What Happens if the Defendant is a 'No Show' at my Virginia Personal Injury Trial?

The absence of a defendant in the trial for your Virginia personal injury claim can be an advantage or a disadvantage depending on the circumstances of your case. On one hand, the defendant has no ability to give their side of the story. But on the other hand, your attorney cannot speculate on the defense's evidence and testimony, leaving that side of the argument largely unresolved.

In most cases, an absentee defendant is a help to your side of your Virginia personal injury claim, as the jury will only be able to hear your first-hand account of the story. While this by no means permits you to lie in court, this also means that you are the authority on the circumstances of the accident. Only testimony from eyewitnesses will have as much strength as your account.

As you give your testimony at the trial, remember that you need to be as objective and non-biased as possible when explaining the situation that led to the accident. A personal injury attorney will have only their documented evidence to go by if their client is unavailable to testify in court. In many cases, this means all an attorney will have is the details of the police report and maybe witness testimony.

Contacting a Fairfax Personal Injury Attorney

After you've been seriously injured in a car accident, slip and fall or other Virginia accident where someone else's negligence was to blame, you should focus on recovery. Let a Fairfax personal injury attorney like Ben Glass relieve the stress of dealing with the insurance companies. Ben Glass Law fights to help victims in the Virginia and D.C. areas settle their personal injury claims. 

You can download a FREE copy of our consumer guide, The Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim, to learn more about personal injury claims.

If you have a question for Ben, you can submit it confidentially online at JustAskBenGlass.com.