Serving Injured Clients Across Hampton Roads Since 1985
A serious injury changes everything in an instant. Suddenly, you are facing medical bills you never planned for, missed paychecks, and the stress of wondering how the rent, the mortgage, and everyday expenses will get paid, all while you are trying to heal.
We understand, and we can help. As Virginia Beach personal injury lawyers, we have spent four decades fighting for full compensation for injured people throughout Hampton Roads and the Outer Banks. We have won more than $100 million in verdicts and settlements for our clients, and we handle every case on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless we recover for you.
If you have been hurt by someone else’s negligence, call 757-321-3983 for a free, confidential case evaluation. There is no cost to talk to us and no obligation.
What We Have Recovered for Our Clients
When you are choosing a personal injury firm, results matter more than promises. Here are some of the recoveries we have obtained for injured clients and their families:
- $60 Million – Jury verdict for a man who suffered a catastrophic brain injury when a train derailment crashed into the building he was working in. (Confidential settlement during appeal process).
- $3.74 Million – Jury verdict for a dental patient who developed a flesh-eating bacterial infection after negligent treatment.
- $3.5 Million – Settlement for the family of a 25-year-old killed in a truck crash on I-64 in Norfolk.
- $2.3 Million – Settlement for a woman who suffered a traumatic brain injury and multiple fractures when an SUV veered off the road and struck her.
- $2.23 Million – Jury verdict where a hospital’s delayed diagnosis of sepsis led to a leg amputation and wrongful death.
- $2 Million – Confidential settlement for the family of a retired servicemember and police officer killed as a pedestrian by a negligent driver.
Click here to see more case results.
Our attorneys and our firm have been recognized by multiple organizations, including Best Lawyers® and Super Lawyers®, and by Virginia Lawyers Weekly, which has named members of our firm to its Hall of Fame, as a “Leader in the Law,” and among “Virginia’s Go To Lawyers” for medical malpractice. Our firm has earned more than 100 five-star Google reviews, along with strong reviews on Avvo. The firm’s personal injury attorneys bring more than 100 years of combined injury law experience.
Please note: Every case is different, and past results are never a guarantee or prediction of the outcome of any other case. The recoveries above reflect the specific facts of those cases.
CALL US TODAY AT 757-321-3983 FOR A FREE CASE EVALUATION
Richard Shapiro, Eric Washburn, Kevin Sharp, Jim St. Clair, and Andrew Stover are Virginia Beach injury attorneys known for their efficiency, determination, and passion. Each is ready and able to handle personal injury cases on a contingency basis in Virginia Beach, no matter the stakes.
Why It Pays to Involve a Lawyer Early
After a serious injury, the insurance company starts working against you right away, and so does the clock. How you handle both early on can significantly affect what damages you ultimately recover.
The insurance company is not on your side. Within days of a serious accident, an adjuster will often reach out sounding friendly and ready to move things along. What they are actually doing is working to close your claim quickly and cheaply, before you know the full extent of your injuries. Some conditions, like traumatic brain injuries or internal damage, do not show their full severity for weeks. If you settle early, you give up the right to compensation for problems that surface later.
Adjusters are trained to minimize payouts, and if they can pin any share of blame on you, they will, and that possibility can prevent you from getting the compensation you deserve. We handle every conversation with the insurer so you are not talked into a lowball settlement or pushed into a recorded statement that gets used against you. Once we notify them we represent you, the insurance adjuster will not contact you.
Critical evidence can also disappear quickly. Much of the evidence that proves a case does not stay available for long. Surveillance footage from a business at the Oceanfront or a Town Center parking garage is often overwritten within days or weeks. Modern vehicles store crash data in an event recorder, a “black box” that logs speed, braking, and other details. But once the at-fault driver’s insurer sends the vehicle to a salvage yard, that data can be lost for good. Skid marks fade, damaged signs and guardrails get repaired, and witnesses’ memories blur.
