With several major highways crossing through the area, including Interstate 95, Interstate 295, and Interstate 85, the Petersburg region sees an unfortunate number of serious auto accidents.
Innocent car accident victims deserve fair compensation for their injuries. Sadly, appropriate compensation is difficult to obtain from insurance companies. With all the stress and recovery from a serious injury, most people do not have the time or resources to pursue their own cases. Big insurance companies want to pay out as little as possible, so they work hard to reduce the value of a victim’s case. They may take advantage of a victim’s compromised state to persuade them to take some of the blame for the incident.
At Emroch & Kilduff, our Petersburg car accident attorneys have years of training and experience that equips us to fight for fair and appropriate compensation for your injuries. We can help you take on the challenge. If you were injured in an auto accident, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today to set up your free initial consultation.
Petersburg Car Accident Lawyers With a Record of Success
Many factors go into pursuing a successful court case. Your lawyer needs to have a thorough understanding of the evidence and comprehensive knowledge of the law. When the members of the insurance company's legal team know that they are facing an accomplished auto injury law firm, they are much more likely to seek a settlement before a trial begins. One of the benefits of working with Emroch & Kilduff is our proven track record of success.
Our clients know they can trust us, and insurance companies know the strength of our team.
- Truck Accident settles for $3.3 million
- Automobile accident settles for $4.8 million
- Accident Victim Receives $1.5 Million
- $1.75 Million Automobile Accident Settlement
Common Car Accident Injuries
According to data gathered and published by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, more than 817 car accidents occurred around Petersburg, with 590 injuries and five fatalities in a recent year. Many more serious highway accident injuries occurred in the surrounding communities.
The auto accident injuries that result can vary dramatically, from relatively minor to severe and even life-altering. In our four decades of serving Petersburg car accident victims, our firm has handled claims involving almost every possible type of injury.
Some of the most common types that we have seen include:
- Whiplash and other soft tissue damage: The cost of treating whiplash depends on the severity of the injury. Medical expenses can range anywhere from $2,000 to $30,000.
- Torn muscles and ligaments: Depending on the type of injury, surgery to repair a torn ligament can cost up to $20,000. There will also be fees for physical therapy.
- Debilitating back injuries: Even small back injuries are expensive to treat. Chronic back pain can lead to $40,000 to $80,000 of medical expenses in a year.
- Broken bones and fractures: Setting a single bone in an emergency room costs about $2,500. The cost expands if there are multiple fractures. In addition, you will require physical therapy for a full recovery.
- Concussions and TBIs: The lifetime costs of treating a traumatic brain injury range from $85,000 to $3 million. This does not include the lost income and quality of life involved in this type of injury.
- Severe psychological trauma: Psychological damage can take years of treatment. The average cost of treating PTSD for a year is more than $8,000.
- Serious spinal cord injuries: The cost of spinal cord injuries is difficult to estimate. There are so many factors involved such as paralysis, long-term occupational and physical therapy as well as general medical costs. The cost of treating this type of injury can easily reach millions of dollars.
- Internal bleeding or internal organ damage: The cost of emergency surgery is significantly higher than an elective procedure. You could be facing medical bills of over $100,000.
- Car accident fatalities: While there is no way to put a cost on the life of a loved one, in a wrongful death lawsuit the court will consider the potential income that the victim could have earned if his or her life had not been taken away.
Petersburg Car Accidents: The Last Clear Chance Doctrine
The Supreme Court of Virginia has adopted the last clear chance legal doctrine for auto accident claims. In some cases, this allows victims who were themselves partially at fault to recover financial compensation. To do so, they must prove that the defendant had the last opportunity to avoid the accident but failed to do so.
Petersburg Car Accident Victims Deserve Fair Financial Compensation
In Petersburg, auto accidents victims may recover financial compensation equivalent in value to the amount of their damages. The amount of appropriate damages varies from case to case depending on the extent of the injuries and the amount of time it will take to recover from them. To maximize your settlement offer, you must be able to properly document your damages.
