What Is A Rear End Accident In Virginia?
Key Highlights:
- What is a rear end accident in Virginia? It occurs when the front of one vehicle collides with the rear of another, and a rebuttable presumption of negligence may arise against the rear driver under certain circumstances.
- Virginia follows the strict contributory negligence rule, meaning that if you are found to be even 1% liable for the accident under the statute, you will be completely prohibited from receiving compensation.
- In cases of rear impact crash injuries, such as whiplash rear end accident Virginia, pain and symptoms may not manifest until 48 to 72 hours after the accident due to adrenaline fading away and subsequent soft tissue inflammation developing.
- Seek help from experienced legal staff to help protect your rights, utilize a no-risk, contingent fee structure at Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm.
Drivers in Virginia get hit by other drivers from behind every single day with little or no warning. A clear understanding of what is a rear end accident in Virginia is your first step in protecting your health and your right to receive proper compensation for your injuries. A rear-end accident is defined as a collision where the front of one vehicle collides into the rear of another vehicle;
While this seems like a simple definition, the legal, medical, and financial ramifications for all involved in a rear-end accident are voluminous. At Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm, we have been helping Virginia residents navigate these types of cases for many years with our experienced team of lawyers.
If you were injured in a rear-end accident, please contact our office at (800) 529-0804 to schedule a free consultation; you do not owe us anything unless we win your case.
Why Rear-End Collisions Happen and Why They’re So Dangerous
There is an extraordinary amount of traffic on Virginia’s roadways, and the frequency of rear end accident Virginia is staggering. The most common type is distracted driving rear end collision while traveling at highway speeds. A driver who takes their eyes off the road for even a few seconds can travel a significant distance without observing traffic conditions. Tailgating accident Virginia is the second biggest cause of rear-end collisions; a driver who tailgates has no margin for error when traffic slows down; therefore, they have no time to react in order to avoid an accident.
When stop and go traffic accident Virginia occurs in a dense urban environment in Virginia, the same problem occurs; trailing drivers have little or no reaction time to stop when they see vehicles in front of them brake suddenly. Poor visibility from rain, fog, and low sun glare during the fall months in Virginia reduces drivers’ reaction time, making it even more dangerous to drive then. A commuter’s ordinary trip home from work can end in a violent collision, requiring extensive medical treatment, and most likely will involve a complicated claim with the insurance company.
Rear-End Crash Injuries: What Happens to Your Body and Why Symptoms Are Often Delayed
Our bodies were simply not designed to endure sudden rear-end impacts. Even a small jolt can result in significant, unseen injury to the brain and spinal cord.
The Biomechanics of a Rear-Impact Crash
A rear impact crash injuries cause violent forward propulsion of the torso due to the seat pushing the torso forward, while the head follows much more slowly, resulting in the neck being extended and flexed back and forth. This violent movement is referred to as whiplash rear end accident Virginia and other states, creating tears in the fragile soft tissues, ligaments, muscles, and discs in the neck area.
The Problem of Delayed Pain Signals
The true extent of these injuries will typically not be immediately evident right after the collision occurs, as a result of an adrenaline rush, which will mask the pain signal. After approximately 48 to 72 hours, many people will experience some soft tissue inflammation and, as time passes, will reveal the extent of their actual injuries.
Deep Internal Structural Damage
In addition to muscle strain, trauma from rapid, violent movement may also cause herniation of cervical discs as well as traumatic brain injury (TBI). Compression related to discs may not produce symptoms immediately but may take several days to weeks after injury before producing severe symptoms, including radiating pain, numbness, or tingling in arms and legs.
The Trap of Quick Insurance Settlements
Many victims of rear-end accidents will feel fine immediately after the crash and seek a quick car accident settlement rear end crash deal with the insurance company. This can then come back to haunt them if they find out they need surgery and/or ongoing therapy and can no longer pursue additional compensation since their claim has been settled.
Protecting Your Health and Your Legal Claim
Make sure that you see the doctor for an evaluation no later than 24 to 48 hours after you have been in an accident. If you wait too long before getting medical attention, you are giving the insurance adjusters the evidence they need to claim that your injuries were the result of other causes, thereby jeopardizing your personal injury rear end crash claim.
What Is a Rear End Accident in Virginia And Who Is Actually Liable?
In Virginia, causing a rear-end car accident can be quite complicated because the law is set up to create a presumption of negligence against the vehicle rear-ending another vehicle.
- Who Is Held Liable: The driver responsible for the accident in Virginia will always be the driver whose negligence caused it. Generally speaking, this will be the trailing driver at the point of impact; however, fault can also shift to the leading vehicle driver or third party based on violations of traffic laws.
- The Presumption of Fault: If a traffic collision occurs between the two vehicles, the rear end car accident liability is often presumed negligent unless evidence suggests otherwise. This principle is closely related to Virginia’s following-too-closely statute, Virginia Code § 46.2-816, which requires motorists to maintain a reasonable and prudent distance from the vehicle ahead. However, if the lead vehicle driver brakes suddenly, or if another motor vehicle causes the accident due to negligence, either driver could be held liable in a civil court.
