Скачать или смотреть Norfolk, VA Injury Lawyer Joe Miller: Watch out for Contributory Negligence

Norfolk, Virginia and North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer Joe Miller of Joe Miller Law, Ltd. explains how contributory negligence under our state laws can destroy your case without you realizing it. It does not matter really that the other driver was clearly at fault. If your fault contributed, even in the slightest, to the car accident, you have no case whatsoever in Virginia and North Carolina. Please realize that other states have different laws, and if you are speaking and getting advice from someone in one of those states that has 'comparative' negligence, you are getting the wrong advice. Call us to find out how to avoid this trap at 757-455-8889.
You are injured because the defendant made a left turn directly in front of you, at the last minute, as you approached an intersection with a green light. Seems obvious, right? Everybody knows that you have the right-of-way in that situation, because the defendant was supposed to allow you to pass before executing his or her left turn.

But suddenly during your statement, you hear a strange question from the insurance adjuster over the phone: "How far were you from the intersection when you first saw defendant's vehicle beginning to turn in front of you?" This question could also come after a law suit has been filed, and without preparation from an experienced injury lawyer, you may not really think about your answer sufficiently.

Thinking nothing of it, even though you have really not thought about it at all, you answer: "Oh, I don't know, maybe 100 yards or so?"

Sometime after your statement or deposition, you suddenly find out that your claim has been denied by the defense insurance company. Why? Because you may have just blown your case.

You see, Virginia and North Carolina are two of a tiny handful of States that still have something called contributory negligence.

Contributory negligence means that even if the other driver was clearly at fault for the collision, if you were partially at fault, even to a tiny degree, you cannot recover anything in your case.

In the example we just gave, you basically admitted to the insurance adjuster that you had plenty of time to avoid the collision, because you said that you saw defendant's vehicle turning in front of you while you were still 100 yards away. If the defense can make that statement "stick," you will lose your case, because you basically admitted that you were in the best position to avoid the collision.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a collision in VA or NC, please call us for a free consultation at 888-694-1671.