When we take a case early, we can send preservation demands that legally require the other side to hold onto vehicles and evidence, get investigators to assist with our investigation, and, when needed, send accident reconstruction experts to the scene while the evidence is still there.
Your case is worth more than your emergency room bill. A serious injury is not just today’s medical costs. It can mean future surgeries, long-term care, lost earning capacity, and the lasting disruption from an injury leaving you with permanent impairments. Insurance companies are happy to let an unrepresented person focus on the ER bill and ignore everything that comes after. Where it will assist in maximizing a case, we work with medical, vocational, and economic experts to document the full scope of what you have lost and will continue to lose, so the number on the table reflects your actual damages, not just your first hospital visit bill.
Kevin, Andrew and Beth are absolutely amazing. They guided us through every step of our case with care and always kept us fully informed. They did not just represent us – they shared in our anger, our tears and our lives during this process. Their compassion was constant and they never forgot the challenges of our situation while working to get the job done. They have truly become family to us. I honestly can not recommend this firm enough. – T.B.
The Virginia Rule That Can Cost You Everything: Contributory Negligence
Virginia follows one of the harshest fault rules in the country. The rule is called pure contributory negligence. Under it, if you are found to be even slightly at fault for what happened to you, you can be barred from recovering anything at all. Virginia is one of only a handful of states that still apply this all-or-nothing standard. Most states let an injured person recover as long as they were not mostly to blame, with their compensation reduced by their share of fault. Virginia does not work that way; if your actions materially contributed to the injuries, you have no right to recover at all, which is why these cases must be built carefully from the start.
This is exactly why insurance companies fight so hard to assign you even a sliver of blame. If an adjuster can build a case that you were even slightly responsible, they have a path to paying you nothing. That argument often becomes the insurance company’s whole strategy.
Because even slight contributory fault can end a case, we treat the fault question as seriously as the injury itself from day one. We work to lock down the evidence that shows what actually happened, including the footage, the black box data, the witness accounts, and the reconstruction, before it disappears or gets spun. When the defense claims you share the blame, we are ready to show why that claim does not hold up.
That preparation pays off even in cases that never reach a courtroom. When the defense knows we can stand before a jury and prove they were fully at fault, they have far more reason to offer a fair settlement instead of risking a verdict that costs them a lot more.
The Injury Cases We Handle
We handle nearly every kind of personal injury and wrongful death case across Hampton Roads. If you don’t see your situation listed, call us. Chances are we can help or point you to someone who can.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Car Accidents: Crashes on I-264, Virginia Beach Boulevard, and the region’s other busy corridors, including collisions caused by out-of-town and out-of-state drivers.
- Truck Accidents: Cases involving commercial trucks, federal regulations, multiple liable parties, and catastrophic injuries that set them apart from ordinary crashes.
- Motorcycle Accidents: Serious and fatal crashes where riders, who have little protection, are hurt by drivers who did not see them or did not yield.
- Bicycle Accidents: Injuries to cyclists struck by negligent drivers on Virginia Beach’s roads and bike routes.
- Pedestrian Accidents: People hit while walking, including in crosswalks and at the Oceanfront, where foot and vehicle traffic mix heavily.
- Bus Accidents: Crashes involving public transit and private buses, which often bring complex questions of government and corporate liability.
Premises and Property
- Slip and Fall and Business Premises Liability: Injuries caused by unsafe property conditions, from wet floors and poor lighting to negligent security.
- Dog Bites: Attacks that cause serious injury, often resolved through a homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy.
Medical and Product Injuries
- Medical Malpractice: Harm caused when a doctor, hospital, or other provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care.
- Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect: Mistreatment, neglect, and inadequate care of elderly residents in long-term care facilities.
- Defective Products and Drugs: Injuries from products and medications that are unsafe due to their design, manufacture, or warnings.
Catastrophic and Fatal Injuries
- Brain Injuries: Traumatic brain injuries with lasting cognitive, physical, and financial consequences.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: Injuries that can lead to paralysis and a lifetime of medical care.
