Is it to late to go after the person who hit me?
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Is it to late to go after the person who hit me?
Last year I was in a accident I didn’t
go to the hospital but afterwards I say
a month later I have been dealing with
pains in my legs the doctor have said
it’s sciatica. I was wondering I’m I to
late to get compensated for my injury.
Asked on January 29, 2018 under Personal Injury, Virginia
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
It is not too late to pursue the case because Virginia has a two year statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit in a personal injury case. This means that the lawsuit for negligence against the at-fault party must be filed prior to the second anniversary of the date of the accident. If the statute of limitations expires, you will have lost your rights forever in the matter.
Prior to filing a lawsuit, you should file a personal injury claim with the at-fault party's insurance carrier because it may be possible to settle the case with that insurance carrier.
When last year did the accident occur? The more time that elapses without filing a personal injury claim with the at-fault party's insurance carrier will result in the amount of compensation you recover decreasing because the insurance company will claim that you must not have been seriously injured if there was a substantial delay in filing a personal injury claim and/or if there was a gap or substantial delay in medical treatment.
However, it is common for auto accident injuries to manifest themselves sometime after the accident and not necessarily at the scene of the accident.
You should notify the at-fault party's insurance carrier in writing of your personal injury claim.
When you complete your medical treatment and are released by the doctor or are declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary which means having reached a point in your medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain your medical bills, medical reports, and documentation of wage loss. Your claim filed with the at-fault party's insurance carrier should include those items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports document your injury and are used to determine compensation for pain and suffering, which is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
If the case is settled with the at-fault party's insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the at-fault party's insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the at-fault party.
As discussed above, if the case is NOT settled, your lawsuit for negligence against the at-fault party must be filed prior to the expiration of the two year statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.