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★ Virginia · fracture

Fracture settlements
in Virginia.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

In a contributory negligence state, the first question in a trip and fall fracture case is whether you should have seen the hazard. Virginia lets a jury excuse you when a real distraction pulled your eyes away, as two falls, one onto a hip and one onto an elbow, show.

Facts that decide a fracture claim in Virginia

Open and obvious hazardsWhen you are hurt by an open and obvious danger, you must show conditions outside yourself that prevented you from seeing it or excuse the failure; the distraction must be “unexpected and substantial.”Fultz v. Delhaize America (Va. 2009)
When fault is for the juryContributory negligence is ordinarily a question of fact and becomes one of law only when reasonable minds could not differ.Fultz v. Delhaize America (Va. 2009)
Fault ruleContributory negligence: if your own negligence is a proximate cause of the accident, it bars recovery. Last clear chance does not supersede that rule; a negligent plaintiff may recover only if his negligence was a remote cause.Williams v. Harrison (Va. 1998)
Deadline to sue“[E]very action for personal injuries, whatever the theory of recovery … shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues.”Va. Code § 8.01-243(A)
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Your fracture claim in Virginia. See the number for your own case.

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★ VA · reported fracture outcomes

What Virginia courts have awarded.

Real Virginia decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Little Creek Investment Corp. v. Hubbard
    Supreme Court of Virginia · 1995
    $300,000 verdict, affirmed

    Bertha Hubbard left the Roses store where she worked at about 10 p.m. on a dark, rainy, very windy night in 1991. A security guard had seen a car muffler by a garbage can but left it because he assumed everyone would see it. Hubbard, walking behind coworkers and looking ahead, tripped over it and fractured her hip. The jury awarded $300,000 against the shopping center owner, and the Supreme Court affirmed over a dissent that would have barred her for not looking down.

  • Fultz v. Delhaize America
    Supreme Court of Virginia · 2009
    Summary judgment reversed; case goes to a jury

    Doris Fultz was using an ATM inside a Food Lion store, standing between metal bars bolted about five inches off the floor, when her three year old grandson suddenly moved away. She turned toward him, tripped over a bar and fractured three bones in her right elbow. The trial court ruled her contributorily negligent as a matter of law, but the Supreme Court held a jury must decide whether the distraction excused her.

★ VA · fracture · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a fracture settlement in Virginia.

  1. 1

    Name the distraction. Fultz’s grandson running off and Hubbard’s dark, windy walk out with coworkers both got their cases to a jury.

  2. 2

    Photographs of the hazard matter. The Fultz court studied pictures of bars that forced every ATM user to stand between them.

  3. 3

    A property owner who sees a hazard and leaves it is exposed. The guard in Hubbard saw the muffler and assumed people would step around it.

★ VA · statute of limitations
2 years from date of injury

Va. Code § 8.01-243

★ VA · fault rule
Pure contributory negligence

Pure contributory negligence, 1% claimant fault bars all recovery. Virginia retains the rule by long-standing common-law tradition and has resisted both judicial and legislative repeal.

★ VA · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a fracture settlement in Virginia.

★ fracture · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Virginia's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for fracture claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationFracture page
Virginia · you are herePure contributory negligence2 years from date of injury—
West VirginiaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryWV · fracture →
AlabamaPure contributory negligence2 years from date of injuryAL · fracture →
ArkansasModified comparative, 50% bar3 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeAR · fracture →
FloridaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury (was 4; reduced by HB 837)FL · fracture →
GeorgiaModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryGA · fracture →
KentuckyPure comparative negligence1 year for personal injury (one of the shortest in the US)KY · fracture →
District of ColumbiaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryDC · fracture →
MarylandPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryMD · fracture →
North CarolinaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryNC · fracture →
WashingtonPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryWA · fracture →
WisconsinModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryWI · fracture →
WyomingModified comparative, 51% bar4 years from date of injuryWY · fracture →
★ VA · fracture · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Hurt in a car crash in Virginia? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

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Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of VA
Virginia overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Virginia as a whole.

★ national frame
Fracture in United States

Fracture band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Fracture · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of fracture bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Virginia. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.