Malfunctioning Lift Gate Blamed for Severe Injury to Leg
Virginia (VA) accident lawyers achieved a good result to help a worker get a recovery from a negligent party in a recent case. On March 5th, 2009, a settlement of $700,000 was reached in a case involving defective equipment. The injured employee, while on the job, in Roanoke County, was moving a drapery cart that weighed about 1,200 pounds.
FELA Injury Lawyer, John Cooper, Tapped to Serve as Designated Legal Counsel for Rail Union
The Transportation Communications International Union (TCIU) has appointed John Cooper of Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton to serve as one of its designated legal counsel.
Injury Law Rules are Different in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. as it Relates to the Metro Train Collision Victims
As an experienced lawyer handling injury cases and wrongful death against railroads including Metro commuter train systems, I know what a big difference the choice of the appropriate court can make. In essence, the rules that would relate to a case can be different depending upon where the accident happened, i.e. was it still within Washington, D.C. as opposed to across the line of the District in the State of Maryland (MD).
Location of Metro Train Disaster Familiar to Our D.C. Area Injury Lawyers
The Washington and Maryland areas where the two D.C. commuter trains wrecked on Monday are well known to Rick Shapiro, our senior partner, whose practice has focused on train and railroad accidents for well over a decade.
I-264 Crash Stops Traffic and Sends Man to the Hospital
According to an article in the Virginian Pilot, a recent multiple vehicle crash on Interstate 264 near the Virginia Beach-Norfolk line stopped traffic for about 90 minutes.
Chinese Drywall Being Used to Build Chesapeake, Virginia (VA) Hotel
In an article by Mike Saewitz from The Virginian Pilot, Chinese drywall was being used in the construction of a Chesapeake Comfort Inn & Suites hotel located in the 3300 block of South Military Highway.
Sailboats Strike Overhead Power Lines in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA)
Several sailboats have become entangled in overhead power lines in St. Julian’s Creek in Chesapeake, VA. Four vessels have struck the power lines in the last 7 years and 2 of those
have caught fire and sunk, resulting in injuries and one fatality (2007).
Railroad Accident in Milwaukee Injures Two People
According to a newspaper article that appeared in The Virginian Pilot, a train in Milwaukee collided with a vehicle that was stopped on railroad tracks at a grade crossing on Monday, May 25th.
Should Virginia (VA) Emergency Vehicle Law be Revised?
When a cop causes a car accident with injury or death on a Virginia road, their insurer and employer can be sued by the victim for negligence or gross negligence in some circumstances. According to an article by Dena Potter from The Associated Press, a recent tragic accident has
led to discussion of revising emergency vehicle law in Virginia.
Virginia (VA) Jury Awards $7.5 Million in Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer Case
A great result in a medical negligence case was recently achieved in the Spotsylvania Circuit Court of Virginia in a wrongful death case about a doctor’s error in treatment. According to an article that appeared in Virginia Lawyers Weekly, a jury awarded $7.5 million to the husband of a registered nurse who died from breast cancer. Eleanor Browder had noticed a lump in her breast
and had gone to see her family practitioner from Lee’s Hill Medical Associates in May 2003.
Railroad Stocks Up, Helps Workers?
The New York Times (June, 2008) is reporting that railroad stocks are on the rise despite the turbulent market.
Wood County WV Doctor Sued For Infant Wrongful Death
After her baby died of an undiagnosed bowel obstruction, a Parkersburg, WV, mother is suing the ER doctor for wrongful death.
Tanker Driver At Fault For Truck Accident On Dulles Greenway in VA
A tired trucker veered off of Dulles Greenway on Monday morning, spilling thousands of gallons of fuel onto the median and roadway and closing multiple lanes of the highway for hours. He as been charged with reckless driving.
West Virginia Family Files Medical Malpractice Suit For Woman’s High Blood Pressure Death
After a misdiagnosis in a Charleston emergency room, a woman was discharged from the hospital and died a few hours later in her home. Now her surviving family is seeking compensation as the doctor and hospital involved point fingers.
Maryland State Delegate’s Son Killed On Motorcycle By Big Rig
A young man riding a motorcycle was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer this week - Maryland State Police believe that speeding was a factor in the fatal motorbike accident.
Stricter Bus Accident Penalties Fail In West Virginia Legislature
An attempt to make penalties for causing bus accident injuries harsher has failed in the West Virginia Legislature. A similar bill involving bus accident punishments failed last year.
Virginia Pilot Demands That Dangerous Doctors Be Disciplined
After over a decade of poor performance, Virginians from around the state are calling for tougher punishments for bad doctors and quicker discovery of medical malpractice incidents.
Obama Administration Eyes Medical Malpractice System
With changes to the greater health care system on the horizon, the new administration is looking toward revamping the federal medical malpractice system in hopes of improving patient care and saving taxpayers money.
WV Medical Malpractice Doctor John King Has Bankruptcy Denied
Facing multiple medical malpractice lawsuits, doctor John King was denied bankruptcy this week after a judge discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars of the bad doctor's hidden assets.
Virginia Mom Sues For $5 Million After Inmate Son Dies From Bad Medical Care
After her son died in jail after repeated pleas to be examined by a doctor, a Norfolk, Virginia, mother is suing the medical care company that allegedly caused the death.
Study Finds Virginia Least Likely To Discipline Medical Malpractice Doctors
Even after a number of medical malpractice system reforms in 2003, Virginia still suffers from a lax program in dealing with those accused on medical negligence.
Red Light Running May Slow Down Avoiding Virginia Beach Accidents
As an injury lawyer practicing in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), I was glad to see that the city is bringing back the red light cameras at big intersections which will reduce car crashes by 40 percent according to the Virginia Beach Police Department. Drivers at big intersections like Virginia Beach Boulevard and Independence Boulevard will get a citation for not obeying the traffic signal just based upon a camera taking a picture of the license plate under the new system.
South Carolina Illegal Employee Workers’ Comp Bill Faces Delays, Critics
South Carolina lawmakers are proposing a bill which would further limit the workers compensation rights of illegal foreign workers. The law raises several varied issues about workers' rights and worker safety.
Virginia Lawmakers Stop Bill That Would Help Workers With Traumatic Brain Injuries
A proposed bill in the Virginia government would extend workers compensation benefits to those injured on the job who do not remember the event and who do not have witnesses to saw the event.
Peanut Food Poisoning Hurts NC Peanut Farmers
After the recent national salmonella outbreak due to peanut products, North Carolina peanut farmers and producers are looking at a year of tough times ahead.
Three Die In Freak Boating Accident Near Myrtle Beach; Boy In Serious Condition
After a boat capsized in near Murrells Inlet on the Waccamaw River, six people were thrown overboard and three drowned. An infant remains in critical condition days after the boat accident.
Mason County Records Second Fatal Car And Truck Accident in 2009 On US 35
A number of serious car and truck accidents across the state leave three residents dead and more seriously injured. One accident may have involved alcohol.
Airplane Crashes Near Ohio Home Killing One
The Associated Press has reported that on December 21, 2008 a small airplane hit a flag pole and crashed on the front lawn of a vacant Ohio home, killing the pilot. The crash sparked a fire that damaged the garage of the house which was in foreclosure.
Recovery of Colorado Airplane Crash Victims Delayed Until the Spring
On New Year’s Eve of 2008, the Associated Press reported that the bodies of a Canadian couple killed in an airplane crash in the Colorado mountains won’t be recovered until spring because of treacherous weather and avalanche threats.
Wrongful Death Claims Settled in Two Sago Mine Disaster Cases in West Virginia
Two years after the mining tragedy, two more families settled their wrongful death lawsuits with the mining company involved in the Sago Mine disaster.
Medicare Doles Out Poor Ratings For Many Of West Virginia Nursing Homes
Of the 130 nursing homes in West Virginia, over half received a below average rating by Nursing Home Compare. The ratings were based on data from state inspections as well as staff-to-patient ratios.
Knightdale, NC, Woman Injured In Train Collision On Rarely Used Track
A Knightdale driver was struck by a train at an intersection. The train track was only sporadically used and the woman was did not look right to check for oncoming traffic. She suffered only minor injuries.
Virginia’s Peanut Corporation Of America Faces First Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Salmonella Outbreak
Virginia's Peanut Corporation of America is now facing wrongful death charges after a nursing home resident died from a salmonella infection following the consumption of a PCA peanut butter product.
Norfolk Southern Railroad Cuts Costs, Can Safety Cuts Be Far Behind?
In a December 2008 edition of the Norfolk, Virginia (VA) based paper, The Virginian Pilot, the business section reported that Norfolk Southern Railroad (NS) was cutting costs by reducing the number of workers and other measures aimed to keep corporate profits and stock prices high.
Emergency Department Bills Injured Texas Woman For Nothing But Delay!
In a recent new report in a Dallas, Texas newspaper, it was reported that a 29 year-old lady suffered a serious personal injury when she broke her leg back in September of 2008. As a result of this serious personal injury, she went to her local Emergency Department to have her broken leg treated by the Emergency Room doctor.
Pilot in Fatal Airplane Fire Crash Warned Superiors of High Winds
factual aviation crash report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board concludes that a pilot killed this spring in an aircraft crash, while fighting a fire in Fort Carson, Colorado, repeatedly warned officials that winds were too high and strong, but was urged by officials to push on.
How Railroads Try To Pay Workers Less on Railroad Case Verdicts by Claiming an Offset for Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Disability Benefits
The new strategy for railroads in railroad worker personal injury cases
(FELA cases), is to try to reduce the sums juries are requiring them to
pay by filing legal motions that ask judges to give them a "setoff" or
"credit" for the amount of money the railroad has paid to the Railroad
Retirement Board (RRB) for the employer's portion of RRB Tier II
benefits (paid in the past by the railroad to the RRB).
Virginia/Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers Discuss Recent Personal Injury Case Verdict against Drunk Driver Including Punitive Damages
Juries do not have sympathy for drunk drivers who cause serious personal injuries, whether in Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC) or elsewhere. Even in a case of very small medical bills, a recent Virginia jury in a conservative state court jurisdiction granted a $281,000 verdict for a teenager injured in a car accident hit by a totally drunk driver with a .32% blood alcohol content (BAC).
Personal Injury Lawsuits: Hospitals and Clinics Adjust To Increase in Infection Injury Malpractice Cases
Personal Injury Lawsuits: According to an article in Lawyers USA in December 2008, medical malpractice lawsuits are on the rise against hospital and other clinics for serious or life-threatening infections that personal injury victims are claiming could have been prevented. Most importantly, juries are holding the hospitals responsible for failing to prevent the resulting personal injuries/infections.
Slip, Trip and Fall Personal Injury Cases: When Is A Hole Or a Condition Open and Obvious?
Slip, Trip and Fall Personal Injury Cases: When Is A Hole Or a Condition Open and Obvious?-This is a key question relating to contributory negligence/fault which comes up in many trip or fall injury cases.
Doctor Blows Whistle On Washington, DC, Nursing Home Grand Park Care Center
Grant Park Care Center in Washington, D.C., has been the center of several investigations and complaints of nursing home negligence. Now an emergency room doctor has come forward with shocking stories about the condition of patients from the adult care facility.
Two School Buses Collide in Summerville, SC, Injuring 39
When one school bus driver failed to yield to oncoming traffic, two elementary school buses collided, sending an estimated 40 children to the hospital with minor injuries in Summerville, South Carolina.
Virginia Lawmakers Contemplate New Driving Law To Restrict Texting, Cell Phones, And Open Containers
In next year's session, Virginia lawmakers will review several bills relating to new rules for the road -- should texting be allowed while driving? Should hands-free mobile devices be required while on the road? Should open containers be banned from vehicle interiors?
$5 Million Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Grafton Group Home In Virginia
When an autistic boy choked to death on his own vomit on his first day at the Grafton Group Home, his family filed a wrongful death suit against the hospital. Now, the case will be heard for the second time in two years.
Brevard Man Shot To Death By Deer Hunter in Accident – Charges Pending
A man hiking in the woods was shot by a young hunter over the weekend, raising awareness about safety precautions for everyone during hunting season. The hiker was not wearing hunter's orange at the time of the accident, and the shooter did not visually confirm that he was aiming at a deer.
Mesothelioma-Asbestos Cancer Verdict for Car Dealership Employee
In November 2008, a southern Florida jury returned a $3.6 million verdict in favor of a 57-year-old woman diagnosed with mesothelioma asbestos lung cancer, after she worked briefly at two automobile dealerships, one being Ford Motor Company.
Fentanyl Patch Drug Manufacturers Hammered Again by Wrongful Death Verdict
In what appears to be at least the third plaintiff's victory in a personal injury/wrongful death suit over Fentanyl patches (also called Duragesic patches), a jury ordered $13.3 million to the family of a Florida woman who died when a faulty pain patch leaked and flooded her bloodstream with Fentanyl medication, killing her. The verdict was returned in the state circuit court in Seminole County, Florida.
Clayton Woman Who Killed Teen In Truck Wreck Faces Felony Charges
A woman who studied the high rate of deadly teen accidents in Johnson County died in a head-on crash with an intoxicated driver. The driver who caused the crash is now being charged with a felony.
Virginia/Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers - Virginia Workplace Fatalties/Deaths Decrease in 2007
The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry recently reported the number of workplace fatalities/deaths in Virginia decreased by 15% in 2007 from 165 to 141, the lowest number since 1995. The nationwide number of workplace fatalities decreased by 6% to 5,488 in 2007, according to a preliminary estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in August. The occupation with the largest share of workplace fatalities was tractor-trailer and truck driving which accounted for 21 fatalities.
South Carolina AARP Will Train Patient Safety Advocates To Prevent Medical Malpractice
In a move to educate patient friends, families, and loved ones, the AARP South Carolina will hold training sessions that help advocates protect against surgical errors and medical malpractice.
Johnston County, North Carolina, Holds Teen Driver Safety Forum
A group of concerned parents gathered this week to discuss teen driving safety in Johnson County and how they can reduce the number of teen fatalities due to car accidents.
Elderly Stuarts Draft Virginia Man Killed In Train Crash
An 84-year-old Virginian man may have simply not been paying attention when he drove in front of a freight train on Monday. The train struck the passenger side of this car and killed the man.
Teen driver found at fault in Beach crash that killed three
Man Hit While Crossing Virginia Beach Boulevard Dies
North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty To Involuntary Manslaughter After Virginia Car Crash
A North Carolina man involved in a April 2008 fatal drunk driving accident has plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter in a Virginia court.
Former Shipyard Worker Wins 4.39 Million Asbestos Mesothelioma Cancer Verdict in Virginia
New Report about former Shipyard Worker who received a 4.39 Million Asbestos Mesothelioma Cancer Verdict in Virginia
Charitable Foundation Affiliated with the East Virginia Medical School Denied Medical Malpractice Immunity
The EVMS Academic Physicians and Surgeons Health Services Foundation was denied charitable immunity by the Virginia Supreme Court and is now not protected from medical malpractice lawsuits.
Five Die In Violent Harnett County NC Truck Wreck
Five young men and women driving in a sedan did not stop at a stop sign and were sideswiped by an oncoming tanker truck on NC-27 in Dunn. All five died, while two people in other vehicles were injured.
Roanoke Times Editorial Slams Medical Malpractice Damages Cap
The $2 million medical malpractice damages cap is unfair according to this Roanoke Times opinion piece - $2 million does not always cover the damages of the victim.
West Virginia Man Attempts To Sue Doctor For Scalpel Blade In Thumb, Battles Statute of Limitations
After having a scalpel blade in his hand for the last decade, a West Virginian man is trying to sue the doctor who accidentally left it there. However, the state's statute of limitations laws are a problem.
CNN Reports Out Of Quantico, Virginia: More Marines Die on Motorcycles Than In Iraq
Both the Marines and the Navy have reported increasing numbers of soldiers and sailors dying in sport bike motorcycle accidents while at home - CNN investigates.
Railroads Must Protect Bridges and Ditches with Better Markings
Railroad workers work in all conditions, and must have markers showing bridges and culverts to prevent personal injuries. Article discusses simple methods to protect workers working around bridges.
Overturned Truck Shuts Down Godwin Boulevard on SR 10 in Suffolk
A reckless truck driver ends up in a ditch, and his cargo of almost 200 pigs is left to a response team to collect. The truck was probably speeding and following too close at the time of the accident.
The New York Times Reports that 100 Percent of District of Columbia Nursing Homes are Deficient
In a frightening and eye-opening piece in the New York Times today, reporter Robert Pear wrote that 94 percent of nursing homes across the country have violations, and that a full and staggering 100 percent of Washington, DC, elder care facilities have violations.
Five Die In South Carolina On Same Stretch of Pleasantburg Drive Railroad Tracks
A dangerous stretch of railroad tracks in Pleasantburg, South Carolina has led to multiple deaths and reminds local residents that walking on train tracks can not only be fatal, but is also illegal.
Three Die In Four Car Accidents In Deadly Day For Washington, DC, Roads
A deadly day for Washington DC results in four early-morning car crashes in the district including four fatalities and a number of serious injuries.
Charleston, West Virginia, Wrongful Death Case Could Face Retrial
After Weirton Medical Center and Carl Jones were found innocent of medical malpractice and wrongful death in the case of a botched colon surgery, the victim's family claims that two jurors were biased and that there should be a retrial.
Use of global positioning systems increases in criminal and civil injury cases
We have written recently about the increasing use of computers in trucking injury cases, as well as car accident cases, because of the common use of the black boxes in vehicles.
West Virginia Woman Wins $1.54 Million Wrongful Death Medical Malpractice Verdict
A Cabell County jury awarded the widow of Thomas L. Thornburg $1.54 million damages over a 2002 lawsuit involving medical malpractice and wrongful death that led to her late husband's severe brain damage.
Three Die in Multi-Vehicle 1-95 Truck Accident
Authorities are still looking for answers in relation to a late-night three-vehicle accident that occurred on I-95 just before midnight on July 29. Three people died due to injuries sustained in the crash, including an 8-year-old boy, Deraa Hago of London.
Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Joe Biden Has Tragic History With Truck Accidents
Joe Biden has a long and distinguished history in the Senate representing his state of Delaware, but few know of the tragedy that struck his life just five weeks after he was elected to the Senate in 1972 at age 30.
West Virginia Urologist Fights Two Medical Malpractice Claims
A Mason County physician is facing a second medical malpractice suit shortly after a similar suit was dismissed two months ago.
Truck-Car Accidents/Injuries: New Computers & Black Boxes Allow Far More Data Analysis
Any personal injury attorney handling a truck-car accident injury case must be familiar with a wide array of computerized, electronic “black box” information and data now available as part of the typical trucking company big-rig or tractor trailer.
Train and Tanker Truck Collide on NC Highway 49 in Charlotte
A train and tanker truck crash on NC Highway 49 near Charlotte. The accident, which occurred early on the morning of Friday, July 11, forced the closing of the road north of Interstate 485 for several hours.
Surgeon sues his own Spinal Surgeon for Medical Malpractice, Alleges Back Surgery Medical Negligence
Single-Vehicle Tanker Trailer Crash Kills One
Teen Driver Killed by Garbage Truck
I-81 Tractor Trailer Accident
Two Williamsburg, Va., Teens Killed in Crash
John Cooper is Elected Chair of the Railroad Law Section of the American Association for Justice
Trucker Health Problems Could Cause Collisions
There has been a growing number of truck-related accidents on highways during the last couple of years.
Truckers: Know your English or Pay the Fine
Toxic Heavy Metal in Chesapeake, VA Water?
Water tests conducted at the Battlefield Golf Club (1) in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA) show that there’s more than just water in their wells; high levels of arsenic and lead have now caused the EPA to look at the golf course as a potential superfund site. Lead can have terrible effects on kids’ development.
The Jere Beasley Report – June 2008 “Jury returns verdict of $8,000,000 for seaman”
Seaman awarded $8,000,000 in California Verdict
Government to Upgrade Crash Tests
Three Dead Following New Kent Car Crashes
Two Die in Train Crash
Man Has Heart Attack, Dies After Crash
Deadly Week on Virginia Roads: 15 Dead
New Railway in Cape Charles, Virginia (VA)
With gas prices rising, rail travel becomes even more efficient by comparison.
Two Teens Killed in Crash Not Wearing Seat Belts
Two teens were killed on May 31, 2008 in a car crash in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA).
Chesapeake Virginia (VA) Parents Sue Day Camp, Chesapeake Golf Club Over Son’s Brain Damage
The parents of a 10-year-old boy recently filed a lawsuit in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA) against the day camp their son attended after he was hit in the head with a golf club, causing permanent brain damage.
Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) Police Identify Man Killed In Vehicle Crash
Police in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), on June 7, 2008, identified the man killed in a car crash on June 6 as John Glen Armstrong, 46, of Virginia Beach
June Sees Spike In Road Deaths In Virginia (VA)
Virginia State Police announced that in the first week of June, 10 people (nine men and one woman) had been killed on Virginia’s roads.
8 Year Old Killed by Drunk Driver
Two Sisters Dead After Crimora, Va., Car Crash
Study: 1 in 3 Va., Md. Drivers Texting
NC 5th Worst State for Teen Drivers
SC Launches Buckle-Up Program
Jury verdict for $2.6 million to Railroad Engineer Suffering Diesel Exhaust Asthma
Ohio Jury Verdict for 2.6 Million Dollars to Conrail/Norfolk Southern subsidiary, Engineer suffering diesel exhaust fume lung disease
Abingdon, Va., Man Hit by Train, Killed
North Carolina Man Killed in Va. Beach Crash
Former Virginia OBGYN back in business after seven malpractice claims
Obsetrician practicing again after 7 malpractice suits
Most Lethal Melanomas? Scalp and Neck
Norfolk Southern Settles Train Crash Lawsuit
Richmond, Va. Woman Killed in Auto Accident
Crash with Ambulance Kills College Senior
Virginia Man Trapped Under Rail Line
Virginia Police Investigating Crash in James City County
N.C. Student Skipping School Dies in Fatal Crash
Two-Thirds of Hysterectomies May be Unnecessary
One of our own attorneys makes it onto the 2007 list of Virginia’s largest verdicts.
Virginia Child Injured in Police Car Crash
Charity Doctors Open to Malpractice, Says Virginia Supreme Court
Virginia Plane Crash Suit Settled for $15 Million
Seat belts save lives in Suffolk, Virginia accident
Norfolk Southern stock goes up, increase in traffic on Virginia railroads
Authored by: Emily Mapp Brannon
Caution: Drunk Drivers Ahead
Authored by: John M. Cooper
Use of Seat Belts Saves Lives in Virginia (VA)
In 2007, Virginia (Va.) suffered 1,012 deaths on highways according to preliminary statistics which makes it the deadliest year since 1990.
Merck Settles Vioxx Claims for $4.85 Billion
Merck & Co announced Friday that it will pay $4.85 billion to settle lawsuits over Vioxx. This is belived to be the largest drug settlement ever and will be binding only if 85% of the plaintiffs agree to drop their cases.
Family Members Who Contract Asbestos Cancers-“Take Home” Asbestos Cases Create Difficult Legal Issues
Authored by: Richard N. Shapiro
What happens if an employee carries asbestos home on their clothing, and decades later a spouse or even a child contract asbestos induced cancer (mesothelioma terminal cancer) and the only known source known is from the parent who worked at a plant or factory?
FDA Questioning Cold Drug Ingredients
The FDA is asking a panel of outside experts whether the new ingredients in Sudafed actually relieve nasal congestion.
Banked Blood May Lack Vital Compenent
Doctors are becoming increasingly concerned that blood from blood banks lacks a sufficient level of nitric oxide, which keeps blood vessels open and transports oxygen.
Graco Recalls Cribs After 3 Deaths
Graco has recalled 1 million of their Simplicity cribs following the deaths of three infants.
Labor Day Holiday Brings Major Increases in Car Accidents and Deaths on the Highways in Virginia, and Elsewhere
Authored by: Richard N. Shapiro
Most of us take advantage of Labor Day weekend by enjoying the last bit of summer before we welcome the fall season. Oftentimes this involves cookouts, parties, and other gatherings of people to celebrate the three-day weekend. Unfortunately things don’t always go as planned – with a holiday oftentimes comes an increase in car and truck accidents and related injuries and fatalities. In many cases, this is due to an increase in alcohol consumption and the recklessness involved with drinking and driving, perhaps even more at beach and waterfront areas, like Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton and other coastal cities in nearby North Carolina (NC) areas like Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Corolla, and Manteo.
Diabetes May Hike Death Risk From Pneumonia
Patients with type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk of death when hospitalized for pneumonia, according to a new study in the Diabetes Care journal.
Coal Mining Tragedy
People across the nation have been following the story of the six miners trapped in a Utah coal mine.
Duke Patient Blames Surgical Tools for Illness
As many as 3,468 patients at Duke Raleigh and Durham Regional Hospitals may have been exposed to surgical tools contaminated by hydraulic fluid.
LA Surgeon Accused of Hastening Man's Death
Surgeon charged with prescribing excessive drugs in order to speed disabled man's death.
U.S. News Releases List of Top Hospitals
U.S. News & World Report has released their list of the top hospitals of 2007
Railroad Injunction Suit Fails Against F.E.L.A. Claimants
Authored by: Richard N. Shapiro
Csx railroad sued four rail workers with injury claims to stop them from suing csx in florida or north carolina-court denied and dismissed case
Keeping our Kids Safe: Alarming number of injuries/deaths of children in DUI/drinking accidents
Authored by: Richard N. Shapiro
An alarming number of children's injuries and deaths are a result of drinking/DUI/DWI by their own parents. Article explores what is behind the problem, and notes that kids can recover monetary compensation even against their own parents as can spouses against spouses
CSX Raises Speed of Trains in North Carolina
In Matthews, North Carolina (NC) CSX train speeds will be increased.
Chesapeake, Virginia (VA) Parents’ Lawsuit for Dog Attack
Kayla, an 8 year old girl from Chesapeake, Virginia (VA), was mauled by a pit bull on March 8, 2007. The child was rushed to Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia (VA).
Virginia (VA) Man Injured by Negligent Driver Settles Case
On April 2005 at 5:45 a.m., while driving on US 29 in Centreville, Virginia (VA), the defendant made a left turn, blocking the plaintiff’s vehicle. Testimony from an eyewitness stated that the defendant’s tractor trailer was not visible at the time of the crash.
Truck Drivers at Risk from Accidents and More
Authored by: John M. Cooper
1.3 million long-haul drivers need serious medical attention. Nearly 15 percent of truck drivers in the U.S die from work related accidents as published in The Virginian Pilot.
Infant Settlement of $8.35 Million in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA)
Authored by: John M. Cooper
While a passenger in a car being driven on
Tidewater Drive in Norfolk, Virginia (VA), a four year old girl was injured by a speeding car.
Fireworks in North Carolina (NC) and Virginia (VA) Pose Danger
Authored by: John M. Cooper
There were at least 300 calls to 911 operators in the Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) and the Outer Banks (NC) areas on July 4, all of which dealt with the illegal use of fireworks.
Errors in the Healthcare System Could Potentially Kill You
Authored by: John M. Cooper
About 98,000 people die a year because of a mistake made by health professionals, making medical error the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S.
Elderly Woman Conned by Insurance Company
Authored by: John M. Cooper
Vera Smith purchased a policy from Penn Treaty which promised her that she and her family would be protected from her medical costs as she aged.
Virginia (VA) Woman Killed by Reckless Recreational Vehicle (RV)
Authored by: John M. Cooper
According to a published report in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly, a major Virginia (VA) wrongful death claim recently settled.
New Dog Registry Allows Virginians to Find Dangerous Dogs
Authored by: John M. Cooper
This month the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services brought to the public the new online dog registry in Virginia (VA).
Attorney John M. Cooper to Present at Lawyer Seminar in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA)
Authored by: John M. Cooper
John M. Cooper of Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton will be teaching to other personal injury attorneys on September 25, 2007 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA).
Railroads Seeking Younger Generation of Workers
Authored by: John M. Cooper
With an extreme shortage in employees, from many older employees retiring, and going out on occupational disability, railroads are turning to a younger crowd.
New Driving Safety Laws Take Effect in VA
Authored by: John M. Cooper
With the ever enlarging rate of car fatalities and injuries, new laws have been put into effect by the Virginia (VA) legislature.
Staph Superbug May Strike 5% of Patients
A dangerous staph-infection superbug may affect as many as 5% of hospital and nursing home patients.
North Carolina House Approves Binding Arbitration in Med/Mal Cases
The North Carolina House of Representatives has approved a bill that would allow parties to enter into binding arbitration if they both agree to it.
Is Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) motorist relief plan stalled?
Authored by: John M. Cooper
As a resident of Norfolk, Virginia (VA) who commutes to Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) for my work as a personal injury lawyer, I have watched with interest the progress our local Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) governments are making to approve a road plan to get traffic moving better in Southeastern Virginia (VA).
Organ donation is a silver lining in dark cloud of motorist’s death
By: John M. Cooper
According to published reports in the Virginian Pilot, a Portsmouth, Virginia (VA) man received a cornea organ donation from one of the teenagers killed in a recent Virginia Beach drunk driving accident.
Police pursuits cause injuries and death in Virginia (VA) and Maryland (MD)
According to a report on MSNBC, a high speed chase by police in Prince George’s County, Maryland, of a fleeing motorcyclist led to four deaths and numerous injuries on May 31, 2007.
Accidental Death Rate Up in America
The national accidental death rate is 12% higher than it was in 1992.
California Rail Yards Increase Cancer Risk
Authored by: Randall E. Appleton
A recent Los Angeles Times article reported that recent studies by California air regulators indicated people living near Southern California rail yards face cancer risks from soot as much as 140% higher than other residents.
New Virginia (VA) poll uncovers medical malpractice
A recent poll done in Virginia (VA) by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) shows that nearly 1 in 3 Virginians age 50 or older believe they have been the victim of a medical error.
Authored by: John M. Cooper
Brain damage from lead poisoning in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA)
The problem of lead paint leading to health problems, especially slowed development and brain damage in children, continues to be a concern in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA).
Authored by: Randall E. Appleton
North Carolina man killed by two trains.
In a bizarre transportation accident, a man was killed recently in Pelham, North Carolina (NC) when his pick-up was hit by two trains.
Authored by: John M. Cooper
Recent Hampton Roads car wrecks include deaths.
Published reports in the Virginian Pilot newspaper for the weekend of May 19-20, 2007 included reports of numerous automobile and motorcycle accidents resulting in serious injuries and fatalities.
Authored by: James C. Lewis
Scientists studying slip and fall accidents
The problem of humans slipping or tripping and falling has been around along time even longer than lawyers have worked on such cases.
Authored by: John M. Cooper
Deadliest States for Truck Crashes Ranked
Drug Company Hurt Patients With Product OxyContin
On May 11, 2007 the news came out that the prosecutors in the federal court of the Western District of Virginia (VA) had obtained convictions against a drug maker and its executives for misleading the public about the risk of addiction to the pain killer OxyContin. This fraud by a corporation hurt consumers and damaged communities in Virginia (VA), West Virginia (WV) and North Carolina (NC).
New Report Says Veterans Administration (VA) Exaggerated Quality
According to a piece in the newspaper in May of 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has routinely “exaggerated” the record of quality in its medical system. Here in Tidewater, Virginia (VA), we represent lots of injured clients who are veterans that may be treated at the VA hospital in Hampton, Virginia (VA).
Medical Malpractice In North Carolina (NC)
New Study Shows That Traumatic Brain Injuries Can Cause Mental Health Problems Down The Road
A new study by the American Psychological Association indicates that some of the mental health issues associated with brain trauma may not be apparent until years after the event. Mental problems such as irritability, difficulty sleeping, and hypervigilance were among the symptoms that 9/11 victims said are worse now than they were shortly after September 11. Neuropsychologists have known for years that long-term mental health problems may result from head trauma, but this research brings them closer to understanding the biological reasons behind the long-term effects.
The Recent Death Of Two Teenagers In A Car Accident In Virginia Beach Involving A Drunk Driver Reminds Us How Dangerous The Roads Can Be.
Two young girls, ages 16 and 17, were killed when rear ended by a drunk driver in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in the past month. The case has shocked the community and gotten a lot of national attention. Part of the attention has been the fact that the drunk driver was an illegal immigrant.
A Lot Of Soldiers Coming Back From The Iraq War Have Brain Trauma Similar To That Caused By Automobile Accidents
Brain trauma without visible wounds is a silent injury seen in a lot of Marines returning from Iraq. You can have a severe debilitating brain injury without having an open wound or penetration of the skin or skull. This is often called closed head injury or closed head trauma. What happens to the soldiers is that every blast of mortar fire or roadside bomb rattles their brain like the yoke in an egg. There are classic signs of post concussive injury which have been seen with increasing frequency in people returning from this war.
Injury Law is a Customer Service Business
Unpredictability of Serious Railroad Injuries-Federal Regulatory Defect Causes Partial Amputation
THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF SERIOUS RAILROAD INJURIES - SAFETY APPLIANCE ACT DEFECT CAUSES PARTIAL AMPUTATION
North Carolina Highway Patrol Initiates Operation Slow-Down Campaign
New type of Radar Implemented by North Carolina Highway Patrol--Speeders Beware!
New Law Allows Doctors and Hospitals To Hide Their Mistakes
Virginia legislation allows hospitals and doctors to keep errors and mistakes secret even if their internal reports disclose serious errors
Tens of Millions of Dollars Go To Norfolk Southern Executives
Local VA hospitals tend to get higher marks than Walter Reed
Medical Malpractice "Crisis" Revisited
New Study In Malpractice Debate
State Farm: No Profit in Mississippi
CSX hit with 3 accidents already this year
Virginia Beach Photo Red Light Program Worked
Hurricane Katrina: Seventeen Months Later
Judge Approves Settlement In Norfolk Southern Crash
Medical Malpractice Crisis a Well Orchestrated Hoax
Strong evidence has been uncovered that big insurers manufactured a medical liability "crisis" but it was really a hoax
Unfortunately, Hospitals Can Be Deadly
According to surprising new statistical analyses, hospitals do not always help patients get better.
20 hurt after D.C. subway train derails
Insurance Company Claims Department Numbers
Texas Law Cuts $32 Million Vioxx Award to $7.75 Million
Fatal crash on I-264 stalls traffic for miles
Download the SCLA Free Safer World Newsfeed Here
The free law firm newsfeed creates an icon on your desktop, so you can get current headlines and news in one location and very conveniently.
Judge refuses to kill lawsuit against insurers
54 Million Dollar Judgment For Asbestos Contamination Affirmed By U.S. Supreme Court
Grace Company Appeals Asbestos Judgment To the Supreme Court Only To Lose Again
Are You Really In Good Hands With Allstate?
Allstate Hit for 20 Million Dollars Due To Bad Faith Auto Claim Handling
Firm Lawyer Francis P. Hajek Selected by "The Best Lawyers in America" 2007 Edition Publication
Firm Lawyer listed in publication as one of the best lawyers in America for railroad law.
Personal Injury News
A selection of interesting articles about personal injury.

