Personal injury covers a broad swath of tort law. A tort is a civil wrong that results in some injury. The purpose of tort law is to compensate the injured party. The purpose is to make that injured party whole. That can only be accomplished through an award of money. There are other pages and posts on this site that have dealt with this issue. To find out if you have grounds for a personal injury claim, meet with an Arlington personal injury lawyer.
Some Specific Areas of Concern in Regard to Personal Injury Cases
Personal injury claims are what are called “civil claims”. They are filed as a civil action, typically in the circuit court. They may also be filed in the lower court, which is called “the general district court”.
Even though a person has been injured and may have a lawsuit pending, their life goes on.
They may file bankruptcy. If they do, that is something that needs to be brought to the attention of the attorney handling the personal injury claim in Arlington. Depending upon the chapter of bankruptcy that is filed, you may or may not own your claim.
If the bankruptcy filing was under Chapter 7, then the trustee owns the claim. The trustee can abandon that claim and allow you to pursue it. The trustee, however, may decide to keep the claim. The trustee may then appoint someone to handle the claim because it has substantial value. If that can increase the overall value of the bankruptcy estate, then the trustee may decide to keep the claim and pursue it.
Different rules may apply if the filing is under Chapter 13. The point to be made is that the bankruptcy lawyer and the personal injury lawyer need to be made aware of these respective claims. The bankruptcy lawyer needs to be told about the personal injury claim. The personal injury lawyer needs to be aware of the bankruptcy. Even if the bankruptcy was filed a long time ago, if it is still pending, then the personal injury lawyer needs to be aware of it.
The personal injury claim itself needs to be listed as an asset on your Schedule of Assets as part of the bankruptcy filing.
Failure to do those things can be fatal.
Divorce During the Course of a Personal Injury Claim
While your attorney is handling your personal injury claim in Arlington, life obviously goes on. There may be a divorce that occurs. The spouse of the plaintiff may be entitled to a portion of any personal injury or workers’ compensation settlement. Virginia has adopted what is known as “equitable distribution laws”. This provides for a fair distribution of what is referred to as “marital property”. To the extent that there is a loss of income claim or a claim for medical expenses not covered by health insurance, that may be part of the marital estate. Any recovery for those may be subject to division by the divorce court.
What If There Is a Second Injury?
Sometimes a person has one injury, and then shortly thereafter they have another injury. The two are unrelated. At least they may be unrelated in terms of time or circumstances. They are related, however, if they involve the same body part. If they involve the same types of symptoms, they may be related. If they involve similar disabilities, they may be related. All of that needs to be disclosed to the personal injury lawyer in Arlington so that the issues can be dealt with. Most lawyers operate on the premise that they need to know everything about everything. If the lawyer knows that, then the lawyer should be able to deal with the problems. A second injury does not necessarily diminish the first injury. It is something that simply needs to be addressed honestly. It may be that the two injuries are different and they can be so distinguished. It may be, however, that they overlap.
Hire a Personal Injury Attorney After an Accident in Arlington
Following an accident, meet with an Arlington personal injury lawyer who can review your case, explain your legal options, and work toward securing fair compensation.
