Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer

Virginia Beach covers nearly 500 square miles and has over 450,000 residents, as well as millions of annual visitors. With so many people, preventable injuries occur daily when drivers, businesses, medical providers, or property owners act carelessly.

Serious accidents occur on roads like I-264 and Virginia Beach Boulevard, in businesses, at medical offices, and on poorly maintained rental properties. Negligence can lead to mounting medical bills, missed work, and lasting impacts on health and quality of life.

A personal injury claim, which is a legal process for seeking compensation after being harmed by someone else’s failure to take proper care, lets you pursue money for medical bills, lost income, and the injury’s impact on daily life.

Smith Law Center has represented injured people in Virginia Beach and throughout Hampton Roads since 1949. Over decades of practice, our firm has recovered more than $1 billion for clients and secured record-setting verdicts, including the largest slip-and-fall award in Virginia history.

Call (757) 244-7000 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with a Virginia Beach personal injury lawyer.

What Is It Like to Work With Smith Law Center After an Injury?

After her accident, Linda Gervin was overwhelmed by medical appointments, bills, and missed work. Smith Law Center fought to secure compensation reflecting her experience.

Hear Linda share her experience working with our team.

Cases Handled by Our Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyers

Serious injuries disrupt health, income, and family life. Our Virginia Beach attorneys represent people harmed when others fail to act with care.

We handle a wide range of personal injury and wrongful death cases, including:

• Motor vehicle accidents, including crashes involving cars and motorcycles on Virginia Beach roads;
• Pedestrian and bicycle injuries caused by inattentive or reckless drivers;
• Truck and commercial vehicle collisions involving tractor-trailers, delivery trucks, and work vehicles;
• Slip and fall injuries and other dangerous conditions at stores, restaurants, hotels, and parking areas;
• Medical malpractice, including surgical errors, misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, and medication mistakes;
• Birth injuries caused by negligence during pregnancy, labor, or delivery;
• Nursing home abuse and neglect, including falls, infections, malnutrition, and inadequate supervision;
• Dog bite injuries resulting from a failure to restrain or control an animal;
• Catastrophic injuries, including brain injuries, spinal cord damage, paralysis, and severe burns; and
• Wrongful death cases arising from fatal injuries caused by negligence.

If you are unsure whether your situation qualifies as a personal injury claim, contact us. We can review what happened, explain your legal options, and help you understand the next steps.

Why Virginia Beach Injury Claims Are Unique

Personal injury claims in Virginia Beach often involve a mix of local residents, tourists, and military families. Accidents may involve out-of-state drivers, rental vehicles, short-term visitors, or businesses that operate seasonally. These factors can affect insurance coverage, jurisdiction (which court has authority), and how claims are handled. 

Working with attorneys who regularly handle cases in Virginia Beach helps ensure these issues are addressed early, before they complicate recovery or delay compensation.

How Virginia's Contributory Negligence Rule Affects Your Case

Virginia uses one of the strictest fault standards in the country. Under the contributory negligence rule, an injured person may be barred from compensation if they are even slightly responsible for the accident.

Insurance companies use this rule to challenge otherwise valid personal injury claims. Adjusters and defense lawyers scrutinize every detail of an incident. They look for any argument that shifts even minimal blame onto the injured person, even when another party’s negligence was the primary cause of the harm.

For example, an insurer might claim a driver who was rear-ended shares responsibility for slightly exceeding the speed limit. Or they may argue that an injured customer failed to see a hazard before slipping. If that argument succeeds, Virginia law can deny the claim entirely.

Because contributory negligence can eliminate compensation altogether, early legal strategy matters. Our attorneys identify potential fault arguments from the outset, secure evidence to counter them, and build cases designed to protect your right to recover the full damages (monetary compensation for harm) you deserve.

If an insurer is suggesting you were partly at fault, don’t assume your case is over. Smith Law Center can evaluate how Virginia’s contributory negligence rule applies to your situation. Call (757) 244-7000 to speak with a Virginia Beach personal injury attorney.

What Compensation Is Available in a Virginia Beach Personal Injury Claim?

Virginia law allows people injured by another party’s negligence to seek compensation for the full range of losses caused by an injury. These losses generally fall into two categories: financial and personal.

Financial losses include the measurable costs tied to medical care and income, such as:

• Emergency room care, hospital stays, and surgical treatment;
• Follow-up appointments with physicians and specialists;
• Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and rehabilitation services;
• Prescription medications and necessary medical devices;
• Transportation and mileage expenses related to treatment;
• Home modifications required by a permanent disability;
• Wages lost during recovery; and
• Reduced earning capacity when an injury limits future work.

For many people, these expenses continue as recovery progresses. Ongoing treatment, additional procedures, and lasting work limitations can shape financial stability over time. Medical records and employment information help connect these losses to the injury.

Personal losses reflect how an injury affects your body, well-being, and daily life, including:

• Physical pain and ongoing discomfort;
• Emotional distress, anxiety, or depression;
• Loss of enjoyment of everyday activities and relationships; and
• Permanent scarring or disfigurement.

These losses are part of what a person experiences while healing from an injury. If an injury results in death, surviving family members may seek compensation for funeral costs, lost financial support, and loss of companionship and guidance.

At Smith Law Center, we focus on helping clients recover compensation that truly accounts for their medical needs, lost income, and the lasting effects of what they’ve been through.

Whether resolved through negotiation or trial, our goal remains the same: hold negligent parties accountable and pursue justice that reflects your loss.

