Cheapeake Personal Injury Lawyer Info: Student Paralyzed & Left With a Traumatic Brain Injury by a Roof Collapse Recovers $9,000,000 Settlement

10/15/2011
Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton
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Cheapeake Personal Injury Lawyer Info: Student Receives $9M Settlement for Paralysis and TBI

School is the last place you would expect to suffer a traumatic brain injury, broken ribs, a fractured foot, and incomplete paraplegia, but that's what happened to a 58-year-old student at a vocational school with a faulty roof. According to October's issue of Trial magazine, the student's attorney contended that the roof that collapsed on her was "improperly maintained, inspected, and modified," and that the "contractor had overweighted the roof with equipment, causing it to sag." The school had allowed the drainage system to get clogged and the roofing contractor failed to correct the sagging problem. These factors combined to create the devastating damage done not only to the school but most especially to this student's life.

The student was attending the school to become a nurse. Now at the age of 58, she will need a lifetime of medical and daily assistance -- assistance she had hoped to provide to others. She is currently in a wheelchair and "was hospitalized and in rehabilitation for six months" after the roof collapse. With medical bills mounting over $200,000 and with her lost future earnings estimated at $290,000, this victim of negligence is also expected to incur another $5 million in medical expenses and life-long assistance she now requires. Despite this, there is a silver lining for this student.

She sought the help of a personal injury lawyer who was able to negotiate a settlement with the school and the contractor for $9 million. As a personal injury lawyer who knows the satisfaction of righting wrongs such as these and similar cases involving traumatic brain injury, I'd like to congratulate attorney Joel Krissman of Long Beach, California (CA), for his diligence in this case, for holding the school and the contractor responsible, and for helping this woman, who once had hoped to help others, move forward.

Check out our firm's information on traumatic brain injury and how medical evidence cen help you recover from a life-altering injury.

Category: Brain Damage/Head Injuries

Labels: brain injury Chesapeake contractor Cooper fractured paralysis paraplegia roof school settlement student traumatic

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a VA injury law firm whose attorneys focus on personal injury and accident law and have experience handling cases brought by victims of traumatic brain injury and closed head injuries. In fact, in 2000, our firm helped a plaintiff receive what was then the largest verdict ever in a Virginia brain injury case. Then in the year 2012 we won a $21 million brain injury verdict. We also have a blog in which we discuss only topics related to brain injuries and head wounds.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been named to the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009 and listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008.Shapiro and Lewis have been named Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law since 2008. Fewer than 5 percent of lawyers receive this professional honor. In addition, our firm was the first in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Our VA injury law firm has the highest rating of AV from Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer ranking organization, which means we have a reputation for preeminent legal skill.
We have offices in Virginia Beach and Hampton, VA, but we're ready to come to you anywhere in Virginia, including Norfolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Suffolk and Newport News if you or a family member has been seriously hurt by someone else's carelessness. While not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial confidential consultations. Call us toll-free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail so we can get back to you.

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Cheapeake Personal Injury Lawyer Info: Student Receives $9M Settlement for Paralysis and TBI

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