Malfunctioning Lift Gate Blamed for Severe Injury to Leg

Virginia (VA) accident lawyers achieved a good result to help a worker get a recovery from a negligent party in a recent case. On March 5th, 2009, a settlement of $700,000 was reached in a case involving defective equipment. The injured employee, while on the job, in Roanoke County, was moving a drapery cart that weighed about 1,200 pounds. In order for workers to move the heavy item, the company hired a “city van.” After the man believed the cart was in proper position on the gate on the van, he gave the operator the go ahead to lower it. According to expert opinion, the gate, which is supposed to lower at about 6 inches per second, took only a second to fall. The rapid fall of the gate caused the cart to crush the right leg, breaking both the leg bone and ankle.

Air transport brought the victim from the local hospital to VCU Medical Center. As time passed, after the accident, the leg injury continued to grow worse. The worker’s shattered leg made him permanently disabled.

The defendant’s attorney contended that there was no problem with the gate but that they had inappropriately positioned the cart. The insurance company eventually offered a fair settlement.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury lawfirm (VA-NC law offices) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY, who handle car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more.

FELA Injury Lawyer, John Cooper, Tapped to Serve as Designated Legal Counsel for Rail Union

The Transportation Communications International Union (TCIU) has appointed John Cooper of Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton to serve as one of its designated legal counsel. This high honor appoints the law firm to serve the members of this major, national railroad workers’ union whose membership includes carmen, train car inspectors, clerks, and Amtrak coach cleaners. The Virginia Beach FELA attorneys of Shapiro, Cooper regularly help railroad families when a worker or loved one gets hurt in an accident on the job or elsewhere. The TCIU has representation for all of the major railroad freight carriers including Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSXT. Only a select few lawyers and law firms are chosen to serve as DLC for this railroad union. “I look forward to serving the TCIU railroad workers and their families,” said John Cooper.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury lawfirm (VA-NC law offices ) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY, who handle car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more.

Injury Law Rules are Different in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. as it Relates to the Metro Train Collision Victims

As an experienced lawyer handling injury cases and wrongful death against railroads including Metro commuter train systems, I know what a big difference the choice of the appropriate court can make. In essence, the rules that would relate to a case can be different depending upon where the accident happened, i.e. was it still within Washington, D.C. as opposed to across the line of the District in the State of Maryland (MD). My understanding of the facts in the Metro train crash disaster is that it did occur within Washington, D.C. which is good because the rules that pertain to people who get hurt in the District of Columbia are in some ways more favorable than the rules that pertain in northern Virginia (VA) or Maryland.

For example, Maryland has caps on how much non-economic damages a person can get regardless of their injury for pain and suffering, anguish, scarring, disfigurement, and future psychological and emotional problems as a result of being in a train wreck. Likewise, Virginia has caps on punitive damages which would be money beyond the compensation to the individual person hurt in the collision to punish the Metro rail administration for recklessly endangering the public in a way that showed a conscious disregard for the rights and safety of commuters, tourists, and passengers. I don’t know yet whether the facts will warrant an award of punitive damages against the people who ran the system, but there are certainly indications that they had been told that this 1000 series train was outdated and did not have all of the safety features that should be used, including things that would make it more crashworthy in the event of a rear-end collision just like what happened in this case.

Accordingly, if you or a loved one was hurt in this catastrophe, you want to hire not just a lawyer who specializes in injury trial work, but someone who knows how to handle cases which may involve different states and properly choosing the best courthouse to file any lawsuit.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury lawfirm (VA-NC law offices ) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY, who handle car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more.

Location of Metro Train Disaster Familiar to Our D.C. Area Injury Lawyers

The Washington and Maryland areas where the two D.C. commuter trains wrecked on Monday are well known to Rick Shapiro, our senior partner, whose practice has focused on train and railroad accidents for well over a decade. Rick graduated from the University of Maryland at College Park, not far from the scene of the disaster and close to the home town of one of the people who died in the wreck, Hyattsville, MD.

Rick and our law firm have regularly handled cases in the courts in Washington, D.C. His D.C. trial experience has particularly involved working on behalf of Amtrak employees hurt on the job.

John Cooper, another of the lawyers at our firm focusing on train crashes, handled several of the cases on behalf of people injured in the 1996 MARC train derailment where the Maryland commuter line hit an Amtrak train in the Silver Spring area. John tried to jury verdict one of those cases on behalf of a passenger in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in the Greenbelt Division. We stand ready to meet with any of the victims of this current Metro train crash or their families. Please call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042 if we can help you or answer any questions.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal My injury law firm (VA-NC law offices ) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY, who handle car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more.

I-264 Crash Stops Traffic and Sends Man to the Hospital

According to an article in the Virginian Pilot, a recent multiple vehicle crash on Interstate 264 near the Virginia Beach-Norfolk line stopped traffic for about 90 minutes. At around 6:30 p.m., Virginia State Police investigated an accident. The accident involved a Ford SUV near the exit of Woodstock and Newtown Road. The driver of the SUV attempted to cross four lanes of eastbound traffic, struck a pickup truck and lost control. His vehicle then hit another vehicle in the HOV lane and went airborne over the concrete median barrier. The SUV landed on the westbound side of I-264.

The SUV driver, a 20-year old Suffolk man, was flown to Norfolk General Hospital with multiple injuries. Both sides of I-264 were closed until 8:00 p.m.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm (VA-NC law offices ) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY, who handle car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more.

Chinese Drywall Being Used to Build Chesapeake, Virginia (VA) Hotel

In an article by Mike Saewitz from The Virginian Pilot, Chinese drywall was being used in the construction of a Chesapeake Comfort Inn & Suites hotel located in the 3300 block of South Military Highway. The drywall was found on March 26th during a routine inspection, and the city is demanding its removal from the hotel project. A criminal summons has been issued to Dilip Patel, the developer of the hotel, accusing Patel of violating state building codes. Patel told city officials that he would test the drywall and remove it if it was found to be defective. Patel has until June 24^th to prove that the drywall is not defective or to remove it entirely, otherwise the developer will have to appear in court to face the charges.

Sailboats Strike Overhead Power Lines in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA)

Several sailboats have become entangled in overhead power lines in St. Julian’s Creek in Chesapeake, VA. Four vessels have struck the power lines in the last 7 years and 2 of those have caught fire and sunk, resulting in injuries and one fatality (2007). According to the Virginian Pilot, the most recent of these accidents took place in September of 2008. Fortunately, Dominion Virginia Power—the company who owns the lines—was able to shut off the line and no one was injured.

Apparently, the sailboats were following the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) northbound and became confused after passing through the Gilmerton Bridge, thinking that St. Julian’s Creek was a continuation of the ICW. The vessels’ masts then became entangled in the overhead power lines that hang 45ft above the creek. Following these incidents, a warning daybeacon has been placed near the creek and signs have been posted warning boaters of the low hanging lines. However, many local boaters wonder if these precautions will be enough to prevent future accidents.

Railroad Accident in Milwaukee Injures Two People

According to a newspaper article that appeared in The Virginian Pilot, a train in Milwaukee collided with a vehicle that was stopped on railroad tracks at a grade crossing on Monday, May 25^th. The accident occurred when the driver of a van, 40-year old Monica Ensley-Partenfelder, along with her 2-year old son got stuck on the tracks. It was reported that the husband of the family was traveling in a separate vehicle and came to the aid of his wife and son along with a police officer, John Krahn, 41. Together, they rescued the two from the vehicle. However, as the train struck the van, the vehicle was then thrown into the rescuers. While the wife and boy did not sustain injuries, police officer John Krahn and husband Scott Partenfelder, 47, were rushed into emergency surgery and are still in the hospital. John Krahn was reported to be in satisfactory condition following surgery and Scott Partenfelder remains in critical condition.

Our firm in Virginia Beach, VA, has seen many cases where a car gets trapped in front of a locomotive. Sometimes the car stalls, and sometimes defects in the crossing of the railroad and the street pin the vehicle. Too often death or serious injuries result to the motor vehicle’s driver or passengers. Our area has lots of potentially dangerous grade crossings of Norfolk Southern in Norfolk and Chesapeake, of CSX in Portsmouth and Suffolk, and of Amtrak in Newport News.

Should Virginia (VA) Emergency Vehicle Law be Revised?

When a cop causes a car accident with injury or death on a Virginia road, their insurer and employer can be sued by the victim for negligence or gross negligence in some circumstances. According to an article by Dena Potter from The Associated Press, a recent tragic accident has led to discussion of revising emergency vehicle law in Virginia. Ashley McIntosh, age 33, was killed in February of 2008 when a police officer sped through a red light striking McIntosh’s vehicle. Police officer, Amanda Perry had received a call regarding a shoplifter shortly before, and was responding to that call when she went through the intersection with her lights flashing, but her siren off. According to Virginia traffic regulations, police officers are not required to obey traffic laws concerning running red lights and speeding if they use their flashing lights and sirens “as may be reasonably necessary.” Due to the wording of this phrase, police officer Amanda Perry, was found not guilty of reckless driving. However, the Police Department investigated Amanda Perry’s involvement in the incident and recommended suspension and a transfer. Officer Amanda Perry ultimately decided to resign from the Police Department in March and is also facing a lawsuit from the victim’s family.

The mother of the deceased, Cindy Colasanto, approached the Virginia State Crime Commission asking the commission if they would support Senator Linda Puller’s new bill aimed at altering the law so that police officers and emergency vehicles would be required to use both flashing lights and sirens, unless there was a reason that would make it necessary that they should not. The Virginia State Crime Commission is scheduled to vote on whether or not to recommend revision of the law in December. The need for public safety of innocent bystanders must be given some weight in emergency police response practices.

Virginia (VA) Jury Awards $7.5 Million in Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer Case

A great result in a medical negligence case was recently achieved in the Spotsylvania Circuit Court of Virginia in a wrongful death case about a doctor’s error in treatment. According to an article that appeared in Virginia Lawyers Weekly, a jury awarded $7.5 million to the husband of a registered nurse who died from breast cancer. Eleanor Browder had noticed a lump in her breast and had gone to see her family practitioner from Lee’s Hill Medical Associates in May 2003. The family practitioner, Dr. Donna Gamache, had ordered a mammogram that came back negative, but did not refer Mrs. Browder to a specialist for further testing. After 7 months the lump had more than doubled its size and Mrs. Browder went back to Dr. Gamache, who then referred her to a specialist. Following further testing, the mass in Mrs. Browder’s breast was found to be malignant.

