Personal Injury

What is a tort?

Tort is the breach of a duty (not in contract) which gives rise to an action for damages (Prosser on Torts).  An example:

Joe drives his car and hits Tom's car in the rear by following him too closely on the public highway.  Tom may sue Joe for medical injuries, pain and suffering, and lost wages caused by the accident.  Tom needs to prove that Joe engaged in tortuous conduct, by failing to exercise the standard of care which a reasonable person would show in driving his car that close to someone else.  If Joe drives his car into Tom's car on purpose, then Tom could sue for the intentional tort of battery and seek punitive damages as well, limited in Virginia to $300,000 per case.

What accident has happened to you or your loved one?

    Did you or a loved one get hurt in an automobile accident, a wrongful death, a dog bite, or slip and fall injury that you did not cause?

    Did you or a loved one suffer injuries as a result of the negligence of someone else for which you need medical attention, or have incurred medical expenses or lost wages that you need to be reimbursed for?

    Do you seek the recommendations of surgeons, other medical doctors, chiropractors, specialty therapists, and other professionals who can help you to heal and will delay billing you for those services?

    Do you feel that the insurance companies might not treat you fairly?

    Do you want an experienced trial lawyer to handle your case professionally before an adjuster, a Judge, or a jury?

    Do you want that professional to handle your case without paying anything down for those legal fees, as opposed to out-of-pocket costs?

What is negligence?

Negligence is whenever someone exhibits a lack of care that a reasonable person would exercise under similar circumstances (Black's Law Dictionary).

In the example previously used, Tom must prove negligence.  Tom must show that his injury was reasonably foreseeable, that Joe owed Tom a duty of care not to hit him with his car, and that Joe failed to meet the standard of care required.

Elements of Negligence

    a duty requiring an actor to conform to a certain standard of conduct;

    a failure of that actor to reasonably conform to the standard required;

    proximate cause between the conduct and the resulting injury;

    actual loss or injury to the affected party by the actor (Prosser on Torts).