Auto Accident

Don’t Count on Your Car Insurance Provider to Be Helpful After a Crash!

by admin@gotechark.com | November 28th, 2022

After car accidents, many victims expect a battle with the other drivers’ insurers. They know those companies will want to protect their profits as much as possible, and that means their claims may be reduced or even outright denied.

But what many car accident victims don’t count on is their own car insurance providers playing hardball, too. Unfortunately, when it comes to giving out payments to injured victims, insurance companies operate the same way whether the victims are their policyholders or they were injured by their policyholders.

Thankfully, there are a few steps you can take to increase your chances of getting full compensation from your insurer after a crash:

  • Report the crash right away: Your insurer likely requires near immediate notification of any accidents, regardless of whether you were at fault or not. Call the claim reporting line within a day or two of the crash and tell your insurer what happened. Be honest about when and where the accident occurred and the severity of your injuries.
  • Get medical treatment right away: Insurance companies are skeptical of just about every claim they receive. And when victims don’t go to the doctor in the hours or days immediately after an accident, they become even more skeptical. The sooner you go to the doctor or hospital, the more seriously the insurance company will view your claim.
  • Call a lawyer right away: Getting a lawyer after a crash isn’t just for dealing with the other driver’s insurance company. It’s also for dealing with your insurance company! The sooner you call, the sooner your lawyer can start building your claim.

Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers is here to take your call 24/7. Contact our Virginia car accident lawyers anytime for a free consultation.

After a Crash, We Can Help You Prove the Other Driver’s Negligence and Rule Out Your Liability

by admin@gotechark.com | October 17th, 2022

In most states, the biggest hurdle to clear in a car accident claim is proving the other driver was negligent and the majority at fault for the crash. But in Virginia, there’s another hurdle: proving the injured driver played absolutely no role in his or her crash—especially if they were initially assigned even a small share of blame.

Because Virginia uses a contributory negligence system of fault, drivers who are assigned even 1% of fault for speeding, failing to signal, or having a brake light out can’t receive any compensation after a crash. However, fault assigned at the accident scene by police isn’t always accurate or even relevant.

For example, a driver with a brake light out who was hit head-on shouldn’t be assigned any fault for the crash if that was the only violation the responding police officer found them to have committed, because it had no role in the crash. Unfortunately, this type of situation still happens.

No matter how injured drivers are, they can’t get money for their medical bills and lost wages if the accident report notes they did anything, no matter how minor, to even potentially contribute to the crash.

At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, we deal with this scenario every day. Not only do we work hard to prove at-fault drivers’ negligence caused their crashes, but we also find evidence to help reduce our clients’ level of fault to zero. If you were recently injured in a crash that wasn’t your fault, we want to help. Contact our Virginia car accident lawyers today for a free consultation.

Hurt in a Multi-Vehicle Pile-Up? We Can Help.

by admin@gotechark.com | August 22nd, 2022

When car accidents involve more than two vehicles, the consequences from both an injury standpoint and a compensation standpoint can be much more serious and complex. Multi-vehicle pile-ups often involve vehicles being struck multiple times and from different angles. Each collision puts drivers and passengers at a high risk of suffering a serious injury.

When it comes to getting compensation for those injuries, victims may be unsure of which drivers are at fault and which drivers crashed into them through no fault of their own. Or, they may be wondering if multiple drivers are at fault and they can get compensation from more than one. The chaotic nature of multi-vehicle crashes can make it difficult for victims to file compensation claims, especially when police are also unable to clearly establish fault.

At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, our Virginia car accident attorneys know how to help people who were hurt in multi-vehicle crashes. We know how to analyze evidence to determine which driver was initially at fault in causing the crash, and we can also determine which additional drivers were victims themselves or were also negligent and contributed to the crash.

Multi-vehicle accidents are almost always traumatic, painful, and expensive for victims. You don’t have to suffer alone or get less money than you’re owed—especially when more than one driver may be liable for your damages. Contact us today for a free consultation to find out how we can help.

Common Reasons Injured Drivers Are Denied Compensation in Virginia

by admin@gotechark.com | July 4th, 2022

Virginia’s contributory negligence rule is one of the strictest in the U.S. when it comes to awarding injured victims compensation for their damages. Unlike other states where compensation is reduced by percentage of fault, Virginia law says that people with any degree of fault for their accident, even if it’s 1%, are ineligible for compensation.

