Automobile & Motorcycle Accidents

Injuries suffered as a result of automobile, motorcycle or truck accidents can be catastrophic and life changing. Most of these accidents occur because of someone's negligence. We represent clients who have suffered personal injuries as a result of automobile, motorcycle and truck accidents. These accidents often involve drunk drivers, hit and runs, uninsured or underinsured drivers as well as accidents involving tractor-trailer collisions and rollovers.

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Car Accident Lawyer Washington DC, Maryland & Virginia

A car accident can ruin a person’s life. One minute, you are driving down the road, minding your own business; the next minute, you’re a victim of someone else’s mistake or inattention.

Whether in Maryland, Washington DC, or Virginia, the lawyers at Cohen & Cohen, P.C. help injured people who have been involved in car accidents. From the moment the collision occurs, the clock starts ticking, and it is important to take charge of the situation. Below are four basic tips on what to do when involved in a car accident.

1. Call the Police

Quite often after a car accident the parties involved in the collision refuse to call the police. The sense is often one of immediate reconciliation. Most clients explain that they never called the police because they did not think the situation would be “a big deal,” and the person that caused the accident admitted fault at the scene. This view is shortsighted. If you are involved in a car accident, you should immediately call the police. The police will help you obtain valuable information and will document how the accident occurred by getting the names of witnesses and insurance information. Sometimes the police will draw a scene diagram documenting the area where the accident occurs. The police will usually issue a ticket to the at-fault driver. All of this will help later with successfully resolving your case.

2. Exchange Information

Immediately exchange information with the other driver. This means getting the other driver’s (a) name, (b) address, (c) telephone number, (d) tag number, (e) insurance company, (f) make and model of vehicle, and (g) the name of the owner of the car if it is owned by someone other than the person driving. It is also important for you to get the names, addresses, and phone numbers of any witnesses. Make sure to get witnesses first and last names if possible.

3. Take Photographs

Take photographs of your vehicle, and, if possible, of the other vehicle involved in the accident. Perhaps the old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is never more appropriate than after a car accident. Pictures help show where the property damage is on each vehicle, and this can become excellent evidence in the case. Quite often property damage photographs make the difference between a successful versus an unsuccessful case. You should also take pictures of any injuries you sustain in an car accident, such as bruises or swelling. Scene photographs are also important. Take pictures of the area where the accident occurs, including photos of the intersection, road surface, stop signs or lights. A photo of skid marks, for example, may help show a car’s speed. Make sure to take plenty of photographs and keep your negatives in a safe place. In short, photographs help to preserve evidence, and it is critical that they be taken very early on in the case.

4. Obtain Medical Care

Unfortunately, car accidents often result in physical injury. If you are injured in an accident, it is crucial that you obtain medical care immediately. The adrenaline rush after an accident often masks pain. This can be very dangerous for an injured person because there may be a serious underlying problem that needs to be addressed quickly. Similarly, if a person has complaints of pain or soreness but does not seek prompt medical care, it will be hard to later prove the injury. It makes good medical and legal sense to seek prompt medical attention if you are injured in a car accident. 

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VIRGINIA PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS

Sometimes when you’re hurt you need help from a Virginia personal injury lawyer. Getting the help you need, however, may not be easy. But at Geoff McDonald & Associates, it’s our goal to make getting the legal assistance you need after a Virginia accident easy and convenient.
Our mission is to help the disabled and injured put their lives back together. So if you or a loved one is suffering after a Virginia auto accident or you feel you’re not getting fair treatment with a Virginia workers’ compensation claim, let us stand by your side and fight for your rights. We consider each case an honor and a privilege, and we take care to treat every client with utmost compassion and professionalism.
If you’re worried about cost or the hassle of pursuing a lawsuit, let us put your mind at ease. At Geoff McDonald & Associates, our Virginia personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means you owe no attorney’s fees unless we get compensation for you—and then, the fee is just a percentage of your compensation. Also, getting a Virginia personal injury lawyer on your side doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to go to court. Often times cases can be settled before a lawsuit is even filed. The necessary actions will depend on your case and what’s best for you.

