Virginia Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Blog

The Adjuster Might Not Be Upfront About Who Pays the Medical Bills After a Virginia Car Accident

Read this blog for information regarding who is responsible for your medical bills following a Virginia car accident. If you have been hurt in an accident, order a copy of Fairfax accident attorney Ben Glass’s book, Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim.

Is There a Magic Formula Used in Virginia Auto Accident Settlements? Find Out Here.

Is there a magic formula used to calculate an insurance settlement following a Virginia car accident? Read this blog to learn the answer and order a copy of Fairfax accident attorney Ben Glass’s book, Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim.

“I’m Sorry,” Aren't the Best Words to Say After a Virginia Car Accident

Two little words after a serious Virginia car accident can significantly impact the outcome of an injury claim. Read this blog post to learn more and order a copy of Fairfax accident attorney Ben Glass’s book, Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim. This book is free to Virginia residents.

2 MORE Actions That Can Hurt Your Richmond Car Accident Claim

Read this blog post to find out more about the actions you need to avoid following a Richmond car accident. Be sure to order a free copy of the book, Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim, which will explain this topic in greater detail.

3 Actions That Can Hurt Your Richmond Car Accident Claim

Read this blog post to find out what actions you need to avoid after a Richmond car accident. Be sure to order a copy of the book, Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim.

4 Tips on Finding a Richmond Car Accident Attorney

If you have been seriously hurt in a Richmond car accident, you need to know what to look for when hiring a personal injury lawyer. Read this blog post for tips and order your free copy of the book, Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim.

Insurance Company Tricks That Might Be Used on Your Richmond Car Accident Claim

If you have been hurt in a Richmond car accident, be ready for the insurance company’s tricks. Read this blog post to learn more and order your free copy of the book, Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim.

I Bet You Didn’t Know You Were at War Following Your Virginia Auto Accident

As soon as you were injured in that Virginia car accident, you stepped into a war zone. Order your free copy of Fairfax accident attorney Ben Glass’s book, Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage May Not Have Seemed Important – Until You Were in a Virginia Car Accident

Have you ever thought about what would happen if you were in a Virginia car accident with an uninsured driver? If not, you need to consider the possibility. Order a free copy of Fairfax accident attorney Ben Glass’s book, Buying Car Insurance: The Ultimate Guide to Protecting Your Family from Irresponsible Drivers in Virginia.

Wondering How To Reduce Your Risk of a Virginia Distracted Driving Accident?

Summer travel safety tip – avoid using a cell phone while driving. Read this blog to learn more and find out how to reduce your risk of a Virginia distracted driving accident.

Hiding Past Accidents & Injuries From Your Virginia Accident Attorney is a Huge Mistake

Hiding past accidents and injuries from your Virginia car accident attorney could cause you to lose your case.

40 Percent Contingency Fee in a Virginia Car Accident Case – That’s Outrageous

If you have been injured in a Virginia car accident and are looking for a personal injury lawyer to represent you, then you need to be aware that attorneys’ fees are negotiable. Read this blog to learn more.

Don't Let the Adjuster Try to Intimidate You After a Virginia Car Accident

Insurance companies are up to it again – they are offering lowball settlements to victims of Virginia car accidents. Don’t let the insurance adjuster intimidate you into not learning about your rights following an auto accident.

VA House Bill HB-93 Aims To Close Insurance Loophole

Virginia Bill aims to close insurance loophole UIM carriers use to save money at taxpayer's expense. Read on to see what the problem is and how VA Bill HB-93 will fix it.

Hulk Hogan Sues His Son's Former Lawyers

The famed wrestler Hulk Hogan is entering a whole new fight. He recently filed suit in south Florida against the attorneys who represented he and his son, Nick Bollea, in major car wreck case in 2007. Read more about Nick Bollea's 2007 car wreck.

Hogan's auto-insurance policy through Progressive offered an all-expenses-paid defense but he didn't know that and hired the firm of Zuckerman Spaeder to defend he and his son. Zuckerman Spaeder ended up charging Hulk over $1.5 million in costs and fees! Now Hogan has brought suit claiming that the firm should have told him that there was the "free" option from Progressive. The complaint is quite extensive at 44 pages in length and charges 8 counts of malpractice and intentional breach of fiduciary duty agains the firm and its lawyers.

The important lesson here is to know what's in your policy. Hulk didn't and now he has a second lawsuit to tend to because of it. Another lesson to take from it is to promptly speak to your insurance company. Hogan had representatives and lawyers speak to the insurance company, those who would gain from him not knowing about the "free" option, and wasn't able to hear his options straight from the one's who knew them best, Progressive. Finally, Hogan was under-insured with only $500k, any settlement or judgment greater than that and he'll have to pay out of pocket. Million dollar policies aren't that expensive and it's a shock that a celebrity like this doesn't have at least that.

Here's the press release for Hulk Hogan's lawsuit along with the complaint. Here are the exhibits in support of the the suit including correspondence between Hulk Hogan and his lawyers.

