Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer for Accidents, Crashes, & More

It’s never easy to cope with the physical or emotional impact of a severe injury.  Making matters worse, victims often face overwhelming debt due to steep medical and care expenses and lost income.  At the Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt, we fight for full compensation for those injured, as well as the families who have lost a loved one, due the negligence or wrongful actions of others.

Attorney Mark Hurt has a reputation for being tenacious in seeking justice and compensation for clients, as well as for being an experienced and successful trial lawyer and tough litigator.  Over the past thirty years, Mark has secured millions of dollars in compensation for clients.  He has represented clients at all state and federal levels of Virginia courts, and has also represented clients in two cases before the United States Supreme Court.

Call our offices to schedule a free case evaluation to learn how we seek to hold reckless and negligent parties responsible for the harm they have caused.  We only collect a fee if compensation is recovered, and we advance all litigation expenses on behalf of clients. 

What Types of Cases Does Your Firm Handle?

If someone else injured you, you have the right to pursue compensation for medical bills, rehabilitation expenses, lost wages, and other foreseeable damages incurred.

Unfortunately, when injuries occur, in most cases the person responsible will not simply admit to fault or readily pay what they owe.  This is especially true in cases involving significant damages.  Moreover, in many situations – such as vehicle crashes – insurance companies will be involved; they will typically take whatever actions they can to minimize their losses.

As an experienced Virginia personal injury lawyer, Mark Hurt works tirelessly to represent clients in seeking to prove fault and damages. Defendants will have two options – they can pay a fair settlement, or they can choose to litigate their case before a jury who will not only determine fault, but potentially award even higher compensation than what could have been paid by a defendant in a settlement.

We represent clients in nearly all types of Virginia personal injury cases, including:

Car Crashes and Motor Vehicle Accidents.  Each year millions of individuals are injured, sometimes fatally, in car and truck accidents.   Approximately 1.35 million people die in crashes each year, and 20 – 50 million suffer non-fatal injuries, often resulting in life-long disabilities.[1]  If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, either as a passenger, driver, or pedestrian, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and financial loss.

Medical Malpractice.  Up to 120,000 deaths per year are caused by the negligence of doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other medical professionals.[2]  Medical malpractice can be attributable to a variety of different errors including, misdiagnosis, improper treatment, surgical errors, pharmacy mislabeling, medication administration mistakes, birth injury, or failure to diagnose severe health conditions.  If you have sustained an injury as a result of the negligence of healthcare personnel, it is crucial to reach out to an attorney who can promptly evaluate the potential malpractice, and if necessary, take legal action to secure compensation.

Workplace Accidents.  When a workplace accident occurs in Virginia, an employee is generally not allowed to bring a personal injury lawsuit against the employer.  Instead, the injured employee must bring a claim under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act, which requires employers to provide various benefits to injured workers.[3]  Workers’ compensation laws are complex and have many obstacles and pitfalls.  As a firm well-versed in worker’s compensation law, we can guide you through the process and ensure that your rights are protected.

In addition, while injured workers are not entitled to bring a personal injury claim against their employer, they may bring a personal injury claim against a responsible third party, such as the manufacturer of a dangerous product or another workplace contractor causing injury.  In addition to representing injured workers in worker’s compensation claims, we can also file a lawsuit against any other non-employer parties who may be liable.

Premises Liability.  Property owners, managers, and occupiers (such as renters) have a duty to provide a reasonably safe environment for those who visit or reside on their property (such as customers, patrons, service personnel, or residents).  Where a dangerous condition develops, property owners should provide warnings until the hazard can be repaired.  If an owner or renter knows about an adverse condition (such as a wet floor in a grocery store) which could cause injury but ignore the issue, they can be legally liable should someone be hurt or killed.

However, premise liability cases can be complicated; just because an individual has been injured on another person’s property does not necessarily mean that the owner is liable.  If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property, please  contact our office for a free consultation.  We frequently handle premises liability cases and can evaluate your claim to determine if another property owner is liable for your injuries.

Products Liability.  Dangerous and defective products can cause serious injuries, especially if improper warnings or inadequate instructions are provided. Examples of harmful products include foods, prescription and nonprescription drugs, toxic materials, chemicals, defective motor vehicle parts, children’s products, medical devices, and construction equipment.  Anyone who took part in bringing a product to market may be liable for a defect, including:

• • • • • • Individuals
          • Businesses
          • Manufactures
          • Government entities
          • Designers

If an unsafe product injured you, we can evaluate the harmful goods, identify the responsible parties, and seek to ensure that you receive every dollar to which you are entitled.

