



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:
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.
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 & Wash., DC.
Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton, P.C.
1294 Diamond Springs Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
Phone: (757) 460-7776
Fax: (757) 460.3428
Toll Free: (800) 752.0042
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NE NC Office
101 E. Elizabeth Street
Elizabeth City, NC 27909
Phone: (757) 460-7776
Fax: (757) 460.3428
Toll Free: (800) 752.0042
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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.
Awarded: $2,400,000.00