RICHMOND CAR ACCIDENT LAWYERS

Do you know how frequent auto accidents are in Virginia? According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, we have an accident every 4 minutes throughout the Commonwealth! Many of these collisions are the results of people who are not paying full-time and attention to the road, or are acting carelessly or even recklessly. At Blaszkow Legal, we are dedicated to holding negligent drivers accountable for their actions.

If you have been hurt in a car accidental is not your fault, you need an experienced, aggressive Richmond car accident lawyer to help you right away. Don't let the insurance companies take advantage of you, when they tell you that they are trying to protect your interests. They are not! Their goal is to pay you as little money as possible. As skilled lawyers, it is our job to help you get the fair value and full compensation that you deserve as a result of your injuries.

Call Blaszkow Legal today for a free consultation, or email us through our website. Get Justice with Joe Blaszkow!

Richmond Office:
7824 Shrader Road, Richmond, Va. 23294
804-273-8929

Common Causes of Richmond Car Accidents

Because of how common auto accidents are, their causes are varied as well. Every year, tens of thousands of accidents occur, which results in thousands of injuries, and several hundred deaths.  Unfortunately, most of these collisions are preventable, if only other drivers would take more seriously the duty that they owe to other motorists on the roadway. Some common examples of negligent driving accidents include:

• Driving Under the Influence or Drunk Driving. The laws against this are very strict, and all local law enforcement agencies target drunk drivers very heavily. But some people still do it anyway, putting every other driver at risk. Drunk driving occurs anytime someone is operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol limit, or BAC, above 0.08.

• Driving while using drugs. These collisions are on the rise, because so many people are utilizing decriminalized drugs, such as marijuana, or other harder narcotics or even prescription drugs. Buzzed driving is still impaired, and is extremely dangerous!

• Speeding. People who speed reduce their reaction time and the time it takes for their vehicle to come to a stop in the event of an incident ahead, or around a bend. Also, people also drive too fast for weather conditions, such as rain and snow and ice.

• Aggressive driving. Drivers who violate many laws, and who zoom around traffic in an attempt to get to their destination, are endangering many people on the highways. Reckless driving is not only negligent, it is also a crime.

• Distracted Driving. Drivers are often paying attention not only to the road, but also to infotainment systems as well as cell phones and other devices. This is a cause of accidents that is on the rise in Virginia

• Rear End Collisions/Tailgating. This is the most common form of car accident we encounter: you may be stopped at a light, and someone fails to see it and strikes the rear of your car. Often times, the innocent person hit may be pushed into the car ahead, or if the impact is at an angle, into on-coming traffic!

If you have been involved in a car accident, you need to protect your rights immediately. Even your own insurance company will sometimes take advantage of you, because they recognize that they may still have some responsibility of compensating you, depending on the facts of the accident.

Uninsured Motor Vehicle Collisions

When a driver causes an accident and that driver does not have car insurance, you still have the right to file a claim for your injuries. This is done through your own car insurance's uninsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory on all car insurance policies throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, for just such an occasion. It protects you when the other driver 1) does not have insurance, 2) does not have enough insurance (called "underinsured motorist"), and 3) is immune from suit, such as fire truck or ambulance responding to a call.

However, just because the coverage comes from your own car insurance company, does not mean that the adjusters you speak to are on your side. They are not. The UM/UIM adjusters are looking to minimize or deny your claim, using any excuse they can. Always remember that anything that you say can and will be used against you. Even your own car insurance is protecting its stockholders, not you!

Our team of Attorneys at Blaszkow Legal is extremely adept at finding and developing uninsured motorist coverage and getting our clients the proper compensation they deserve for their injuries.

Steps to Take After a Richmond Car Accident

If you have been involved in a car accident in the Richmond Metropolitan area, take these steps to protect yourself, and to protect your rights:

1. Stay safe. Your safety is paramount after an accident. Sometimes it is safer for to stay in your vehicle rather than stand next to it. If you can move your vehicle off to the side of the road, then you should do that, so other vehicles don't strike you.

