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By Jeffrey J. Downey
Litigating personal injury cases can be expensive and time consuming. Insurance companies know this fact and often use aggressive tactics to low ball Plaintiffs in personal injury cases.
Personal injury cases involving car, truck and bike accidents are the most common type of civil case filed in Virginia Courts. In July of 2021, the jurisdictional limit for General District Court (GDC) in Virginia has been increased from $25,000 to $50,000.
Unlike Circuit Court where one needs to bring a medical expert to obtain the admission of medical bills in most case, in General District Court (GDC) the medical records and bills can be admitted through an affidavit. As such, it’s quicker and less expensive to file a personal injury claim in General District Court. However, you can only recover $50,000 in General District Court, so you would not want to put serious injury cases in that Court.
However, cases involving soft tissue injuries like strain injuries should be filed in General District Court if the client does not have a permanent injury. This will allow the Plaintiff to obtain a quick trial date compared to Circuit Court.
In General District Court a plaintiff can litigate a case without the need for a jury and without the need to pay expensive experts to come to court and testify. Not having a jury trial can be a good thing explains Virginia Personal Injury attorney Jeffrey Downey. You may find that Judges are often more generous than juries in civil cases, especially where there is minimal damage to the Plaintiff’s vehicle.
In my experience Judges in Fairfax General District Court are more generous than juries in that venue. The old adage that Fairfax Juries have a high tolerance for other people’s pain and suffering has proven to be accurate time and time again. Juries can sometimes get caught up in discounting a Plaintiff’s case because they think he has health insurance or some other insurance benefit. Judges on the other hand, are trained to ignore these collateral source issues and render a verdict based only on the actual damages.
Virginia recently conducted a study on the outcomes of civil cases in General District Court. The article highlights some important differences between the different types of Court in Virginia. The article shows that many litigants in General District Court are not represented by attorneys which probably explains why defaults are more common in GDC.
If you or a loved one has been injured, contact the Law Office of Jeffrey J. Downey for a free consultation. Mr. Downey, who has over 35 years of experience, started his career defending insurance companies in personal injury cases. Now he uses that experience to help maximize the recovery of his clients. He handles a variety of personal injury matters, including auto accidents, truck wrecks, bicycle accidents, motorcycle accidents and premises liability cases. Take a look at what our clients are saying.
Contact Information
The firm handles cases in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC
Location: McLean, Virginia Office
8300 Greensboro Drive, Suite 810
McLean, VA 22102
Phone: 703-564-7318
Email: jdowney@jeffdowney.com