That means that many injured drivers end up not being able to get settlements for crashes that weren’t their fault. This is often due to many oversight or traffic violations, such as:

  • Headlight was burned out—When a crash occurs at night and the victim’s headlight was burned out, the insurance company may argue that the other driver couldn’t see them, even if they clearly caused the crash.
  • Taillight was burned out—When a driver is rear-ended by another driver, they may be blamed for a small percentage of the crash if their taillight was burned out. That’s because police or the insurance company may rule that it made it more difficult for the other driver to see their vehicle.
  • Distracted at an intersection—If a driver is hit in an intersection by another driver who ran a red light, they may be partially blamed for the crash if they were distracted at the time of the accident.

No one ever plans on getting into an accident, but because Virginia’s laws on getting compensation are so strict, it’s important to protect yourself in the event that someone crashes into you. That means regularly checking and replacing burned out bulbs, avoiding distractions, never speeding, and coming to a complete stop at stop signs.

And if you need help after a crash, the Virginia car accident lawyers at Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers are always here to discuss your case via a free consultation.  

Can You Sue a Teen Driver if They Crash into You?

by admin@gotechark.com | April 25th, 2022

Statistically, teen drivers are among the most dangerous drivers on the road. Their inexperience, high likelihood of driving while distracted, and greater penchant for risk-taking behind the wheel make them more likely than other age groups to cause accidents. That means that if you’re ever involved in a crash that wasn’t your fault, there’s a good chance the at-fault driver will be a teenager.

Being able to get compensation from at-fault drivers is an important part of Virginia’s legal system, but how does it work when the at-fault driver is a teen? The answer depends on their age. If the teen driver is 18-19 years old, then filing a claim against them works the same way as it does against any other driver, as they’re a legal adult.

If the driver is under the age of 18, filing a claim against them may still work the same way as it does against an adult driver, as it will be handled by their auto insurance provider. This provider is likely the same provider that their parents use. In some cases, injured victims may be able to file claims against the parents of at-fault teens if the parents were aware of their children driving recklessly.

This is common if a child has already been cited for or caused a crash due to reckless and negligent driving. In cases like these, it can be argued that their parents were negligent for still allowing their children to drive or failing to properly supervise them.

If you or someone you love is injured in a crash caused by a teen or any other negligent driver, we want to help. Contact the Virginia car accident attorneys at Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation.

Don’t Count on Your Auto Insurer to Play Fair After a Crash

by admin@gotechark.com | March 21st, 2022

Many car accident victims expect that the other drivers’ insurers will play hardball when it comes to handing out settlements after crashes. But they’re often surprised when they go to their own insurers for compensation and find that their settlements are reduced or denied. Unfortunately, insurance companies don’t care if you’re a longstanding policyholder—all they see is a claim that can cut into their profits.

Insurance companies are known for denying all types of claims, and that includes claims like uninsured/underinsured driver coverage or collision coverage. Even when policyholders aren’t at fault and have the right type of coverage for their expenses, they may still find out the hard way that their insurer either won’t pay them a fair settlement or won’t pay them, period.

At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, we work hard to help injured car accident victims get compensation, no matter which insurance company they’re filing a claim against. We know that injured victims’ insurers are just as likely to deny their claims as the insurers of at-fault drivers. And while this often takes victims by surprise, it doesn’t shock us. In fact, we expect it and begin preparing accordingly when victims contact us.

Don’t be caught off guard by your own auto insurer’s uncooperativeness after a crash. Contact our Virginia auto accident lawyers today for a free consultation. We want to protect your rights to the money you’re owed.

What You Should Know About Punitive Damages after Crashes

by admin@gotechark.com | February 21st, 2022

In most auto accident claims, victims are eligible to get two types of compensation: economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover expenses such as medical bills and lost wages, while non-economic damages cover reduced quality of life, pain and suffering, and more.

However, in some rare cases, victims may be entitled to a third type of compensation called punitive damages. But instead of this money being awarded to victims to truly “compensate” them for their losses, it is instead levied against the at-fault parties to punish them for their extreme misbehavior. These damages are rarely awarded, and they are capped at $350,000 under Virginia law.

