In Virginia, the law does not permit someone to recover money in a personal
injury lawsuit if that person's negligence contributed in whole or in
part to the accident or the injury.
This is known as the doctrine of contributory negligence. It is not always
easy to determine whether contributory negligence is going to be an obstacle
to recovery. It is always best to have your claim evaluated by a qualified
attorney in order to determine whether or not your act is going to prevent recovery.