Damages often twofold following fatal car accidents

Following a fatal car, truck or motorcycle accident, surviving family members generally experience two major types of hardship: emotional and financial. While there are other types of hardships encountered following a traumatic incident, these two broad categories are, unfortunately, shared by nearly everyone who has lost a loved one in a wreck. If a loved one’s death was due to a negligent driver, the grief may be combined with anger, frustration and the desire to hold the negligent party accountable.

In Virginia, family members who pursue a wrongful death lawsuit are often entitled to damages that can help cover both financial and emotional harm caused by the accident. Obtaining such damages, though, is no simple feat and often requires extensive legal preparation. In particular, awards for mental pain and suffering are frequently the result of an assertive legal offensive, which focuses on the plaintiff’s unique circumstances and the defendant’s responsibility for the accident. A resident of Manassas or the surrounding area may find it extremely beneficial to bring his or her case to an experienced wrongful death attorney, especially if pain and suffering become overwhelming.

Without a skilled legal team, a family may understandably buckle under the weight of emotional trauma. The effect may be that the family members are unable to move forward and the state of limitations may pass. In Virginia, with very few exceptions, the state of limitations for a wrongful death lawsuit is two years. If a family does not bring their case to a wrongful death lawyer before then, they may be unable to hold a negligent driver accountable in the future.

While the criminal justice system may penalize a negligent driver, it does not provide damages for pain and suffering. The civil system, on the other hand, allows family members to be made financially whole again and to seek damages for the emotional half of their suffering. In Northern Virginia, the Law Offices of The Law Offices of Locklin & Coleman, PLLC have handled countless fatal accident cases involving pain and suffering awards and can help any family understand their legal recourse in the midst of tragedy.