Other Personal Injury Cases.  In addition to the types of cases mentioned above, we also handle claims involving aviation, construction site, nursing home abuse or neglect, animal bite, spinal cord, and other catastrophic accident injuries.  

We serve clients in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Richmond, Arlington, Newport News, Alexandria, Hampton, East Hampton, Roanoke, Portsmouth Heights, Portsmouth, Abington, and throughout Virginia.

How Much is My Personal Injury Claim Worth?

Because every case is unique, it is not possible to estimate a specific outcome.  However, numerous factors will influence the success of a case and the amount of compensation to which a client may be entitled.  These factors include:

• The amount of medical bills incurred
• The amount of pain and suffering endured (which is determined by a jury)
• The cost of future medical treatment
• The amount of income lost due to the injuries
• Whether the injuries will affect future earning capacity
• The cost to fix personal property involved in the accident
• Whether the injury caused scarring or permanent disability

In addition to these damages that may have been suffered by the injury victim, ultimately a major factor influencing a settlement or an award that may be received in a trial is the financial ability of the defendant (or the defendant’s insurance company) to pay a settlement or award.

As an example, there may be two identical crashes which lead to exactly the same injuries.  In one case, the driver responsible has significant insurance; as a result, the person injured may be able to recover full compensation from the insurance company.  In the other case, if the victim was hit by an uninsured driver who has no meaningful assets, and the victim does not carry uninsured, underinsured, or PIP (personal injury protection) motorist coverage, the victim may ultimately not be able to obtain any compensation. 

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Virginia?

Every three minutes, someone dies in a preventable accident.² As its name implies, “wrongful death” is a type of lawsuit that may be brought when someone has been killed as a result of someone else’s wrongful acts, negligence, or inaction.[4]  Under Virginia law, only the surviving family members defined as statutory beneficiaries are entitled to the proceeds from a wrongful death suit.

The executor named in a will or an administrator appointed by the court (if there is no will) can bring a lawsuit on behalf of the victim’s family members, as well as on behalf of the estate.  Virginia law sets the following priority order for recovery of wrongful death damages by family members:

1. Surviving spouse and children or grandchildren of the decedent
2. Surviving parents and siblings or a relative who shared the deceased person’s household and was a dependent of the decedent
3. Any surviving family members entitled to inherit part of the decedent’s estate

Each group of family members is only entitled to receive part of the wrongful death settlement if there are no members of the preceding group.

Determining who can file a wrongful death action can be complex.  If you have lost a family member in a crash or accident, please call our firm and we can advise you of who in your family may be entitled to file a lawsuit.  At our firm, we have spent decades helping surviving family members in successfully seeking full compensation, and we can help you understand your rights under Virginia law.

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?

Under Virginia Code § 8.01-243, victims only have two years from the date of an accident to file a claim.  However, if they are unaware of the injuries until a later date, the statute of limitations will not begin until the day in which they learned of the condition.  If a case is not timely filed, Virginia courts will refuse to hear it, and the victim may be unable to recover compensation. It is therefore important to contact an experienced injury lawyer as soon as possible to protect your rights to compensation. 

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Virginia?

We understand the financial hardships that many clients experience after being severely injured.  Therefore, we work on a contingency fee basis, which means that you do not owe us a fee unless we obtain compensation for you.  Additionally, we advance litigation costs, such as court filing fees, expert witness expenses, and deposition costs.  If we recover on your behalf, the contingency fee will be based upon a percentage of the compensation recovered, and any litigation expenses advanced typically will be deducted from the proceeds.

Why Should I Hire a Virginia Personal Injury Attorney?

If you have been injured due to the negligent actions of another individual, it is in your best interest to seek the assistance of a dedicated Virginia personal injury lawyer.  Mark Hurt graduated with honors from Duke Law School and has been zealously advocating for Virginia clients for over three decades.  He is well-versed in the claims process, statutes of limitations, defenses to liability, damage caps, and other legal factors that may be essential to your injury claim.

Whether you are seeking compensation for your injury, or on behalf of a loved one who may have been killed, we can provide you with an honest and straightforward assessment of your case and answer any questions that you may have about the claims process or litigation.  Contact our office to schedule a free consultation to get started.

[1] Road Safety Facts, Association for Safe International Road Travel, https://www.asirt.org/safe-travel/road-safety-facts/.

[2] Medical Malpractice…By the Numbers, Civil Justice Resource Group, https://centerjd.org/cjrg/Numbers.pdf.

[3] VA Code § 65.2.

[4] VA Code § 8.01-50.

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