- Wrongful Death: Claims brought by families who have lost a loved one to someone else’s negligence.
- Mesothelioma and Asbestos: Cancers caused by asbestos exposure, including exposure on the job.
- Boat and Watercraft Injuries: Accidents on the water caused by negligent operators.
- Electric Shock and Electrocution: Injuries from faulty wiring, exposed components, or unsafe conditions.
- Railroad / FELA: Claims for injured railroad workers under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, an area where our firm has a national reputation.
How Long You Have to File: Virginia’s Deadline
In Virginia, you generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. This deadline comes from Virginia Code § 8.01-243, and it is known as the statute of limitations. If you file after that deadline passes, you usually lose the right to bring the claim, unless a rare exception applies to the circumstances.
Two years can feel like plenty of time, but it goes quickly once you are dealing with treatment, insurance, and daily life, and several important exceptions can shorten or change the deadline:
- Claims against a government entity. If a city vehicle, a state employee, or another government party was involved, you may have to file a formal written notice far sooner, sometimes within six months. These notice requirements are strict, and missing one can end a claim before it starts.
- Injuries to children and incapacitated adults. The timeline can work differently when the injured person is a minor or is legally incapacitated. The specifics depend on the facts, so it is worth confirming early by checking with a skilled personal injury attorney at our law firm.
- Wrongful death. A wrongful death claim generally must be filed within two years of the date of death, which can be later than the date of the original injury. Always consult with one of our attorneys if you have questions about the statute of limitations on a wrongful death claim.
- Medical malpractice. Virginia has its own rules for medical malpractice deadlines, and the exact limit depends on the circumstances of the case. Although the two-year statute of limitations normally applies, consult with one of our attorneys as early as possible to review the circumstances.
Because more than one deadline can apply, and because the government-notice windows are so short, the safest move after any serious injury is to talk to a personal injury lawyer early rather than assume you have two full years. If the deadline for your case passes, your options are usually gone for good.
What to Expect: Your Case, Step by Step
Every case is different, but most follow a similar path. Here is how the process usually works when you hire us.
Free Consultation and Case Review
We start by listening. You tell us what happened, we review the police report and any records you have, and we explain your options and what your case may be worth. There is no cost and no obligation to talk to us.
Investigation
This is where acting early pays off. The evidence that proves a case often depends on the type of case. It might be surveillance or traffic footage, medical records, a product and its history, safety or inspection records, a company’s internal documents, or witness accounts. But in every case, some of it can disappear or be altered if no one moves to protect it. We identify what your case needs, work to preserve it before it is lost, and bring in the right experts to examine it, whether that means a physician, an engineer, an accident reconstructionist, or another specialist.
Treatment and Documentation
You focus on getting better while we build the medical side of your case. We gather your records and bills from the hospitals and providers treating you, and we work with your doctors and, when needed, outside medical specialists to document the full extent of your injuries and what your future care will require.
Demand and Negotiation
Once we understand the full scope of your injuries and losses, we prepare a detailed demand to the insurance company that lays out their client’s liability and what you are owed. Normally, we ask the insurer to make the first offer, and as with any negotiation, no settlement demand figure is provided without our client’s approval. Most cases resolve at this stage, but only when the other side knows we are prepared to go further.
Filing Suit
If the insurance company will not offer a fair settlement, we file your lawsuit in the appropriate Circuit Court and prepare your case for trial. We work to prove liability and damages from the outset, so we are ready to take a case all the way when it takes to get you full compensation.
Virginia Beach Accident Resources
In the days after a serious accident, two things protect both your health and your claim: getting proper medical care and securing the official record of what happened. Here are the local resources you may need.
Where Many Accident Victims Are Treated
- Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital (1060 First Colonial Road) is the region’s only Level III trauma center and the primary emergency hospital for the Oceanfront and central Virginia Beach.
- Sentara Norfolk General Hospital (600 Gresham Drive, Norfolk) is Hampton Roads’ only Level I trauma center, where the region’s most catastrophic injuries are often treated.
- Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD) in Norfolk is the area’s Level I pediatric trauma center, treating the most seriously injured children.
No matter which facility treats you, see a doctor as soon as possible, even if you feel okay at first. Some injuries take days or weeks to show their full severity, and your medical records become key evidence in your claim.
How to Get Your Crash Report (Accident Report)
In Virginia, police file a crash report on a form called the FR300P, and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles keeps the official copy. The DMV keeps this report for at least three years. You can request yours from the DMV for a small fee. If you were involved in the crash, you or your attorney can obtain the report. It is worth getting early, since it is a central piece of evidence, and reports sometimes contain errors that are easier to correct soon after the crash than months later.
Where Injury Cases are Handled
If a fair settlement cannot be reached, and assuming your case should be filed in Virginia Beach, it would be filed in the local court system at the Virginia Beach Judicial Center (2425 Nimmo Parkway):
- The Virginia Beach Circuit Court hears higher-value civil cases, including serious personal injury and wrongful death claims seeking more than $50,000.
- The Virginia Beach General District Court handles civil claims up to $50,000, and in this Court, trial is before a judge, not a jury.
Let us handle the paperwork. Tracking down a crash/accident report, requesting records from a Sentara hospital, and keeping up with insurance deadlines is a lot to manage while you recover. We gather these documents for you as part of building your case. Call 757-321-3983 for a free consultation, and let us carry that load while you focus on healing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if an out-of-state or tourist driver hit me in Virginia Beach?
You can still pursue a claim. Virginia Beach draws millions of visitors a year, and crashes involving out-of-state drivers are common, especially around the Oceanfront in the summer. Virginia law generally governs your claim because the crash happened here, and you can recover from an out-of-state driver’s insurance the same way you would from a local driver’s. The main practical challenge is moving quickly, because out-of-state drivers go home, and their vehicles and evidence can become harder to track down. Getting the crash report and starting the investigation early makes a real difference in these cases.
What happens if my accident happened on a military base or involved the federal government?
Hampton Roads has one of the largest military populations in the country, and accidents on bases like Oceana, Little Creek, or Norfolk Naval Station can follow different rules than an ordinary crash. When an accident happens on federal property or involves a federal employee acting on the job, the claim may fall under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which has its own procedures and shorter notice deadlines. Because these deadlines can be much tighter than Virginia’s usual two years, talk to a lawyer as soon as possible so you don’t lose your right to file.
Who do I get a report from if my crash was on the interstate or the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel?
Crashes on the major highways and spans around Virginia Beach, including I-264, I-64, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, are typically handled by the Virginia State Police rather than a city police department. Wherever the crash occurs, the official report is filed on Virginia’s FR300P form, and you can obtain a copy from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Where the crash happened does not change your right to recover compensation for your injuries; it mainly affects which agency responded and where the report comes from.
How does Virginia’s contributory negligence rule affect my case?
Virginia is one of a handful of states where even slight contributory fault by an injured person can bar you from recovering anything. This makes fault the central battleground in many injury cases, because insurance companies know that pinning even a small share of blame on you can wipe out your claim entirely. That is why it is so important to preserve evidence early and work with a lawyer who takes the fault question as seriously as the injury itself. (You can read more about this rule above.)
I am forever grateful for the dedication and support provided by Mr. Shapiro and his staff. He was extremely knowledgeable, explained everything throughout the entire process and encouraged me to focus on recovering from my injuries. Highly recommend! – T.P.
Talk to a Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If you or someone you love has been hurt by another person’s negligence in Virginia Beach or anywhere in Hampton Roads, we are ready to help. The consultation is free; we handle injury cases on a contingency fee basis, and you owe us nothing unless we recover for you.
Deadlines in Virginia are strict, and evidence does not wait. The sooner we get started, the more we can do to protect your claim.
Call 757-321-3983 or fill out our online form for a free, confidential case evaluation.