After the cancer was discovered, Mrs. Browder had to have a bilateral mastectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatment sessions before her cancer finally went into remission. Two years later, the cancer metastasized and she died at 57 in April of 2008. William Artz, an attorney located in Arlington, Virginia represented Mrs. Browder claiming that Dr. Gamache along with a nurse practitioner were negligent when they did not initially seek further testing to investigate the abnormal mass. Attorneys representing Dr. Gamache and Lee’s Hill Medical Associates (really their insurers) claim that Mrs. Browder’s outcome could not have been changed. They maintained the position that the delay in her diagnosis would not have had an effect on her chances of survival due to the aggressive nature of the cancer. The jury was in deliberation for 5 and ½ hours before awarding Mrs. Browder’s husband $7.5 million dollars. Under Virginia medical malpractice law, the wrongful death award will be reduced to the amount of the applicable cap allowed, likely under $2 million dollars.

Railroad Stocks Up, Helps Workers?

Authored By: John M. Cooper, Esquire

The New York Times (June, 2008) is reporting that railroad stocks are on the rise despite the turbulent market.

Major railroad stocks like CSX (whose shares are up 50%), based in Jacksonville Florida, and Union Pacific (up more than 30%) can credit the upward trend to their exposure to coal and grains, both of which are also doing very well in the market. Transportation analysts say that railroads have been improving their business for years. Rising fuel prices haven’t impacted railroads as much as trucking companies and other transportation sectors because of railroads’ use of diesel as opposed to gas and their ability to transport more tons per gallon of fuel than for instance trucking companies.

Locally, here in Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA), Norfolk-based Norfolk Southern’s stock has risen 35%, though it is one of the least popular major rails, according to the Times, due to its relatively higher reliance on the declining auto and housing construction sectors. Kirekeby, a railroad analyst at S&P, says he expects Norfolk Southern to “benefit from rising coal exports, which have increased since the dollar has fallen against the euro.”

As a FELA attorney representing railroad workers, I always wonder if more money for the corporations will benefit the average carman or railroad clerk. The railroads still treat workers who get hurt on the job poorly, it seems, regardless of the economics of the rail industry.

Wood County WV Doctor Sued For Infant Wrongful Death

According to the West Virginia Record, a mother is suing both a doctor and a medical staffing company for the wrongful death of her infant girl in January of 2007.

The mother, Sara Norman, of Parkersburg, lost her baby, Lainey McKenzee Alexis Norman, to a bowel obstruction after the emergency room doctor, Dr. Andrew Hughes, allegedly missed the baby's vital diagnosis and did not offer the correct treatment or care. Norman filed a wrongful death claim against the doctor and the doctor's employer, Best Practices, Inc., in Wood County Circuit Court in West Virginia.

When Norman brought her daughter to Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital, the baby was vomiting bile, not eating, and acting lethargic. Dr. Hughes conducted an x-ray and stomach ultrasound, but found no problems and released the baby without treatment.

As her baby's condition worsened, Norman returned to the hospital, where another doctor examined the child and quickly diagnosed sepsis due to a bowel obstruction. At this point, the baby was rushed by ambulance to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, WV, where she underwent a number of surgeries. At that point, however, her bowel was not able to be save and her other internal organs began to shut down. She died less than a week after Dr. Hughes examined her.

Norman's medical malpractice and wrongful death attorney is arguing that Dr. Hughes was negligent in correctly treating Norman's baby, based on the fact that he did not diagnose the child correctly despite several common warning signs and the fact that he did not seek the opinion of another doctor in the emergency room.

Norman is seeking unspecified damages in her wrongful death lawsuit.

Tanker Driver At Fault For Truck Accident On Dulles Greenway in VA

The Loudoun Times-Mirror reported that charges have been filed against the truck driver allegedly responsible for a serious accident on the Dulles Greenway (also known as Route 267) on January 26. Tanker driver Richard Clem, 24, of Middletown, was charged with one count of reckless driving according to the Virginia State Police.

The accident occurred at 2 a.m. at the 3.2-mile marker near Shreve Mill Road, when Clem's tanker truck ran off the left side of the westbound road in rolled over in the median. The tanker was carrying 7,500 gallons of diesel fuel, which spilled onto the roadway and shut down multiple lanes of Dulles Greenway for a number of hours during clean-up between Leesburg and Ashburn. The lanes were re-opened by midday on Monday.

Two eastbound lanes reportedly reopened about 7:30 a.m, according to the WJZ Virginia Wire. All westbound lanes reopened about 9:30 a.m. The far left eastbound lane and median remain closed as hazardous materials teams work to clear the area. Many local commuters were advised to find new routs to work for the day due to lane closures and delays.

Authorities do no know how much of the 7,500 gallons leaked onto the median and roadway, but guess that the clean-up involved hundreds of gallons of fuel. An official from Loudoun County reported that the spill, though hazardous to the environment, posed no threat to the public.

Clem was taken to the Inova Loudon Hospital by ambulance for minor, non-life-threatening injuries. In the meantime, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue sent hazardous material personnel to control the accident scene and clear the spill. They were joined by a private hazardous materials clean-up company to contain the damage.

Police added that fatigue was a factor in the truck accident, as is the case with a number of truck accidents.

West Virginia Family Files Medical Malpractice Suit For Woman’s High Blood Pressure Death

In 2006, Pamela Campbell Smith of West Virginia was rushed to the emergency room with symptoms of high blood pressure and a possible heart attack - most notably nausea, vomiting, and headache. Emergency room doctor M. Anwar Abdeen treated the patient for pain and nausea and then sent her home in a wheelchair.

Later that night, her daughter, Tiffany Neil, called the emergency room again with information that her mother was not improving and was unresponsive. The ER nurse told the daughter that her mother should "sleep it off." By 3 a.m., Campbell smith was dead from high blood pressure.

What followed Campbell Smith's death was confusing to the family - mysterious notes were sent in the mail about the circumstance of her death, the doctor blamed the nurses, the hospital, Montgomery General Hospital, blamed the doctor, who they had disciplined in the past and who was let go from the hospital after the incident.

Montgomery General Hospital had been on notice before that night that Dr. Abdeen was not doing an acceptable job at his post in the emergency room before Campbell Smith was admitted - and before joining the staff of the hospital, two former employers had reported problems with his work. A wrongful death claim was settled privately while he was working at Mountain Emergency Physicians, and a Huntington medical center for veterans also found him to be threat to the health and safety of their patients.

Now, Campbell Smith's family is arguing that the hospital knew that Dr. Abdeen was not qualified to help their mother and is suing for legal costs, punitive damages, and compensation.

Maryland State Delegate’s Son Killed On Motorcycle By Big Rig

According to The Baltimore Sun, 23-year-old Ryan Myers, the son of Maryland State Delegate LeRoy Myers, was killed in a motorcycle accident that involved with a tractor-trailer in Washington County, Maryland, late on Thursday afternoon shortly after 5:30 p.m. Police think that motorcycle speeding may have been a factor in the fatal motorcycle accident.

Myers was riding his motorcycle on Md. 63, just north of I-70, allegedly speeding. When a big rig pulled out from a truck stop parking lot and into his path heading north, driven by 62-year-old Larry Garrett, Myers skid on his bike for 300 feet and into the path of the truck. The left side of the truck ran over the man's legs. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the motorcycle accident.

Myers was riding a 2001 Yamaha motorcycle, while the truck driver was driing a 2007 Kenworth 18-wheeler.

"No one knows the pain that a family goes through at a time like this," the Myers family released in a statement. "Ryan was a precious son that only wanted to please."

The investigation is ongoing, and no charges have been filed. A viewing and funeral for Ryan Myers will be held next week at the Tri-State Fellowship Church. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, mourners can make memorial donations to Grace Academy, a school in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Stricter Bus Accident Penalties Fail In West Virginia Legislature

This year, West Virginia Legislature Delegate Kelli Sobonya of Cabell, WV, sponsored a bill that would have dole out harsher punishments to those who cause bus accidents. However, the bill failed in the House Finance Committee. A similar bill calling for tougher penalties for those who didn't stop for school buses died in the House Education Committee last year.

The bill's major proponent is Linda McCarthy Bailey, a Lincoln County grandmother who lost her granddaughter, 6-year-old Haven Brooke McCarthy in December 2007 when she tried to cross the street after getting off the bus. The driver of the car in that case, Sylvia Martin, saw the flashing lights of the school bus' stop sign that allows children to cross the road safely, but did not understand that she was supposed to stop.

Martin was found guilty of misdemeanor negligent homicide and was sentenced to six months of house arrest that ends in May of this year.

The failed law, know as "Haven's Bill," would have made being at fault for a school bus accident injury punishable by up to three years in prison, plus fines. Being at fault for a school bus accident death would be up to ten years in jail plus fines. Both crimes would have been considered felonies.

"I figured it was a no-brainer, and it was going to be passed," Bailey said. "I'm not sure why it didn't get looked at. It will next time. None of this is going to do anything for my granddaughter because she's dead. Through her death, I hoped something positive could come out of it."

Virginia Pilot Demands That Dangerous Doctors Be Disciplined

An opinion piece that appeared in the Virginia Pilot on March 13 continues their investigation of the Virginia medical malpractice system and the issues that Virginia officials face in pinpointing the dangerous doctors in the state and revoking or suspending their licenses.

The piece puts forth that the Virginia Board of Medicine has not been thoroughly examined in ten years and that negligent and dangerous doctors are slipping through the cracks for months and years before being found and disciplined. Although two different investigations have found problems with the state's ability to discover and punish medical malpractice doctors, appropriate reforms have not taken place.

The first review came in 1999, when the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) found that the Virginia Board of Medicine was not protecting patients from bad doctors in a timely or efficient manner. In 2003, the Virginia General Assembly pass reforms to help fix the bad system, but problems not only didn't disappear - they got worse. In the last five years since the changes were made, fewer dangerous doctors were stopped from practicing, not more.

This year, a review by consumer watchdog Public Citizen ranked Virginia 39th in the nation when it came to disciplining medical malpractice doctors.

One example involves Dr. Julian McKenny Junior, who was put on probation until further notice after his inappropriate and unmonitored painkiller prescriptions resulted in the alleged overdoses of two of his patients.

In another case, Dr. Mohammad Soori was caught prescribing painkillers to five patients without medical reasons and having unprofessional relationships with two other patients. His license was suspended in January.

The Virginia Pilot suggests making peer reviews by doctors a requirement, as well as making pharmacists report suspicious prescription activity by doctors to medical board officials. The paper also suggests a simple self-examination within JLARC concerning why their disciplinary rates are so much lower than the majority of other states.

Obama Administration Eyes Medical Malpractice System

As President Barack Obama and the new administration looks towards national health care reform, making changes to the federal medical malpractice system may be in store. The changes would greatly affect Virginia medical malpractice lawyers, Virginia doctors, and those in Virginia who have suffered from medical malpractice and are seeking compensation.

Lobbyists representing trial lawyers across the country argue that medical malpractice payments are a drop in the bucket in comparison to other costs and that trying medical malpractice cases saves patients' lives by keeping dangerous and negligent doctors out of hospitals and operating rooms. They also come carrying frightening statistics: the Institute of Medicine reports that almost 100,000 deaths each year in the United States are the result of medical malpractice.

On the other hand, some argue that medical malpractice caps on pain and suffering payments could save the government as much as $4.3 billion in the next ten years. However, everyone seems to agree that doctors and hospitals need to improve the quality of their care - the disagreement comes in finding the best way to do so.

Obama has entered the conversation by saying that medical liability issues would be a prime place to look to save money in the next few years.

One of the greatest issues seems to be "defensive medicine," in which doctors go to extra, expensive lengths to prevent being sued for medical malpractice by ordering large numbers of diagnostic tests or prescribing unneeded medicine.

A change that seems likely may involve alternative dispute resolution - a program that may encourage patients to negotiate compensation outside of the courts. Another idea that has been floated involves a medical-specific court in which judges have greater medical knowledge. Those on both sides of the medical malpractice debate seem to think that alternate solutions to medical malpractice lawsuits would be beneficial.

WV Medical Malpractice Doctor John King Has Bankruptcy Denied

The West Virginia Gazette out of Charleston reports that WV medical malpractice doctor John King is in the news again this month - this time for getting his federal bankruptcy request denied in court.

King, who is infamous for a staggering 124 medical malpractice claims in just seven months of working at Putnam General Hospital, is now prevented from using a bankruptcy filing to protect him from the dozens of lawsuits and medical malpractice claims brought to him by former patients.

Federal bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett announced that King had been hiding an estimated $670,000 from the court in a secret account. When he filed for bankruptcy, the negligent doctor claimed his Volo has his single asset - valued at $500.

It was also revealed that King may owe roughly $1 million in taxes to the IRS.

Putnam General Hospital has already paid out $100 million to the 124 patients of King, who have accused King of a number of medical malpractice incidents, including the overprescription of drugs and cause of unneeded pain.

Still more medical malpractice lawsuits are pending. John King has already had his medical license revoked in a number of other states before he practiced in West Virginia. In another state, he was also accused of causing multiple patients to overdose on painkillers that he prescribed to them.

King lacks board certification in any specialty by either the American Osteopathic Association or the American Medical Association. He also showed that he was incompetent in three separate residency programs and in several staff reviews.

He still holds medical licenses in New York, Tennessee, and Florida - his medical license has been revoked in Pennsylvania, Alabama, and Texas. King also has a history of suing both the hospitals that suspend his practicing privileges as well as the lawyers that have represented him in a number of medical malpractice cases.

Virginia Mom Sues For $5 Million After Inmate Son Dies From Bad Medical Care

According to the Virginia-Pilot Online, the mother of a jail inmate is suing a health care company after her son died while incarcerated.

Marvette Norman believes that the death of her son would not have occurred if not for the negligent care of Correct Care Solutions - the health care company that looks after the medical needs of the inmates at Norfolk City Jail. She has filed a $5 million lawsuit concerning the death of her son.

Twenty-year-old Laquan Norman died a year ago - in March 2008. Norman had complained to prison officials of a number of medical problems for a week - including blood in his nose, mouth, and urine. Near the end of the week, the prisoner began to vomit blood.

A nurse with Correct Care Solutions detected blood in the prisoner's urine and noted that the young man should see a doctor. However, no appointment was made. Norman lost consciousness while jailed and later died in the hospital. An autopsy revealed that he died of a cerebral hemorrhage stemming from a blood disorder.

Jail officials thought meningitis might have been a cause, though the medical exam ruled that cause out. It is not clear why the man would have been examined by the health care company but never referred to a doctor or hospital.

The medical examiner who conducted the autopsy stated that the death could have possibly been prevented had the patient sought medical care and was diagnosed with the blood platelet problem earlier. His mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

Laquan was in jail due to a drug possession charge and a trespassing charge. He had been incarcerated since June of 2007 and was set to be released in July of 2008.

Study Finds Virginia Least Likely To Discipline Medical Malpractice Doctors

The Virginia Pilot Online reports that Virginia continues to lag behind other states when it comes to patient safety, medical malpractice, and disciplining dangerous doctors and nurses. Ten years ago, an investigation revealed that Virginia often took years to strip the licenses of practicing doctors leaving a path of medical malpractice incidents behind them. Now, another national study has concluded that Virginia still suffers from medical malpractice management problems, especially related to taking fast disciplinary actions that could save lives.

The level of concern in VA has risen along with the recent publicity surrounding rheumatologist Dr. Stephen Plotnick, who may be responsible for up to ten untimely patient deaths. Seven of the deaths are related to drug overdoses based on prescriptions given to them by the doctor.

Although Plotnick's license was revoked recently for a two-year period, and although the medical malpractice doctor has agreed to stop treating patients with chronic pain, it took the Medical Board of Virginia five years to take action. Patients who could have been saved died.

Part of the issue may be Virginia's complaint-based system of medical malpractice reporting. Especially because it is hard to for anyone to see patterns of multiple complaints toward one doctor or medical practitioner. Even though the Virginia General Assembly passed a package of medical malpractice reforms in 2003, the problem remains, as illustrated by Plotnick's negligent path of destruction. In fact, there is less disciplinary action taken against doctors than there was before the reforms passed.

Many agree that if peer doctors more readily turned in other doctors who they suspected of medical malpractice, conditions would improve. But many doctors are skittish about turning over coworkers or colleagues. The system would improve further, many critics think, if pharmacists also reported suspicious doctors.

William Harp, the director of the Board of Medicine in Virginia, has suggested a peer review board, along with a generally more aggressive stance toward the small number of dangerous and negligent doctors.

Red Light Running May Slow Down Avoiding Virginia Beach Accidents

As an injury lawyer practicing in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), I was glad to see that the city is bringing back the red light cameras at big intersections which will reduce car crashes by 40 percent according to the Virginia Beach Police Department. Drivers at big intersections like Virginia Beach Boulevard and Independence Boulevard will get a citation for not obeying the traffic signal just based upon a camera taking a picture of the license plate under the new system. The idea is to promote safety on the roads by getting people to obey the red light. It may also provide information useful when we have an insurance case against a driver who runs the red light at these intersections, to prove that they did in fact fail to stop where they should have. This could be invaluable in a lawsuit for serious injury or wrongful death in Virginia Beach where the case would otherwise be a he said/she said as to who had the red light. It provides an electronic eye witness to show that the at-fault driver did in fact drive dangerously.

The intersections where these are going in, in addition to the one mentioned above which is in the Pembroke area in the new town center part of Virginia Beach, include the following:

1. Indian River Road and Kempsville Road

2. Holland Road at Rosemont Road

3. Indian River Road at Military Highway

4. General Booth Boulevard at Dam Neck Road

5. Princess Anne Road at Lynnhaven Parkway

6. Princess Anne Road at Dam Neck Road

7. Virginia Beach Boulevard at Great Neck Road and London Bridge Road

8. Independence Boulevard at Bonnie Road and Euclid Road

When a similar system was tested for some two years in 2004 and 2005, a nine-month period resulted in 17,000 tickets being issued. That is an amazing number of red light violators in Virginia Beach posing a menace to everyone else on the road.

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the Northeast North Carolina (NC) border, 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 the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

South Carolina Illegal Employee Workers’ Comp Bill Faces Delays, Critics

Forbes.com reports on a new bill that would restrict the workers' compensation rights of those who are not legal citizens employed in the United States. The proposed bill would make the laws surrounding illegal immigrant rights in South Carolina even tougher than they already historically have been.

In the bill, which was debated by a judiciary subcommittee this week, would allow foreign workers to have medical costs covered but would not protect them or their families if they were injured or killed on the job.

"We can be nannies. We can be translators. ... We build houses. We build hospitals," said Diana Salazar, president of the Latino Association of Charleston. "But we cannot get benefits if we get hurt on the job because we don't have a piece of paper? ... I think it's unfair."

The bill comes just months after a bill that ensured that employers checked their workers' citizenships before hiring. Some opponents of the bill worry that the law would encourage companies to hire illegal citizens in order to save themselves from making settlements with those hurt or killed on the job - with foreign workers, companies could stop worry so much about a safe work environment or about being sued for being negligent. In addition, the bill could hurt the state's health care systems - with doctor's offices and hospitals left with large, unpaid bills created by unsafe working conditions paired with a lack of benefits for employees.

Insurance companies, on the other hand, are supporting the bill. They stand to pay less money out on claims.

Hispanic workers in South Carolina are already more likely to be killed or injured on the job, and South Carolina has the highest death rate for Hispanic workers in the country. Some of these problems stem from the types of jobs that illegal workers are hired for, while other problems stem from language barriers and English literacy issues.

Virginia Lawmakers Stop Bill That Would Help Workers With Traumatic Brain Injuries

The Virginia Committee on Commerce and Labor has shot down a law that would expand the workers' compensation coverage for those who suffered traumatic brain injuries on the job, but cannot remember the accident due to the ensuing brain injury.

The bill, S.B. 821, was brought about after the case of Arthur Pierce, a truck company employee who allegedly suffered a head injury on the job, but could not remember what happened to him because of his concussion. The man was found lying next to his truck in 2006 and although he can no longer communicate what happened to him or why, it is assumed that he fell from his big rig and hit his head. Medical doctors agreed that the accident was most likely caused by a work accident, but since there were no witnesses, his family's plea for workers' comp benefits was rejected. Even the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission denied the benefits since no one was able to confirm that his accident was an on-the-job injury.

Pierce died from his injuries in 2008 after two years of around-the-clock caretaking.

The bill would make logic sense because of a similar law on the books in Virginia that states that if an employee is found dead on the job or near his or her work site, it can be presumed that the worked died because of his job unless there is a significant amount of evidence saying otherwise.

The reason for the bill's rejection was a likely increase in workers' compensation fraud, according to the committee members who blocked the bill's progress. It would be too easy, they said for workers to fake a traumatic brain injury if they did not need witnesses. Basic testimony, or other evidence to prove their case.

The bill was brought by republican senator Richard Stewart of Westmoreland County.

Peanut Food Poisoning Hurts NC Peanut Farmers

The recent salmonella outbreak across the country was due to tainted peanuts and peanut products - bad news for North Carolina peanut farmers. Although the normal annual demand for peanuts is 100 tons in the United States, peanut farmers are seeing a stalling market due to the fear and anxiety attached to the rash of food poisonings in the last month.

In 43 states, 486 people were struck down by the bacteria-laden peanut products. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) also reports 107 hospitalizations as well as eight deaths - with numbers expected to rise as more victims come forward. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled a number of peanut products, but although many store brands have been declared safe, many are still wary of peanut products. Those affected for the most part ate peanut butter prepared in institutional settings - schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. Food banks especially have been harmed by the crisis, with many organizations throwing out thousands of pounds of food products out so as to prevent any further illness or death and so as to avoid any consequential litigation involving negligence and food poisoning.

The President of the North Carolina Peanut Growers' Association told the media that contracts were only trickling in for the coming year - a bad sign for farmers. The situation is complicated by the troubled peanut market - although sales were up by 40 percent last year, farming costs are rising for the crop while prices are dropping.

"I think people will become more comfortable (with peanut purchases) as time goes on, but with every farming enterprise, you can't just sit around and wait," he said. "We've got economic enterprises that must move on from year to year."

North Carolina is the fifth largest peanut producer in the country as well as the largest producer of the larger "ballpark peanuts."

The peanut outbreak was traced to a peanut processing plant in Georgia. Since the beginning of the outbreak, 2,100 peanut products have been recalled by over 200 different companies.

If you have suffered a serious injury from food poisoning, it is vital for you to contact a specialized attorney for more information about your case.

Three Die In Freak Boating Accident Near Myrtle Beach; Boy In Serious Condition

A tragic and fatal boating accident took place at Murrells Inlet on Wednesday night, taking the lives of three family members and leaving one boy in critical condition. The boat capsized on the Waccamaw River about ten feet from the shore of Sandy Island - six people were aboard the 14-foot boat when it went over, though no one aboard was wearing life jackets. Witnesses say the boat took water at the bow and then capsized, although the exact reason for the boat accident remains unclear.

