If someone else's carelessness left you hurt, a Richmond personal injury lawyer can take the pressure of the claim off your shoulders while you concentrate on getting better. Emroch & Kilduff has been doing that work in this city since 1970. We represent injured people and their families, and we have never represented an insurance company, a corporation, or a hospital.
Most people who call us have never spoken to a lawyer before. They are not sure whether what happened to them constitutes a case, and they are worried about how much it will cost to find out. Neither of those should stop you from asking.
Call (804) 358-1568 for a free, confidential consultation, available 24/7. You will speak with someone who listens first and explains your options in plain language.
How Do You Know If You Have a Personal Injury Case?
Generally, you may have a claim when someone owed you a duty of reasonable care, failed to meet it, and that failure caused you real harm. Those three pieces have to connect. A bad accident with no one at fault is not a case, and a careless act that caused no injury is not one either.
In practice, the question usually comes down to a few things we can assess quickly:
- What happened, and who had control over the hazard or the vehicle involved
- Whether you were hurt badly enough to need medical care
- What documentation exists, including reports, photographs, and treatment records
- Whether insurance coverage is available to pay a claim
- How much time has passed since the incident
You do not need to answer all of that before you call. What you bring us is enough, and we will tell you honestly if we think a claim is not worth pursuing.
The Injury Cases We Handle Across Richmond
Our practice covers the range of serious injury claims that arise in a metro area of this size. Some involve vehicles, others involve property owners or workplaces, and a few involve deeply personal harm.
Motor vehicle collisions make up the largest part of what we do. That includes crashes involving passenger cars, collisions caused by commercial carriers, and cases where a person on foot or on two wheels had no protection at all. Riders and walkers tend to be hurt the most severely, and those claims need specific handling.
- Car and truck collisions, including claims against commercial carriers handled by our Richmond truck accident lawyers
- Crashes involving riders, covered in detail by our Richmond motorcycle accident lawyers
- Collisions involving people on foot, handled by our Richmond pedestrian accident lawyers
- Injuries on unsafe property, including falls and inadequate security, handled by our Richmond premises liability attorneys
- Wrongful death claims brought by surviving family members
- Construction site injuries
- Medical negligence claims
- Sexual assault claims, handled confidentially and at the survivor's pace
If your situation does not appear on that list, call anyway. Injury law is broader than any list can capture, and a short conversation costs you nothing.
What Happens After You Call Us?
The first call is a conversation, not a commitment. You tell us what happened and what you are dealing with now, and we tell you what we think. Nothing is signed that day unless you want it to be.
If we take your case, the work typically moves through these stages:
- We gather the reports, records, and photographs that document what happened
- We notify the insurers involved and handle their calls from that point forward
- We track your medical treatment until your condition stabilizes enough to value the claim
- We present a demand supported by the evidence and the full picture of your losses
- We negotiate, and if the offer does not reflect what you lost, we file suit
Plenty of claims resolve without a trial, but the willingness to try a case is part of what makes a settlement fair. Insurers know which firms are prepared to go the distance.
More Than 50 Years of Representing Injured Virginians
Longevity in this business is not automatic. A firm stays in one city for five decades because the work holds up.
- 50-plus years in Richmond, founded in 1970 and operating under our current name since 1998
- Hundreds of millions recovered for injured Virginians
- Only injured people, never insurers, corporations, or hospitals
- Five attorneys and 20-plus staff, with a real person answering when you call
- Recognized in Best Law Firms 2026 as a Tier 1 firm for Personal Injury Litigation on the plaintiffs' side
- Free, confidential consultations, available 24/7
Our attorneys bring decades of courtroom work to that record. William B. Kilduff has been a partner here since 1979 and has been named a Virginia Super Lawyer every year since 2006, with multiple appearances on the Top 50 Richmond list.
Philip S. Marstiller Jr. has been recognized in Virginia Super Lawyers from 2013 through 2025 for personal injury work, and Edward J. McNelis III has tried more than 100 cases to verdict.
Call (804) 358-1568 and put that experience to work on your claim.
What Is Your Richmond Injury Claim Worth?
Honestly, no one can tell you at the first phone call, and you should be wary of anyone who does. The value of a claim depends on the severity of the injury, the cost of care both now and later, how your earning ability was affected, and how much your daily life has changed. Those answers take time to develop.
What we can explain is what the law allows you to seek:
- Medical expenses already incurred and reasonably expected in the future
- Lost income and diminished earning capacity
- Physical pain and mental anguish
- Permanent scarring, disfigurement, or impairment
- Property damage
- In a fatal case, the sorrow, mental anguish, and loss of solace suffered by surviving family members
Virginia's wrongful death statute sets out who may bring that last category of claim and what those beneficiaries can recover. We take the time to document every component rather than accepting an insurer's first number.