 

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New Legal Resource for Virginia Dog Bite Victims

A March 8 article in U.S. News & World Report reinforces the fact that summer is the time of year when young children are at the greatest risk for dog bites, especially to the most severe bites to the head and neck. The article reports on findings from a study published in the March issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

Manassas attorney Jim Parrish has written a new book to help Virginia dog bite victims and other concerned citizens understand their legal rights. The Insider's Guide to Dog Bite Claims in Virginia is a resource to help dog bite victims, their families, and the general public understand the legal process and learn what the insurance companies do not want victims to know. The book is available free to Virginia residents by visiting ww.thevirginiadogbitebook.com.

Dog Bite Statistics

*According to The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), dogs bite or attack nearly 2% of the U.S. population, which translates into more than 4.7 million people every year.
*The CDC says that approximately 60% of dog bite victims are children.
*In 2007, there were 32 fatal dog attacks in the U.S., including 1 in Virginia. This number is approximately 200% greater than the average over the last two decades.

“As a parent, I know how it feels to want to keep your children safe,” Parrish says. “While we can't prevent accidents and injuries completely, as parents, we can arm ourselves with information about issues like dog bites. That's why I wrote this book – to educate the citizens of Virginia about this serious issue.”
In The Insider's Guide to Dog Bite Claims in Virginia, Parrish offers facts about dog bites and attacks, explains what insurance companies don't want victims to know, and gives tips for victims on selecting an attorney to represent them.

“Jim Parrish's The Insider's Guide to Dog Bite Claims in Virginia is a truly comprehensive resource,” says Chris Davis, Seattle attorney and dog bite expert. “This book is a ‘must read' for every parent in Virginia, whether their child has been a dog bite victim or not. The information will help inform residents about the legal process and offer resources for finding an attorney in the event that you need one.”

The Insider's Guide to Dog Bite Claims in Virginia is the second in a series of books Parrish is writing to educate Virginians about their rights. He is also the author of The Virginia Car Accident Guide which helps car accident victims understand their rights and identify an attorney to represent them in their cases.

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Virginia & D.C. Car Accidents: In Which Court Should You File?

How do the court systems work in Virginia and D.C.? That’s the question we asked Doug Stevens, an attorney who has practiced law for 30 years and whose firm focuses on personal injury and car accident matters in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, to explain. Here’s what he told us:

• District of Columbia. In the District of Columbia, I can sue you for $5,000 in Small Claims Court. The laws of evidence are relaxed, which means I’m definitely going to get your medical bills into evidence before the judge and I’m almost certainly going to get your medical reports in when dealing with a Pro Se action. The defense lawyers will usually keep the reports out, but there’s a chance the rules of evidence are relaxed in the small claims division. If you sue for more than $5,000, you’re in Superior Court, where the filing fees are more and the other side can beg for a jury. In D.C, the defense can demand a jury, regardless of the amount sued for – which is a big pain in the neck.
• Virginia. In Virginia, you can sue for $15,000 in District Court, but we have what’s called a trial de novo provision, which means no matter what happened in District Court, you get to start all over again in Circuit Court. In a lot of ways, this means that the District Court system in Virginia is really a mirage. For example, last year we got a $15,000 verdict for a little girl, the other side appealed it and that verdict just didn’t exist. It became extremely difficult thereafter to convince the parents that they should settle for $10,000, which in fact was more like the fair market value of the case. I had to explain to them that the $15,000 verdict from a judge was really a mirage under Virginia’s trial de novo rules.
  Virginia also has what’s called the plaintiff’s parachute – which is a non-suit statute. That means the plaintiff can simply announce to the court that he is taking a voluntary non-suit anytime before a verdict is returned. At that point, everything stops. The plaintiff’s lawyer can go home and the plaintiff has six months to reinstate a cause of action, even if the statute of limitations has already run. In a substantial case, I want to have that non-suit “in my pocket” during the trial in case our crucial witness doesn’t show up.
  
