Virginia Car Accident Law

Virginia Car Accident Fault

Virginia has adopted the Contributory Negligence standard of negligence. Contributory Negligence prevents an injured party from recovering for an injury if he was in any way at fault for the injury.

VIRGINIA CAR INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITS

Virginia Bodily Injury Liability Minimum Coverage

Personal Injury (single passenger): $25,000 in coverage for injury to an individual.

Personal Injury (multiple passengers): $50,000 in coverage for the driver and passengers in the car at the time of the accident.

Property Damage: $20,000 of minimum coverage.

Virginia Small Claims Limit: Car accident claims under $5,000 should be filed in Small Claims Court.

Virginia Personal Injury Statute of Limitations: The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Virginia is 2 years from the date the injury occurred.

Virginia Statutes Online: Virginia Code, Title 8.01, Ch. 4, §§ 8.01-243, 247.1 (Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury); Virginia Code § 38.2-124 (Insurance Requirements); Virginia Code § 16.1-122.3 (Small Claims Limits).

VIRGINIA CAR ACCIDENT REPORTS

Virginia Police Reports: You can send a written request for a car accident report to the local branch of the Virginia State Police closest to where the accident occurred, or, visit the Virginia State Police Division Headquarters closest to where the accident occurred.

DMV: If the property damage for any driver is $1,500 or more, or if anyone involved in the accident was injured or died, Virginia requires that the police be contacted and that they file a crash report with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Insurance Notification: You should promptly notify your auto insurance company of a car accident. Your insurance company may have specific notification requirements, so you should check your insurance policy for these notice requirements.