How Long Do You Have To File a Personal Injury Claim in Virginia?
Two years from the date of injury in most cases, under Virginia Code section 8.01-243. Wrongful death claims generally run two years from the date of death. Some claims carry shorter notice requirements, particularly when a city, county, or state agency is involved.
Missing a deadline usually ends a claim, regardless of how strong it was. If you are unsure which deadline applies to your situation, that alone is a good reason to call. Details about filing and the court system are published by Virginia's Judicial System, though the specific deadline in your case is best confirmed with a personal injury lawyer rather than assumed.
Why Do Insurance Companies Undervalue Injury Claims?
Because paying less is how the business works, and an unrepresented person is the easiest place to do it. That is not an accusation of bad faith so much as a description of incentives. Adjusters are measured on what they settle claims for, and the person on the other end of the call is usually in pain, out of work, and unfamiliar with the process.
Personal Injury Attorney at Emroch & Kilduff
The tactics are consistent enough that we can usually predict them. An adjuster calls within days and sounds genuinely helpful. A quick offer arrives before anyone knows whether you will need surgery. A recorded statement is requested and framed as routine.
Watch for these patterns in particular:
- An early settlement offer made before your treatment is finished
- Requests for a blanket medical authorization covering your entire history, not just the injury
- Arguments that a gap in treatment means you recovered
- Claims that your injury came from a preexisting condition rather than the incident
- Pressure to resolve the matter quickly so you can "put it behind you"
Once we represent you, those calls come to us instead. You are free to focus on your recovery and your family while we handle the correspondence, the records requests, and the negotiation.
Serving Richmond and the Counties Around It
Our office is on Forest Avenue in Richmond's West End, and our clients come from across the metro area. We work throughout the city, from the Fan and Church Hill to Scott's Addition and Manchester, and out through Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover counties.
The crashes and injuries our Richmond personal injury attorneys see track the region's geography. I-95 and I-64 run through the middle of it, the Powhite and Chippenham parkways carry commuter traffic, and corridors like Broad Street, Midlothian Turnpike, and Hull Street see constant activity. Roadway conditions and construction across the region are tracked by the Virginia Department of Transportation, and those conditions sometimes matter to a claim.
We also maintain an office in Tappahannock for clients in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. Wherever you are in our service area, the consultation comes to you if travel is difficult. Injured people should not have to arrange a ride across town to find out whether they have a claim.
Knowing the area matters more than it might sound. We know which intersections generate repeat collisions, which courts handle which cases, and how juries in this region tend to view certain kinds of claims. That familiarity comes from working here for five decades rather than parachuting in from somewhere else.
Speak With Our Richmond Personal Injury Lawyers Today
An injury reshapes a household fast. The bills start before the treatment ends, the income stops, and the insurance calls keep coming while you are still trying to heal. You do not have to hold all of that on your own.
Emroch & Kilduff has stood with injured people in this city for more than 50 years, and we would be glad to hear what happened to you. There is no cost to ask, and no obligation to continue.
Call (804) 358-1568 for a free, confidential consultation, available 24/7. Our Richmond office is at 7301 Forest Avenue, Suite 300, open Monday through Friday during regular business hours.
FAQs Answered by a Richmond Personal Injury Lawyer
Here are the questions we are asked most often by people considering a claim for the first time.
Do I have to pay anything up front to hire you?
No. We handle injury cases on a contingency fee, so you owe no attorney's fee unless we recover money on your behalf. The consultation is free and there is no obligation to hire us afterward.
Will my case have to go to trial?
Most personal injury claims settle before trial, but not all of them do. We prepare every case as though it will be tried, because that preparation is what gives a settlement demand weight. If the offer on the table does not reflect what you lost, we are ready to take it to a jury.
What if the at-fault driver had no insurance?
You may still have a path to recovery through your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Many Virginia drivers carry that protection without realizing it. We review your policy along with the other driver's as a standard part of opening a file.
How long will my case take?
It depends on the injury and on how the insurer responds. A claim involving a clean liability picture and completed treatment may resolve in a matter of months, while a serious injury with disputed responsibility can take a year or more. We give you a realistic estimate once we understand your medical course.
Should I post about my accident on social media?
It is wise to hold off. Insurers review public profiles, and an ordinary photo or comment can be taken out of context to suggest you are doing better than you are. Keep the details of your claim off public platforms until it is resolved.
Can I bring a claim on behalf of a family member who cannot manage it?
Often, yes. Virginia has procedures allowing a parent, guardian, or personal representative to pursue a claim for a child, an incapacitated adult, or someone who has died. We can explain which arrangement fits your family's situation.
What should I bring to the first meeting?
Whatever you have on hand, including any accident or incident report, photographs, insurance information, medical records or bills, and the names of anyone who witnessed what happened. If you have none of it, come anyway. We can obtain most of those records ourselves.