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Why Clients Choose Us

You went above and beyond the call of duty for an attorney.
I like to deal with people who are honest and who keep their word. You are that kind of straight shooter.
I would recommend Mr. Shapiro and his staff to other persons who have a personal injury and need help with their situation as I did.
I asked a friend of mine...what attorney would he use [to handle a mesothelioma case] and he immediately said Rick Shapiro. He called Rick on his cell phone and explained our situation and handed me the phone. That connection to the law firm of Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis and Appleton began a relationship of trust and a sense of confidence that we had not experienced before. It was apparent to us that we had the right team fighting for our father.
She returned my calls promptly and everyone at the office was courteous and helpful.
I was really happy with the work that John Cooper did on my auto accident case. We went to mediation and got the case resolved for a good amount which will let me do things to help my financial future like buying a house.

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This is a list of our firm's case results. We can't guarantee you'll receive the same results, but we can guarantee we'll work tirelessly on your behalf and try to obtain the jury verdict/settlement you deserve.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that every case is different and these verdicts and settlements, while accurate, do not represent what we may obtain for you in your case.

Rail Conductor gets Career Ending Injury due to Bad "Drawhead"

Court/Date: U.S. District Court/Tennessee- November, 2004 HSCL staff: John M. Cooper, attorney; Theresa L. Martin, paralegal; Vera VanOverstraeten, legal assistant; Charlie Cunningham, investigator What Happened: Our client was a veteran Norfolk Southern Conductor in Tennessee with over 20 years service to the railroad. One night at an industry he was forced to move a train car drawhead, which was slewed to the side, so that it would not pose a danger to other crews attempting to couple to the car. Our client hurt his back trying to move this misaligned coupler. Our client and one member of his crew confirmed that this coupler was not working as it should likely due to rust and poor maintenance. Our suffered permanent pain and restrictions to his ability to do his old job. He was medically disabled from his regular job. He underwent epidural steroid injections into his back as prescribed by a sports medicine surgeon. Ultimately, he had to have a decompression laminectomy on his back. The case was favorably settled after several key videotaped depositions of various supervisors that the railroad offered to defeat or minimize his claim . Key Legal Strategy: Of course, the Railroad denied any responsibility and even blamed the Conductor for his own injury. Norfolk Southern held an investigation against our client claiming that he changed his statements about how he was injured and that he was not following proper procedures when hurt. Other railroad supervisors from the mechanical department stated that there was nothing wrong with the drawhead in question. The railroad had disposed of the car in question, but later produced a similar coupler on a similar car, but the "similar" drawhead was cleaned and greased in a way that was vastly different to the original drawhead. We forced the railroad mechanical supervisors to admit in depositions that they never greased any drawheads except when a car was already in a repair shop for some other reason. We argued that realistically these drawheads could be left for years out in the elements without ever being maintenanced.

Awarded: Settled for $367,000.00 before trial.

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Offices

Main VA Office
1294 Diamond Springs Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
Phone: (757)-460-7776
Fax: (757)-460-3428
Toll Free: 1-800-752-0042

Hampton-Peninsula Area Office
Mill Point Center
101 Eaton Street
Hampton, Virginia 23669
Phone: (757)-788-8162

North Carolina Office
101 E. Elizabeth Street
Elizabeth City, NC 27909
Toll Free: 1-800-752-0042

Case Results

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE NOTE THAT EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT, AND THE VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS MENTIONED ON THIS WEBSITE, WHILE ACCURATE, DO NOT REPRESENT WHAT WE MAY OBTAIN FOR YOU IN YOUR CASE.