malpractice and personal injury claims. Each has its own procedures and addresses different events.

Workers’ Compensation

When you get hurt on the job during the normal course of your work, this almost always becomes a workers’ compensation claim. Most companies in Chesapeake, Virginia are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance under the law. This form of insurance is no-fault coverage. That means it does not matter who caused the accident or how it happened as long as it happened during work.

You can slip and fall on your way to the bathroom. You might get injured changing the paper in a copier. You could develop a repetitive motion injury that results in disability or get into a car crash on your way to meet a client. Under workers’ compensation, your medical bills are covered, as is a portion of your wages while you recover. In some cases, if your disability is permanent, you can receive benefits for life. You cannot, however, receive extra financial compensation for pain and suffering, emotional trauma, or other non-economic damages.

The exact amount you might receive from a Chesapeake workers’ compensation case depends on whether your disability is partial, meaning you can do some work but not what you formerly did, or is total, meaning you cannot work at all. It also depends on whether it is temporary, meaning you will recover, or permanent, meaning you have reached a point of maximum medical improvement, or MMI.

There are rare situations where a personal injury claim can be filed in lieu of workers’ compensation, but they require proving gross negligence by your boss or company. Your Chesapeake personal injury attorney can advise you if this is the case for you.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is a type of personal injury case, but it carries its own standards and burden of proof. Healthcare professionals bear a great responsibility to do no harm, but mistakes and accidents do happen. It becomes medical malpractice when mistakes are the result of gross negligence and irresponsibility and when they cause severe harm.

Virginia’s legal code extends the normal two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases when a foreign object is left inside a patient’s body, fraud or intentional misrepresentation prevents discovery of the injury for an extended period, and for certain cases involving the failure to diagnose tumors, cancers, or intracranial, intraspinal, or spinal schwannoma.

Medical malpractice also covers cases of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse by healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals are held to an incredibly high standard due to the impact of their actions. Unfortunately, when medical professionals do injure patients in some capacity, hospitals often fail to admit it when they or their employees make errors of any sort. That means it can be very difficult to prove malpractice.

Not every attorney in Chesapeake has the level of experience necessary to handle these sorts of cases. If you think you have been the victim of medical malpractice in Chesapeake, tell the attorney upfront during your case review so they can inform you if malpractice is within their area of practice.

What Are the Legal Procedures for Suing Someone for Personal Injury in Chesapeake, Virginia?

The core factor in every Chesapeake personal injury case is a legal doctrine known as negligence. In its most basic form, negligence means proving that the other party is responsible for what happened. In a more detailed sense, it means we can prove three essential factors in court.

First, we must demonstrate that the defendant violated a duty of care to act in a responsible manner, that they acted so irresponsibly that no reasonable person would act the same way in a similar circumstance, such as if you were injured as a result of someone drunk driving. This is called the “reasonable person standard.”

Next, we must prove that their irresponsible, reckless, or malicious action was the direct or proximate cause of the accident.

Finally, we must demonstrate that your injury happened as a direct result of the accident.

This gets even more complicated in Virginia because it is one of only four states with contributory negligence. This means that if you are even one percent at fault for the accident, you can be barred from recovering damages. Having a Chesapeake attorney who can build a strong case for you, issue a clear demand letter, negotiate a settlement with the insurance company, and even stand for you as a trial lawyer is crucial.

If the responsible party is a government agency, special rules apply. You must first put the government on notice in writing with details of the accident. This notice must be sent within six months of the accident for cities and towns or a year for the state.

What is the Statute of Limitations to File a Personal Injury Claim in Chesapeake, Virginia?

Every state has a statute of limitations or window of time during which you must file your claim. In Virginia, this time frame is two years after the date of the accident or two years after the date of death in the case of wrongful death claims. Even if you think you have missed the statute of limitations on your Chesapeake personal injury case, you should seek legal counsel. Schedule a free consultation to speak with a Chesapeake personal injury lawyer at the Montagna Law firm today.

How Will Hiring a Chesapeake Personal Injury Lawyer Benefit Me?

An experienced Chesapeake, VA personal injury lawyer will advocate for you in all aspects of your claim. We will represent you to the insurance companies and stand up to bullying adjusters. We will negotiate your settlement and fight for you in court if necessary. We can build a strong case for negligence and help you fight for full compensation for your injuries. At Montagna Law, we have decades of experience fighting for injured people in Chesapeake and the greater Hampton Roads area. Let us put that experience to work for you.

Were You or a Loved One Injured in an Accident in Chesapeake, Virginia?

Our law firm represents personal injury victims and personal injury claims all across Virginia, including in Norfolk, Newport News, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Chesapeake. Our attorneys have been listed among Virginia Super Lawyers and have years of experience not only with negotiations but also as trial lawyers. Call us at 877-622-8100 or fill out our online contact form for a free consultation today.