Legal Question in Personal Injury in Virginia
Appeal of Jury Decision in Alexandria Court, Virginia
On February 8th, 2000 the Alexandria VA civil court seven jury came back with verdit defendant. The defendant had been found guilty previously in criminal court for hit/run and reckless driving relating to above. The plaintiff was struck after leaving her car by ex-friend. He hit her with his jeep, then moved body and parked car. Seventeen days later she left hospital. She suffered busted colon, dislocated shoulder, knee, coma, etc. Please find attoney to fight for appeal of decision. My attorney wants $5,000 to fight and I have no money after lossing about a year from work and several major surgeries.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Appeal of Jury Decision in Alexandria Court, Virginia
Appeals _are_ expensive. They are usually handled on an hourly basis, and $5,000.00 does not seem unreasonable. Although your facts appear to favor you, there must be a reason you lost. Maybe the jury found you contributorily negligent, or found the defendant not negligent. Neither of those grounds for a defense verdict would be worth appealing in my opinion. Only errors in law or procedure have a chance of reversing the verdict on appeal. I think it is more important to find out if you have an appealable issue than it is to find an inexpensive attorney, at this stage. If you would like me to review the trial transcript and tell you if you have any hope on appeal, let me know.
Re: Appeal of Jury Decision in Alexandria Court, Virginia
I was about to respond when I saw Mr. Long's response. I concur with what he said. $5000 is quite reasonable. And you are not appealing the jury's verdict, but the court's rulings on the law: the jury instructions, evidentiary rulings, etc. Only if there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict so that reasonable minds could not differ, can a court second-guess a verdict. I would be happy to look at the file on an hourly basis to determine whether an appeal is worthwhile.