The statute of limitations for a personal injury claim is two years from the date of the accident in Virginia. See Va. Code § 8.01-243. However, there is a little-known law that can actually be used to bar legitimate claims of injured folks from being filed against a city-owned or town-owned vehicle. This law could be called the “six month loophole.”
In Virginia, every claim against any county, city, or town for negligence is barred unless you or your attorney or representative files a written statement of the nature of the claim, including the time and place of the injury, within six months after such cause of action accrued. See Va. Code § 15.2-209. Notice of your claim must be filed within the city, county or town attorney or the chief executive of the city, county or town. The notice can only be delivered by hand or by mail, so no e-mail.
There’s a similar loophole for personal injury claims against the State of Virginia. You only have one year after injury to file your written notice of claim and it has to be filed with the State Director of the Division of Risk Management or the Attorney General.
So what does this mean? Well, it means perfectly legitimate personal injury claims can be prevented from getting into court because of insufficient notice. So, for example, let’s say a child is hit by a city-owned vehicle because the driver of the vehicle was texting-and-driving. The child spends five months in the hospital due to a traumatic brain injury. If the parents do not file a notice of claim against the city in the following month, their child’s personal injury claim could be forever barred.
It’s an unfair law, but it’s the law that we have.
The lesson – if you or a loved one get injured in an accident, don’t wait to speak to a Virginia personal injury lawyer. Take the time to either meet with an attorney or speak to them over the phone about the facts surrounding the incident.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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