Understanding West Virginia Personal Injury Laws
If you suffer injuries as the result of the carelessness of someone else or during a car accident, your first concern is to begin the medical treatment you need. But, medical care and other costs associated with your injury are expensive—you should not have to pay for any expenses out of your own pocket.
Personal injury law in West Virginia has specific rules that govern when you can collect compensation, how much you can collect, and who must pay your expenses.
Who is at fault under the personal injury laws in West Virginia?
Determining who is at fault under West Virginia injury law identifies both your ability to collect and who must pay, and it all boils down to proving negligence, which is broadly defined as a failure to use reasonable care. But, West Virginia personal injury law has certain requirements regarding negligence, involving failure of the other person to carry out a duty owed to you and injuries and damages you suffered as a result of that failure.
Under the state comparative negligence law, each negligent party pays compensation based on the percentage of responsibility. If you were partially responsible, your compensation is reduced based on the percentage of your own responsibility—and, if your responsibility was more than 50 percent, the modified comparative fault rule of West Virginia personal injury laws provides that you cannot recover damages from others.
To further complicate the issue, a person who has been injured by a consumer product may be able to collect under a strict liability rule, which has different provisions, based on your ability to prove you were injured and suffered damages due to the danger presented by a defective product.
The value of your Personal Injury claim
West Virginia personal injury laws allow for compensation of any cost that directly resulted from your injury. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Past and current medical expenses and future estimated medical costs.
- Lost time from work and loss or reduction of future earnings
- Property damage
- Costs for home care during recovery
- Potential lifetime costs associated with permanent disfigurement or disability
- Emotional distress
How a personal injury lawyer in West Virginia can help
It takes a highly experienced personal injury lawyer to prove negligence and damages under the law. The West Virginia injury law firm you choose must be able to work with you and possibly use its own investigative resources to collect strong evidence, have good negotiation and litigation skills, and be considerate of the special needs of their injured clients to reduce the stress and physical demands of the legal process.
We also make home and hospital visits in the event that your injury prevents you from traveling to our offices.
WV Personal Injury Lawyers Proud to Serve
The experienced West Virginia personal injury attorneys at Kaufman & McPherson, PLLC can provide you with options for gaining monetary compensation and improving your quality of life.
Car Accidents
A quick peek at a cell phone for a driver to be distracted enough to cause a life-changing accident. Depending on the nature of the accident you may need a car accident lawyer, commercial truck attorney, or a motorcycle accident attorney. That is why it is appropriate to work with the appropriate lawyer that understands the nuances.
Injury on the Job
Whether you work in a factory, an office, or a mine, workplace injuries can be exceptionally stressful. Have a strong attorney at your side as your advocate.
Slip and Fall Cases
Perhaps your landlord has put off changing a hallway light so you can’t see, or a business missed slick spot in a parking lot or store, going after a negligent party not only helps you, it prevents future injuries.
Defective Products Injuries
The United States has strong product liability laws. If you bought a product and were hurt or made ill, we can fight on your behalf.
Medical Malpractice
We put a lot of trust in our doctors, pharmacists, and hospitals, but no one is infallible. If you are in worse shape than before you saw a healthcare professional, we can lead your medical malpractice suit.
Contamination
Have you been affected by chemicals in your water or other industrial-related matters that affect your health? We help you pursue compensation.
Accidental Death
Perhaps you lost a family member in a tragic accident on the road or at work. It doesn’t matter if the death was due to hospital error, or through other negligence, we handle all of the aspects of your wrongful death case with compassion and tact.
Nursing Home Abuse
You place a lot of trust in the intuition that is charged with your parent’s care. Call us when you have proof of or concerns regarding nursing home abuse.
Bringing suit in a timely manner
In West Virginia there is a limit on how long you have to file a personal injury suit. The state’s statute of limitations depends on the kind of suit:
- For nursing home injury and death cases, one year
- For property damage, two years
- For personal injuries, two years
- For wrongful death, two years
There are situations that can cause these limitation periods to run sooner or later than one might think, and missing a limitation period results in an absolute bar to your claim. It is best to seek legal advice as soon as you know, or think, that you may have a claim. It takes time to put together a personal injury case. The sooner you contact us, the better your case.
West Virginia personal injury attorneys you can trust
The West Virginia personal injury law firm of Kaufman & McPherson, PLLC offers seriously injured victims of car, tractor trailer truck and motorcycle accidents a solid commitment. We will commit to do everything in our power to get our clients—who have been injured due to the negligence of others—full compensation, whether by skillfully negotiated settlement or a jury award through aggressive litigation at trial.
We provide frank information with no confusing legalese or complicated legal speak, and effective legal counsel. We are committed to providing clients with the highest possible care and quality of service.
Clients benefit from our reputation as fierce litigators
As a general rule, settling a personal injury lawsuit without going to court is better for the client—a quicker, more cost-effective way to resolve a case. However, insurance companies offer claimants significantly less if they believe the client or lawyer is not ready to pursue a claim in court.
We prepare every case to go to trial. Our reputation for pursuing cases until we are sure that our clients have received the maximum compensation possible lets our opponents know we mean business.
This is true for all of our West Virginia auto, commercial truck, and motorcycle accident lawyers and the clients we are proud to serve.
What You Can expect from Our Personal Injury Lawyers
When you become a personal injury client of Kaufman & McPherson, PLLC, you and your family receive an experienced accident attorney and the immediate benefit of our large support staff.
We have years of experience representing the working people of West Virginia and know how important it is to devote the time and resources to:
- Investigate your case
- Research your medical issues
- Fully document your expenses, pain and suffering
- Uncover all liable parties
- Use the most up-to-date computer technology
- Continue pursuing liable parties until you have received the maximum compensation for your injuries
- Maintain support and communication with you throughout your case