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The aftermath of a car accident can be overwhelming. Even in a minor accident, you will be focused on watching for any damage to your vehicle and any delayed injuries to your person.
In a serious accident, you may spend months trying to regain normalcy as you recover from severe injuries and mental and emotional trauma.
The injury lawyers at Regan Zambri Long will fight for justice on your behalf beginning with your free consultation. Call today.
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Financial compensation after an Arlington auto accident is part of the justice you or your loved ones deserve, but it can feel like another burden on your already overstretched emotions and resources. If a car accident involved your loved one, you may be caring for them or mourning a wrongful death.
That’s why consulting with an experienced Arlington, Virginia, car accident lawyer from Regan Zambri Long as soon as possible after your accident is the best thing you can do. Your lawyer will carry the legal burden on your behalf, pursuing your best interests so that you can focus on recovering from the accident.
Busy city roads and open country roads are both scenes for hundreds of car accidents every year. In 2021, 118,498 Virginia drivers were involved in car accidents, which local news reported as a 14-year high.
Arlington County has experienced 30 severe crashes and one fatal crash in 2022, as of July 31, 2022, according to data compiled by the county’s Vision Zero Action Plan staff.
You can’t control how other drivers behave on the road, but you can hire an experienced car accident attorney from Regan Zambri Long to represent you so that you can hold the liable driver responsible for the accident.
Immediately following an auto accident you should call the appropriate emergency services and evaluate your own injuries and damage. If it is not safe for you to move about the scene, either because of debris or your injuries, wait for first responders to arrive.
If you can safely move, you should take pictures, get contact and insurance information from the other involved party or parties, and collect contact information and statements from witnesses.
Once responding police officers give you the OK to leave the scene, you should get medical treatment as soon as possible. Even if you feel fine after the accident, you may have delayed or internal injuries. Seeing a doctor after an auto accident provides a paper trail that will back up a personal injury claim if your injuries take time to manifest or reveal themselves.
As soon as you can after an accident and your medical exam, you should consult with a knowledgeable Arlington car accident lawyer. Although you are not required to have an attorney represent you in a car accident case, it rarely is in your best interest to navigate a claim alone.
Your personal injury lawyer in Arlington, VA will help you calculate the value of your claim, assess any settlement offers for fairness, and argue your case in court if a settlement can’t be reached. The American Bar Association states that only a fraction of personal injury claims make it to court, but you don’t want to wait until a trial is required to bring an attorney to your team.
In the aftermath of a car crash, victims are eligible to make a claim for two distinct kinds of damages: economic and non-economic.
Economic damages are tangible and calculable losses, including:
Non-economic damages are less tangible but still impactful, including:
In some cases, you may also recover punitive damages from the liable party. This payout is a punishment to the liable party for their willful and wanton negligence.
As the injured party bringing the suit, you and your legal team are responsible for proving negligence, or that the liable party acted with willful and wanton disregard for others or with intentional malice.
Proving willful and wanton negligence will be harder than simple negligence, but your car accident attorney from Regan Zambri Long will help you understand if your case goes beyond simple negligence and help you prove it.
Finally, if your case goes to court, you can also recover financial compensation to cover your legal expenses and court costs.
As your case moves forward, you may wonder whether you should accept a settlement or pursue a greater recovery in court.
The facts of your case and how the liable driver and insurance company are responding to the claim will guide the legal process, and your lawyer will provide wisdom and experience as you navigate this.
In most cases, a car accident settlement offers fair compensation and there is no need to pursue a trial. In fact, most parties will want to avoid the higher legal fees that come with a trial.
However, when a liable party or insurance company is refusing to pay a fair settlement, you may need to take further legal action and go to court.
When this happens, you will likely demand more compensation than you would receive from a settlement, in part because of the increased legal fees and in part because, if your case goes to court, your lawyer is very confident of winning.
From obtaining the police report and records to dealing with insurance companies, a car accident leaves victims with a lot of work to do and decisions to make. When you’re injured, it can be challenging to focus on recovery and stay on top of your claim as well.