Can you really settle a case with Allstate before the day of trial

Those of you who have followed my blogs, read my book on Virginia car accidents, read this website, etc. know that I am one who says that you don't always need a lawyer to settle your case. I encourage people, especially if the case is small, to try to get things worked out with the insurance company. I'm prepared to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

I have a different opinion about Allstate. Remember, they are the company that for years, sent a letter to claimants basically encouraging them to not get a lawyer because "a lawyer will just take a huge portion of your settlement."

Let me tell you about a recent case our office handled. Remember, each case is different and you can draw your own conclusions.

I got a call from a lady who had been in an accident with an Allstate insured. The accident was clearly the other person's fault. The injury victim had never sued anyone before, had never been in an accident before and was in perfect health before the accident. She had a good job making over $100,000 a year.

Her injuries were fairly serious but would resolve with time and good treatment. I told her that even though here case wasn't "small" that she should go throught treatment, get better and try to work the case out with Allstate.

She followed my directions.

She followed the doctors orders.

She got better over time and approached Allstate with a very reasonable settlement proposal. She gave Allstate all of her medical records, lost wage forms, and medicial bills.

Allstate then proceeded to offer to repay her medical bills, only. Essentially they weren't offering her anything for pain and suffering, inconvenience and the like.

She came back to me and we filed suit. Allstate did very little to defend the case. It sent out a bunch of subpoenas but it admitted that its insured was at fault. It took the deposition of our client. Allstate did not even request that a doctor perform an independant medical examination, probably because the medical picture was so clear.

A couple of weeks before trial Allstate essentially TRIPLED its offer and the case settled.

My point is that there is no reason the victim should have had to hire an attorney to get fair compensation. The case did not change at all. The medical picture at the time the case settled was exactly the same as the picture on the day the claimant tried to get the case settled.

My advice. If you've been hit by an Allstate insured. Get a lawyer. They won't listen to you until you do.

Just my opinion. Each case is different. Come to your own conclusion.

Court rules that case brought within 2 years in another state satisfied Virginia's statute of limitations

Here is an unusual situation:

The plaintiff was injured in Virginia in a car accident with a resident of Ohio. He filed suit within 2 years in Ohio and he filed an identical suit here in Virginia after two years had passed.

After much legal wrangling, the Virginia court said that the lawsuit filed in Ohio (even though that Court ordered the case transferred to Virginia) was good enough to stop the running of the statue of limitations.

In this case an action was filed in the Ohio court one day before the running of the statute of limitations. The fact that the original action was filed in another state, and perhaps in an improper venue, is of no concern to this Court. The plain language of the tolling statute contemplates "any action" commenced within two years. Code § 8.01-229(E)(1). The commencement of the Ohio action falls within the statute.

This action was also brought within the remaining period allowed by the statute of limitations once the original action had ended, in this case one day. The fact that this action was commenced before the tolling period ended is not of consequence.

Thornton v. Estes Express Lines, 15 Cir. CL0800086500, 77 Va. Cir. 455 (2009)

Payee Notification in Virginia--Some Lawyers Oppose It and They are Wrong

There's a simply way to prevent those few lawyers who deliberately steal from clients. These folks figure out a good scheme to steal millions...and they usually get away with it for long enough to devastate the clients they steal from.

There's a simple solution and its called payee notification in Virginia.

Amazingly, some lawyers in Virginia oppose this consumer protection statute.

You'll have to ask them why.

I'd invite them to "join the conversation" at this blog and express their opinions as to why Virginia should not enact payee notication now.

“Stacking” Allowed Under Uninsured/Under-Insured Motorist Coverage Plan

Many attorneys would have said "there's not enough coverage", but recently one attorney "dug deep" to discover a way to vastly increase the insurance coverage available to his client. And the way he did it means great news for the plaintiff’s bar! The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled earlier this week that “stacking”, or combining, the Uninsured Motorist/Under-Insured Motorist coverage in a policy is allowed.

In the case at issue a young girl was badly injured in a car wreck but both the car she was riding in (a friends) and the car at fault were underinsured. Her father’s policy covered three other vehicles for a total of $850k for bodily injuries (split $300k, $300k, and $250k).

The insurance company argued that they had included provisions disallowing “stacking” meaning that the most they could offer in coverage was $300k for one vehicle.

The Court held that the insurance company had not appropriately excluded stacking and that the plaintiff was entitled to the full value of the policy.

With the SCVa’s ruling it opens up a window of litigation for plaintiff’s until the insurance companies are able to modify their policies to properly disallow “stacking.” This case could prove to be quite important as attorneys will now be scrutinizing “stacking” clauses much closer to make sure they are up to snuff. Of course, if you consult with an experienced personal injury attorney before you even buy your plan, you probably wouldn't need to rely on a "litigation window" to be successful in your claim.

Ohio Truck Accident Case

Toledo truck accident attorney Chuck Boyk and his legal team are to be congratulated for a terrific $1.25 million dollar verdict. You should read Chuck's post on this case because it shows, truly, the fight that many injured victims must go through to get justice.

Boyk is one of the premier truck accident attorneys in Ohio. If you've been injured in a car accident in Ohio, give Chuck Boyk a call.

Remember, each case is different. Consult with an experienced nationally board certified specialist in your area.