The victims included 47-year-old Lou Ann Robinson, her 19-year-old daughter Shaquatia Robinson, and her nephew, 18-year-old Rishard Pyatt. Pyatt was a senior at Waccamaw High School.

Another passenger and the driver of the boat, Tiffany Tucker, along with her five-year-old daughter survived the accident and called for help. Baby Zyair Smalls was found by rescuers floating on a boat seat cushion among the wreckage. He remains in critical condition at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. The water at the time of the accident was 50 degrees, and the one-year-old boy was airlifted to safety by rescuers. Reports are that they baby's condition is improving despite the fact that he nearly drown.

South Carolina state law requires that children under 12 wear life jackets at all times while on the river. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said that the accident is still under investigation and that it is not clear whether or not charges will be filed.

"At some point, we will make that decision, whether there will be any charges," McCullough said. "Who would be charged would be the person operating the boat."

Officials are still trying to locate the boat, and the search for the vessel will continue over the next few days. Autopsies confirmed that the cause of death of the three victims was drowning.

Mason County Records Second Fatal Car And Truck Accident in 2009 On US 35

The Point Pleasant Register in West Virginia reported that a second fatal accident occurred in Mason County in as many weeks. This fatal car and truck wreck took place around 6:30 in the evening on Tuesday. The highway was closed for four hours in the wake of the car accident. The West Virginia Police are still investigating the details of the case.

The accident took place on US Highway 35, when 44-year-old Stanley Gray of Putnam County hit a deer on the road and lost control of his vehicle. His eastbound sedan crossed over the double-yellow centerline and into the westbound path of a Volvo big rig driven by 49-year-old Evon Gray. The tractor trailer, owned by Swift Transportation, Inc. hit the PT Cruiser head on.

The 18-wheeler ran off the road while the Cruiser bounced back into the eastbound lanes where it was hit a final time by a pickup truck driven by Charles Ellis of Pliny, WV.

Stanley Gray was killed on the scene and taken to the Pleasant Valley Hospital morgue, while the other two drivers were not seriously injured.

The second fatal accident in 2009 happened on January 21, when a car carrying three men was involved in a single-vehicle accident on Sand Hill Road in Point Pleasant. Two of the men were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, while a third man was airlifted to St. Mary's Medical Center with serious, life-threatening injuries.

Officials say the three men were celebrating one of the men's 21st birthday and that alcohol may have been a factor in the crash. The West Virginia State Police said that the investigation was ongoing and that charges were pending.

In a third and final serious accident in Mason County, Jessica Durst, 21, and Jarrod Donohew, 27, both of Leon, West Virginia, were involved in a two car accident on State Route 62. The head-on wreck took place when Donohew tried to pass another vehicle and struck Durst's vehicle. Both were airlifted to the Cabell Huntington Hospital, where both are recovering from serious injuries.

Airplane Crashes Near Ohio Home Killing One

The Associated Press has reported that on December 21, 2008 a small airplane hit a flag pole and crashed on the front lawn of a vacant Ohio home, killing the pilot. The crash sparked a fire that damaged the garage of the house which was in foreclosure. No one on the ground suffered personal injuries. There were no passengers in the airplane that crashed, a Piper Saratoga. Airport spokespersons said the pilot was attempting to land at Akron-Canton Airport which is about two miles from the house where the airplane accident occurred.

The plane went down in a residential neighborhood surrounded by farm land. Early reports indicate that the airplane that crashed took off from somewhere in Pennsylvania. Witnesses told officials that they heard what sounded like an engine sputtering before the airplane crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident. Its report is not due for several months.

Airplane/aircraft accidents like these highlight the need for experienced aircraft/airplane/aviation attorneys. Our Virginia based aviation accident attorneys have the experience necessary to find the truth and obtain maximum compensation for personal injury/wrongful death victims of airplane crashes, whether in Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC) or beyond. Contact us immediately as evidence must be secured, investigated and analyzed quickly before it is destroyed, changed or altered forever.

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.

Recovery of Colorado Airplane Crash Victims Delayed Until the Spring

On New Year’s Eve of 2008, the Associated Press reported that the bodies of a Canadian couple killed in an airplane crash in the Colorado mountains won’t be recovered until spring because of treacherous weather and avalanche threats. Costilla County officials say that the 67 year-old pilot and his 65 year-old wife are presumed dead in the December 20^th airplane accidental crash at Vermejo Peak. Sheriff’s Office officials say the aircraft crash wreckage is more than 1,000 feet higher than expected. That peak received more than a foot of snow last week.

Experienced aircraft accident/crash attorneys are frequently needed to answer the many questions that arise when an airplane accidentally crashes and results in wrongful death. Our aircraft accident/crash attorneys provide excellent service to families and loved ones of those who are victims of aircraft crashes and accidents resulting in wrongful death.

In order to prove negligence in a airplane/aircraft case, it is crucial to have personal injury attorneys/lawyers that have both knowledge of the field and real trial experience and one of our lawyers is himself a licensed pilot. The Virginia/Carolina Law Firm of Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis and Appleton routinely confer with some of the foremost medical experts in the country on behalf of their clients, and have a long and distinguished history of taking cases to trial with successful results. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a airplane/airline accidental injury, please send us a quick contact form or call us toll free for a free consultation today.

Wrongful Death Claims Settled in Two Sago Mine Disaster Cases in West Virginia

The West Virginia Gazette reports that two more Sago Mine Disaster families have settled their lawsuits, although the details of the settlements were not released - court records in the Kanawha Circuit Courthouse only give basic facts of the settlements.

The two miners, both of whom died in the accident in Buckhannon, were Fred Ware and Marty Bennett. The company that settled the lawsuit was ICG subsidiary Wolf Run Mining. These are the fourth and fifth settlements to take place since the incident took place two years ago. Six other wrongful death cases are still pending with the mining company.

There are a number of other confidential settlements involving the families of the mine explosion victims and other involved companies tied with ICG.

The incident took place on January 2, 2006, when an underground explosion trapped thirteen miners in a tunnel in the Sago Mine. An investigation revealed that a lightening strike was the most likely cause of the explosion. One man, Terry Helms, died soon after the initial blast from carbon monoxide poisoning, while 12 other men waited, trapped, for rescuers. Almost two days after the blast, 11 or the 12 men were dead, with only Randal McCLoy Junior still breathing at the time of the rescue. It was the worst mining disaster in West Virginia since 1968, and the worst mining accident in the United States since 2001, when 12 miners died in Alabama.

To this point, the lawsuits have centered around numerous safety violations prior to the explosion, the lack of any anti-lightening equipment, and poorly-functioning seals. There were also not enough emergency oxygen packs that were working - a safety precaution that could have saved lives.

"We will vigorous defend ourselves against the remaining complaints," the company said in last year's annual report.

The Sago mine closed permanently after the incident.

Medicare Doles Out Poor Ratings For Many Of West Virginia Nursing Homes

A new five-star rating system for West Virginia's 130 nursing homes and adult care facilities finds that the majority of the state's adult homes are below average. The West Virginia Gazette reported that the first results from December's Nursing Home Compare Program are not ideal.

While 12 of the homes received a five star, much above average rating, 34 homes received one star - a much below average rating. Just over half of West Virginia's nursing homes, 50.8 percent, were either much below average or below average.

In general, for-profit nursing homes scored poorly, with national chains snagging 20 of the 34 poorest ratings. Non-profit facilities fared better.

"Our goal in developing this unprecedented quality rating system is to provide families a straightforward assessment of nursing home quality, with meaningful distinctions between high and low-performing homes," acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems said in December.

Although the program has released nursing home rating in the past, this is the first year that the five-star system has been implemented so that consumers can more easily differentiate between their choices for quality care.

Predictably, the administrators of the five-star nursing homes were pleased by the list, while the others were dissatisfied. Jesse Samples, the director of the West Virginia Health Care Association, called the data used for the rating "flawed and incomplete" and suggested that nursing homes were too different and complex to compare fairly to one another.

The rating system is based on staff-to-patient ratios, state inspection results, patient safety, environmental safety, and health-quality measurements that track statistics such as the percentage of patients suffering from UTIs, other infections, and bedsores.

Critics of the rating system say that they would like to see other types of factors included, such as patient satisfaction, daily activities, home atmosphere, and special services. However, Nursing Home Compare said that those factors are easily covered in a visit to a nursing home, while their survey strives to collect information that visitors cannot see on the surface.

Knightdale, NC, Woman Injured In Train Collision On Rarely Used Track

According to the East Wake News, a woman from Knightdale, North Carolina, was driving her vehicle on Friday, January 16, when a train hit her. The accident was partially caused by the fact that the railroad tracks in question had rarely been used until recently and many in the area were not used to being cautious when driving on the tracks.

The car, which was driven by Nathalie Frazier of Pampus Lane in Knightdale, North Carolina, was stopped on the tracks at the intersection of First Avenue and Fayetteville Street. While she was looking at traffic approaching from the left on First Avenue, the train approached her car from the right and Frazier was unaware of its approach.

The oncoming train was a two-engine, 21-car Coastal Carolina locomotive, blew its warning whistle but was unable to stop. It struck Frazier's 2007 Honda on its right broad side and dragged the vehicle along the track for 560 feet before it was able to come to a stop. The train speed limit along that particular stretch of track is 25 miles per hour.

Acting Police Chief D.R. Simmons told the media that Frazier was transported by ambulance to WakeMed, but miraculously did not receive any life-threatening injuries. She was released later that day.

The General Manager of Coastal Carolina, Virgil Holman, explained further that trains had been rare in the area until last year, when the company began leasing the track section from Norfolk Southern in June of 2007. Prior to the lease, Norfolk Southern did not use the tracks actively but instead used them for storing engines not in use between Wilson NC, and Raleigh NC. Even now, trains run rarely - hauling sporadic loads of agricultural goods such as corn, woodchips, soybeans, and wheat.

This story is a cautionary tale - even if you think train tracks are not in use, never assume that there isn't a train approaching.

Virginia’s Peanut Corporation Of America Faces First Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Salmonella Outbreak

MarketWatch has reported that Virginia's Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) has been hit with its first wrongful death lawsuit in regards to the recent outbreaks of salmonella poisoning from peanut products.

The first lawsuit involves the death of nursing home woman, 72-year-old Shirley Mae Almer, who ate a peanut butter product that was delivered to the adult care facility by King Nut Companies. The heir of Almer, Jeffery Almer, has filed suit against both the Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America and King Nut Company. A five-pound pail of King Nut peanut butter was found in the nursing home that had been recalled by the FDA in connection with the salmonella outbreak.

Jeffery Almer's lawyer is arguing that Shirley Mae Almer's death on December 21 was the direct result of the illness she contracted from the peanut butter. The recall was not announced by PCA and the Federal Food and Drug Administration until January 13 - and by that time, more than 500 people around the country had become ill from the salmonella. Forty-three states were affected by the outbreak, including Virginia.

"This is a very large and significant recall," the lawyer said. "It points to a number of vulnerabilities in our food safety system that require legislation and funding to correct. Consumers should feel concerned and demand a significant overhaul."

The prosecution's argument is that both companies were negligent in training and supervising their employees to prevent such breeches in safety. In addition, the two peanut companies were negligent in their failure to maintain safe conditions for their products and properly test products.

The peanut processing plant is also currently involved in a criminal probe for the salmonella outbreak. In the past, PCA plants have been found to be unsanitary and products have been found to be contaminated. The FDA also stated that national brands of peanut butter are safe to eat.

Norfolk Southern Railroad Cuts Costs, Can Safety Cuts Be Far Behind?

In a December 2008 edition of the Norfolk, Virginia (VA) based paper, The Virginian Pilot, the business section reported that Norfolk Southern Railroad (NS) was cutting costs by reducing the number of workers and other measures aimed to keep corporate profits and stock prices high. These railroad company layoffs can have a serious effect on worker injuries and the safety of the public grade crossings. Norfolk Southern Railroad currently has about 30,000 railroad workers and employees across its system spanning the eastern United States. The workers at Norfolk Southern, which swallowed up much of the old Conrail Railroad system a decade ago, include crafts such as locomotive engineers, conductors, Carmen, signalmen, trackmen, laborers, and machine operators. Already in recent years you have seen reductions in railroad work forces that have been drastic. For example, train crews that operate the locomotives and railcars going down the railroad tracks in the past had three, four, or five people per train. Now the same jobs are done by two man crews and with the use of remote control devices, even one-man crews. This work force reduction puts extraordinary pressure on the one or two people left operating these huge machines. It is inevitable that with this short staffing there are going to be more injuries to railroad workers resulting in FELA claims and disability to individual workers.

Emergency Department Bills Injured Texas Woman For Nothing But Delay!

In a recent new report in a Dallas, Texas newspaper, it was reported that a 29 year-old lady suffered a serious personal injury when she broke her leg back in September of 2008. As a result of this serious personal injury, she went to her local Emergency Department to have her broken leg treated by the Emergency Room doctor.

She was placed in the waiting room and went untreated for 19 hours. Finally, she left in disgust and went to a different Emergency Department.

Much to her surprise, two weeks later she received a bill for $162.00 from the Emergency Department that offered her no treatment. She stood up for her patient rights and refused to pay this bill from the Emergency Department that failed to treat her.

If you have received serious personal injuries, it is always important to seek medical attention promptly. However, if the medical facility you report to does not treat your serious personal injury quickly, you should seek alternative treatment. You may also want to see an experienced personal injury lawyer if you get this kind of treatment from a health care facility, especially if the lack of prompt medical care leads to clear worsened injuries or permanent damages.

Pilot in Fatal Airplane Fire Crash Warned Superiors of High Winds

A factual aviation crash report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board concludes that a pilot killed this spring in an aircraft crash, while fighting a fire in Fort Carson, Colorado, repeatedly warned officials that winds were too high and strong, but was urged by officials to push on. The pilot was killed April 15, 2008 when his single engine air tanker nosedived and crashed into the ground. The NTSB airplane/aircraft crash report relating to the pilot’s death was released during December, 2008.

The pilot who was killed in this airplane crash flew a single engine air tanker for an aviation company that contracted with the Department of Defense for fire-fighting. The report notes that the pilot had indicated to dispatchers that he did not want to head to the Fort Carson fire if winds were stronger than 23 m.p.h. The actual wind speed there was reported to be gusting to approximately 38 m.p.h. As the pilot approached the fire, he lost control of his aircraft causing the airplane to crash, causing the wrongful death of the pilot.

How Railroads Try To Pay Workers Less on Railroad Case Verdicts by Claiming an Offset for Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Disability Benefits

The new strategy for railroads in railroad worker personal injury cases (FELA cases), is to try to reduce the sums juries are requiring them to pay by filing legal motions that ask judges to give them a "setoff" or "credit" for the amount of money the railroad has paid to the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) for the employer's portion of RRB Tier II benefits (paid in the past by the railroad to the RRB). Since early in the 20th century, Social Security and RRB benefits have been what is known as "collateral sources" of income/benefits which courts have felt were earned by the employee and paid to the employee for reasons unrelated to any personal injury lawsuits-where the worker sues the railroad for a persona injury at work (FELA/Federal Employers Liability Act suits). Since the worker earned the RRB benefits through years of
faithful service to the railroad company, and also contributed to a portion of the RRB benefits personally through payroll deductions and since the worker would then qualify for the benefits based upon his or her age and physical condition, regardless of whether a lawsuit had been filed, courts felt it would be unfair for juries to consider the worker's RRB benefits' due to a work related injury.

Despite over 60 years of court decisions holding that the amount of money a jury awarded an injured railroad worker should not be reduced by the worker's receipt (or even qualification for) RRB benefits, the
railroads are currently trying to get courts to ignore this precedent and reduce railroad worker jury verdicts by the amount of money the railroad contributed to the railroad worker's RRB pension.

We recently won a case for a 60 year old maintenance of way rail worker in North Carolina. After the jury returned the verdict in our favor, CSX filed a motion asking the judge to reduce the jury verdict by
over $7,000.00 which was the sum our client received in RRB Tier II benefits while he was receiving an occupational disability (due to the same accident). After both sides submitted briefs to the judge and
appeared at a hearing, the judge granted CSX's motion and reduced our client's jury verdict/recovery as the railroad had asked.

Needless to say, we quickly appealed to the North Carolina (NC) Court of Appeals and after numerous briefs and oral argument, the North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed the trial court judge, deciding that
our client's verdict had been inappropriately reduced by the trial judge.

LEGAL BRIEF EXCERPTS RELATING TO RRB SET-OFF CLAIM BY RAILROADS

Is a railroad defendant entitled to a set off against adverse jury verdicts based on the plaintiff’s receipt of an occupational disability pension funded in part by the railroad’s contribution to the Tier II portion of the employee’s Railroad Retirement benefits? Because the railroads contribute a larger portion (85 percent) to the Tier II benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) than the employee, are those benefits no longer a “collateral source” and a proper basis for set off? Does an injured railroad employee enjoy an improper “windfall” by receiving a verdict that provides compensation for past wage loss as well as Railroad Retirement benefits occupational disability annuity benefits when the Railroad Retirement benefits, which are primarily paid for by the defendant railroad, provide a second recovery for past wages lost during a portion of the time considered by the jury? The proper response to all of these questions is “no”; however, railroads are making a concerted effort to convince trial and appellate courts the answers should be “yes.” The defense of set off is being aggressively pursued by railroads in Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) claims. The arguments advanced in support of set off by the railroads are based on the 1974 Congressional reorganization of funding under the RRA, which resulted in the current two tiers of Railroad Retirement benefits.

Railroads argue they contribute a much larger share (85 percent) to the Tier II benefits than the employee under the 1974 Act. Consequently, the Tier II benefits are no longer “a collateral source” and “replicate a private pension plan” which entitles them to a set off for the portion they have contributed to the Tier II fund during the employee’s receipt of an occupational disability pension under the RRA. The reorganization of the RRA in 1974 is a “red herring” and should not be recognized as a basis for any set off based upon the language of the FELA and the federal common law prohibiting set off in such situations.

Statutory Prohibition of Set off

The passage of the FELA, 45 U.S.C. § 51, et seq., has been recognized as an “avowed departure” from the rules of common law, including defenses. The FELA provides for the defense of set off in very limited circumstances:

Any contract, rule, regulation, or device whatsoever, the purpose or intent of which shall be to enable any common carrier to exempt itself from any liability created by this chapter, shall to that extent be void: Provided, That [sic] in any action brought against such common carrier under or by virtue of any provision of this act, such common carrier may set off therein any sum it has contributed or paid to any insurance, relief benefit, or indemnity that may have been paid to the injured employee or the person entitled thereto on account of the injury or death for which said action was brought.

     Courts have uniformly held that disability and retirement pensions under the RRA do not qualify for set off under 45 U.S.C. § 55 because the payments are not made “on account of death or injury.” The purpose of the RRA is to provide annuity, pension, and death benefits to railroad employees. As a social tax system, its purpose has never been to indemnify railroads from legal liability. Absent the purpose of indemnification from legal liabilities, pension payments made under the Railroad Retirement System should not be set off against a plaintiff’s damages.

     The railroad employee’s entitlement to a Railroad Retirement Board occupational disability is based upon years of service and a “physical or mental condition” that prevents the employee from engaging in any regular railroad occupation. There is no requirement that the disability arise from an on duty injury or due to the employer’s negligence. Thus, there is no justification for a set off due to the employee’s receipt of such benefits.

     The Supreme Court opinion in Eichel v. New York Central Railroad Co., which characterizes Railroad Retirement benefits as “collateral source,” relies in part upon an analysis of the interplay of the Railroad Retirement benefits and the remedies afforded by the FELA as discussed in New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Co. v. Leary. The Leary analysis was embraced by the Supreme Court in Eichel with regards to the FELA, but not the RRA.

     In its analysis in Leary, the First Circuit clearly reasoned that set offs for Railroad Retirement benefits were not authorized by the FELA:

We think these age and service requirements for disability payments remove those payments from the coverage of § 55 of the Federal Employers’ Liability Act. Accident indemnity strictly speaking does not seem to be within the Congressional intent discussed in the Retirement Act of 1937. Thus, this is not a set off authorized by § 55 because we think the retirement fund is not an ‘insurance, relief benefit, or indemnity’ within the meaning of that section. ¼ The retirement fund is supported by tax collections from the employer and employee, and to a limited extent by the general public. The benefits received under such a system of social legislation are not directly attributable to the contributions of the employer, so they cannot be considered in mitigation of the damages caused by the employer.

There is no statutory justification for the award of a set off to a defendant railroad based upon an injured employee’s receipt of Railroad Retirement Board benefits. To the contrary, courts interpreting the FELA have applied rules of strict statutory construction and limited remedies available under the RRA to those explicitly identified in the statute, thereby excluding a set off in this context.

The Character and Nature of Railroad Retirement Benefits Prohibit Set off

     The railroads’ argument that the funds they contribute to the Railroad Retirement benefits on behalf of employees are not from a “collateral source” misses a very basic consideration uniformly recognized by courts applying the collateral source rule. “[C]ourts have been virtually unanimous in their refusal to make the source of funding the determining factor in deciding whether fringe benefits should be considered as emanating from the employer or a ‘collateral source.’”Based upon the character of the Railroad Retirement benefit contributions (paid regardless of source of disability) and nature (funding is mandatory under statute and contributed to by employer and employee), courts which have previously considered whether Railroad Retirement benefits are subject to set off against FELA verdicts have consistently prohibited such a set off. The earliest consideration of a motion by a railroad for an offset against a FELA verdict for sums paid into the Railroad Retirement benefits appears to be McCarthy v. Palmer.

     The court in McCarthy denied the railroad’s request for an offset, holding that the Railroad Retirement benefits received by the employee were excluded from offset under the collateral source rule. The court in McCarthy based its application of the collateral source rule to the employee’s Railroad Retirement benefits on the fact that the benefits were based upon the employee’s age and the benefits were payable to the employee regardless of the cause of his disability. The court stated that “there is not nexus between the purpose for which the contributions in this regard were made and the purpose for which damages in this negligence action are awarded.”

     A similar motion was also denied in Hetrick v. Reading Co., in which the court explained its evaluation of the legal basis for such a motion for offset balanced against the legislative purpose of the FELA and RRA. In denying the railroad’s motion, the court stated:

     The objects of the two pieces of legislation are entirely foreign to each other, and we are of the view that there never was a legislative intent that a jury giving consideration to the last named elements [perceiving loss in diminished earning capacity and pain and suffering in FELA awards] was to draw into its calculations the annuities provided for by the Retirement Act so that payments made by the employer under the latter legislation would be returned to it. Under these circumstances we do not feel that the annuity was ever intended to restore injured employees to a theoretical status quo, but on the contrary was intended to make secure in society those employees suffering injury after thirty years of service, or perhaps because of thirty years of service. Recovery under the Liability Act in such case is beside the point, because that is an attempted restorative alone.

