A wrong-way driver accident is a collision caused by a vehicle traveling against the flow of traffic, usually on a divided highway, a one-way street or an exit ramp, and it most often ends in a head-on impact. In Virginia, a claim for those injuries is a car accident claim with some particular features: fault is rarely in doubt, but the injuries usually outstrip the insurance.
Blank Kim Injury Law represents people hurt in wrong-way crashes, and families who lost someone in one, across Northern Virginia. We work from our Fairfax office on Chain Bridge Road. Attorney Robert Kim speaks Korean, and our paralegal team speaks Spanish.
Why drivers end up going the wrong way
Wrong-way crashes tend to happen late at night, and the causes repeat:
- Impairment. Alcohol and drugs are behind many wrong-way entries onto highways. See our page on drunk driver accidents.
- Exit ramps taken as entrances. A confused driver turns up an off-ramp and merges into oncoming highway traffic.
- Reversible and managed lanes. The I-95 and I-395 Express Lanes change direction during the day, and a driver who misses a closure can end up facing oncoming cars.
- Unfamiliar roads and one-way streets, such as the paired one-way stretches of Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards in Arlington.
- Medical events, fatigue or disorientation, including older drivers who become confused at night.
The cause matters because it can point to other responsible parties and other insurance, and because some causes, such as intoxication, change what damages are available.
Fault in a wrong-way crash
Driving against traffic is a clear violation of the rules of the road, so the wrong-way driver is almost always found at fault. That does not stop insurers from looking for a way out. Virginia follows contributory negligence, which generally bars recovery by a person found even slightly at fault, and an adjuster can argue that you were speeding, distracted or slow to react.
Two principles push back. Contributory negligence is not a defense to willful and wanton conduct, which can include driving drunk the wrong way down a highway. And the question is whether anything you did actually contributed to the crash, not whether you were perfect. Vehicle event data, which records speed and braking in the seconds before impact, is often the best answer to the “you should have swerved” argument. Read more in our guide to contributory negligence in Virginia.
When the wrong-way driver’s insurance is not enough
Head-on crashes cause injuries whose costs can quickly exceed a driver’s liability limits, and Virginia’s minimum limits under Va. Code § 46.2-472 are low compared with a long hospital stay. Wrong-way drivers are also more likely than average to be uninsured, impaired or both.
- The wrong-way driver’s liability policy is the first source.
- Your own underinsured motorist coverage, required in every Virginia policy by Va. Code § 38.2-2206, can pay when that policy runs out. See uninsured and underinsured motorist claims.
- An employer’s policy can apply if the driver was working, and a vehicle owner’s policy if the car was borrowed.
- Your optional medical payments coverage helps with bills while the claim proceeds.
Punitive damages when the driver was intoxicated
Virginia law specifically allows punitive damages against certain intoxicated drivers under Va. Code § 8.01-44.5, subject to the $350,000 cap in Va. Code § 8.01-38.1. Whether the statute’s conditions are met depends on the evidence from the arrest, so we obtain the test results and police video as early as possible.
Could the road itself have played a part?
Some ramps and interchanges see wrong-way entries again and again, because of confusing layouts, missing or faded signs, or poor lighting. When a crash happens at one of these spots, we look at whether the road’s design or upkeep contributed.
Claims against government road owners are difficult and move on short timelines. A claim against the Commonwealth under the Virginia Tort Claims Act requires written notice within one year under Va. Code § 8.01-195.6, and the Act limits the amount recoverable. Claims against a county, city or town generally require notice within six months under Va. Code § 15.2-209, and local governments have immunity for many governmental functions. See government claim notice in Virginia and our page on pothole and road defect claims.
Injuries, wrongful death and deadlines
Head-on impacts cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, crushed legs and pelvises, chest and internal injuries, and burns. Many victims are taken to Inova Fairfax Medical Campus in Falls Church, the region’s Level I trauma center, and face months of rehabilitation.
Virginia generally allows two years from the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A). When a crash is fatal, the personal representative brings a wrongful death claim, generally within two years of the death under Va. Code § 8.01-244(B). Family members often call us while their loved one is still in the hospital, and we can begin preserving evidence right away.