2. Call 911. Always call the police after a car accident, even if you are in an area where you don't think the police will come. You should always call, because at the very least, you are creating a record of when the accident happened, and where. This can sometimes be important later on.

3. Document the scene. Take as many pictures and videos as you can, of everything relating to the accident. Take pictures of your vehicle, the other person's vehicle, the driver, the other passengers, witnesses, debris, tire marks, stop signs, Street lights - in short, anything and everything. In a world of digital pictures, you cannot have too many!

4. Exchange information. Do not just get a picture of the other person's insurance card. The insurance card tells us who is paying for the policy, not who the driver is. Your case is against the driver whose negligence caused your accident. Always get a copy of the at-fault motorist's driver's license, or state ID card.

5. Identify witnesses. If there are passengers in other vehicles, always get their name, phone number, email address, and address, if possible. Never rely on an insurance company to give you that information later on. This is doubly true if you are an Uber or Lyft Driver. They will never give you this information without a subpoena! Always get your passengers contact information

6. Get checked out. If you feel that you have been injured, always get checked out by a competent medical doctor. Go to the hospital, or an urgent care center.

7. Call an experienced Richmond car accident lawyer. The sooner you call Blaszkow Legal, the sooner we can begin investigating your case, and proving the negligence of the person who injured you.

Car Insurance and Virginia Car Accidents

Minimum car insurance coverage in Virginia is $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident. This means that the most coverage that is available after someone strikes you is going to be $30,000. This is not as much money as it seems, when you think about it. If you go to the hospital, and just get checked out by the doctor, that bill can be three or $4,000. However, depending on your injuries, the doctor may do some Imaging such as CT scans. A couple of CT scans in the emergency room can make that hospital bill over $20,000. That is to say nothing of your follow-up care, other imaging, prescriptions, physical therapy, and more.

The law in Virginia changed in 2023, and now there is no longer an offset on your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (offset = credit for the at-fault driver's insurance policy). However, some insurance companies are offering incentives for people to waive their rights. Never do this! Always ask an experienced Richmond car accident lawyer for guidance.

How Richmond Car Accident Cases Work

After you have been involved in a car accident that was not your fault, and you have retained Blaszkow Legal, we will set our team to work immediately on investigating your case, and proving your damages. The investigation is important, and it is vital that we get started as soon as possible after the accident itself.

In investigating your case, we always search for camera and surveillance footage, to see if we can determine exactly how the accident happened. Camera footage is the best evidence to defeat car insurance companies when they argue against your version of the facts, or try to say that you were negligent. However, camera footage does not last forever. Fabulous systems will keep the footage for 30 days, whereas some systems will only record it for 72 hours. It is vital to get us on the case immediately after the crash, so that we can identify, preserve, and obtain this footage.

Once your medical treatment is completed, we will compile a settlement demand package that goes to the at fault insurance companies. This package includes all of your medical records and itemized bills, and fully outlines how the accident has impacted you, and sets the stage for the negotiations of the case.

Usually within 30 to 60 days of sending this package, the insurance companies get in touch with us and the negotiations begin. You as the client are involved in this process because it is always your case. We're never going to call you out of the blue and tell you that we've settled your case for X. The final decision is always yours - it is our job to give you the benefit of our expertise, and to guide you to the best results possible.

If the insurance companies deny your claim, or otherwise are not offering you fair value for your case, we will then discuss litigating your case. This means filing a lawsuit and moving towards trial. In Virginia, if your case is valued at $50,000 or less, it will be filed in the General District Court. That process is outlined here.

If the case is valued at more than $50,000, then it will be filed in the Circuit Court.

Call an Experienced Richmond Car Accident Lawyer Today!

Attorney Joe Blaszkow and his team are ready, willing, and able to fight for you, and to get you the compensation that you deserve after your accident. Don't let the insurance adjusters and the defense lawyers push you around, or try to undermine your case. You have rights - but sometimes you have to fight for them. Contact a personal injury attorney who is ready to fight to get you what you deserve.

Get Justice with Joe Blaszkow and call us today!