Concussion After a Car Accident in Virginia: A Claim Guide

If a car or truck crash left you with a concussion, you may wonder whether the injury can become a legal claim. This guide explains how that works in Virginia, from the first steps after a crash to the deadlines that apply. It is written in plain language for injured people and their families.

What a Concussion Is and When It May Support a Claim

A concussion is a form of traumatic brain injury caused by a blow or jolt to the head. The Virginia Department of Health describes it as a trauma-induced change in mental status that may occur with or without loss of consciousness (Virginia Department of Health guidance). The same guidance notes that collisions can injure the brain through coup or contrecoup impact.

Symptoms can appear within hours or days after a crash. Common ones include:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Memory trouble
• Sensitivity to light or noise
• Sleep changes
• Mood shifts

Early symptoms matter for a claim. Symptoms that show up late are harder to link to the crash if nobody wrote them down early.

A concussion may support a claim when another party’s negligence caused the crash and medical records document the injury. Whether a particular concussion supports a claim depends on the facts. More severe brain injuries are a different category. The firm also handles those, and its traumatic brain injury page covers them.

First Steps After a Crash in Virginia

Report the crash, get medical care, and start keeping records right away. 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). That duty is separate from the lawsuit deadline covered below. The two-year period is the deadline to file a lawsuit, not to report a crash (Va. Code § 8.01-243).

Write down what you remember while it is fresh. Note the time, weather, road conditions, and anything the other driver said.

Get a medical evaluation even when symptoms seem mild. An early record shows when symptoms began and links them to the crash. Keep a dated symptom journal, notes of missed work or school, and copies of every letter from an insurance company.

Be careful with recorded statements and releases. Read what a document covers before you sign it. The State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance says it cannot represent a claimant in litigation or determine the monetary value of a car accident claim (Bureau of Insurance complaint page).

How a Concussion Is Documented and Proven

A concussion is usually proven through several kinds of records working together, not a single test. Medical records carry most of the weight. These often include:

• Emergency and follow-up treatment notes
• Primary care or neurology findings
• Cognitive testing results
• Referrals to therapy

Your records should tell one consistent story. Describe symptoms the same way at each visit, and say when they got better or worse. Consistent reporting across providers helps show the medical picture. Gaps in treatment give the other side something to question.

Crash evidence matters too. Useful items include the police report, photographs, vehicle damage, and witness names and details. Medical providers and accident reconstruction professionals may give opinions in a claim. Those opinions can support the records, but they do not replace them.

Partial Fault and Filing Deadlines

Under Va. Code § 8.01-230, the prescribed limitation period for an injury to the person begins to run from the date the injury is sustained, not when the resulting damage is discovered, except where otherwise provided by statute. 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.

Insurers may argue that the injured person contributed to the crash. How that argument plays out turns on the facts of each crash. Insurance adjusters may also review what you say and post after a crash, so keep statements about your activities accurate.

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. Under Va. Code § 8.01-243, subsection A, unless otherwise provided in that section or by other statute, every action for personal injuries, whatever the theory of recovery, shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues.

Some claims carry shorter notice requirements. Do not wait to learn which dates apply to your claim.

How the Firm Handles a Brain Injury Claim

The firm handles car and commercial truck crash claims, catastrophic injuries, and traumatic brain injury cases from its Winchester and Harrisonburg offices. It represents people across the northern and central Shenandoah Valley, Richmond and Henrico County.

Crashes involving commercial vehicles can involve more than one party. Delivery vans and work trucks can bring in more parties and more records.

A typical claim follows these stages:

1. Intake of the crash facts
2. Gathering medical and crash records
3. Reviewing fault and the insurance involved
4. Building the medical proof
5. Negotiation
6. Filing suit, if needed

Each stage moves at the pace the facts and records allow. Early on, the firm focuses on gathering records before any settlement discussion begins. The firm’s support staff help track records and deadlines. You stay in control of decisions about your claim.

When a Brain Injury Leads to a Wrongful Death Claim

When a crash-related brain injury causes death, the family may share in a wrongful death claim if the death was caused by the wrongful act, neglect, or default of any person or corporation, and the injured person could have brought a claim had they lived. That path differs from a claim for the injured person’s own injuries.

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.

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).

Keeping records of the decedent’s medical care, work history and household role can help a family document the losses the statute lists. Readers whose injuries include more than a concussion can review the firm’s traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury pages.

Frequently Asked Questions