If you are uncertain about what to do after suffering an injury in an ATV accident in Virginia, you are not alone. At Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis LLP, our Northern Virginia personal injury attorneys can help you deal with the aftermath.
Virginia has relatively lax laws about ATV use, and drivers don’t need to be licensed. This means that accident victims don’t have an obvious line of recourse after an injury. Our legal team can help you understand your legal options so you aren’t stuck paying for your medical bills on your own.
If you have suffered a serious injury in an ATV accident in Northern Virginia, you deserve to be compensated for the pain and suffering you endured. Contact the law firm of Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis today to schedule a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer. We will work to help you get the money you deserve.
Virginia ATV Drivers Probably Aren’t Insured
While a cautious ATV operator will purchase ATV insurance, nothing in the state laws requires drivers to be insured. This means that there is a good chance the person who hit you does not have a policy that covers the accident.
If that happens, can you even obtain compensation for your injuries? Yes, you can. But the path to getting money will probably be complicated, and it will require an experienced personal injury attorney.
While they may eventually end with a settlement, most ATV accident cases will first require a lawsuit. And you should never attempt to file a lawsuit on your own without being represented by an attorney. Civil law is complicated; thus, if you try to tackle it without assistance, your case will probably be dismissed, and you’ll be prevented from getting any compensation.
What You Need to Win a Personal Injury Case
In a personal injury claim, you need to prove the following elements:
- The defendant had a duty to care
- Due to negligence, the defendant violated that duty
- That violation resulted in your injuries
- You suffered financial damages due to those injuries
If our legal team can prove these elements, you are likely to be awarded money by a jury. So how do we establish such proof in an ATV accident case?
Duty to Care
This is the easiest element to prove. The operator of any vehicle is responsible for ensuring that they don’t hurt others while driving.
Negligence
Typically, we will investigate the accident scene in order to prove negligence. Our law firm works with experienced investigators who know how to uncover evidence that will be admissible in court.
We will interview witnesses, get a copy of any police reports, and take pictures of the accident scene. While our legal team is very efficient, they are even better when you assist them. If your injuries allow, you should take photos of the accident scene, collect any relevant contact information, and report the accident to ensure that there is a police report.
Causality
The crux of many personal injury cases is proving that negligence resulted in harm. Careless driving is not automatic proof that someone is responsible for your injuries. This is where a deep understanding of the law is important.
Was the defendant breaking the law or driving where they shouldn’t be? Were they drunk or otherwise impaired? Did they take any actions to avoid the accident?
All of these are the legal questions that we need to answer to determine whether the defendant’s actions caused your injuries. Our personal injury lawyers have decades of experience asking and answering these queries, which ensures that they will quickly determine causality in your case.
Damages
The final element that we need to prove is that you suffered damages. Typically, we start by gathering your medical records. This is a simple way to prove that you suffered financial harm as a result of your injuries.
But medical records aren’t the only way that you may have suffered financially. You could also have lost wages due to your injury or been forced to pay for equipment or services because of it.
Once again, the experience of our attorneys will help you get the money you deserve. We know what types of damages you are eligible to receive compensation for after an ATV accident and how to determine their value. After speaking to one of our lawyers, clients often express surprise at how much they can get in compensation — it’s usually much more than they initially expected.
Contact the Northern Virginia Law Firm of Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis to Speak to a Personal Injury Attorney
If you have suffered an injury in an ATV accident in Northern Virginia, you may be eligible for compensation. Contact our law firm today to learn about your legal options from an experienced personal injury lawyer.