While federal courts have allowed set offs to defendants based on fringe benefits a plaintiff has received which are unrelated to service to the defendant or nonvested in the plaintiff, the same courts have protected plaintiffs from the defendants attempts to obtain set offs from funds which have vested with the plaintiff independent of the underlying cause of action. For example, the courts allowed the federal government to offset a Federal Tort Claim Act (FTCA) verdict with a portion of the plaintiff’s veteran’s benefits in U.S. v. Brooks. However, the courts denied the federal government a set off in a later FTCA claim against the plaintiff’s Civil Service Retirement Act benefits after distinguishing between gratuitous benefits (subject to set off) and compulsory benefit programs involving contributions from employers and employees (not subject to set off).The decision handed down in Price v. U.S. by the federal district court is particularly relevant to the consideration of set off and explicitly rejects the applicability of the earlier opinion of Brooks to fringe benefit plans in which contributions are made by the plaintiff and are mandatory. The district court in Price noted that Brooks involved only “certain veteran’s benefits which are, without exception, deemed to be gratuities which the Government may withdraw or modify at will as the recipient has no property or vested right in such benefits.” Price on the other hand involved a claim for an offset by the U.S. government against the plaintiff’s recovery under the Federal Tort Claims Act against Price’s receipt of disability benefits under the Civil Service Retirement Act of 1956. The plan was compulsory for Price and funded by contributions from the government and the employee. The court also noted there was no statutory authority for the set off.

The district court held in Price that an employee purchased a substantial right in retirement plans through mandatory contributions and such plans were distinguishable from those without contributions by plaintiffs. The court concluded that the application of the Brooks holding was “dubious” in such cases.

In dicta, the holding excluding Civil Service Retirement Act benefits from negligence set offs was analogized to, and came to include, RRA benefits:

The Civil Service Retirement Act, like the Railroad Retirement Act counterpart, is designed, with respect to its disability provisions ‘to protect against risk of permanent loss of earnings through disability¼.’ Congress, under the Civil Service Retirement Act, has seen fit to provide for a cessation of disability benefits upon certain conditions dependent upon the earnings of the party receiving such benefits. To require an advance credit by way of offset upon a judgment under the Federal Tort Claims Act would do violence to the social and economic security of all federal employees similarly situated.

      The appellate decision in Price affirmed the rationale of the district court in denying a set off to the U.S., specifically stating it is the nature and not the source of the benefits which determine the applicability of a set off.

     A similar result was handed down by the Indiana Court of Appeals recently which addresses the specific issue of the appropriateness of allowing a defendant railroad to offset an FELA verdict by Railroad Retirement benefits received by the injured employee in CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Gardner. The Gardner court analyzed the basis of the defendant’s motion for offset (i.e., contribution to the RRA Fund), the nature of the collateral source rule, the nature of the funds, the accepted factors for determining the applicability of the collateral source rule, and concluded that a set off should not be granted in such a situation.

     The Gardner court identified five factors utilized by federal courts to determine whether payments are “fringe benefits” or the result of payments made by a tortfeasor intending to indemnify itself from future liability. The former is subject to the collateral source rule exclusion the latter is not. The five factors identified by the Gardner Court are:

(1) whether the employee makes any contribution to funding of the disability payment; (2) whether the plan arises as a result of a collective bargaining agreement; (3) whether the plan and payments there under cover both work related and non-work related injuries; (4) whether payments from the plan are contingent upon length of service of the employee; and (5) whether the plan contains any specific language contemplating a set-off of benefits received under the plan against a judgment received in a tort action.

After a detailed analysis of each of the above-mentioned factors (which the court concluded are all contrary to allowing offset), the court in Gardner concluded that due to the nature of Railroad Retirement benefits “setoff is not allowed under federal common law.”

Once it reached the conclusion that set off of Railroad Retirement benefits is not appropriate under the federal law, the court analyzed whether there is any congressional intent for such a set off independent of, or contrary to, the federal common law. After analyzing several cases from various federal circuits, the court concluded “[i]t is clear the Congress intended the RRA to further the public policy of protecting railroad employees who become disabled on or off the job, and not to protect or reduce the liability of a negligent employer” and rejected CSX’s motion for offset.

Conclusion

     Courts have uniformly held the source of funding should not be the determining factor when analyzing whether fringe benefits are from a “collateral source.” Efforts to justify set off regardless of the purpose of the fringe benefits sought to be set off should fail for the reasons discussed above: (1) statutory prohibition by 45 U.S.C. § 55; (2) federal common law; and (3) absence of legislative authority for such a defense.

     While the absence of legislative authority is specifically discussed in several of the cases referenced above, it is also supported by a common sense analysis of the facts that the railroads rely upon so heavily in making the pitch for a set off based on the 1974 reorganization of the RRA. The Eichel opinion holding Railroad Retirement benefits are from a collateral source for FELA purposes was handed down in 1963. The litany of cases holding set off was not supported by the RRA and prohibited under the FELA began with McCarthy in 1939. These decisions were presumably known to Congress, the railroads, and the unions at the time of the 1974 reorganization of the RRA, yet Congress did not provide for a set off in the language of the 1974 RRA. The absence of such statutory language demonstrates an absence of legislative intent for a set off in this context.

     Additionally, the remedies available to the parties under the FELA have been strictly construed by the Supreme Court. Thus, recognizing the defense of set off based upon a plaintiff’s receipt of Railroad Retirement benefits would in essence be the enacting of legislation by the judiciary. There simply is no direct authority justifying the defense of set off in this setting. Plaintiffs should be prepared to aggressively and thoroughly contest such a defense through a demonstration of the overwhelming judicial and legislative authority contrary to the defendant’s arguments.

________ _____________ ____________

Our law firm has a long history of representing railroad victims, including conductors, engineers, track maintenance, carman and all crafts, as well as those suffering wrongful death of family member due to railroad accidents/diseases/injuries. 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: www.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.

Virginia/Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers Discuss Recent Personal Injury Case Verdict against Drunk Driver Including Punitive Damages

Juries do not have sympathy for drunk drivers who cause serious personal injuries, whether in Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC) or elsewhere. Even in a case of very small medical bills, a recent Virginia jury in a conservative state court jurisdiction granted a $281,000 verdict for a teenager injured in a car accident hit by a totally drunk driver with a .32% blood alcohol content (BAC).

The injured plaintiff was a high school student/cheerleader who was 16 years old at the time of the car accident. The drunk driver sideswiped a car, causing it to flip over, and then the drunk driver's car traveled across a wide median and collided head on with the teenager's car. Fortunately for the 16-year-old, her medical bills totaled only $760 mainly for chiropractor visits for back problems. The chiropractic care was mostly for pre--- existing scoliosis, but the chiropractor believed the scoliosis was made worse because of the car accident, and the teenager would need to have chiropractic care for years into the future, estimated at about $10,000 over time.

The defendant, who had blown a BAC of .32% was charged with his third driving under the influence conviction (DUI/DWI). He admitted drinking Wild Irish Rose all weekend at the time he was arrested.

Although the teenager had less than $1000 of medical bills, witnesses testified about her fear of driving at night, and the mental impact the accident had on her, which had some impact on their ability to participate in some cheerleading and track at school.

The plaintiff sought compensatory damages for her personal injuries, but in Virginia as in most states punitive damages can be claimed against a drunk driver. Punitive damages are punishment damages and are not connected directly to the victim's personal injuries, medical bills or lost wages. In inappropriate situations, where a defendant drunk driver’s conduct is outrageous, and in conscious disregard of safety, punitive damages may be granted by the jury .

The case was heard by a jury in Rockingham County Circuit Court, Virginia, known as a fairly conservative county. The jury awarded $80,000 for the personal injury, with only $764 in actual medical bills damages, and $200,000 in punitive damages, all against the drunk driver for a total verdict of $281,000. Naturally, the lawyer representing the drunk driver (likely an insurance lawyer) is trying to have the court set aside the verdict as inappropriate and excessive as of the time this article is drafted.

The defenses that a lawyer can make on behalf of an obviously drunk driver, or a drunk driver with repeat drunk driving/DUI/DWI convictions, are very limited in front of a jury. Our law firm handles only personal injury law, and in cases of an intoxicated driver or of alleged drunk driving, we have gained experience in investigating and locating the necessary evidence to prove drunk driving and intoxication in any civil personal injury case context.

Personal Injury Lawsuits: Hospitals and Clinics Adjust To Increase in Infection Injury Malpractice Cases

According to an article in Lawyers USA in December 2008, medical malpractice lawsuits are on the rise against hospital and other clinics for serious or life-threatening infections that personal injury victims are claiming could have been prevented. Most importantly, juries are holding the hospitals responsible for failing to prevent the resulting infections.

For example, the article referred to a November 6, 2008 jury verdict of $13.5 million to a Massachusetts woman who died of an infection caused by flesh-being bacteria after she underwent cancer treatment. The article referred to a November 14, 2008 confidential settlement in the sum of $16 million to a Utah woman, who alleged that the hospital in question failed to detect a flesh eating bacteria either before or after she gave birth and caused her to lose three limbs and several body organs. The article discussed a July, 2008 verdict for $2.58 million in favor of a Missouri couple after the husband contracted a deadly type of staph infection known as methicillin resistant staph (MRSA), after doctors had put a pacemaker in. The particular patient lost a kidney and a leg and a foot had to be amputated.

Many medical malpractice lawyers have refused to accept personal injury cases relating to infection contraction, because infection can be a known complication of most surgeries and procedures. However, where special circumstances can be shown that prove a hospital or clinic violate a specific standard of care directed to avoiding infection, it seems that juries are paying attention and penalizing hospitals for the careless or negligent conduct.

For example, in late 2008 Medicare stopped reimbursing for certain types of hospital contracted infections. The implication is that it can result from a hospital mistake, and Medicare may refuse payment.

Perhaps more importantly, the Joint Commission (The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, also called the JCAHO) , which is a nonprofit organization based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, evaluates end credits healthcare programs. The JCAHO released a written document which outlines strategies for preventing infections. The extensive document was released in October 2008 and is very important because hospitals and clinics follow the recommendations of the joint commission and use it as a basis for many of the standards and actions they take. Also, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) also has rules for avoiding infections such as when an IV, intravenous device should be removed and how long one should be left in. Also, CDC rules specify that a surgeon should not perform a heart surgery while a remote site infection exists, as several examples of standards that apply to infections.

Between the CDC recommendations, and the compendium released by the joint commission, the standard of care for preventing infection in hopitals and clinics is changing and it is being recognized that the standards do exist for preventing infections. Active hand hygiene policies, screening incoming patients for certain types of infections, and a bunch of other recommendations now are relevant in any case where a personal injury medical malpractice lawyer is reviewing a case of a preventable infection that causes permanent and serious medical complications.

Slip, Trip and Fall Personal Injury Cases: When Is A Hole Or a Condition Open and Obvious?

In a recent federal court decision out of Richmond, Virginia (within the Federal court circuit over West Virginia (WV), Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC) and South Carolina (SC) the federal judge denied a motion to dismiss a delivery driver's personal injury lawsuit against a Firestone Tire store, though Firestone claimed that the delivery driver should have seen an open and obvious pot hole in the parking lot. The issue of when a condition such as a hole or a pothole constitutes and open and obvious condition is one that often arises in personal injury lawsuits involving slips, trips and falls. If a condition is “obvious” the establishment tries to get the suit dismissed prior to trial.

In the new decision, in a case called Cring v. BFS Retail and Commercial Operations LLC, the opinion by Judge Payne outlined the fact that under Virginia law courts are permitted to find contributory negligence on behalf of the injured victim when the hazard or condition was open and obvious, and with ordinary care, the condition/hole could have or should have been avoided by the injured person. Also, this particular decision noted that the Supreme Court of Virginia has specifically not decided, as a matter of law, that a pedestrian's failure to look down while stepping forward must always constitute contributory negligence on behalf of the injured person. The Virginia high court stated that a jury must examine the size, location and visibility of defects or conditions to determine whether they are truly open and obvious to a personal injury victim.

In the Cring case the Firestone establishment's pothole in question was allegedly obscured or covered up by the shadows of parked cars on either side of the pothole. The pothole in question was the same color as the blacktop surrounding it. Most important to the court was that the Firestone employees that work at the store failed to notice the open and obvious pothole during routine inspections that Firestone claimed occurred at least every morning at its store. The Firestone employees did not have any knowledge of the pothole that caused the delivery driver's personal injury and the court pointed out that it was ironic that Firestone, as the defendant in the suit, would claim that the pothole is open and obvious as a matter of law, when Firestone's employees, who actively inspected the area for hazards, did not discover the pothole at any time prior to the delivery driver's personal injury.

Accordingly, the federal court denied summary judgment or dismissal of the action based on the claim that the condition was open and obvious to the injured delivery driver. In any personal injury slip, trip or fall action our law firm has handled, the issue of whether the condition is open and or obvious is important, and whether the personal injury client may have contributed to the accident by not being vigilant, it is always something to examine.

Many conditions can be hidden or obscured to a person because of the overall color of the area, because of lighting, because of distractions such as signs or nearby activities, and these are always investigated issues. Also, in slip, trip or fall cases, a personal injury attorney must examine whether the condition was one created by the store or business establishment or its employees, or was the subject condition created by some other customer or other cause.

If our firm can assist you with any slip,trip or fall personal injury, call us toll free today or complete our quick contact form.

Doctor Blows Whistle On Washington, DC, Nursing Home Grand Park Care Center

ABC News Channel 7 in Washington D.C. bring us a story about an anonymous emergency room doctor who has alerted authorities to the fact that he has repeatedly seen patients from the Grant Park Care Center adult home who have been seriously neglected and who may die due to their neglect. The doctor told the story to reporter Stephen Tschida.

The doctor said, "They are coming in with acute kidney problems. They are coming in with severe pneumonias. They are coming in with, you know, malnutrition. They have been malnourished and they've been just flat out neglected while in the nursing home."

Inspection reports confirm the doctor's fears: The Washington, D.C., Department of Health found that there were a great number of violations and deficiencies found, especially in the area of patient medical attention. Specifically, there were notes that nurses did not notify doctors of dehydration, significant weight loss, or anemia.

Carolyn Long removed her loved one from the Grant Park nursing home after she had to take her relative to the hospital on a number of occasions due to problems like dehydration, which can be a red flag for nursing home abuse and neglect.

"She would have died; she was dying," said Long. "On a number of occasions they had to take her to the hospital; I believe it might have been dehydration at one point in time."

D.C. Long Term Care Ombudsman Jerry Kasunic said that they had filed over 100 complaints against the adult care home and that Grant Park is one of the worst nursing homes that he has seen.

Although the officials at Grant Park declined to comment on the story, a general statement was released saying that the staff at Grant Park are committed to continuous quality improvement and that they had recently hired new management.

Two School Buses Collide in Summerville, SC, Injuring 39

Greenville Online reports that 39 school children were hospitalized in the wake of a two-bus school bus accident in Summerville, South Carolina near Charleston. However, no children were seriously injured and all of those involved have already been released from the hospital. The accident was caused when one driver entered an intersection without yielding to an oncoming bus.

According to South Carolina Highway Patrolman Bob Beres, a bus carrying special needs students attending Newington Elementary School was hit by a bus carrying Reeves Elementary School children when the former vehicle was pulling out into a two-lane road in Summerville.

The accident occurred on Friday afternoon at 2:25 PM on December 18, as the children were returning form their school day.

Thirty-nine students as well as the Reeves Elementary School bus driver were transported to a local hospital, although most of the students involved were brought to the hospital as a precaution and no one was seriously injured. All of those involved in the accident were back home by nightfall. About half of the children were taken to Summerville Medical Center while the other half were taken to Trident Medical Center. It seems that many of the students are shaken up by the incident but will not suffer long recovery periods or long-term injuries.

"Everyone is fine," said Julie Plummer, the spokesperson for Trident Health System. "Bumps and bruises are probably the worst."

Beres reported that 48-year-old Alzita Miller, the driver of the Newington Elementary bus, has been charged with failure to yield to right-of-way traffic. William Sanders, Jr., of Summerville was the driver of the other bus and was not charged or ticketed for the accident. Miller was not available for comment to any newspapers or stations covering the story.

Virginia Lawmakers Contemplate New Driving Law To Restrict Texting, Cell Phones, And Open Containers

When Virginia lawmakers return to work in January, there are a number of new rules for the road that will be address during the opening weeks and months of the new session.

When the General Assembly sessions begins again in Richmond, VA, the state's politicians will listen to possible laws for drivers that have gained support and popularity in other states across the country such as California and New Jersey. Especially considering that the state of Virginia is short on funds this year, as are so many states, the policymakers may concentrate on less expensive projects that would promote safety on the roads and hopefully lessen the number of highway injuries and fatalities.

Delegate Algie Howell, a Democrat from Norfolk, will be sponsoring a bill that disallows drivers from sending, receiving, or reading text messages on mobile devices while driving any vehicle (including bicycles). This is the second year in a row that Howell will try to outlaw the dangerous driver distraction so popular among teens and younger drivers. The American Medical Association backs the bill on banning the new technology while driving.

"Texting while driving takes the driver's attention away from the road, which can lead to accidents," said Peter Carmel, an AMA board member. "No one should have to worry that other drivers are focused on texting instead of traffic. This is about keeping people safe on our roads."

Meanwhile, Virginia Beach Democrat Bobby Mathieson will sponsor a bill that requires hands-free devices when driving and talking on the cell phone. These blue-tooth enabled ear buds would allow drivers to keep two hands on the wheel and promote safety. This is also the second year the bill will be offered.

Finally, Virginia Beach Republican Bob Purkey is also trying to make the roads safer through restrictions - he would like to offer a bill that made open containers illegal in any part of a vehicle - not just for the driver of the car or truck. This bill has had difficulty making through the House for years, even though law enforcement endorses the idea. Opponents of the bill claim that the open container laws already on the books are strict enough to prevent drunk driving.

$5 Million Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Grafton Group Home In Virginia

On December 23, 2004, 13-year-old Garrett Halsey died at the Grafton School Group Home in Winchester, Virginia. The boy suffered from autism and mental retardation but had no other health concerns. He had only been at the home for one day before his death.

The Winchester Star reports that the family of Halsey is reviving a $5 million wrongful death claim, which will be heard at the Winchester Circuit Court. The case is being reheard after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the dismissal of the case previously was a mistake made by Judge John Wetsel.

At the time of his death, the boy was being restrained by six aides at the group home. One staff member was reportedly on the young man's back. Halsey choked on vomit and suffocated to death, according to court reports.

"Garrett's restraint was continued while he vomited and [he] was not released by the staff until they noticed that his ear was blue," the document states. "Vomiting is a sign of distress and everyone should have moved off of Garrett immediately and given him emergency treatment."

A thorough investigation of the event by the Department of Education, Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, and Department of Social Services found that the Grafton staff was ill trained in restraining residents and unprepared to handle an emergency medical situation. The Halsey family agrees that the Grafton home was not prepared to treat their son and did not draw up a behavioral support plan that would keep their son healthy and safe.

The Grafton home disputed the findings and claimed that they did not show negligence or a lack of concern during the fatal event.

The judge in the 2007 case said that Grafton did not show gross negligence. The Supreme Court, however, has disagreed and sent the case back to trial. No court date has been set as of yet.

Brevard Man Shot To Death By Deer Hunter in Accident – Charges Pending

According to the Citizen-Times of Asheville, North Carolina, authorities are unsure of what actions to take in regards to a hunting accident last weekend. The fatal shooting accident took place in Pisgah National Forest at 1 PM on Sunday when a 21-year-old hunter mistook a hiker for a deer and shot 50-year-old Luciano Martinez Martinez.

Martinez was collecting plants in the national forest, which is open to both hunters and nature enthusiasts for much of the fall and winter. The shooter and his hunting group called 911 and acted responsibly after the accident happened. The hunting group all had up-to-date licenses. Martinez was not wearing hunter's orange, which is recommended by wildlife rangers for safety. He was dead when emergency responders reached the scene.

Transylvania County Sheriff David Mahoney told reporters that his department had met with the U.S. Forest Service, the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, and a NC District Attorney met to discuss the case in the days after the incident. Although certainly the incident was an accident, there are a wide range of possible charges that the DA, Jeff Hunt, could decide upon.

"Legally, there's a wildlife negligent hunting charge when (a shooting) results in injury or death, and then there's the other charges such as voluntary or involuntary manslaughter," Mahoney said. "There's also the possibility the DA might not file any criminal charges. Right now it's in his hand to review."

The decision on the charges, if any, could come as late as February, when the NC state grand jury meets again.

There were eight fatal hunting accidents last season in North Carolina and 28 serious hunting injures, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission. Many of those accidents involve falls from tree stands or self-inflicted gunshots. There are 400,000 licensed hunters in the state.

Ranger Odell Sanders said that although an accident of this sort is very uncommon, hikers should wear orange and hunters should be very sure of what they are shooting before they pull the trigger.

Mesothelioma-Asbestos Cancer Verdict for Car Dealership Employee

In November 2008, a southern Florida jury returned a $3.6 million verdict in favor of a 57-year-old woman diagnosed with mesothelioma asbestos lung cancer, after she worked briefly at two automobile dealerships, one being Ford Motor Company. The verdict was returned against Ford Motor Company and one asbestos manufacturer. The plaintiff, Linda Daly, worked at Ford dealerships in 1978 and then again in 1987 but only a year at a time at each dealership. Because she worked as a warranty clerk, her desk was in the service bay area and she was very close to where the work was done on brakes. The other asbestos defendant manufactured brake shoes with asbestos. Ford Motor Company apparently knew about the asbestos brake dangers but failed to warn and protect consumers or workers like the warranty clerk who brought the suit.

Mesothelioma is a terrible form of cancer with no known cure. Most persons diagnosed with this terrible cancer only live six months, but with new therapies of patients are now living up to 24 months after a diagnosis. Still, there is no cure for mesothelioma cancer.

The plaintiff's attorney also noted that her husband worked on cars at their house and she may have been exposed to asbestos containing brakes at home, due to her husband's work with these asbestos containing brakes at home. The thought was to convince the jury that she was exposed not only at her home but also at the Ford dealerships. The jury returned a verdict against both Ford and the asbestos brake manufacturer.

Our firm has handled mesothelioma lung cancer cases or families been devastated by asbestos exposures that lead to cancer in their family members. If uur law firm can help you or a family member, please fill out our quick contact form or contact us toll-free on this website.