Our Petersburg car accident lawyers have successfully helped our clients recover compensation for:
- Damages to their vehicles
- Medical bills and related expenses
- Long-term disability
- Lost income
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of lifestyle enjoyment
- Wrongful death
Four Tips for Dealing with Insurance Adjusters
If you were seriously injured in a Petersburg car accident, you will almost certainly need to seek compensation from an insurance company. This might be another driver’s insurance company, or it might even be your own insurer. Regardless, it is critically important that you understand the nature of your relationship with the insurer.
At the outset, you should be aware that the insurance company is not on your side. It is the opposing party in your case, and you cannot rely on it to help guide you through the confusing Petersburg car accident claims process. Instead, you should seek guidance from an experienced Petersburg auto accident lawyer such as the ones at Emroch & Kilduff.
Our team has put together a list of our top four tips to help you deal with insurance adjusters, as follows:
- Take some time to gather your thoughts: In many cases, insurance adjusters will try to get a statement from a victim immediately after a car accident. This often happens well before the victim has had a chance to recover or regain perspective. When you are under stress, it is difficult to make wise decisions. Do not feel pressured into dealing with the insurance company before you are ready to do so. You are entitled to take some time to recover and gather yourself.
- Never admit fault: When speaking to an insurance adjuster, never admit or accept any fault for a car accident. Even admitting partial fault could make your claim more difficult to pursue. It is not your place to assess whether you were in any way to blame for the wreck. Let your Petersburg auto accident lawyer examine all the evidence and deal with that issue.
- Never speculate about your crash: Additionally, you should never give any opinions about your accident. Please do not speculate about the crash or your injuries. Do not talk about how you might have avoided the accident, which will sound as if you are taking some of the blame. If you say anything at all, you should always stick to straightforward, narrow statements of fact. Remember that the insurance company will use your statements against you.
- Always work with and through your car accident lawyer: Finally, the very best thing you can do to protect yourself is to work with an experienced car accident lawyer. The lawyers at Emroch & Kilduff have spent years studying to be your best advocate in an auto accident trial. We know all of the insurance company’s tactics and defense strategies and will work hard to protect your financial interests.
Petersburg Car Accident FAQ
Car accidents injure about 180 people in Virginia each day, killing more than 800 each year. If you were injured or have lost a loved one in a car accident that was the fault of another motorist, we have answers to some frequently asked questions we receive from clients who are seeking to file a claim.
What are the options for someone who has been injured in a Petersburg car accident?
If you were injured in a car accident in Petersburg, you may be entitled to pursue compensation for the related expenses and losses, including the impact your injuries have had on your life.
You can do this in one of three ways:
- File a claim with your own insurance company. Your policy should provide for personal injury protection as well as uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
- File a third-party claim with the responsible motorist’s motor vehicle insurance company.
- File a car accident lawsuit against the at-fault party.
What are damages and which damages can I recover through a Petersburg car accident lawsuit?
Damages are the expenses you have incurred as a result of the car accident. These include general financial costs as well as the costs of recovering physically and mentally from this traumatic experience.
Some of the damages you may be entitled to recover in a car accident lawsuit include:
- Economic damages: Medical expenses, lost wages, and the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle may be included in a claim for damages. In addition, if your injuries result in a permanent disability that prevents you from performing the same work-related activities as you performed before the accident, you may receive compensation for the loss of future earning capacity.
- Non-economic damages: These damages include the impacts the injury has on your life and may include physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and trauma.
- Punitive damages: These damages are distinct from the damages that an injured plaintiff will seek for the economic losses and non-economic impacts that have been sustained. The primary purpose of punitive damages is to punish defendants for particularly egregious behavior. When awarding punitive damages, judges and juries hope to deter similar behavior by others in the future.
If I file a Petersburg car accident lawsuit, am I going to court?
Filing a lawsuit after a car accident does not necessarily mean that you will litigate your claim in front of a judge and jury. In fact, very few car accident cases go to trial, and most are settled after the discovery phase. During the discovery phase, parties on both sides of the legal dispute share the evidence that they have available to prove their case. An experienced car accident attorney may investigate a claim to identify potentially responsible parties. In addition, the attorney and third parties that it retains will gather evidence to support the client’s claim of liability.
The driver who caused my accident was uninsured. What should I do?
