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Car Accidents and Personal Injury Cases in Virginia
What is Contributory Negligence in Virginia?
Hi this is Ben. Today I’d like to talk to you about contributory negligence. Virginia is one of three or four states in the country that still have contributory negligence laws on their books. By now you're probably wondering what this is exactly. Well, what the law says is that if you‘ve been injured in an accident but you are in any way responsible, or 1% responsible for the accident, you can’t recover anything. This may not seem very fair for anyone that's been in a car wreck and has a Virginia personal injury case on their hands, but tit's just the way things go.
Now in most states, if there is negligence on the defendant’s side and you’ve also been negligent will weigh and balance the comparative negligence and reduce your damages. You at least still have a chance to win your case. This is comparative negligence, and is definitely something that works out better for you if you're not at fault and have a legitamite case.
In Virginia if you’re 1% negligent in your car wreck, whether it be if you’re not looking where you’re going, if you’re texting and some drunk driver runs into you, under our laws you may not be able to have any recovery at all. Sorry pal, there's not much I can do about the law, but if you have a case I can defend you!
So this should be at least one more reason to talk to an experienced board certified attorney about your claim before you go and give that recorded statement to the insurance company. Don't ever forget that the insurance company is NOT your friend - this is a sure fire way to shoot your case in it's own foot!
Where you should go from here is to take advantage of a great chance to educate yourself that I have for you. Order a free sample chapter of our free consumer guide, The Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim, to learn more about personal injury claims in Virginia by following this link
If you have a question for Ben, you can submit it confidentially online at JustAskBenGlass.com.
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