Fentanyl Patch Drug Manufacturers Hammered Again by Wrongful Death Verdict

Virginia/Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers-

Fentanyl Patch Drug Manufacturers Hammered Again by Wrongful Death Verdict

In what appears to be at least the third plaintiff's victory in a suit over Fentanyl patches (also called Duragesic patches), a jury ordered $13.3 million to the family of a Florida woman who died when a faulty pain patch leaked and flooded her bloodstream with Fentanyl medication, killing her. The verdict was returned in the state circuit court in Seminole County, Florida. In the case, the attorney for the family called two toxicology experts, as well as an expert in the field of absorption of chemicals by the skin of the body. Also, the family's lawyer had a videotaped deposition of one of the production machine operators employed with a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, called Janssen Pharmaceutica products LLP. The operator was asked what precautions he and workers at the plant would take when testing the patches and he replied that they wore two sets of gloves. The family's attorney emphasized that the workers wore a double set of gloves because they didn't want the gel to get anywhere on their skin. The jury verdict was returned after 17 days of trial and six hours of deliberations according to Lawyers Weekly USA. The suit also include allegations against a physician's assistant who was called in the middle of the night when Susan Diane Hodgemeyer, the 34-year-old who died of the overdose, had stomach pains. The physician's assistant told her to take Pepto Bismol and try to go back to sleep. She died that night however. The jury also found the physicians assistant partly at fault along with the drug manufacturers.

Since that verdict was returned, a Chicago state court jury returned a $16 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson and one of its Fentanyl manufacturer subsidiaries. In that case, a mother also overdosed on Fentanyl because of a faulty patch and because of problems associated with this incredibly dangerous drug/medication. We also have posted other articles on this toxic, lethal drug, and I have blogged on this topic on this website.

Depending upon which expert you believe, Fentanyl is more than 100 times more powerful than morphine. The patches are designed to have the medication very slowly absorbed into the skin, but if for any reason an excess amount of medication leaks onto the skin, it can be lethal and cause death. Multiple wrongful death lawsuits are pending against these manufacturers, and our law firm has accepted at least two wrongful death cases that we are currently investigating on behalf of families whose loved ones died from sudden and unforeseen overdoses of the fentanyl medication.

There are numerous allegations not only against the manufacturers, but against medical providers who are prescribing Fentanyl patches in circumstances that are questionable. Because of the dangers of this medication, the medication is supposed to only be prescribed in cases of chronic pain and originally was used only on cancer victims. The manufacturers have pressed to have these patches applied in a wide array of other circumstances, and that is why sudden overdoses have become more prevalent.

If you or a family member have a question about whether you have a case involving a fentanyl patch overdose or wrongful death, fill out our quick contact form and or call our toll-free number on this website.

Clayton Woman Who Killed Teen In Truck Wreck Faces Felony Charges

The North Carolina News & Observer reports that more charges are in store for the Clayton, North Carolina woman, 29-year-old Desiree Olsen, will face more charges in regards to the fatal truck and car accident she was involved in last month in Johnson County.

Both she and 18-year-old Shannon Nicole Adkins were seriously injured in the crash, which occurred when Olsen's pickup crossed the double yellow center line and smashed into Adkins' pickup head on Saturday night. Adkins was driving northbound and Olsen was driving southbound on Buffalo Road. Adkins died after her car overturned during the crash. Olsen was thrown from her truck, which rolled at least once.

The crash happened so close to Adkins' residence that her parents hear the wreck and rushed to the scene.

"She was a wonderful, sweet child who meant the world to so many people," said her aunt, Karmela Adkins. "It's just not fair that she's not here."

Olsen admitted to emergency workers that she had been drinking and later tests by the hospital confirmed that she was intoxicated and not fit to legally drive on the roads. Both North Carolina State Trooper C.T. Oravits and WakeMed confirmed that she was drunk.

Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle said that Olsen has been charged with one count of felony death by motor vehicle, and that an element of that charge is driving while intoxicated. The charge could lead to a maximum of eight years in prison for those with prior records, while the minimum sentence is 15 months - a length of time that can be suspended by the judge. As far as officials know now, Olsen has no prior record of reckless driving or DUIs.

Adkins was a recent graduate of Clayton High School. While there, she had completed a study of why such an unusually high number of teens die on Johnson County streets. Over 30 teens have died so far this year, the third highest of any county in North Carolina.

Virginia/Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers - Virginia Workplace Fatalties/Deaths Decrease in 2007

WORKPLACE FATALITIES DECREASE IN 2007

The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry recently reported the number of workplace fatalities/deaths in Virginia decreased by 15% in 2007 from 165 to 141, the lowest number since 1995. The nationwide number of workplace fatalities decreased by 6% to 5,488 in 2007, according to a preliminary estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in August. The occupation with the largest share of workplace fatalities was tractor-trailer and truck driving which accounted for 21 fatalities. The number of deaths due to workplace falls rose 39% to 25 in Virginia.

The overall decrease seen in workplace fatalities could have several causes, perhaps the most significant of which is that workers are feeling a sense of empowerment with workplace safety which translates into workers taking steps to increase safe practices on the job and companies doing a better job considering the safety of employees. Our law firm has represented several victims of workplace fatalities over the years including serious injuries and wrongful deaths in car accidents involving tractor-trailers.

South Carolina AARP Will Train Patient Safety Advocates To Prevent Medical Malpractice

Greenvilleonline.com reports that AARP South Carolina will offer patient safety training to more than 200 people across the state. This is a step toward preventing medical errors and toward letting patients know when they should fight back against hospitals and medical professionals when preventable mistakes and negligence do occur. In addition, AARP South Carolina will also take a survey of those participating in the patient safety training to see what their experiences have been like with the states health care system.

According to recent data, an estimated 100,000 die from medical errors.

"When medical error does happen, it's extremely damaging and horribly expensive," says Teresa Arnold, legislative director for AARP South Carolina. "If we can empower people to avoid something like that, it will make this training worthwhile."

The training session will include several guest speakers, including Mothers Against Medical Error founder Helen Haskell, whose son died from a medical error; Dr. Libba Patterson, former director of the state Department of Social Services, who drafted the state's original advance directive statutes; and patient-safety advocates Dr. Bob Schultz of Florida, Dianne Parker of Aiken and Jan Vick of Chesterfield. In addition, Dr. Julia Hallisy, author of The Empowered Patient, will help the students learn how to best avoid costly, devastating, and sometimes deadly consequences of medical errors and medical malpractice.

Many of the speakers will stress that patients' friends and relatives are not just visitors, but active participates in helping their loved ones recover from their ailments and injuries.

"We believe very much in the patient having a family member, significant other or family friend there," Suzanne White, vice president of patient care services for Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center says. "Sometimes the patient can't hear everything that's going on. If a patient chooses to have someone who could be with them 24 hours a day, seven days a week and be part of the education of the patient, knowing the patient condition, we support that."

Johnston County, North Carolina, Holds Teen Driver Safety Forum

The North Carolina Herald reported today that Johnson County, North Carolina held a teen driver safety forum to discuss young adult driving concerns and address recent teen car crash deaths in the area.

Among those present at the Smithfield, North Carolina, meeting was Christy Baker, a mother who lost her 21-year-old son Brandon and his 17-year-old friend Matthew Stewart in a car crash in September. Baker spoke about starting a Teen Control class in the area which would educate both kids and their parents about driving safety. The fee for the class would be small but significant: $169 for a parent-child pair.

"That is three tanks of gas to save your child's life," Baker said to a crowd of 200 people. "Is it worth it? If I could have done it, yes. I would have paid $169 instead of paying what I had to today. I tremble as I stand before you tonight because I never want to see another parent go through what I have gone through."

Baker's classes would focus on hands-on activities that would teach drivers about distractions such as music and cell phones. It would also prepare students to react in dangerous situation - what to do if their car runs off the road or if traffic is bad.

Baker also stated that she wanted to work toward provisional licenses for teens as well as driving curfews between 8 PM and 4 AM.

"An average soccer player has 1,500 practice hours with a coach before getting on that field," Baker said. "We allow our kids 30-50 hours to get out on the streets. It's a war zone out there. We've got to change it. My mission is to reduce teen fatalities by 50 percent in two years."

The forum was put together by County Commissioners Cookie Pope and Tony Braswell, who both are working toward reducing the number of teen fatalities in North Carolina.

The NC Department of Transportation reported that there have been 33 teen fatalities in Johnson County alone this year - the third highest rate in the state. Most of the accidents were due to speeding, while only 6 percent involved alcohol.

Elderly Stuarts Draft Virginia Man Killed In Train Crash

Reported by NBC Channel 29 in Virginia, a man died shortly after 10 a.m. in the morning on Monday, November 10, when an oncoming train slammed into the passenger side of the vehicle he was driving. Apparently, the man did not see the oncoming train for some reason, perhaps related to his age.

According to Virginia State Police, the Stuarts Draft man was 84-year-old Gordon William Hunter, who lived on Hunter Farm Lane, a farm he owned that the train tracks run along the edge of. He was leaving his property on Monday morning a few minutes before ten when he drove into the path of the oncoming freight train, not giving the train any time to stop or slow down.

Virginia State Police, Stuarts Draft Fire and Rescue, and a local medical examiner investigated the scene on Monday afternoon. Early conclusions show a simple lack of attention on the part of the driver - he was probably preoccupied with another matter and did not hear or see the train approaching.

Family members concurred that this was probably the case - Anita Ramsey, Hordon Hunter's daughter, talked to authorities. "He always stopped for the tracks, so I am kind of surprised. Him and the train men had a little toot that they did when they saw each other."

The investigators also confirmed that the train did not break any laws and was traveling at the appropriate speeds at the time of the accident - the car drove in front of the train leaving very little time for the conductor to stop in time to avoid the fatal train crash.

Gordon William Hunter was an active member of the community. He was the father of three children and a number of grandchildren. He was also a regular member of the Sherlynd Baptist Church.

Teen driver found at fault in Beach crash that killed three

VIRGINIA BEACH - An unlicensed teenager driving at 85 mph on a city street, not drunken driving or street racing, caused the brutal accident on Great Neck Road that killed three youths on Nov. 19, experts said Wednesday. The announcement by Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey L. Bryant and police came 10 days after a two-vehicle crash killed brothers Alonzo Jarmon, 18, and Michael Jarmon, 16, and their cousin, Shaqwane Williams, 10.

Man Hit While Crossing Virginia Beach Boulevard Dies

The 53 year old man who was struck by a car while walking his bike across Virginia Beach Boulevard has died in the hospital. The crash, which took place earlier this month, occurred when an eastbound vehicle on the 6000 block of Virginia Beach Boulevard struck the man.

The man had been drinking before the accident.

The crash is under investigation.

North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty To Involuntary Manslaughter After Virginia Car Crash

In April of 2008, Philander Yardley Jordan, a 39-year-old man from Spring Hope, North Carolina, was involved in a fatal car crash in Dale City, Virginia.

Today, InsideNOVA.com reports that Jordan has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in regards to the incident. The trial is taking place in Prince William Circuit Court. Jordan is being held without bond until his sentencing on March 5, 2009, when he will likely face one to twenty years in prison for his automobile offence.

In the April accident, Jordan was driving in the right hand southbound lane of I-95 in Dale City, Virginia, when he collided into the back of a car driving on the right soft shoulder of the highway, traveling under the speed limit. The accident happened a few minutes after 8 p.m. near the 158.2 mile marker on Interstate 95, according to Virginia State Police.

The two cars spun out of control after the crash occurred, with both cars coming to rest in the embankment off the side of the road. Although Philander Jordan suffered only minor injuries, the driver of the other vehicle, Michael Niounou of Silver Spring, was seriously injured.

When emergency personnel arrived at the scene, they rushed Niounou to the Fairfax Inova Hospital, where he later died on complications from his injuries.

In the criminal complaint, Virginia State Trooper Aaron Adams reported that Philander Jordan exhibited signs of being drunk at the scene. When he was tested back at the station, police found that his blood alcohol level was 0.15, almost twice the legal limit of 0.08. The evidence of his drunkenness was also included in the criminal complaint, which is now on file at the Prince William Circuit Court.

Former Shipyard Worker Wins 4.39 Million Asbestos Mesothelioma Cancer Verdict in Virginia

According to published reports in the Daily Press, of Newport News, Virginia a Newport News jury returned a $4.39 million mesothelioma asbestos cancer/disease verdict in early September, 2008 in favor of John Koonce, 59, a former Norfolk shipbuilding and dry dock Corp. worker. The verdict in the mesothelioma case was returned after a 2 1/2 week jury trial. Our firm has a strong interest in asbestos/mesothelioma disease affecting railroad workers and other workers in the Virginia/Carolina area and beyond.

Koonce originally contracted the asbestos related cancer/disease in April, 2006 his personal injury lawyers and doctors believed that the asbestos exposure he experience came from working in boiler rooms on liberty ships between 1968 and 1971.

John Crane Inc. is responsible for the entire 4.3 million Dollar verdict but has asked the judge who heard the trial to set aside the jury verdict because it did not apportion or attribute any part of the verdict to another defendant in the case, Garlock Sealing Technologies, however, Koonce's personal injury lawyers have argued there was no jury mistake. Virginia and many states instruct members of the jury that if they have no way of determining how to divide damages between multiple defendants, that they may find each of the defendants equally responsible. Virginia follows what is called joint and several liability, although some other states have now changed the common law and allow a jury to apportion damages between defendants.

The suit claimed that John Crane Inc. knew and should've known that breathing asbestos fibers was very dangerous and that it was negligent in failing to test its products and warn workers in a timely way.

In order to prove negligence in an asbestos/cancer/mesothelioma case, it is crucial to have attorneys/lawyers that have both knowledge of the field and real trial experience. The Law Firm of Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis and Appleton routinely confer with some of the foremost medical experts in the country on behalf of their clients, and have a long and distinguished history of taking cases to trial with successful results. If you or a loved one has been the victim of an asbestos injury or death, please contact our offices for a free consultation today.

Charitable Foundation Affiliated with the East Virginia Medical School Denied Medical Malpractice Immunity

According to the Associated Press, The Virginian Pilot, and the Virginia Daily Press, The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled against a charitable foundation in regards to the organization's request for immunity from medical malpractice lawsuits.

The health foundation, called the EVMS Academic Physicians and Surgeons Health Services Foundation, is affiliated with the Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS). Beginning immediately, the doctors working for the foundation will not be protected with immunity from any medical malpractice complaints filed against them. In the past the foundation had been claiming charitable immunity in malpractice suits brought against them. The decision was made on Friday, October 31.

In their decision today, the Virginia Supreme Court brought up a similar case that was decided earlier in the year involving very similar circumstance. In that case, which took place in February of 2008, a number of doctors affiliated with the University of Virginia in Charlottesville were taking advantage of their charitable immunity against medical malpractice suits until the courts ruled against them.

Today the Supreme Court argued that the Eastern Virginia Medical School case is much like the University of Virginia, Charlottesville case: the amount of charity work done by the EVMS Health Services Foundation is too small in comparison to its income and the foundation is run too much like a business to be considered fully charitable. In addition, the court added, the organization receives some funding from the state to care for patients in need of health care services.

What does this mean for patients? If you were treated at either foundation by an affiliated doctor and have a medical malpractice complaint, you are now able to take them to court for their negligence whereas before they would be protected by their charitable immunity.

Five Die In Violent Harnett County NC Truck Wreck

In Dunn, North Carolina on October 25, a tragic three-vehicle accident took the lives of five North Carolina residents. The Associated Press reports that three men and two women were driving in a Honda Accord when the driver of the car ran a stop sign and were run over by a gasoline-filled tanker truck in the intersection. All five passengers, who resided in the Raleigh area, were killed.

The crash took place on Friday night around 11 p.m. at the intersection of North Carolina Highway 27 and Old Fairgrounds Road, about 20 miles south of Raleigh. Trooper Gregg Steffens told reporters that after the truck hit the sedan, both vehicles ran into the oncoming lane, where a Oldsmobile station wagon hit the wreckage. The tanker did not explore and it's tank was not damaged in the crash causing any leak of gasoline.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol reported that the driver of the Honda Accord was 22-year-old Esteban Isidro of Raleigh. The others killed were 23-year-old Jorge Luis Gallardo of Raleigh, 25-year-old Germain Chavez of Angier, 17-year-old Ashley Martinez, and 15-year-old Norma Marie Martinez. The two women were sisters who lived in Angier, and one of the two women was pregnant.

The North Carolina News & Observer reported that all five victims died at the scene.

"The tanker truck literally crushed the vehicle," Steffens said. "It was unrecognizable as a vehicle. It was a non-survivable collision."

The driver of the station wagon, Kimberly Jones, 18, of Benson, was treated for a broken ankle and broken collar bone at Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital in Dunn and released Saturday morning. The driver of the tanker truck, Ronnie Vanatta Jr., 41, of Pikeville, was treated for minor injuries at the scene of the crash.

The police are still investigating whether or not alcohol was a factor in the crash, as the driver of the Honda did not appear to try to stop at the intersection.

Roanoke Times Editorial Slams Medical Malpractice Damages Cap

An anonymous opinion piece in the Friday, October 31 edition of the Roanoke Times spoke out against the $2 million maximum that medical malpractice victims can now collect as damages from doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies.

The $2 million damages cap tops out on July, and the Virginia State Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the cap several times in the recent past. It was established in 1999.

The main thrust of the editorial is that there are many cases in which the maximum $2 million amount will not cover the medical malpractice victim's full spectrum of damages, which would cover medical expenses, lost income, ongoing physical therapy, long-term disabilities, pain and suffering, and other non-economic costs. In addition, the limit on damages will become less and less appropriate and negatively impact more and more medical malpractice victims.

The article highlights the case of a Clifton Forge woman named Donita Franklin, who sued a doctor after a botched foot surgery. Although her doctor denied any kind of medical malpractice, Franklin and her lawyer won the case. A Roanoke jury awarded her $3.5 million in damages for her lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering, but due to the damages caps at the time, Franklin will only receive about half of that - $1.6 million. Her lawyer points out that the amount Franklin is awarded won't begin to cover the amount that his client lost due to the surgery - and that the damages cap renders cases like this unjust. Even though she won her case, she may still end up in financial ruin, with assets like her house, car, and financial security hanging in the balance.

The piece also mentions infant cases of medical malpractice, and how it is so difficult to know how much such a young life is altered with doctors' mistakes - millions of dollars in lost wages, untold pain and suffering, and perhaps lifelong ongoing medical expenses. And yet all of these cases will not be able to exceed $2 million.

Furthermore, the author asks, why shouldn't doctors and their insurance companies be held responsible for their mistakes? If the cap was put into place to keep malpractice insurance premiums down, it was a bad idea in the first place since multiple studies show that damage caps have little to no effect on medical malpractice insurance costs.

Finally, the article asks the Virginia General Assembly to re-examine the particulars of this policy and take a more careful and effective approach to medical malpractice reform in Virginia.

West Virginia Man Attempts To Sue Doctor For Scalpel Blade In Thumb, Battles Statute of Limitations

The Charleston Gazette and the Associated Press both reported the case of a man attempting to sue his doctor for medical malpractice for leaving a scalpel blade in his thumb during a surgery ten years ago.

The medical malpractice victim, Paul Forshey of Parkersburg, West Virginia, filed his lawsuit against his physician, Dr. Theodore Jackson of Charleston, more than 11 years after the initial surgery. However, a circuit city judge in Kanawha County ruled that the complaint be dismissed due to the 10-year statute of limitations placed on such medical malpractice cases.

Forshey has a career as a locksmith and needs his hands to work. In 1995, the man had surgery to help fix his carpel tunnel syndrome. However, after the surgery, he suffered from shooting pains, loss of grip, and numbness. He wasn't sure what was wrong until ten years later, when he injured his thumb and went in for a routine x-ray - his new doctor discovered a scalpel blade embedded in his hand.

"I almost passed out. I couldn't realize there was I think an inch-and-a-half-long blade, surgical blade in my hand and that answered a lot of my questions over the ten years," Forshey told WOWK Channell 13. "My children would grab my hand and it would put me to my knees and my daughter - being just a baby or two, three years old - she'd want to know what was wrong with my hand," he said.

"He couldn't put any kind of force on his palm and you know, he's a very hands-on type of guy and he likes to be able to do things and he always felt like he was a failure because there's something wrong with my hand but I can't figure out what it is," said Paul's wife Melissa Forshey.

Forshey and his lawyer plan to take their case to the West Virginia Supreme Court. Although the couple isn't seeking specific damages, they want their story and case to be heard, and for justice to be done. Even D. Jackson admits that he was the one to accidentally leave the scalpel blade behind.

"I'll never get my hand back. That's something he took and he took a lot of things from me," said Forshey.

The case should be heard by the West Virginia Supreme Count within the next month.

CNN Reports Out Of Quantico, Virginia: More Marines Die on Motorcycles Than In Iraq

CNN National News reported a scary trend for aggressive motorcycle drivers this week: in the last year, more Marines have died riding motorcycles than fighting in Iraq. Reporting out of Quantico, Virginia, CNN Pentagon reporter Larry Shaughnessy wrote that 25 Marines died on the roads due to bike accidents in the last 12 months, while 20 Marines have been killed engaging in combat in Iraq.

All but one of the motorcycle accidents involved sport motorcycles that, according to the Marine officials interviewed, can reach speeds well over 100 miles per hour. Numbers-wise, about 18,000 of the 200,000 Marines own and ride motorcycles.

Marine commanders are addressing the issue, according to Gen. James Amos, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps. Amos told CNN that what "we need to do to help our Marines survive on these sport bikes."

"The Marines are very serious about it," he said.

To show they are serious, Marine officials will spend a half-day on Monday, November 3, focusing on the issue of motorcycle fatalities, injuries, and safety. The meeting will include Marine Corps commandant General James Conway and take place at the Marie base in Quantico, Virginia.

Other branches of the military have also reported a similar deadly trend in motorcycle accidents among their ranks – the Navy has recorded 33 deaths over the past year, a 65 percent jump. Although military officials are not sure what is causing the rise in crashes, they do know that it doesn’t have to do with age – although many assumed it was very young soldiers who were inexperienced on bikes, the statistics reveal that the average age was 25, with some victims being in their 40s. Some point to the fact that it is now popular for units to have motorcycle clubs, which may encourage more riders. Others mention the fact that riding often relaxes the stressed Marines.

The Marines now offer a sport bike training course, which over 300 men and women have now taken. Only three people who have attended the training have been involved in accidents. Any Marine caught riding a motorcycle without having attended the basic training course faces consequences.

Instead of discouraging sport bike riding altogether, they are encouraging training, safety, and smart choices.

