10605 Judicial Drive, Suite A-4 | Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Virginia’s Strict Contributory Negligence Standard Makes it Critical to Hire a Proven Personal Injury Attorney
If you’ve been hurt in Virginia because of someone else’s carelessness, you understand that a personal injury causes financial hardship along with physical harm, especially if your condition prevents you from working. But you might not realize that winning a damage award in a personal injury claim is harder here than nearly anywhere else in the country, and finding an exceptional lawyer to represent you is of the utmost importance.
The reason why Virginia plaintiffs face an especially hard road is the state’s contributory negligence standard. Under this provision, personal injury victims are barred from a financial recovery if they bear even the slightest amount of fault for the incident where they were hurt. Even if a jury holds that one driver was 99-percent responsible for a collision, the other driver collects no compensation because of their 1-percent liability.
Only four other jurisdictions employ this strict pure contributory negligence standard: Maryland; North Carolina; Alabama and Washington, D.C. Many states use a modified comparative negligence system under which damage awards are reduced by the percentage of liability assigned to the plaintiff. Other states allow victims to obtain compensation even if the they are more liable for an accident than the defendant.
Of course, insurance companies and defense lawyers make every effort to pin some sort of fault on plaintiffs in Virginia personal injury actions. Convincing a jury that an injured driver was slightly distracted or that the victim’s untied shoes played a minor role in a slip and fall could help defendants escape a damage award in the six or seven figures. To fight back effectively against meritless attempts to shift the blame, you need a personal injury attorney with a record of wins for Virginia clients.
At Pikrallidas & Probasco, we know how to counter the tactics of defense attorneys who seek to deny deserving plaintiffs by exploiting the contributory negligence law. This has led us to collect exceptional verdicts and settlements for Virginia and Washington, D.C. residents in personal injury cases. For a free consultation about your claim, please call 703-267-2600 or contact us online. Our main office is in Fairfax and we meet with clients in Manassas by appointment. Hablamos español.
10605 Judicial Drive,
Suite A-4,
Fairfax, Virginia 22030 United States of America
7290 Centreville Road,
Manassas, Virginia 20111 United States of America
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10605 Judicial Drive, Suite A-4
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Fairfax personal injury lawyers at Pikrallidas & Probasco are located in Fairfax, VA and serve clients in and around Fairfax, McLean, Oakton, Merrifield, Vienna, Annandale, Dunn Loring, Clifton, Fairfax Station, Mount Vernon, Falls Church, Reston, Chantilly, Alexandria, Centreville, Springfield, Herndon, Gainesville, Haymarket, Front Royal, Shenandoah County, Frederick County, Clarke County, Warren County, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, Falls Church City and Manassas Park.
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