When you hire a car accident attorney from Regan Zambri Long, you entrust your case to a legal team who will work tirelessly to recover the compensation you deserve, while shouldering the majority of the burden so that you can focus on healing.
Our team will take the lead in speaking with the negligent driver’s insurance company to negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf. We will keep you informed and involved when and where you need to be, but you can trust us to look out for your best interests every step of the way.
You can schedule a free consultation online or by calling 202-960-4596.
Regan Zambri Long’s Virginia personal injury lawyers have decades of experience with car accident cases. They are well-versed in Virginia’s statutes and laws. With several law firm offices throughout the commonwealth, our car accident lawyers are more than capable of handling the particulars of your claim.
Our car accident attorneys are recognized by peers and the press alike as top-tier lawyers who get results for their injured clients.
We’ve recovered millions of dollars on behalf of car accident victims, and we could do the same for you.
Our law firm works on a contingency fee basis, meaning we don’t collect any payments until we’ve made a financial recovery in your favor. If we are unable to recover compensation on your behalf, we waive all our fees.
Call today 202-960-4596 today to schedule your free case evaluation.
Every car accident case is different, which means assigning a realistic value before a consultation and investigation is impossible.
Your auto accident attorney will meet with you to discuss the extent of your injuries and medical expenses, property damage, as well as any lost wages and missed work, mental anguish, trauma, fear, and other non-economic damages you may have suffered.
Once your lawyer has a picture of all the ways your car accident has impacted you, he or she will calculate the value of your accident claim.
Keep in mind that the liable party’s lawyer and the insurance adjuster will be doing the same thing but are likely to come up with different numbers, so the amount your lawyer calculates may not be the actual amount you recover.
Virginia’s statute of limitations gives you two years to file a personal injury claim after your car accident and five years for filing a claim for vehicle and property damage. You will want to be prompt in your filing, but not early.
Your Arlington car accident lawyer will help you decide when the best time is to file your claim—this will generally be after the full extent of your injuries and damages are known and when you have reached your fullest recovery, where possible within the two years.
Filing your claim too early may result in receiving less compensation than you need, as future unexpected bills come in.
Liability for a car accident can belong to anyone involved in or contributing to the accident.
In many cases, driver negligence is the cause of the motor vehicle accident, and that driver is liable.
Other at-fault parties can include pedestrians, bicyclists, manufacturers or distributors of vehicle parts that end up being defective, companies that are negligent in the maintenance and safety of fleet vehicles, and government or other agencies responsible for road construction and maintenance.
Your qualified Arlington car accident attorney from Regan Zambri Long will review your case with you to determine who is liable. If multiple parties share liability, we will bring claims against all involved parties to recover the compensation you deserve.
Virginia follows pure contributory negligence when it comes to car accidents. This means that any party who is found to have contributed to an accident is completely barred from seeking compensation for their injuries or damages.
It is important that you do not claim or accept any responsibility after an auto collision in Virginia. Doing so may prohibit you from seeking compensation, and the full facts of the case are often understood only after an investigation.
Most car accidents hinge on proving fault and the idea of negligence—that the liable party had a duty to behave a certain way, that they breached that duty, and that the breach caused injury and/or damage to another party.
But contributory negligence complicates matters for Arlington drivers by denying compensation to anyone who was the slightest bit negligent.
After a car accident in Arlington, you will want to consult with an experienced Virginia car accident lawyer immediately. It’s highly likely that the other involved party (or parties) will look to pin some degree of negligence on you to avoid a payout.
Your lawyer will help defend you against unjust accusations of contributory negligence while also proving that the other party is completely liable for the accident.
You are not required to have legal representation to pursue compensation after a car accident.
In some cases, such as those where you were not injured or the accident was very minor, you may decide it isn’t worth hiring a lawyer. Or if you have gone through the car accident claim process or insurance process before, you may feel confident taking it on yourself this time.
In many cases, however, hiring a personal injury lawyer or law firm will be in your best interest. Legal counsel can often help you recover a higher payout, negotiate a settlement more successfully, and calculate your losses.
The personal injury attorneys at Regan Zambri Long offer a no-obligation free consultation to help you determine whether you need a lawyer to help you navigate a successful claim.
