Helping Families Through Catastrophic Injury Claims in the Shenandoah Valley

What Catastrophic Injuries Are and Who This Page Is For

A catastrophic injury is a serious harm that can affect a person’s health, work and daily life for a long time. This page is for adults hurt in a serious car or commercial truck crash, for family members caring for them, and for families weighing a wrongful death claim after a fatal crash.

Serious crash injuries can change daily life quickly. Many people are still recovering, managing medical care and deciding whether to speak with a lawyer. If that describes you, the facts below may help you sort out your next questions.

Correll Law Firm is a catastrophic injuries law firm Shenandoah Valley residents can turn to with questions about serious crash cases. The firm works with people in the Shenandoah Valley and in Richmond and Henrico County who were hurt in Virginia. Long-term effects vary from person to person, and they can change over time. Early questions often include who may be responsible, what reports are needed and which time limits apply.

Crashes and Injuries Correll Law Firm Handles

Correll Law Firm handles car accidents, truck accidents, commercial vehicle accidents, catastrophic injuries, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and wrongful death matters. Each area is described below in plain terms.

• Car accidents involve passenger vehicles that collide with another vehicle, a pedestrian or a fixed object.
• Truck accidents involve large commercial trucks. Federal rules limit driving time for drivers of property-carrying trucks. Under 49 CFR § 395.3, a driver may not drive after 14 consecutive hours following 10 consecutive hours off duty, and may drive a total of 11 hours in that period.
• Commercial vehicle accidents include crashes involving work trucks, vans and other vehicles used in a business.
• Catastrophic injuries include serious harms like the two below, along with other injuries that need long-term care.
• Traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury are injuries the firm handles when a crash causes them. Medical teams guide diagnosis and treatment.

Some crashes involve conduct beyond ordinary carelessness. Virginia allows punitive damages for actual malice, or for willful or wanton conduct or recklessness showing a conscious disregard for the safety of others, subject to a cap set by statute (Va. Code § 8.01-38.1). Under Va. Code § 8.01-38.1, the trier of fact determines the total amount of any punitive damages award. Each matter depends on its facts.

Time Limits and Crash Reporting Duties

Virginia sets a two-year limit for most injury lawsuits, and it requires drivers in certain crashes to report them right away. The rules below are stated as Virginia law sets them out.

Virginia requires a driver involved in a crash with injury or death to stop and report it to police immediately (Va. Code §§ 46.2-371, 46.2-894). The duty to stop and report is set out in Va. Code § 46.2-894. Under Va. Code § 46.2-894, the driver must stop and report the crash forthwith, with name, address, driver’s license number and vehicle registration number; under Va. Code § 8.01-243, every action for personal injuries must generally be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues, unless otherwise provided in that section or by other statute. The two-year period is not a deadline to report a crash.

Virginia generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (Va. Code § 8.01-243(A)); the clock runs from the date of injury, not the date of discovery, with narrow exceptions.

Keep copies of the police report, medical records and any letters from insurers. These papers help a lawyer review what happened and when.

What Happens at the Start of a Claim

The process has three simple steps:

1. You share the basics. Details such as where and when the crash happened, who was involved and what injuries you have help clarify the situation.
2. The firm reviews the facts. The firm looks at how the crash happened and which records exist.
3. You decide what comes next. You choose whether to move forward.

Bring what you have, even if it is incomplete. Fault matters in Virginia. Virginia follows contributory negligence: if you are found even partly at fault, you may be barred from recovering, with limited exceptions. Talk to a lawyer about your facts.

Wrongful Death Claims for Families

Yes, Virginia provides a wrongful death claim after a fatal crash. A Virginia wrongful death action is filed by the decedent’s personal representative within two years of the death (Va. Code §§ 8.01-50(C), 8.01-244(B)), on behalf of the family members the statute protects. The filing rule appears in Va. Code § 8.01-244. Family members share in any recovery; they do not file the case themselves.

Virginia wrongful death damages cover the family’s sorrow, mental anguish and loss of the decedent’s companionship, guidance and care; lost income and services; medical expenses from the injury; funeral expenses; and, for willful or wanton conduct, punitive damages (Va. Code § 8.01-52).

Losing a family member in a crash is painful. Families often face medical, work and funeral decisions at the same time. Plain answers can make the legal questions easier to face.

What the Firm Handles

Correll Law Firm handles catastrophic injury claims for people across the Shenandoah Valley, working from its Winchester and Harrisonburg locations. The firm’s offices are in those two cities, and it represents people from other areas, including the Richmond area and Henrico County.

• Winchester: the firm has an office here.
• Harrisonburg: the firm has an office here.
• Richmond and Henrico County: the firm represents people who live in these areas.

The firm focuses its work on the matters listed above: car, truck and commercial vehicle crashes, catastrophic injuries, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and wrongful death. The firm’s staff include assistants and office staff. Every point on this page ties to Virginia law or to federal driving-time rules for trucks, so you can see the basis for each statement.

Frequently Asked Questions