- When Fault is Disputed: The rear vehicle may not always have been at fault for a claim made for a tailgating accident Virginia. Fault can be disputed when the vehicle approaching backed up unexpectedly, cuts off the traffic lane, or moves with damaged brakes, causing the accident.
- The Strict 1% Fault Rule: If you are determined responsible for causing the accident under Virginia’s strict approach to Virginia auto accident negligence, and you are determined responsible even at just a 1%, you are completely barred from recovering damages.
- Weaponized Insurance Tactics: The insurance adjuster and their representative will twist your claims by redundantly using your statements concerning a “hard” brake tap or lane change, etc., to document your involvement in the rear end accident Virginia.
- Complex Multi-Vehicle Piles: The fact that there was more than one vehicle involved in the accident means each vehicle’s driver could be responsible for causing the accident. Each driver’s auto insurance company will attempt to place blame on another driver or their insurance company, creating an environment of finger-pointing. Insurance companies will fight with each other over liability, creating a chaotic and confusing situation to navigate through when pursuing your Virginia rear end collision claim.
How Insurance Companies Handle Rear-End Claims and How to Protect Yours
After an accident, the insurance company for the at-fault driver will not be working in your favor. Their main focus will be on trying to reduce how much money they pay you for your accident. They will use a number of different strategies and pressure tactics to try to reach their goal.
The Adjuster’s Strategy: Look for Flaws
After a rear end car accident liability, the insurance adjuster will immediately review the other driver’s statements, vehicle accident reports, and when you receive your medical attention. The adjuster will look for inconsistencies in your statements, medical treatment, or recovery timeline to justify paying less to the other driver.
The “Minimal Damage” Trap
It is common for insurers to use the “minimal vehicle damage equals minimal injury” strategy to try to deny claims for injuries from low-speed accidents. An insurer will, on occasion, choose to ignore the fact that recent developments in automotive engineering and construction mean that the ability of an automobile to absorb the shock of impact will help reduce the level of damage to an automobile while, at the same time, transferring the energy of the impact directly to the passengers of the automobile.
Evidentiary Foundation for a Strong Case
Without suitable and prompt documentation available during a personal injury rear end crash claim, your monetary damages case could easily go unapproved. To obtain a car accident settlement rear end crash, you must build a mountain of unrefuted evidence demonstrating how the impact caused your current medical diagnosis to occur.
Critical Evidence to Gather Immediately
To counter the insurance company’s efforts to deny your claim, our car accident attorneys work to acquire evidence with a very short life span, including:
- Obtaining dash cam video and/or nearby business surveillance video
- Obtaining event data recorder (black box) data from the vehicles that were involved
- Obtaining cell phone records via subpoena to help establish that a distracted driving rear end collision contributed to the accident.
- Obtaining objective medical evidence, e.g., MRI or X-ray films that are of high resolution, in order to prove cause/effect of the injury
Why Timely Action Dictates the Outcome
Surveillance video usually gets overwritten after a short while, preventing you from being able to offer the video as evidence of the auto collision; thus, your claim will be rejected. Likewise, the memory of witnesses diminishes fairly quickly after an accident, so the sooner you partner with an experienced auto accident attorney, the more likely you are to successfully recover financially and be unable to pursue your claim.
Protect Your Rights After a Rear-End Accident in Virginia
Understanding what is a rear end accident in Virginia is often more complicated than many people realize because of the legal, medical, and financial issues involved. The stringent contributory negligence laws of Virginia, the delayed onset of rear impact crash injuries, and the aggressive tactics employed by insurance companies are all obstacles for victims without representation.
Attorneys at the Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm offer extensive experience and expertise in the area of rear-end accidents in Virginia. When they take a rear end accident Virginia case, they will do so on a contingent fee basis (no fees unless they win).
If you’ve been injured in a rear-end accident, give the Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm a call now. Call (800) 529-0804 for a free consultation. You’ve been through enough. We will fight for what you deserve.
Frequently Asked Questions!
Are rear-end drivers always considered at fault in Virginia?
Virginia law may create a presumption of negligence against the rear driver in certain circumstances, the driver behind may dispute this assumption with a sudden stopping case, brake light failure by the leading vehicle, or an illegal lane change by the leading vehicle.
Can a rear-end accident cause long-term neck or back pain?
Yes, whiplash, cervical disc herniations, and damage to ligaments can result in chronic pain and can require continuous physical therapy and management of pain or surgical intervention as a means of treatment.
Why do some rear-end injuries appear days after the crash?
Adrenaline secreted as a result of trauma helps to reduce your perception of pain for a short period following an injury. Your soft tissue inflammation and disc-root nerve compression will reach their maximum levels within 48 – 72 hours after a motor vehicle collision.
Can multiple cars be involved in a rear-end chain reaction crash?
Certainly! Chain reaction crashes involve multiple vehicles. Liability for chain reaction crashes can be divided among many negligent drivers. An attorney with experience will be needed to coordinate multiple claims against many insurers so that all injuries can be recovered in full.
Why do insurance companies sometimes downplay rear-end injury claims?
When an insurance company denies a claim for severity after a car accident settlement rear end crash, they will use pictures of minimal damage to the vehicle and delay tactics to pressure the unrepresented victim into settling for much less than the value of their case before they know the full extent of their injuries.
