Virginia Accident Victim: "I'm Not the Kind of Person to Sue, but this is Different" - Fairfax Attorney Brian Glass Tells Why

Far too often I talk to people about their Virginia car accident case who need help. They politely explain to me, "I'm not the kind of person to sue or pursue a lawsuit, but the insurance company is just not treating me right." I'm here to clear the air. No, lawsuits are not immoral, especially when it comes to Virginia car accident claims. 

When you pursue a lawsuit for your Virginia car accident claim, you're simply seeking to be compensated for what you when through

Under Virginia law, when you are injured in a car accident due to someone else's negligence, you can attempt to get fair compensation from their (or sometimes your own) auto insurance. Unfortunately, in many instances, including the cases where a person has suffered the most serious kinds of injuries, car insurance companies simply don't treat you fairly. They claim you're not really that injured, you over-treated, your pain is due to a preexisting injury, etc. It's for that reason alone that you typically have to sue the defendant driver in Virginia.  

Why do you have to sue? There's simply no other way to compel a car insurance company to compensate you for your injuries. There's nothing immoral about it. It's the way our court system was set up; to have a judge or jury decide what parties can't agree to without them. 

Insurance companies have done a great job selling tort reform

"But what about these crazy cases where people are getting millions of dollars for minor injuries!"

There exists throughout the United States some pretty remarkable, striking results. In reality, though, those cases don't represent the typical cases flowing through Virginia courts. Most are like yours - you suffered a devastating injury, you have a pile of medical bills, you can't work, and your life has been severely disrupted.  

I can tell you from my experience in trying cases throughout Virginia, juries are often very conservative in awarding you damages for your injuries.

So what's going on here? Well, insurance companies have a lot of money to market "Tort Reform," convince you that every plaintiff is faking and push lawmakers to protect them.  

Indeed, in Virginia, there's contributory negligence that provides that if you're just 1% percent at fault for your own accident, you are barred from any recovery at all! 

I don't want to destroy the defendant's life. 

In most cases, I recommend suing someone in a car accident case when you or the other driver has enough car insurance to pursue your claim. It's rare that I'd ever recommended pursuing someone personally to get money from their pocket. This is typically about car insurance money. It's that simple.