What Our Clients Say

Check out our testimonial library featuring clients discussing their experiences, and learn
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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Mediation Successes in Virginia (VA) Wrongful Death and Major Injury Cases

Mediation has brought great changes to the practice of law in the field of serious personal injury and wrongful death. In Virginia, medication is not required by the court but can be agreed to by the parties, unlike other states like North Carolina (NC) where medication is mandatory. Mediation is where the parties get together in an informal setting with a neutral person, typically a retired judge, and discuss settlement of the case with an eye towards getting the matter resolved prior to a full jury trial.

This alternate resolution option has been around for some time, but not every law firm approaches it the same way that our firm does. We prepare for the mediation just as hard as we would for full jury trial. We come into the all day mediation with a state of the art audio-visual presentation that typically blows the insurance company and the defense attorney away. We show them that we are ready, willing and able to go to trial because the presentation that we do is very similar to what the other side will see inside the court if we go to jury verdict. Sometimes, particularly in wrongful death cases, we are able to bring everyone in the medication conference to tears understanding the huge loss and grief when a loved one has been killed in an accident. During just the past year we have successfully mediated cases including:

A wrongful death at a railroad crossing where our client’s family member was hit by a train in his truck as his son in the vehicle following behind saw his father die before his eyes,
A wrongful death case where the client’s husband was killed by a delivery truck driver who slid into him on a shoulder of the highway losing control of his vehicle,
A medical malpractice case in which a doctor’s mistake killed a wife, a F.E.L.A. lawsuit in which a railroad conductor had post-traumatic stress disorder and two knee surgeries as a result of a collision between two trains, among other injury and wrongful death matters.

The common element in each of these was that we prepared hard to make the best presentation possible at mediation so that the other side was forced to do an honest evaluation of the strengths of our case.

Our team for putting on a strong show at the mediation includes a Virginia Beach audio-visual expert, Alan Michaelis, who helps us design and build the PowerPoint and video presentations. He is used by the top personal injury litigators in Virginia. He wrote an article for the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (the main organization for attorneys representing individuals in injury cases) describing what a terrific job my law partner Jim Lewis did in putting together a video of the family members in a wrongful death case and editing it down to a 30-minute film showing just how tragic the loss was to each of this person’s survivors including his widow and adult children.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. The firm's website is: hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits two injury law blogs: Virginia Beach Injuryboard & Norfolk Injuryboard, and also hosts a video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects.

How should you locate the best, top injury lawyer for your case?

Our Injury Lawyers Have Been Selected For Many Achievements Outlined Below:

Several Injury Attorneys With Our Firm have been included among the "Best Lawyers in America" 2010 Edition (Lewis-Injury Law, Shapiro-Railroad Injury Law) and been Named As Virginia "Super Lawyers" For Personal Injury Law (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009 Ed.)(Less than 5% of Outstanding Lawyers are Chosen); also selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009); named among the Top 100 Lawyers in Virginia by ATLA (Shapiro - 2009), and our law firm was the first Injury Law Firm in Virginia Invited to Join Primerus, a select group of Highly Ethical, Respected Law Firms .

In October, 2000 our law firm and co-counsel obtained, what was then, the largest record verdict in Virginia's history for an injured person (46 Million Dollar Verdict, with Interest, 60 Million Dollars, Settled confidentially during appeal). Click on icons for more details.

Geographical Areas:

Our personal injury lawyers handle personal injury cases throughout the eastern USA, and work closely with lawyers in other states on signficant injury cases.

As to Virginia (VA), this includes: Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Richmond (entire area), Petersburg, Roanoke/Salem, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, all areas of the Eastern Shore, including Accomack, Onancock, Chincoteauge, Wachapreague, and Cape Charles, Bloxom, Eastville, Exmore, Greenbackville, Machipongo, Mappsville, Melfa, Nassawadox, Onley, Tangier, Temperanceville, Wachapreague, and Wallops Island, Ashland, Big Stone Gap and any other city/ounty.

As to West Virginia (WV) personal injury claims: Bluefield, Beckley, Bridgeport, Charles Town, Charleston, Fairmont, Huntington, Lewisburg, Madison, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville, Parkersburg, Ripley, Sutton, Weirton, Wheeling, and any other town or county.

Injury Lawyers licensed in VA, WV, NC, SC, KY, FL & Wash., DC.

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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

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

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

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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.