If you are injured due to the negligence of another, you may be eligible to file a Virginia personal injury lawsuit that aims to get you compensation for your losses from the parties responsible.
One of the biggest obstacles in a personal injury lawsuit is showing that the person who was responsible for your injury had some sort of duty to keep you safe, or at least to avoid hurting you. While this aspect of a personal injury lawsuit is often one of the most complex pieces of the puzzle, there are some instances where it is actually very straightforward. One of these instances is when you can show that the person who hurt you was negligent per se.
Negligence Per Se
Virginia law has been enacted to ensure that people do not put others in the way of unnecessary harm and that, if they do, the person who gets hurt can be compensated for their pain and suffering.
When one of these laws is violated, then the mere violation of that law can be used to show that the person who broke it was acting negligently, and therefore should be made to compensate the person who was injured as a result of the violation. This is called negligence per se because the mere fact that the law or regulation was broken can be used to show that the person breaking it was demonstrating negligence.
An Example: Driving Over the Center Line
A common example of negligence per se arises when a driver takes his car over the double yellow line in the middle of the road. According to the laws of Virginia, a driver is required to keep his or her vehicle on the right side of the road and to prevent it from drifting over the center line into oncoming traffic. If someone breaks this law and hurts someone in a car accident, it can be used in court to show that the driver was negligent, which can drastically reduce the complexity of a personal injury lawsuit.
If you can show that the person who hurt you was negligent per se, then the two major questions of a typical personal injury lawsuit – whether that person had a duty to keep you safe, and whether they violated that duty – are answered, improving the outlook of your case.
Let Our Personal Injury Law Firm Help
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury in an accident caused by another party, contact a Hampton, VA personal injury attorney to find out what type of legal recourse you may have.
The Virginia personal injury lawyers at Shapiro, Appleton, Washburn & Sharp have successfully advocated for injured victims in obtaining the financial compensation they deserved for their injuries, including a record-setting mild brain injury verdict for $60 million, which was settled while on appeal. Call us today for a free case evaluation.
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