Who is Responsible for Damage during a Virginia (VA) High Speed Police Chase?

by Kevin Duffan

Kevin is a Virginia injury attorney who handles car accidents, medical malpractice, wrongful death, etc.

11/27/2011
Kevin Duffan
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Norfolk, VA Personal Injury Attorney Info: Who is Responsible for Damage During a High-Speed Police Chase?

Do you get butterflies when you hear the sound of sirens close by? What about when those blue and white lights are behind you. Understandably it makes most people nervous.This may have been the case for drivers on Interstate 81 in Virginia (VA) when a Virginia State Trooper was attempting to pull over a car that refused to stop.

A witness report states that police deployed spike strips to finally stop this reckless driver. The car accident turned fatal when the driver was ejected from his vehicle when it crashed. As a Virginia (VA) car accident attorney I’m glad that high speed chases don’t occur very often but when they do they can be deadly not only for the driver but innocent motorists as well.

When a high-speed pursuit like this occurs, you may wonder who is responsible for the damage to vehicles and property, as well as the medical bills that will be generated from the injuries. Does the law enforcement agency whose officers were involved in the chase make compensation, or will the person who was driving the vehicle that was being chased?

Unless the police car itself made contact with a car, the fault will lie with the reckless driver who was ignoring and violating traffic laws. The problem in the case linked to above is that the suspect was killed in the accident that brought the chase to an end. Therefore, the innocent victim's insurance company should still be able to make a claim against any insurance in effect at the time up to the limit of the contract.

If you have any questions about the many different situations that can occur with car accident injury claims, please consult our free consumer guide Best Guide to Virginia (VA) Car Accidents.

Category: Car Accident Lawyers & Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

Labels: can you sue a dead person high speed chase police chase accident VA car accident attorney VA personal injury attorney virginia car accident Virginia personal injury attorney who is responsible for car accident

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a Virginia Beach, VA-based injury law firm whose attorneys focus on personal injury and accident law and we have handled thousands of car accident, truck wreck, and motorcycle crash cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself.

We've handled car accident cases throughout Virginia including Richmond, Fairfax, Alexandria, and the Hampton Roads region including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Suffolk.

Our primary office is in Virginia Beach at the intersection of Diamond Springs Road and Northampton Boulevard. We also have an office on Eaton Street in Hampton. All of our accident injury attorneys were raised in Virginia and have deep roots with the community.

Our Virginia injury law firm has been recognized as one of the best injury law firms in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report since 2010. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed on the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009 and included among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Rick and Jim were named Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law since 2010, an honor fewer than 5 percent of lawyers receive. In addition, we were the first injury law firm in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms.

We also offer free special reports on distracted driving and the Best Guide to Car Accident Injuries in Virginia.

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer a free, initial confidential injury case consultation, so call us at 1-800-752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail and we will get back to you shortly.

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Norfolk, VA Personal Injury Attorney Info: Who is Responsible for Damage During a High-Speed Police Chase?

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