Railroads Must Protect Bridges and Ditches with Better Markings

Our firm is currently handling a case where a railroad worker, who was sent into a new geographical work area, was not warned that he was dismounting and getting off his train virtually right on top of a bridge over a ditch/water run off area. When he attempted to dismount the train, he landed not on firm railroad ballast, but dropped 15 feet into a ditch with a running stream. The worker suffered a fracture of his pelvis and permanent injuries. His case is pending. I inspected the injury area. At night the bridge/culvert area was pitch black. No signs of any nature warned of the bridge or elevated area. A walkway beside the track was built on only one side of the bridge also.

Railroads like Norfolk Southern (NS) or CSX have various maintenance of way procedures that specify track structure around bridges, culverts and ditches. However, the rules relating to workers such as conductors and engineers working in or near bridges have some less then desirable protections. For example, there are numerous small ditches, culverts, and the equivalent of bridges on many areas of railroad track, but there are apparently no uniform systems of having some visible marker that is like a reflective landmark so a worker working in the area realizes that there’s a small bridge or culvert near by. This does not require an electrical source. Reflective paint, and even a simple solar panel can illuminate a marker. If you have been involved in any type of injury involving a bridge, culvert or marking relating on the railroad, our firm can assist you. Please call us for a free initial consultation.

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. The firm's website is: www.hsinjurylaw.com , and the firm edits two injury law blogs: Virginia Beach Injuryboard & Norfolk Injuryboard.

Overturned Truck Shuts Down Godwin Boulevard on SR 10 in Suffolk

According to the Daily Press, a pig truck rollover on State Route 10 in Virginia at around 9 Am on September 8 shut down Godwin Boulevard for the morning.

The truck in question was heading northbound on SR 10 when the car in front of him slowed down in order to make a left turn. The truck may have been speeding or following too close and had to run off the road into a ditch on the right side of the highway. The truck struck a power pole before coming to a stop.

According to Suffolk, Virginia, city spokesperson Debbie George, there were 190 pigs on board the tractor-trailer at the time of the truck accident. Some of the pigs were loose after the big rig crash, although George was not informed whether any of the animals were hurt or injured during the crash. All of the animals were eventually found, examined, and recovered. The hogs, from Goldsboro Hog Farms, weighed an average of 265 pounds each.

A recovery team and local veterinarian were called in to the scene, where they helped load the animals onto a second truck, while the Chuckatuck Volunteer Fire Department sprayed the pigs with water to keep them cool until they were recovered onto the second truck. The recovery team consisted of a group from Murphy-Brown, which raises hogs and transports them for the company Smithfield Foods. It is a competitor of Goldsboro Hog Farms.

The animal collection, followed by the truck getting turned upright and removed, took several hours and disturbed traffic flow in the surrounding area. All in all, the road was closed for six hours.

The driver was a Warsaw, North Carolina native, James E. Carver. Police charged him with reckless driving for failing to maintain proper control of his truck while on the road.

The Virginia-Pilot reported that 65 of the pigs were killed and that five hogs escaped. Some of the injured pigs were euthenized by the vet on the scene.

The New York Times Reports that 100 Percent of District of Columbia Nursing Homes are Deficient

In a frightening and eye-opening piece in The New York Times today, reporter Robert Pear wrote that 94 percent of nursing homes across the country have violations, and that a full and staggering 100 percent of Washington, DC, elder care facilities have violations.

In the article, Pear expands to say that the report was made by the Department of Human Services and that the study also found that 17 percent of nursing homes suffered from problems that caused "actual harm or immediate jeopardy."

Nursing home abuse inspectors received 37,150 complaints nationwide last year, with 39 percent of those complains holding water, the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services Daniel R. Levinson told The New York Times. Twenty percent of the complaints were verified by both federal and state agents who concluded that the claims did indeed involve the abuse and neglect of the elders in their care.

Among the laundry list of problems mentioned, poor nutrition, medication mix-ups, infected bedsores, and general cases of neglect and abuse were the most common complaints, with for-profit homes incurring more complains than other kinds of senior living facilities. Two out of three nursing homes are privately run for-profit entities, while the remainder are non-profits or government-run facilities.

Other types of abuse other than physical cases were also recorded. For example, Levinson cited that many for-profit sites billed their patients and their patients families for services that were not provided at all.

"For-profit nursing homes had a higher average number of deficiencies than the other types of nursing homes," Mr. Levinson said. "In 2007, for-profit nursing homes averaged 7.6 deficiencies per home, while not-for-profit and government homes averaged 5.7 and 6.3, respectively."

In response to these shocking numbers, Levinson has issued a compliance guide for the elder care homes that performed especially badly this year. He also pointed out that the inspection system as it stands now is not working properly. As the system stands now, the country's 15,000 nursing homes are inspected once a year. Passing inspection is one condition for the adult care facilities to participate in the Medicaid and Medicare programs that cover over two-thirds of their residents.

Bruce Yardwood, the president of the American Health Care Association, agreed that although nursing home facilities need to do a better job, the system of inspection was also flawed. "We know we have to do a better job. We have been doing a better job, in treating pressure sores, managing pain and reducing the use of physical restraints. [the inspection system] does not reliably measure quality," he continued. "It does not create any positive incentives."

Five Die In South Carolina On Same Stretch of Pleasantburg Drive Railroad Tracks

According to Greenville Online, five different people have been struck and killed by trains while walking on the underground railroad tracks that run near Pleasantburg Drive and Rutherford Road in Greenville, South Carolina.

The latest victim, Scotty Goranson, 33, routinely walked the tracks according to family members. He was hit and killed at the end of September, after the engineer blew his horn repeatedly at the young man. His mother, Mary Jane Timm, said that he enjoyed walking on the tracks regularly, especially after he lost his car earlier in the year.

"I knew he walked on the tracks to get from one town to another," Timm said. "It's dangerous to walk on the railroad tracks I told him."

However, Robin Chapman, spokesperson for transportation company Norfolk Southern Corp., pointed out that the practice is not only unsafe, but against the law as well.

"It's illegal to walk on the tracks," he said. "I get daily reports on any given week that there are incidents in our 22-state system."

Greenville County Sheriff Officer Tim Ridgeway was one of the first officers at the scene of thr train accident. He also mentioned that although many don't realize it, walking on the train tracks is not legal and can often be deadly.

In other parts of South Carolina, there have been nine other trespass deaths on other stretches of railroad tracks, according to Operation Lifesaver, a railroad safety organization that works in conjunction with Norfolk Southern and other railroad operators. However, the Pleasantburg Drive corridor of the tracks has proved to be especially deadly.

In December of 2004, Angel Ramirez was struck while walking home from his job at the Columbia Farms chicken processing factory - his body was found 20 feet from the tracks. In July 2005, Charles Brantley was also killed in the same area - he had either fallen or was sleeping on the tracks.

Many incidents are the product of people running in front of the trains after misjudging the speed of the trains.

"That's a common misperception," Chapman said. "The person (Goranson) was hit when he crossed from one track to another," he said, mentioning that the length of the trains can be confusing. ""You can't tell if it's going 25 mph or 50 mph. Very often, you don't know until it's too late."

Three Die In Four Car Accidents In Deadly Day For Washington, DC, Roads

NBC News Channel 4 reported that September 20, 2008, in Washington, DC, saw four separate serious car crashes that resulted in three deaths in and around the District. In addition to the fatalities, a number of other drivers and passengers involved in the car crashes were severely injured. All four of the accidents occurred in the early morning hours of the day.

In the first accident, a woman driving a car crashed in to a van loaded with seven passengers. The car and van accident happened just before five in the morning at the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave and Alton Street. While the woman in the car suffered severe injuries, one adult van passenger died.

A few hours earlier, another person was killed in a mysterious one-car crash on the 1500 block of Livingston Road in Washington. Authorities are investigating whether the person killed was driving or whether there was another person operating the vehicle at the time of the crash. Livingston Road was shut down for several hours due to the car accident.

At about midnight on the same day, there was another car crash fatality on the 600 block of Old Crane Road. As with the Livingston crash, police officials are still investigating the particulars of what caused the crash and how many people were initially involved in the accident.

Finally, at 4:30 AM, two cars crashed on I-495 just before dawn around Richie Marlboro Road. In this car crash, there were no fatalities, although one victim was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

The names of the victims were not available, although it was confirmed that none of those killed were juveniles.

Charleston, West Virginia, Wrongful Death Case Could Face Retrial

According to the West Virginia Record, a doctor and hospital were cleared of wrongful death charges by a jury in June 2006. However, because of an appeal that claims that two of the jurours were biased may bring the case to a retrial in the West Virginia Supreme Court.

In 2000, Phyllis Macek died during an emergency colonoscopy at Weirton Medical Center when her doctor, Carl Jones, perforated her colon during the surgery. The medical malpractice and wrongful death court case, brought in by the administrators of Phyllis Macek's estate, Robert and Lawrence Macek, occureed at the Brooke Circuit Court.

Now, two years after the decision was made that a wrongful death did not take place, the Mackets have argued that jurors David A. George and Glen Stolburg should not have sat in on the case and that there should be a retrial.

Initially, during the questioning of the juror pool, six jurors were struck from the case "for cause" although only four were ultimately removed. Despite some biased answers from George and Stolburg, they remained on the case.

George was in question after he mentioned that many medical malpractice suits were frivolous and the result of greed. They also found that he was biased because he knew a Wheeling, West Virginia doctor personally who had lost a million dollar law suit.

"Mr. George did state in his Questionnaire in response to if he could return a verdict against Dr. Jones if he found him negligent: 'If I believe that his guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt, I would probably have no choice,'" the Court stated in its order. "Mr. George's incorrect assumption of the standard of proof in a civil medical malpractice case, as opposed to a criminal case, is very common among prospective jurors and does not readily indicate a bias."

The other juror, Stolburg, may have answered a question untruthfully by saying that he had not read, heard, or discussed the subject of medical negligence actions, lawsuits, or liability crisis. However, Stolburg works for Ogden Publishing, which is very vocal and biased in its position on medical malpractice trials. Stolburg, however, argued that although he sold the paper, he didn't often read it.

"If questions were raised, the judge would individually call them in his chambers and qualify them," Brooks said at the Supreme Court oral hearing. "I think a clear reading of the transcript shows a lack of bias."

The doctor and hospital hold that neither jury was biased and that the court ruling should stand.

"In both instances, the totality of information provided by Mr. George and Mr. Stolburg never reached the threshold for bias and prejudice that justifies a characterization of questioning of either of them as 'rehabilitation,'" the brief they filed with the state Supreme Court states.

Use of global positioning systems increases in criminal and civil injury cases

By Rick Shapiro, Attorney

We have written recently about the increasing use of computers in trucking injury cases, as well as car accident cases, because of the common use of the black boxes in vehicles. Now, trucking companies have added sophisticated onboard computers that not only track the truck's whereabouts, hours in use, speed, and other variables, but can be used by personal injury lawyers to prove that a trucker was speeding or had driven more than the legal hours of service.

Global positioning systems are being used in criminal cases as well. Prosecutors in Chicago used a Garmin global positioning system device in a Chevrolet Trailblazer to help prove the murder of family members in a recent criminal murder trial. Here are some of the uses of global positioning system computer data:

In a criminal case alleging a rape, a judge ruled that evidence from a global positioning system in the defendant's car could be used against him at trial.

In a Pennsylvania trucking case, the trucker's global positioning system caused police to charge him with setting his own home on fire. The GPS system showed his vehicle/big rig was parked about 100 yards from the house in question.

The Consumer Electronics Association has estimated that about 20% of American households own a portable global positioning system and almost 10% have vehicles equipped with such systems built into cars or vehicles.

The use of new technology tends to find its way in to the courts, and shows itself a year or two behind the technology used by consumers and businesses. I can only predict that GPS technology will have a growing influence in car/truck injury cases that are in litigation. Also, the ability to falsify driver logs will be severely compromised because this computer data is maintained on a hard drive remote from the truck driver’s location. Personal injury lawyers must be vigilant to ensure that they obtain this material and when it mysteriously disappears or cannot be made available, it will likely mean that the data is extremely damaging to a company.

Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton law firm has handled many car-truck and truck-railroad injury cases over the years (see our Real Case results) and if we can help you or a family member with a serious car-truck-rail injury case please call upon us. (website: HSInjurylaw.com )

West Virginia Woman Wins $1.54 Million Wrongful Death Medical Malpractice Verdict

According to Curtis Johnson of The Herald-Dispatch out of Huntington, West Virginia, a Cabell County jury awarded the widow of Thomas L. Thornburg $1.54 million damages over a 2002 lawsuit involving medical malpractice and wrongful death that led to her late husband's severe brain damage.

The suit was against Huntington Anesthesia Group, Inc., which was accused of failing to notice the deteriorating vital signs of their patient. Thornburg entered surgery so that surgeons could install an automatic implantable cardiovascular defibrillator at St. Mary's Medical Center. The anesthesia team's inadequate attention to Thornburg's lack of breathing led to an extended period of time in which his brain was deprived of the oxygen it needed. He suffered severe brain damage.

The trail consisted of a week of evidence and testimony, which resulted in an August 13 verdict that cleared the doctor of any wrongdoing but faulted a nursing anesthetist for negligence during the surgical procedure. More specifically, Dr. Stan Striz was found to have met the accepted standard of care, but Robert Zhea, the certified registered nursing anesthetist, was blamed for the man's permanent brain damage.

Although the surgery was a success as far as his defibrillator was concerned, Thornton's quality of life was severely damaged - with his overall health and mental condition preventing a 2006 operation to further repair his heart. After a second cardiac episode, doctors decided not to continue treatment.

This million-dollar payment comes on the heels of a pre-trail settlement between Thornton's widow and St. Mary's Medical Center, in which the hospital in question paid $115,000 for Thornton's wrongful death.

Although Thornton's wife is remaining anonymous and declining comment, the family attorney spoke about the final decision.

"I was real glad for my client," he said. "They get some compensation for the loss of a husband and loss of a father. That's the whole purpose. It doesn't replace him. It's silly to think that, but it certainly gives them some feeling that justice was done and that is our way, in the United States, of compensating victims of negligence."

Neither Huntington Anesthesia Group, Inc., St. Mary's Medical Center, or their attorneys could be reached for comment.

The break down of the verdict included a large $1.1 million for non-economic losses. Although this number is greater than the $850,000 limit that West Virginia imposes on such cases, the case was from 2002 and pre-dated the medical malpractice reforms. The award will be divided between Thornton's widow and their two children, with the widow receiving 70 percent of the money and his children each receiving 15 percent.

Three Die in Multi-Vehicle 1-95 Truck Accident

According to scnow.com, authorities are still looking for answers in relation to a late-night three-vehicle accident that occurred on I-95 just before midnight on July 29. Three people died due to injuries sustained in the crash, including an 8-year-old boy, Deraa Hago of London. The other two fatalities were Abdurahman Abdurahman, 20, a college student, and Dofonias Debebe, also 20. All three were pronounced dead at the crash, according to Florence County Coroner M.G. "Bubba" Matthews.

SC Highway Patrol reported that the crash took place at mile marker 170 and a South Carolina rest stop along I-95 and happened at 11:45 PM.

Some investigation has shown that the multi-vehicle pileup was started when a van carrying 10 people and driven by a 50-year-old man from Washington, D.C., collided with an empty log truck driven by a 39-year old man.

One other serious injury from the crash was also reported: a person driving a 2008 Toyota van was airlifted to a Wilmington, North Carolina hospital for treatment and remains there presently.

Florence County has seen two multiple fatality crashes in the last two months, South Carolina Highway Patrolmen reported.

The first of the serious accidents occurred on June 14, when a drunk driver plowed into the back of a 1980 Chevrolet with his Volvo. The Cevrolet was carrying five passengers. Two children, Jamahl Robinson, 4, and Shajaisia Robinson, 9, died as a result of their serious injuries as well as Armenis Cato, Jr., 55. Two other occupants of the car, including the children's mother, were treated for their injuries at a local hospital.

The driver of the Volvo, a 31-year-old Florence man by the name of Phillip Ronald Marshall, has been charged with five counts of felony for driving under the influence due to the car crash he caused, according to Florence County Detention Center booking reports. Although Marshall was being help in an Effingham jail, he was release on June 26 after posting bail for $65,000 and expressing remorse to a judge at the bond meeting.

According to WPDE News Channel 15 out of South Carolina, Bernadette Robinson, the woman who lost her two children and her boyfriend in the crash, asked the judge to deny bail. Everyone in the courtroom was emotional, including the families of the victims and the family of the man accused.

Police are not yet releasing the blood alcohol level of Marshall.

Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Joe Biden Has Tragic History With Truck Accidents

Washington, D.C., Senator Joe Biden has been a headliner in the news all week after Presidential nominee Barack Obama selected the Pennsylvania-born politician as his choice for Vice President early on Saturday morning. Biden has a long and distinguished history in the Senate representing his state of Delaware, but few know of the tragedy that struck his life just five weeks after he was elected to the Senate in 1972 at age 30.

While Biden was preparing to be sworn in and start his new life as a Delaware representative in December of 1972, his wife of six years, Neilia, and his three children, Beau, Hunter, and infant Naomi drove to do some Christmas shopping and pick up a Christmas tree.

At the same time, a tractor-trailer driven by Curtis C. Dunn, 43, or Kaolin, PA, was approaching Limestone Road and headed toward Pennsylvania. The truck sideswiped the family's station wagon, seriously injuring all who were inside. Neilia and Naomi died at the scene, while Hunter suffered from head injuries and Beau suffered a shattered leg. The car spun out for 150 feet, while the truck, which was carrying corncobs, went 30 feet and landed on its side. Dunn was not seriously hurt.

Although there have been some allegations that the truck driver "drank his lunch," no charges were filed. A short investigation of the accident showed no speeding, drinking, or faulty equipment caused the crash, although Biden did not pursue the case to the fullest extent of the law in the weeks following the accident. There is some speculation that Neilia was distracted by the children and either accelerated or drifted through the intersection, though this cannot be confirmed 35 years later any more than whether or not the truck driver was at fault.

Joe Biden was sworn into office mere weeks after the crash. Instead of the ceremony taking place at the capital, as usual, he took his oath in the hospital, next to the beds of his two injured sons. Both Hunter and Beau made full recoveries and now lead normal and successful lives.

Biden remarried five years later, to Jill Tracy Jacobs, and the couple had a daughter, Ashley. Strangely, Jill was also involved in a truck accident on February 1, 2008. She was traveling along I-95 at ten in the morning, when a truck switched lanes and slammed into her car. She suffered minor injuries, which were treated at Christiana Hospital. The truck driver, Duane Vanderbosh, was cited for careless driving. A blind spot in the trucker's view may have played a part in the crash.

West Virginia Urologist Fights Two Medical Malpractice Claims

The West Virginia Record reports that a Mason County physician is facing a second medical malpractice suit shortly after a similar suit was dismissed two months ago. In May, Dr. Shrikant K. Vaidya had a lawsuit against him dismissed because the case was seven years old - too long to effect service or process. However, a month after the case was dismissed, a new suit was filed by Noell Beth and Donald Stivers of Middleport, Ohio, with similar claims and under the same legal representation.

In both cases, Pleasant Valley Hospital, located in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, is named as a co-defendant.

According to court records, Frank Meadows of Henderson, West Virginia, filed a suit because Vaidya failed to properly treat him for Peyronie's Disease, which causes a build up of plaque in the penis and causes sex to be painful or impossible. However, since Meadows did not file his medical malpractice complaint until seven years after it happened, the case did not hold enough water to continue in the opinion of Mason County Circuit Judge Thomas C. Evans III. Meadows had attempted a lawsuit in July of 2000, shortly after the event occurred, but his previous attorney had to disqualify himself when he was elected a circuit judge himself. Although a number of other attorney agreed to help Meadows with his case, no one could find a doctor who would testify against Vaidya due to his illegible notes.

The Strivers have filed a similar suit, although in this case the patient is female instead of male. Noell Beth Stivers claims that Vaidya unsuccessfully treated her for urethral dilation on at least two occasions in 2002. There are no clear records as to when Stivers was treated, but her attorney claims that "Vaidya refused to terminate the procedure when the Plaintiff repeatedly demanded that he do so and Defendant Vaidya continued the procedure after the Plaintiff's repeated demands that he terminate the procedure."

Stivers is not only accusing Vaidya of medical malpractice, but also of battery, since she asked the doctor to stop the procedure and he allegedly did not, even after repeated demands. She claims that he "not only failed to improve her medical condition, but also caused Stivers to suffer serious and permanent injury to her urological system in the form of permanent incontinence."

Court records show that Stivers did not become aware of her injuries until she visited with a Mason family doctor, Dr. Danny R. Westmoreland, in 2006. The injuries she sustained allegedly include loss of enjoyment of life, medical expense, humiliation, embarrassment, inconvenience, and pain in the past, present, and future.

The monetary damages are unspecified.

Truck-Car Accidents/Injuries: New Computers & Black Boxes Allow Far More Data Analysis

By Richard N. Shapiro, SCLA Attorney

Any personal injury attorney handling a truck-car accident injury case must be familiar with a wide array of computerized, electronic “black box” information and data now available as part of the typical trucking company big-rig or tractor trailer. Data recorders on semi’s/ tractor-trailers have become very sophisticated. First of all, most trucking companies use an electronic control module or electronic data recorder ( referred to as the black box, electronic on-board computer (EOBR) or electronic logging device) which records certain braking data, speed, cruise control settings, and a sudden deceleration. However, even newer electronic data recorders (EOBR’s) monitor the speed of a truck as well as the number of driving hours, which can vital for driver fatigue and federal regulatory compliance or violation. Statistically, driver fatigue plays a part in many big rig or tractor trailer accidents causing personal injuries These recorders can show every time a driver goes over the allowed hours of service, or the number of excursions over a speed limit.

In the old days, driver log books were maintained manually, in a written form. Personal injury lawyers who handled trucking-car/auto personal injury cases carefully review log books to determine whether truck drivers were tired and fatigued by operating over the number of hours allowed per day. Now, some trucking companies have gotten rid of hand written logs entirely and are using global positioning systems (GPS)/satellite and wireless devices to track a driver's route and schedule and to send this information back to the trucking company headquarters computers. Any trucking injury attorney doing personal injury lawsuit work must be familiar with this new array of electronic/computerized information. Often, we must quickly retain experts with experience in the trucking industry to keep us up-to-date on the fast-changing electronic data that can be obtained, and to advise us of immediate steps to take to secure and preserve evidence. In trucking cases, retaining an experienced attorney fast is critical.

Just as the railroad industry has embraced video cameras on many locomotive engines, video cameras are now being permanently mounted in some trucks mainly to help the trucking company prove what has gone on in case of a property damage or a serious personal injury or truck-car death case. A computer records the video data, and it again may be maintained on a hard drive, or wirelessly sent to the trucking company headquarters.

