FAIRFAX CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER
Car accidents are incredibly common in Northern Virginia, and Fairfax is no exception. If you have been hurt as the result of someone else's negligence in Fairfax County, you have the right to file against the negligent party. That process can be timely, complicated, and complex. From slips and falls to Fairfax car accidents, the best thing you can do to ensure that your rights are protected, and you get the maximum compensation for your injuries, is to hire an experienced Fairfax personal injury attorney.
Fairfax Personal Injury Claims
Fairfax County is a beautiful place to live, but is part of the greater Virginia Court System. There are specific legal proceedings that would not be known to a Marylander or DC-an driving through on the Capital Beltway. For example - the statute of limitations on personal injury claims in Virginia is only 2 years. In DC and Maryland, the statute of limitations is 3 years.
Fairfax County is also home to a few unique courts:
Fairfax (City) General District Court
Falls Church (City) General District Court
Fairfax County General District Court
All of these General District Courts (or GDCs) appeal to one single Circuit Court:
Fairfax County Circuit Court
An experienced Fairfax personal injury attorney knows the ins and outs of these various courts, and how to chart a clear path towards getting the best result possible - for you, the client.
Personal Injury Cases in Fairfax, Virginia
Our team of experienced attorneys and staff are ready, willing, and able to investigate and prosecute all kinds of personal injury claims, all day and every day.
Bus Accidents
Metro Accidents
Train Accidents
and more
The insurance companies have an army of lawyers on their side, trying to minimize your case and the amount you can recover. You want someone on your side to fight that army - Get Justice with Joe!
Insurance Companies and Fairfax Car Accident Claims
Insurance companies work for their stockholders, not their insureds. Consider - do you think they would stay in business if their paid out all of the money that everyone asked? No. The very job of an insurance adjuster is to pay you as little as possible. A Fairfax car crash lawyer, however, is dedicated and, indeed, obligated, to fight for you, to get you all of the compensation that you deserve.
Sadly, the insurance companies are not the only ones who are trying to maximize their own recovery at the expense of you, the injured person. Hospitals and medical providers are others.
When you go to the hospital, a nice cheery person from patient registration will meet you in the emergency room and ask questions about the car accident. Despite your having Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, or some other health insurance plan, they want to ask lots of questions about the car accident! They aren't putting this information in your chart - they want to bill the insurance companies involved in the car accident, instead of the health insurer!
Health insurance companies negotiate contracts with providers such as hospitals, generally for lower payments. The hospitals want to go around the insurance, because they know they will get more the car insurance!
An experienced car accident lawyer won't let them! At Blaszkow Legal, we remind them that this is illegal in Virginia(1)! We have a law that places a duty on healthcare providers to submit all bills to the in-network health insurance carrier. If they fail to submit their bill to the health insurance, they cannot recover (meaning no payments, and no collections). This is one way, among many, that we turn over every stone to put as much into our clients' pockets as possible.
Negligence and Car Accidents in Fairfax, Virginia
The Old Dominion is one of just five jurisdictions that practice a doctrine called contributory negligence (2). Contributory negligence is also referred to as "pure negligence." The concept means that a person who has contributed to his own injuries cannot recover for those injuries as a matter of law. Here is an example:
Driver Damon is running late for work, and needs to turn left at a light. The light is yellow, and he is waiting patiently, but as it turns red, he thinks he has a shot to make the turn. He does so, but is struck hard from the right side by Driver Alicia. Alicia thought that Damon wasn't going to turn, so she kept going thinking she could make the light.
In this example, neither Damon nor Alicia can pursue a claim against the other. Damon was negligent in that he turned on a red light, when it was not safe to do so. Alicia also ran a red light. Both people were negligent, so no one has a claim! It is not a question of who was more negligent. In Virginia, as well as DC and Maryland, if you are 1% responsible, you cannot file a claim (or, put another way, the insurance company will deny your claim).
Why You Need an Experienced Attorney in Fairfax
If you have been hurt in a car accident or other personal injury matter, you should always consult a lawyer right away. The sooner you do, the sooner you have someone to protect you, including from yourself. The insurance companies will use anything you say against you, and have no duty to tell you to stop talking. They can twist and misconstrue your words - and remember, they only need to prove that you were at fault by 1%!
At Blaszkow Legal, PLLC, we begin fighting for our clients as soon as they walk in the door. We set our team to work investigating, gathering evidence, and building the case that we will use to prove the other party, or parties, were responsible for your injuries, so you can get the compensation you deserve. We are happy to negotiate, but we are ready to go to trial. The Blaszkow Legal method is simple: ready to settle...prepared to fight!
If you have been hurt in a Fairfax car accident or other incident that was not your fault, call Blaszkow Legal today: 703-879-5910
1 - Duty of In-network Providers to Submit Bills to Health Insurance: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title8.01/chapter3/section8.01-27.5/
2 - Contributory Negligence Jurisdictions: Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington DC