The State of Virginia is a “at-fault insurance state.” Unlike states that follow “no-fault” insurance rules, the party who is injured in a car accident does not seek compensation from their own insurance company. They seek compensation from the at-fault driver or that driver's insurance. Virginia does not use a no-fault insurance system. In states that have no-fault insurance, drivers must file accident claims against their own no-fault insurance after a car accident, regardless of who caused the accident.
In Virginia, fault determines who is responsible for injuries and damage to the vehicle in a car accident. If a driver is determined to be 100 percent at fault for an accident, the at-fault driver is financially responsible for the losses of others. However, if you were partly at fault for an accident, you cannot recover compensation under Virginia's purely contributory negligence laws. If you were injured in a car accident and want to hold the other driver financially responsible, you need to understand if Virginia is a no-fault state in car accidents.
In fact, Virginia is a at-fault state, which means that the driver whose negligence caused your accident is responsible for compensating you. While Virginia isn't a “true no-fault state,” it does have a no-fault variant of insurance in which insurers pay first-person claims. If the other driver was at fault, your insurer will ask the other party's insurance company for compensation to pay you for your claim. In a no-fault auto insurance state, the driver receives compensation for injuries from their own insurance policy up to the personal injury protection (PIP) limit, regardless of who was at fault for the accident.
In a fault-based state, such as Virginia, the person responsible for a car accident must pay or have their auto insurance pay for any medical, injury, or property damage costs. If you suffer injuries in a car accident in Virginia, you should immediately contact an experienced Virginia car accident lawyer. Next, we take a closer look at Virginia's no-fault auto insurance laws and how these laws affect your ability to sue for additional damages.
