Richmond Rear-End Collision Lawyer

The biggest problem with the modern lifestyle is that everyone’s in a hurry.

Improper time management, a messy sleep schedule, and tackling more than what one can handle leads thousands to rush through traffic to make it to work at the time. Others boil with frustration at the testudinal pace of the traffic and may thus drive aggressively.

Whatever the case, there is no justification for reckless driving because the safety of other parties involved is also at stake. Rear-ending results due to miscalculations on the road, and they become even more likely with such a mad rush to cut through the traffic.

If you had to deal with the consequence of such negligence, then you should not delay seeking financial compensation. Contacting a competent accident attorney to get you fairly compensated for your accident claim should be step one for you.

Understanding Rear-End Crashes

Across the USA, rear-end collisions cause almost 7% of total traffic accident fatalities in any given year! When one first comes across the term, one thinks of a fender bender or a minor car accident but that’s not always the case: rear-ending can be very serious.

Rear-end crashes are exactly like they sound: accidents caused from a collision with the rear-end of a vehicle present ahead of that of the at-fault driver. Rear-ending is usually not a serious affair, but as stated above, it can and has resulted in some catastrophic injuries and even deaths.

Usually, they are considered less threatening than some other forms of traffic accidents such as head-on collisions, rollover accidents, side-impact collisions, and pedestrian-auto accidents, however, rear-end accidents can leave the injury victims with mounting financial, physical, and mental pressures – and recovery may extend to a prolonged period of time.

The damage is usually magnified when the rear vehicle was either traveling at high speed or if it had a larger frame, i.e. commercial trucks. If there is a great disparity between the sizes of the two vehicles involved, then the accident scene will be especially gruesome.

In all cases, it is almost always the driver at the rear-end who owes liability because as per the law, all drivers are required to keep a safe distance from the vehicles in front of them. Thus even if you had to hard-press the brakes due to some emergency, the other party cannot blame you for the accident.

Just remember this: to effectively exercise your legal rights, you will need solid legal representation – without an experienced car accident lawyer on your side, you can’t expect much from the greedy insurance companies in terms of your personal injury claim for compensation.

Types of Injuries & Damages Involved In Rear-End Accidents

Accident victims of rear-end vehicle collisions may suffer from any number of injuries depending on the intensity of the crash. For moderate accidents, injuries like whiplash, bruises, lacerations, muscle damage, head injuries (can lead to moderate brain injuries as well), and minor spinal injuries are possible.

However, severe cases can yield serious auto accident injuries such as bone fractures, loss of limbs, severe neck injuries, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, soft tissue injuries, sprains, strains, internal organ damage, and so on. The severity of the injuries will be reflected directly in the intensity of the accident.

Wrongful deaths are also possible, as highlighted by the stats mentioned earlier.

These injuries not only cause great physical agony and may leave one in deep emotional pain, but also necessitate immediate medical care – and we know that the medical expenses can be a huge burden on anyone amid such challenging economic conditions.

Couple this up with the costs of long-term physical therapy, property damages, out-of-pocket expenses, and lost wages – and you’ve got a major financial crisis at hand. These economic damages only cover the short-term damages caused by the accident.

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Of course, any serious injuries will affect the earning potential of the injured person, moreover, the mental scars may take years to heal (i.e. for wrongful death claims – loss of consortium, due to the accident) and thus the cost of long-term psychological therapy (and more medical bills) will also have to be factored in.

And then there are the non-economic damages (the physical and mental pain) which make up the other half of any settlement.

These damages usually multiply the economic losses and ensure complete fairness for the victim. In case of a personal injury lawsuit for your motor vehicle accident, you may be awarded punitive damages as well if the offender showed negligence worthy of an exemplary punishment, i.e. for driving under the influence of alcohol (even more so for driving under influence of drugs).

This can happen only if experienced lawyers take charge of the legal process.

The point is: never accept the first settlement offer that the insurance company throws your way: they can do better, much better. Explore your case fully with an auto accident attorney before demanding compensation, this way, you will ensure that everything plays out fairly.

Identifying The Liable Parties In A Rear-End Collision Case

In a typical rear-ending scenario where a car smashes into another one in front of it, there is no doubt over who’s at fault. Usually, the driver who hits from the rear is considered at fault in such automobile accidents even if the driver in front of them had to stop abruptly, this is because all drivers are legally required to keep a safe distance from the vehicles in front of them.

However, the rear-end driver may not always be at fault.

For instance, the driver may escape the blame if the braking system failed, leading to the accident. Of course, for this, the driver will have to prove that the failure of their vehicle’s brake system and not distracted driving caused the accident. If it turns out that this was the case, you can sue the manufacturers for installing an inadequate braking system that led to such a catastrophe.

The driver behind you will also escape the blame if they themselves were hit by a driver from the rear and that impact caused their car to crash into yours. In this case, both of you can sue the at-fault party. However, keep in mind that the payout will be limited by how much the other party can pay, so you’re in a race here (with the other victim) – don’t delay calling a lawyer in such cases.

Some crashes may look like rear-end collisions, but will turn out to be different upon closer inspection. For instance, if you were driving down a private lane and got involved in a crash with another driver who was backing up their vehicle without checking for any oncoming vehicles.

Although this car took the impact from the rear-end, but you will not be held at fault because this won’t qualify as a rear-ending case.

So be sure, in any case, to seek legal consultation before you proceed with the whole blame business and seeking compensation.

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Demanding Compensation For Your Damages

As noted earlier, your compensation should ideally cover both the economic and non-economic losses that the accident incurred upon you. However, the insurance company will try their best to minimize the payout – don’t take it personally, it’s business.

The voice on the other end of the line (if you get a call from the insurance adjusters) will sound sympathetic and understanding – don’t trust a word coming out of the receiver, and don’t give a statement either because they can use contributory negligence to cut your settlement sum.

Instead, you should contact a legal team of personal injury lawyers as soon as possible to get compensated fairly.

The insurance coverage of the at-fault driver should be able to compensate $25,000 (at minimum) for accident injuries or wrongful death of an individual, twice as much for two people, and $20,000 for property damages. These are, of course, the minimum numbers for liability coverage – in severe cases, the compensation sum will be much more than this.

Just be sure to explore every detail of the case and if the negligent party turns out to be an uninsured driver, you’ll have to fall back to the personal injury protection and uninsured motorist coverage of your own insurance policy, and may even have to dig into health insurance.

Then there’s always the possibility of the liable party offering friction or denying blame.

In any case, seeking legal advice from experienced auto accident lawyers should be priority zero because of the deadlines set by the statute of limitations for such cases.

The Virginia Injury Law Law Firm Will Help You Get Compensated

It is not easy being an accident victim, especially when faced with the immense financial pressures and emotional distress on top of the physical pain that the incident caused. Worst of all, you suffered due to someone else’s negligence.

But the law offers you the right to fair compensation, and you should take it.

If you’re torn by indecision and are not entirely sure if you can hire legal help, then don’t let that hold you back because one of the highest-rated, best performing law firms is here for you. The Virginia Injury Law law firm has a rich history of serving clients like you and acting in their best interest, and securing maximum compensation for injuries and other losses on their behalf.

This is because our personal injury attorneys, who boast decades of experience, work on a contingency fee basis for bodily injury claims: you only pay when you win.

So, wait no further, and call us today!