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Virginia & D.C. Car Accidents: The Importance Of Adhering To Statutes Of Limitation

When you’re in a car accident, the law provides you with an opportunity to bring a lawsuit against the person, or persons, who injured you. However, each state sets time limits in which you can do so. Known as statutes of limitation, these time limits are important to adhere to – or you may risk losing the chance for your day in court.
Attorney Doug Stevens
Doug Stevens, an attorney who has practiced law for 30 years and whose firm focuses on personal injury and car accident matters in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, knows which statutes of limitation apply like the back of his hand. He explained how these limitations are applied in the District of Columbia and Virginia:

• District of Columbia. In the District of Columbia, you have three years to file suit for negligence. Of course, if you represent a minor, the three years doesn’t start to run until his 18th birthday. That changes when the accident involved a wrongful death – and only a fool would wait more than a year to file a wrongful death case in the District of Columbia, but again, when someone dies in the District of Columbia, there are two causes of action. There’s a wrongful death action and a survival action. It has been held that a survival action can be filed after a year goes by, but it would be unwise to do so, absent special circumstances.
• Virginia Virginia is the trickiest of the three jurisdictions that I practice in because in Virginia, you have two years to file suit for injury, which is a full year less than Maryland or the District of Columbia. However, you have five years to sue for property damage. If you split a cause of action and take that action to verdict, you are barred from subsequently bringing the cause of action on the other part of the claim.
  What do I mean by that? What I mean is that if you sue me for bodily injury and get a verdict for that and then subsequently sue me for property damage, I would be successful in saying to your lawyer that he or she should not have split your causes of action. Since the property damage arose out of the same occurrence, he or she should have brought the property damage action in the personal injury suit – even though there was a separate five-year statute of limitations on property damage. So, this comes into play when someone is only suing for property damage.

Don’t miss the deadline
Stevens can’t stress the importance of not missing the deadline enough. He says that he even gets calls from his colleagues sometimes because, unlike him, they’ve missed the date. He explained:

I had a colleague that mailed the suit in, but mailed it to the wrong address and it wasn’t filed. I was one of his first calls because he was lamenting. I explained to him that although he had given up his client’s injury claim in the case, the property damage piece was actually worth more than the injury claim. He was overjoyed to realize that he still had a property cause of action.”
In addition, there’s another issue that comes up when you’re disengaging from representing a minor. Let’s suppose I’m representing you for your three-year-old injury claim. Do I tell you that you are free to wait 15 years to file a claim? Only a fool would wait 15 years to file a claim and risk an adverse witness disappearing, but that’s the law. That’s the rule and it gets very complicated.

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Virginia Car Accidents: What Is Contributory Negligence?

Liability for car accidents in Virginia is based on contributory negligence – a term which is often misunderstood. In a recent interview, Doug Stevens, an attorney who has practiced law for 30 years and whose firm focuses on personal injury and car accident matters in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, explained this type of liability.
VA Liability
Virginia is a negligence and contributory negligence state, according to Stevens, a legal theory that generally prevents a party from recovering for damages if he or she contributed in any way to the injury. In Virginia, the contributory negligence of the claimant must be a proximate cause of the accident – which means that it was the substantial cause of the accident. Stevens provided some insight:

In the old days, when comparative negligence came along, a lot of people thought it was going to be a much better system because people had been faced with the heartbreak of being only a small percentage negligent for an accident and having the other person being severely negligent. In that case, the victim ended up with nothing.
The idea came along that if a case was worth $100,000 for a broken arm and the plaintiff was 20 percent liable, then the jury could reduce the amount of the reward from $100,000 to $80,000. It sounds like a wonderful system, but unfortunately in practice, it’s turned into a system whereby people yearn for the old days of contributory negligence instruction.

Stevens says that the main reason for that is that the proper instruction and ruling of a judge is that the plaintiff’s contributory negligence has to be a substantial or proximate cause of the accident. So that gives the jury the chance to actually do justice and then you don’t have to be faced with the diminution of your verdict. Virginia is part of only a handful of states that continue to use contributory negligence, so if you’ve been involved in a car accident in Virginia, make sure to retain an experienced Virginia car accident attorney in order to maximize your recovery.

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