When the party who caused an accident is uninsured, it may complicate an injured victim’s claim. Funds provided by insurance policies are typically the primary resource for compensating injured victims. If the responsible party is uninsured, your own insurance policy may extend coverage for your claim. Talk to one of our knowledgeable attorneys to gain a better understanding of the legal options available in your specific situation.
The at-fault party’s insurance company wants to speak with me. Should I?
No. Ask our experienced Petersburg car accident attorneys to do it for you. Insurance companies aim to limit their financial exposure. As such, they strive to avoid large payouts for injuries sustained in car accidents. To do so, insurance company adjusters may try to discredit the value of a claim or entice injured victims into accepting a low-ball settlement offer. Almost every initial offer provided by an insurance company fails to take into consideration the full amount of expenses that the victim has incurred or will incur in the future.
Your Petersburg vehicular accident attorneys can help injured victims avoid making statements that might be used to indicate liability. As such, injured victims can maximize the value of their claim.
Should I ever accept a settlement from an insurance company?
When you work with our legal team, the insurance company may offer you a larger settlement rather than face an extended legal process. One of the benefits of working with an auto injury attorney at Emroch & Kilduff is having an experienced professional who has a better sense of the amount of compensation that is appropriate for your injuries.
In general, insurance companies want to avoid the courtroom unless they feel that they have a strong case. If they go to trial and lose, there is the potential that the court’s judgment will require them to pay an even larger amount as well as court costs.
The insurance company also needs to consider its reputation. If policyholders start thinking that their company does not have their best interests in mind, they may look for another insurance provider. A public trial can give consumers a negative opinion of the company.
How long do I have after an accident to file a Petersburg car accident lawsuit?
The statute of limitations for filing a car accident lawsuit is generally two years after the date of the incident.
If you were injured in a car accident in Petersburg, our experienced car accident attorneys are ready to discuss the legal options that are available to you. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and case evaluation.
How can a Petersburg car accident lawyer help me?
The team at Emroch & Kilduff understands that car accident victims are in a vulnerable position. You do not know how long your recovery will take. You are uncertain about how to approach an insurance company. We find that one of the most helpful things we can do at the beginning of the process is to listen to your story. Of course, we want to know the details of the accident as you understand them. We will go through the police reports to get to know the specifics of the incident. However, we also want to know how the accident has affected you personally.
A traumatic accident does not just affect you, but it can also have ripple effects that touch your loved ones. The more we learn about your story, the better equipped we will be to pursue your case. Shortly after your accident, you will be most concerned about your immediate needs. You will want to pay off medical bills and make sure you are meeting your family’s needs. Because of our years of experience handling auto injury cases, we may have a better sense of the long-term costs of your injuries that take into account your unique situation.
Once we know your story, we will become your legal partners in all your dealings with the insurance company. Our team can walk you through a legal process that is both confusing and frustrating. For example, to achieve a proper amount for damages, you must be able to document your current and potential losses. Our staff will help you determine what sort of paperwork to assemble in addition to medical bills. We will work hard to achieve the best possible outcome whether that is an out-of-court settlement or an extended court case.
Were You Injured in a Petersburg Auto Accident?
At Emroch & Kilduff, we understand that car accident victims are going through an extremely challenging period in their lives. Our auto injury attorneys are ready to listen to your story and help you move forward. We have assisted many injured victims in recovering full and fair compensation for their losses. To request a free legal consultation with our Petersburg office, please do not hesitate to call us today at (804) 862-3600.
Some Client Testimonials
“There’s only one choice really. Emroch and Kilduff, my experience with the team here was indescribable. The people there truly care. Mr. Robins and Rita treated me so kindly assisting me along the way with literally everything! I don’t know what I would have done without them!”
“While recovering at the hospital your advertisement came on. I wrote down the number and called. I wanted to know who was at fault for my injury and why not Emroch & Kilduff? Your name had a familiar ring on my ear from the commercial. Yes, I would recommend you to my family and friends and co-workers. Your staff did an outstanding job. Thank you so much.”
“This law firm accepted my case, which had been turned down by another firm, and I am very grateful for their help in achieving a fair settlement of my case.”