What to do after a car accident in Virginia

A crash on I-95 near Springfield, a two-lane road in the Blue Ridge, or a side street in Richmond can turn an ordinary day upside down in seconds. What you do in the next few hours, and over the next two years, matters more in Virginia than in most states, because the Commonwealth enforces some of the strictest crash and injury rules in the country. Here is what applies specifically to you here.

Stop, help, and report at the scene

Virginia law requires you to stop right away if your crash injured someone or damaged an attended vehicle or property. You have to give your name, address, driver's license number, and vehicle registration to police and to the other driver, and you have to render reasonable assistance to anyone hurt, including arranging or providing a ride to a hospital when it's clearly needed.¹ Leaving the scene is a serious crime here. It's a Class 5 felony if anyone was injured or killed or if property damage tops $1,000, and a Class 1 misdemeanor for damage of $1,000 or less.¹

Call 911 for any injury or a blocked road. If ice or snow played a role, and Virginia gets plenty of both in the mountains and the northern counties, you can pull up current road conditions through VDOT's 511 service at 511.vdot.virginia.gov or by dialing 511.²

The rule that can wipe out your whole claim

This is the part drivers from other states get wrong. Virginia is one of only a few places that still follows pure contributory negligence. The Virginia State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance states it flatly: "Virginia is a contributory negligence state."³ In plain terms, if you're found even one percent at fault for the crash, you can be barred from recovering anything from the other driver.

There is one narrow exception, the last clear chance doctrine, which can preserve recovery when the other driver had a real, final opportunity to avoid the collision and failed to take it.⁴ Don't plan around it. What the rule means at the scene is concrete: don't apologize or admit fault, even out of politeness, and document everything you can. Photos of both vehicles, their positions, skid marks, traffic signals, and the weather can decide whether your claim gets paid or denied.

The same logic reaches your injuries. See a doctor promptly and follow the treatment plan, because a gap in care is exactly what an insurer will point to when it argues you made your own condition worse.

The police crash report

An investigating officer files a crash report, and you'll want a copy for your records and any claim. The Virginia DMV releases these reports through Information Request Form CRD 93 at $8 per copy.⁵ Our Virginia crash report page covers how to request yours.

Your deadline is two years, and it's firm

Virginia gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit.⁶ Claims for property damage, including your vehicle, get a longer window of five years.⁶ Miss the injury deadline and the court will almost certainly dismiss the case, no matter how severe your injuries were. Two years goes quickly once you're managing treatment and insurance back-and-forth, so mark the date early.

What insurance actually pays here

Virginia is an at-fault, or tort, state. The driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurer, is responsible for the other side's injuries and property damage.³

The minimum coverage every driver must carry went up recently. For policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, the floor is 50/100/25: $50,000 for injury to one person, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage.⁷ The prior minimum through 2024 was 30/60/20, so an older or bare-minimum policy may carry less than you'd expect.⁷

Another recent change is worth knowing. Through the middle of 2024, Virginia let drivers skip insurance entirely by paying a $500 Uninsured Motor Vehicle fee to the DMV. That option ended on July 1, 2024, and every vehicle registered in the Commonwealth now has to carry a liability policy meeting the state minimums.⁸ That doesn't guarantee every driver on the road is actually insured, which is why the next coverage matters so much.

Two coverages tend to surprise people after a crash:

Uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is built into every Virginia auto policy. It has to match your liability limits and include at least $20,000 for UM property damage. You can reject only the coverage above the state minimum, and only in writing; the minimum can't be waived.⁹ This is what pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough.
Virginia has no personal injury protection (PIP) requirement. Instead, insurers must offer optional Medical Payments (Med Pay) coverage of at least $2,000 per person, which you can accept or decline in writing.¹⁰ If you bought it, it can help cover medical bills regardless of who was at fault.

If your car was repaired well but is now worth less on paper because it carries an accident on its history, that lost value is a separate claim. Our Virginia diminished value page explains how it works.

Distracted driving, DUI, and motorcycles

In Virginia it's illegal to hold a phone or other handheld device while driving, even if you aren't texting or dialing. A first offense is a $125 fine, a second or later offense is $250, and any violation in a highway work zone carries a mandatory $250 fine.¹¹ If the other driver was holding a phone, that citation can back up your version of events.

Drunk driving crashes can open the door to punitive damages when the conduct was willful or wanton. Virginia caps punitive damages at $350,000 total, regardless of how many defendants are involved.¹²

If you were riding a motorcycle, Virginia requires every operator and passenger to wear a helmet that meets DOT, Snell, or ANSI standards.¹³ Going without one doesn't automatically end a claim, but under the contributory negligence rule an insurer may try to use it against you.

When to bring in a lawyer

Because contributory negligence is so unforgiving and the two-year clock is enforced strictly, plenty of Virginia crashes are worth a free consultation even when fault seems obvious. If the insurer is hinting that you share blame, if your injuries are serious, or if fault is genuinely in dispute, that's the point to get advice before you give a recorded statement or sign anything. You can find a Virginia attorney through our legal directory.

This article is general information about Virginia law, not legal advice.

Sources

Va. Code § 46.2-894, Duty of driver to stop in event of accident involving injury, death, or damage. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-894/
Virginia Department of Transportation, Winter Weather and 511 road conditions. https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/travel-traffic/driver-safety/weather/
Virginia State Corporation Commission, Bureau of Insurance, Virginia Auto Insurance Consumer Guide. https://www.scc.virginia.gov/consumers/insurance/property-casualty-consumer/virginia-auto-insurance-guide/
Lawrence v. Wirth, 226 Va. 408, 309 S.E.2d 315 (1983). https://law.justia.com/cases/virginia/supreme-court/1983/810149-1.html
Virginia DMV, Request a Police Crash Report. https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/records/request-police-crash-report
Va. Code § 8.01-243, Personal action for injury to person or property generally. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title8.01/chapter4/section8.01-243/
Va. Code § 46.2-472, Amounts of required liability insurance coverage. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter4/section46.2-472/
Virginia DMV, New laws take effect July 1, 2024. https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/news/new-laws-take-effect-today-july-1-2024
Va. Code § 38.2-2206, Uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance coverage. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title38.2/chapter22/section38.2-2206/
Va. Code § 38.2-2201, Insurance for medical expense and loss of income benefits. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title38.2/chapter22/section38.2-2201/
Va. Code § 46.2-818.2, Holding handheld personal communications device while driving. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-818.2/
Va. Code § 8.01-38.1, Limitation on recovery of punitive damages. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title8.01/chapter3/section8.01-38.1/
Va. Code § 46.2-910, Motorcycle and autocycle operators and passengers to wear protective helmets. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-910/

What to Do After a Car Accident in Virginia