When it comes to auto accident cases, punitive damages may be assessed for things like driving under the influence, especially for extremely high BAC levels or repeat offenders, road rage-related crashes, reckless driving, and more. Punitive damages aren’t awarded when cases settle out of court. Instead, they are levied against at-fault drivers in court by the juries assigned to their cases.

At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, we know when auto accident claims may be eligible for punitive damages, and we don’t pass up that opportunity to help our clients get maximum compensation. When we build claims, we build them with an eventual trial in mind, even though most injury claims settle out of court long before they’re tried in front of a judge and jury.

We believe in being prepared for all possibilities, and that’s just one way we work hard to get our clients the financial recoveries they’re owed. Contact our Virginia auto accident lawyers today for a free consultation.

Can You Get Money for Pain and Suffering After an Auto Accident?

by admin@gotechark.com | December 13th, 2021

When many auto accident victims tally up their damages after a crash, they tend to think of their economic losses. These include their medical bills, which may continue to add up for years to come, and their lost wages, which also may be a factor for the foreseeable future.

But there’s another non-economic damage that auto accident victims can and should factor into their compensation claims: their pain and suffering. Whether they suffer chronic and debilitating pain, become physically disabled, or even develop depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder, victims of auto accidents can see their quality of life decrease significantly after crashes.

However, insurance companies are already reluctant to pay economic damages when victims have itemized bills and proof of lost paychecks. Getting them to pay for non-economic damages can be even more difficult, as they may balk at the idea of compensating someone for reduced quality of life.

At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, our Virginia auto accident lawyers believe that people should be compensated not just for the losses that they can calculate on paper, but also the losses that can’t as easily be quantified. When we build auto accident claims for victims, it’s our job to determine how much money they’re owed for both their economic and non-economic damages.

Contact us today for a free consultation. We leave no stone unturned when we investigate crashes for our clients, and we won’t let any amount of compensation slip through the cracks for your family, either.

What Happens if the Other Driver Blames You for a Crash?

by admin@gotechark.com | November 8th, 2021

After some auto accidents, it’s clear who was at fault. For example, there’s not much a driver who ran a red light or stop sign can say in their defense or to pin blame on the other driver. But some crashes can be a little more ambiguous and can lead to both drivers blaming each other.

It’s not uncommon for blame to go both ways, and in some cases, it’s valid for both drivers to believe that the other person caused the crash. That’s because after many accidents, both drivers share some degree of fault. Unfortunately, Virginia is a contributory negligence state, and that means that if you’re found to be even one-percent at fault for a crash, you can’t recover any compensation!

Because of that strict rule, it’s essential to immediately challenge and rebuke any allegations of fault from the other driver after a crash. If you don’t, the other driver and their insurer can claim that any small degree of negligence on your part—even one that’s completely fabricated—contributed to the crash, which will let them off the hook of paying you any compensation.

At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, our Virginia auto accident attorneys not only help prove that other drivers were at fault after crashes, but we also help protect clients’ innocence when they had nothing to do with accidents that are being unfairly pinned on them. Contact us today for a free consultation. We’re here to protect your rights to the compensation you deserve.

Why You Shouldn’t Immediately Accept the Insurance Company’s Offer After a Crash

by admin@gotechark.com | September 13th, 2021

There’s no question that auto accidents can be extremely expensive. Vehicle repair costs are just the tip of the iceberg for many victims, as they also may face big medical bills and weeks or months out of work. That means no paychecks and rapidly depleted savings.

Insurance companies know the financial stresses that auto accident victims face, and that’s why they sometimes offer settlements right away. To victims, these settlement offers can be godsends, especially when they need money for their day-to-day living expenses. But insurance companies don’t offer these settlements out of the goodness of their heart. Instead, they offer them to save money.

When insurance companies know that victims have slam-dunk cases for big checks, they try to get ahead of the situation by offering lowball settlements right away. And when victims accept those settlements, they can’t file future claims for more money. They’re stuck with whatever amount they received upfront, which is often far less than what they truly deserve.

If you or someone you love was hurt in an auto accident and was offered a settlement from the insurance company, it’s important that you don’t accept without speaking to a lawyer first. Fast settlement offers are almost always well below the amount they should be, and they’re designed to take advantage of victims who are in shock and stressing over their financial situations.

Contact the Virginia auto accident lawyers at Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers for a free consultation and for an honest and accurate assessment of your case and the insurance company’s offer.