75 Years of Results for Injured Virginians

Smith Law Center was founded in 1949 by Joseph Smith for one reason: to represent people who had been changed by serious injuries. Today, his sons, Stephen and Howard Smith, continue that work. They have grown the practice while maintaining its focus on injured clients and accountability.

As Howard Smith, Managing Partner at Smith Law Center, explains:

“Most people have never filed a personal injury claim before. They don’t know what their case may be worth, what deadlines apply, or how to respond when an insurance company pushes back. That’s where we come in. We’ve been doing this for decades, and we know how to get results.”

Independent research supports the value of experienced representation. According to a Martindale-Nolo survey, injured people who hired attorneys recovered more than three times the compensation of those who did not, even after legal fees.

Below are examples of results our attorneys have achieved for clients facing life-altering injuries:

• $14.6 million — A defective tire failed during a motorcycle ride, causing a crash that left our client with permanent brain damage. After the trial began, the tire manufacturer and dealer agreed to a settlement on the second day.
• $12.3 million — Our client suffered a traumatic brain injury after slipping on a wet floor in a convenience store. The defense challenged the severity of her injuries, but the jury returned the largest slip-and-fall verdict in Virginia history.
• $7.5 million — A rear-end collision on the drive home from work led to multiple surgeries and months of rehabilitation. The settlement allowed our client and her family to focus on recovery without financial pressure.

Many of these cases involve traumatic brain injuries and other complex medical conditions that depend on early investigation, medical evidence, and presentation of facts. Early case decisions often shape insurers' responses and determine whether a claim resolves or proceeds to trial.

For a closer look at how these cases are handled, Smith Law Center partner David Holt discusses traumatic brain injury litigation on the Cases for Causes podcast. In the episode, he explains how serious injury claims are evaluated, how insurers defend them, and how attorneys work to pursue compensation that reflects the full extent of the harm.

Listen to the Episode

What Should You Do After an Accident in Virginia Beach?

What you do in the first hours and days after an injury shapes the strength of your legal claim. Here is what we recommend:

• See a doctor immediately. Concussions, internal bleeding, and soft tissue injuries do not always produce immediate symptoms. A prompt medical evaluation creates a documented connection between the accident and your condition.
• Photograph everything. Capture the accident scene, your injuries, vehicle damage, and any hazardous conditions. More photos are always better than fewer.
• Preserve physical evidence. Hold onto damaged clothing, broken personal items, and anything else connected to the accident.
• Record the details while they are fresh. Write down the date, time, weather, who was present, and what was said. Memory fades quickly.
• Collect contact and insurance information. Get names, phone numbers, and policy details from the other party and any witnesses.
• Obtain official reports. Request a copy of the police report after a vehicle accident. For property injuries, ask the business or owner for an incident report.
• Stay on track with your treatment plan. Attend every follow-up appointment, complete prescribed therapy, and take your medications. Gaps in treatment give insurers an opening to argue that your injuries are not serious.

Steps to Avoid

• Do not give a recorded statement to an insurance adjuster. You are not required to provide one, and adjusters are trained to frame questions in ways that weaken your claim. Speak with a Virginia Beach personal injury attorney first.
• Do not post about the accident on social media. Insurance companies monitor Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms for content they can use against you.
• Do not accept an early settlement offer. Initial offers almost never account for ongoing treatment, future lost wages, or long-term effects. Once you accept, the case is closed.
• Do not discard damaged property. Keep everything, including your vehicle, until it has been fully documented.

Virginia law gives you two years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. Missing that deadline forfeits your right to seek compensation, so reaching out to a Virginia Beach personal injury lawyer early is important.

Questions Injury Victims Often Ask Us

Do I need to wait until treatment is finished?
Many people worry they must complete medical care before reaching out. In reality, early legal guidance can help protect records, evidence, and deadlines while treatment continues.

What if I don’t feel hurt right away?
Symptoms such as concussions, soft tissue injuries, and internal issues may take time to appear. Early documentation helps link injuries to the accident.

Will my case go to court?
Many claims resolve through negotiation, but preparation matters either way. How a case is handled early often determines whether litigation becomes necessary.

Medical and Recovery Resources for Injury Victims in Virginia Beach

Recovering from a serious injury often means working with more than one medical provider. Emergency care, follow-up treatment, rehabilitation, and documentation can all become part of the process.

In Virginia Beach and the surrounding area, injury victims may rely on resources such as:

Emergency and Hospital Care

Hospitals providing emergency and trauma care include Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital and Sentara Princess Anne Hospital. 

For the most severe injuries, patients are often treated at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the region’s Level I Trauma Center. Children may receive specialized care at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters.

Urgent Care

For non-emergency injuries, many patients visit walk-in clinics such as Patient First or Sentara Urgent Care locations throughout the city.

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation

Ongoing recovery may involve physical therapy providers like Pivot Physical Therapy, Select Physical Therapy, or Tidewater Physical Therapy.

Mental Health Support

Emotional and psychological support is available through organizations such as the Virginia Beach Department of Human Services and Hampton Roads Community Health Center.

Accident Reports and Documentation

Accident reports may be handled by the Virginia Beach Police Department or the Virginia State Police, depending on where the incident occurred. Certain crashes must also be reported to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Our Virginia Beach personal injury attorneys help clients understand which records matter, assist with obtaining documentation, and handle the legal side of the process while clients focus on recovery.