Sometimes, electronic data information cuts both ways because trucking company lawyers are now seeking to obtain the electronic data recordings from the car or auto involved in the accident with the truck. The data recorders in autos or cars typically are not as sophisticated as a trucking company data recorder, but there is relevant information that can be obtained.

For a person or family considering whether to retain a personal injury lawyer for a trucking accident case, it is important to take action as quickly as possible because trucking companies are required to keep many records, including daily driving logs, for six months from the date of the accident all, although some exceptions apply. Timing can be critical in the evidence gathering efforts.

If you or a family member would like an initial free consultation with regard to a trucking-car injury case, feel free to contact any of our attorneys at Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton..

Train and Tanker Truck Collide on NC Highway 49 in Charlotte

WYFF Channel Four out of Greenville reported a train and tanker truck crash on NC Highway 49 near Charlotte. The accident, which occurred early on the morning of Friday, July 11, forced the closing of the road north of Interstate 485 for several hours.

The Charlotte Police Department stated that the truck was struck by the train as it was crossing the tracks on Cabarrus Farm Road near University City Boulevard. As a result of the accident, the truck was pushed down the tracks for a quarter mile and sparked a fire in the truck, which was split in half. The fire spread to one of the train's freight cars.

The truck was delivering between 5,000 and 6,100 gallons of mineral oil to a Duke Power substation, which uses the oil to maintain electrical equipment. The truck driver suffered minor injuries, and both the truck driver and a train worker were transported to Carolinas Medical Center - University for treatment.

According to WCNC, hazmat crews worked to clean up the mineral oil spill throughout Friday and into Saturday afternoon. On Saturday morning, the hazmat workers began to flood the contaminated area with water to finish their cleanup process.

WCNC also reported, in a separate article, that the accident report stated that the tanker truck could not be dislodged from the tracks before it was struck by the oncoming train. According to the accident report compiled by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police stated that the train's engineer honked the train's horn and applied the train's emergency breaks. However, the 70-car train was unable to stop before striking the train.

The Federal Railroad Administration's records show that this was not the first train and track accident at this specific crossing. Three years ago, a pickup truck was struck by a train at the same location. Although the crossing is marked by several signs, there are no automated crossing arms, lights, or bells to warn of a train's approach. The crossing is on private property, meaning that the landowner is responsible for any improvements or safety measures.

Andy Thompson, spokesman for Duke Energy, said that the company would meet with Norfolk Southern railroad operator in order to discuss options concerning adding lights and automated arms to the one-lane dead end road crossing. Such additions could cost between $180,000 and $350,000 but would also prevent truck and train accidents in the future.

Surgeon sues his own Spinal Surgeon for Medical Malpractice, Alleges Back Surgery Medical Negligence

By Richard N. Shapiro, SCLA attorney

A Connecticut spine surgeon sued his own specialist, after the specialist botched the spinal surgery that inserted a new medical device in his lower back area. The Richmond, Virginia (VA) surgeon allowed a bone fragment to be pressed into Dr. Garver’s nerve root, causing chronic pain. The full report of this Richmond, Virginia state court medical malpractice/personal injury lawsuit is on our Virginia Beach Injuryboard law blog, click here.

Single-Vehicle Tanker Trailer Crash Kills One

Roanoke, Va, police are investigating the cause of a fatal single vehicle tanker truck crash tha occurred on July 13, 2008. The tanker was headed north on U.S. 220 when it went over an embankment and caught fire at about 10 p.m. Officers arrived on the scene to find a body inside the truck. No other injuries were reported during the crash.

The tanker had been carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline when it crashed. Roanoke Fire-EMS officials had to let the fire burn itself out because it was "too dangerous to fight." Flames of 80 to 100 feet were shooting up into the air.

The fire was extinguished by 1:15 Sunday morning.

Teen Driver Killed by Garbage Truck

A 17 year old boy from Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, was killed Thursday morning when his car ran into a garbage truck. The teenager attempted to make a left turn and pulled out in front of the garbage truck around 8:30 in the morning. The driver was weeks away from graduating high school and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The garbage truck struck the Chevy Cavalier's passenger side door. The driver of the truck was uninjured. D.M.S. Disposal Management owned the garbage truck.

I-81 Tractor Trailer Accident

A tractor trailer accident on July 31, 2008, backed up traffic on I-81 well into the afternoon. Police say a driver from Richmond was headed southbound on I-81 when she ran her van off the road and struck a guard rail, leaving her vehicle in the path of oncoming traffic.

The driver of the tanker trailer behind her slammed on his brakes to avoid a collision, but was then rear-ended by a second tractor-trailer. The driver of the tractor-trailer was cited for following too closely.

No injuries were reported.

Two Williamsburg, Va., Teens Killed in Crash

Two teenagers from Williamsburg, Va., died on July 25, 2008, in a single-vehicle crash.

The pair were headed north on Centreville Road when their car ran off the left side of the road and struck a drainage ditch around 2:30 in the morning. Both were declared dead at the scene.

The driver was 18. His passenger was 16. Neither were wearing seatbelts.

John Cooper is Elected Chair of the Railroad Law Section of the American Association for Justice

John M. Cooper of Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton in Virginia Beach has been elected to a one year term (2008-2009) as Chair of the Railroad Law Section of the American Association for Justice during AAJ’s 62^nd annual convention in Philadelphia, PA.

The Railroad Law Section of the AAJ promotes rail safety and protecting the rights of the public and railroad employees. Cooper’s practice is exclusively in plaintiff’s side railroad and general personal injury law.

Trucker Health Problems Could Cause Collisions

Authored By: John M. Cooper, Esquire & Guest Aurthor, Richard Parocha, Intern

There has been a growing number of truck-related accidents on highways during the last couple of years. These incidents may be related to the fact that many of these truck drivers are suffering from health issues such as seizures, heart attacks, or unconscious spells that have caused them to get into accidents. In fact, truckers have violated federal medical rules in every state. The Associated Press points to reports that there are 7.3 million commercial driver violations compiled by the Transportation Department in 2006 for breaking these rules. Those drivers who fell asleep or were physically impaired were the leaders of this group. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is in charge of trucking regulation, says that it hasn’t implemented any of the recommendations that U.S. Safety regulators have proposed since 2001. Sound bad? It gets worse.

A gasoline tanker fell off an overpass and exploded on Interstate 95, which runs through our native Virginia, killing 4 people. Investigators believe that the man who drove the truck had suffered a heart attack or some other "medical emergency." Another Virginia trucker didn’t have the proper federal paperwork required for amputees, and in Georgia a man smashed his 70,000 pound tractor trailer killing 4 women. He was later acquitted of second-degree involuntary manslaughter because he suffered a diabetic episode which "put him in an altered state of consciousness."

Now truckers say that the government should enforce existing rules, not make new ones. The old adage goes: if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but how do we know if the system is broke if we don’t enforce it. First the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration needs to meet those recommendations that were set by the U.S. Safety regulators, in which there are only 8 to accomplish. Finally drivers, please, if you’re tired, then sleep or get some coffee; if your having health issues, see a doctor. Even if you are delivering our goods, your not doing any good if we’re dead.

Truckers: Know your English or Pay the Fine

Authored By: John M. Cooper, Esquire & Guest Author, Richard Parocha, Intern

Manuel Castillo, a truck driver from Fresno, California had been driving a truck full of onions when he was stopped for a routine inspection in Alabama. He wasn’t speeding, and there had been no prior offense on his records, but he did receive a ticket; a ticket for $500 since he was a “non-English-speaking-driver.” This trucker had run into the federal safety rules that apply to interstate commercial drivers.

Federal law states that anyone with a commercial driver’s license must “speak English well enough” to talk with police. According to Bill Quade, a member of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the purpose of this law is so that the drivers can tell law enforcement officials what they are carrying in their trucks; in other words, for security purposes. Mr. Castillo does not plan on returning to Alabama to contest the ticket; instead he tells the Associated Press that this process “doesn’t seem fair… I wasn’t doing anything dangerous on the road”. Is that what it takes to get a ticket now; to do something dangerous on the road?

Often in truck accidents the lack of English skills can effect the investigation. Many collisions happen in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC) on Interstate I95. Even if no one is seriously hurt or killed in a truck wreck, the authorities need to be able to understand what happened.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that 17% of the 3.4 million truck drivers are Hispanic. Stricter English rules for truck drivers could result in as many as 578,000 drivers’ licenses being revoked. Who knows what that will do to an already flailing economy. Also, what exactly does speaking “English well enough to converse with an officer” mean? Is it speaking well enough to tell what’s inside your truck and where you are headed, or well enough so that you can have an intellectual conversation about the state of Pluto being demoted as a planet? The lesson is this: Si no sabes inglés, necesitas aprenderlo. (If you don’t speak English, you’d better learn)

Toxic Heavy Metal in Chesapeake, VA Water?

Authored By: John M. Cooper, Esquire and Guest Author, Richard Parocha, Intern

Water tests conducted at the Battlefield Golf Club in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA) show that there’s more than just water in their wells; high levels of arsenic and lead have now caused the EPA to look at the golf course as a potential superfund site. Lead can have terrible effects on kids’ development. Even low levels of lead can cause nervous system and kidney damage, decreased intelligence, hearing damage, seizures, decreased muscle and bone growth, and even death.

In a recent article by the Virginian Pilot test results done by the city have revealed that arsenic is present at 8 times more than the standard of drinking and lead 5 times the amount in the wells near the golf course. This is a result of the Battlefield Golf Club being built upon 1.5 million tons of fly ash which are the remains of coal after you burn it for electricity. This residue was donated by Dominion of Virginia in hopes of a more environmentally friendly way of construction. The company then went on to provide city officials with a “clean bill of health” for the fly ash.

This “clean bill of health” has provoked city officials to ask the EPA for an assessment of the possible water contamination damage. In doing so, the golf course may join a list of the nation’s top contaminated properties. If it does join the list, it can be deemed a “superfund site,” in which the city may receive federal money to help clean up the location. There is now an ongoing investigation as to whether or not the water pollution has spread to the nearby properties.

Dirty water just isn’t good. The Dominion of Virginia should have been more responsible in providing an adequate report to city officials, and city officials should have done a much more thorough investigation of the effects of fly ash on such a terrain. Here’s hoping that the residents of the nearby golf course haven’t been affected by the water contamination of the golf course. My advice: stock up on bottled water and wait until the test results come through.

The Jere Beasley Report – June 2008 “Jury returns verdict of $8,000,000 for seaman”

Authored By: John M. Coooper, Esquire & Guest Author, Amanda Turner, Intern

The Jere Beasley Report states that a 17-year employee for the Seariver Maritime, Inc and Exxon Shipping Co. was awarded $8,000,000 by a jury in San Francisco, California on May 14, 2008. The jury found that the worker was frequently exposed to benzene and other toxins during the course of his employment there which led to his developing kidney cancer. His job required that he clean tanks and unload cargo, and the jury found that Exxon was negligent in providing a safe work place and that his exposure to the dangerous conditions on the job caused his cancer.

The jury awarded the plaintiff $350,000 for loss of future earnings, $1,125,000 and for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life in the past, and $6,525,000 for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life in the future.

This specific form of cancer has struck my family and is a scary ordeal to face. Hopefully the plaintiff’s verdict will assuage his medical costs and treatment, and his former employers will ensure that no one else is similarly exposed to those conditions. I wish him and his family the best of luck in the future.

Government to Upgrade Crash Tests

The government crash test program that rates all new cars, trucks, and SUVs on a one-star to five-star scale is getting an upgrade. The new program, which is set to begin in 2010, will incorporate new front-end crash tests and a test that slams a pole into the side of the vehicle, simulating collission with a tree. Additionally, teh ratings will take into account technologies like electronic stability control, lane departure, and forward collision warning systems that are optional in most vehicles.

Leaders at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration believe that the new testing will leave fewer and fewer vehicles with five-star ratings. That doesn't necessarily mean that cars will be any less safe in 2010, just that consumers will be better able to judge which cars are truly elite.

Three Dead Following New Kent Car Crashes

An early morning crash on I-64 in New Kent County left one person dead on June 1, 2008. A speeding car struck a van from behind at 12:30 a.m. and burst into flames. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The van's driver and passegner were taken to a Williamsburg hospital and treated for minor injuries. They had been wearing their seatbelts.

Meanwhile, in Chesapeake, a crash on I-664 where the driver lost control of a speeding car killed two teenagers. Neither of them were wearing seatbelts when the car ran off the road and into a ditch in the highway median. The car flipped several times, throwing the passenger from the car. The vehicle's driver was taken by ambulance to Sentara norfolk, where she died. A 15 year old boy, who was also in the car, suffered life-threatening inuries and was flown to a trauma center in Norfolk.

Two Die in Train Crash

Two South Carolina women were killed in a June 12, 2008, wreck as a train crashed into their car. The mother and daughter victims were trying to cross railroad tracks, and had maneuvered their car around a stopped train when they were slammed by another crossing a second set of tracks.

Authorities say that the crossing arms were down when the car entered the tracks. The women were 57 and 41.

The Norfolk Southern train was reportedly travelling at 52 m.p.h. at the time of the crash.

Man Has Heart Attack, Dies After Crash

A man making a left turn onto Muddy Creek Road in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on June 10, 2008, is dead after his car was hit in the middle of the turn. As the man slowed his car to make a left turn, the car behind him swerved to his left to avoid hitting the car. However, the car only succeeded in striking the driver's side of the vehicle.

The driver went into cardiac arrest following the crash and had to be transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 1 a.m.

The car that struck his vehicle was driven by a 16 year old girl. Authorities say that charges are pending in the case.

Deadly Week on Virginia Roads: 15 Dead

Today ends a deadly week on Virginia's roads, which has left 15 dead.

Thursday night 3 members of a Canadian family were killed on I-77 when their SUV crossed the median and was struck by a tractor-trailer. Earlier that morning, a three vehicle crash on I-95 near Stafford left a 58 year old man dead. Also Thursday, a Gretna resident was killed in a two-vehicle crash in Pittsylvania County.

Earlier in the week, a father, mother, and their 7 year old daughter were killed in a Wythe County wreck. The family had two other daughters, 10 and 4, who were seriously injured in the crash when the family's SUV veered over the median and crossed into a northbound lane, directly in front of a tractor trailer.

This week's fatalities bring the death toll for the year to 387, about 20% lower than the 471 deaths Virginia saw at the same time last year.

New Railway in Cape Charles, Virginia (VA)

Authored By: John M. Cooper, Esquire & Guest Author Amanda Turner, Intern

The Bay Creek Railway will be the first passenger service car in 50 years on the Eastern Shore in Virginia. The Virginian-Pilot reports that the Bay Creek Railway will operate a restored 1913 "interurban parlor car" that will seat about 30 passengers on 2 hour Friday and Saturday night dinner trips and shorter trips without food. The railway is considering all-you-can-eat pizza trains for kids and wine tasting trips for adults.

Bay Creek Railway is the creation of Richard S. Foster, Virginia Bach developer, and developer of Bay Creek resort. He signed a 30-year lease with the Accomack-Northampton Transportation District Commission in 2006 for what is now called the Bay Coast Railroad. The Bay Coast is a 77 mile freight line that runs from Pocomoke City, Maryland (MD) down the Eastern Shore and into Norfolk, Virginia (VA) across the Chesapeake Bay.

The Eastern shore has high hopes for the railroad and hopes it will bring in tourists. According to Larry E. LeMond, Vice President of Operations for Bay Coast, rail traffic has increased 40% in 2008 from January to April compared to the same period in 2007. A document filed with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board in 2006 states that they expect to earn annual revenue of less than $5 million.

With gas prices rising, rail travel becomes even more efficient by comparison. The high cost of travel by plane or by car also encourages more local holiday options. Perhaps this rail service on the Eastern Shore will attract more folks to vacation in Virginia.

Two Teens Killed in Crash Not Wearing Seat Belts

Authored By: John M. Cooper, Esquire & Guest Author, Amanda Turner, Intern

Two teens were killed on May 31, 2008 in a car crash in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA). Three teens were driving down Interstate 664 in a Ford Mustang at 75 mph when the driver lost control. The car flipped several times after running off the side of the road and into a ditch in the highway median. The driver and a passenger, two females, died soon after the crash and weren’t wearing seat belts. The car’s second passenger, a 15 year old male, survived the crash and was wearing a seat belt. He was critically injured in the crash, but in good condition according to a dailypress.com article on June 2, 2008.

After jumping in the car with friends, it’s easily to forget to buckle up. As a driver or safe passenger, though your friends may tease you, make a conscious decision to remind everyone to wear his or her seat belt.

Chesapeake Virginia (VA) Parents Sue Day Camp, Chesapeake Golf Club Over Son’s Brain Damage

Authored By: John M. Cooper and Guest Author, Amanda Turner, Intern

According to the Virginian-Pilot on June 5, 2008, the parents of a 10-year-old boy recently filed a lawsuit in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA) against the day camp their son attended after he was hit in the head with a golf club, causing permanent brain damage. They are seeking $10 million in damages for their son and $375,000 for their damages.

The lawsuit alleges that when the boy was struck by a golf club swung by an unsupervised child the supervisors "negligently took too long to call for medical help …and took the plaintiff to an Urgent Care Center instead of a hospital," where the brain injury swelled and caused permanent damage.

Having worked as a camp counselor during the summer, it’s always important to be as aware as possible about what each child is doing so that accidents like these don’t happen. When I chaperoned a trip to a local driving range the kids were given child appropriate clubs and each line of campers had a counselor serving as an individual instructor. Precautions like these help ensure that each child is having fun, learning, and most importantly being safe.

Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) Police Identify Man Killed In Vehicle Crash

Authored By: John M. Cooper and Guest Author, Amanda Turner, Intern

Police in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), on June 7, 2008, identified the man killed in a car crash on June 6 as John Glen Armstrong, 46, of Virginia Beach.

The passenger, Robert P. Nealey, 45, remains in critical condition at Virginia Beach General Hospital.

A police spokesman cited alcohol and speed as factors in this accident where both men were wearing seat beats. Armstrong was killed when his car crashed into a utility pole in Thalia Manor. The accident occurred at about 1:30 am as Armstrong drove down Edinburgh Drive; the car he was driving veered right and hit a pole at Greencastle Lane.

June Sees Spike In Road Deaths In Virginia (VA)

Authored By: John M. Cooper and Guest Author, Amanda Turner, Intern

In a report printed in the Virginian-Pilot, Virginia State Police announced that in the first week of June, 10 people (nine men and one woman) had been killed on Virginia’s roads. Those deaths brought the total of people killed on Virginia roads this year to 337, compared to 405 at this point in 2007.

The most recent incidents took place Thursday and Friday and involved a tree falling on a man driving an SUV in Fairfax County and pedestrian being hit by a passenger side mirror as he crossed traffic.

8 Year Old Killed by Drunk Driver

An 8 year old boy in Culpeper County was killed by a drunk driver on May 16, 2008. According to Virginia State Police, a 38 year old driver lost control of his 1999 Acura and ran off the left side of the road, bounced over an embankment, and rolled several times before he struck a fence and came to rest in a field. In the car were the man's five and eight year old sons.

The eight year old was not in a seatbelt or otherwise restrained and was ejected from the car as it flipped. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver then put the boy in the vehicle's trunk before the police arrived.

The five year old was not injured because he was properly strapped into a safety seat.

The driver has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, driving with a suspended license, and driving under the influence. If convicted, this would be his third DUI.

Two Sisters Dead After Crimora, Va., Car Crash

Two sisters are dead following a crash on Tuesday, May 20, 2008, in Crimora, Va. The sister's car collided with an SUV after they drove through a stop sign without slowing down. The 63 year old driver of the Toyota Corolla was doing about 35 mph when she missed the stop sign and was broadsided by a Ford Explorer.

The 63 year old and her 64 year old sister were killed in the crash. Both women had been wearing seatbelts.

The driver of the Ford Explorer was treated at Augusta Medical Center for minor injuries and is not facing any charges.

According to local residents, there have been multiple requests to install a stoplight at the intersection.

Study: 1 in 3 Va., Md. Drivers Texting

Maryland and Virginia rank 4th and 6th in the country, respectively, for drivers whose hands are not on the wheel. More than 35% of drivers in both states have admitted to texting while driving. The survey, conducted by Vlingo, a voice-recognition software company, says that 36% of Maryland drivers text and drive and 35.6% of Virginia drivers have the same habit.

Frank Drews, of the University of Utah has studied the texting and driving phenomena and believes that drivers are 50% more likely to be involved in an accident while texting than they are while on the phone. Drivers who are texting are 6 times more likely than those who are not to be involved in an accident.

NC 5th Worst State for Teen Drivers

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, North Carolina is the fifth worst state for young drivers. A study from the NHTSA found that NC has the fifth most fatal car accidents involving teens 16-19 in the entire country. Part of the problem is that teens in NC are much less likely to buckle up at night than anywhere else.

In 2006, 68% of the teens who died in car crashes at night were not wearing their seatbelts. During that period, 525 teens were killed in nighttime accidents. 61% of those teens were not belted in.

During the same period, South Carolina had 731 young people killed in wrecks, 70% of whom were not belted.

Officials are urging more police checkpoints, especially at night, when 20% more teens are riding around without seatbelts than during the daylight hours.

SC Launches Buckle-Up Program

The South Carolina Highway Patrol has teamed up with agencies in North Charleston, Goose Creek, Mount Pleasant, Charleston, and Charleston County to run a "Buckle Up" initiative through June 1. The various police agencies across the state are participating in TV ads and educational outreach programs to encourage seat belt use.

In 2006, 72% of SC residents who were wearing their seat belts lived through car crashes. Compare that to this years statistics: There have been 359 traffic fatalities so far in South Carolina in 2008, and 182 of the victims were not wearing seatbelts. That's 50% of the traffic fatalities.

Police are reminding citizens that 75% of all crashes occur within 25 miles of home, so seat belts need to be worn on short trips too. Your chances of surviving an accident are 50% greater if you are belted in.

Jury verdict for $2.6 million to Railroad Engineer Suffering Diesel Exhaust Asthma

In late April 2008, an Ohio state court jury ordered Conrail to pay $2.6 million to its former locomotive engineer, for negligently causing his diesel exhaust asthma lung disease. Frank Battaglia, worked in the Detroit, Michigan rail yards for Conrail for 23 years as a railroad engineer, before he was eventually diagnosed with diesel exhaust fume asthma. He obtained a lawyer recommended by the brotherhood of locomotive engineers and trainmen (BLET), to pursue a claim against Conrail.

Attorneys E.J. Leizerman and Ryan Gembala, of Toledo, Ohio, represented Battaglia, and Conrail retained Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania lawyers who specialize in defending railroads, including defending claims involving diesel fume type cases.

Battaglia’s lawyers presented evidence that his lung disease was the result of inhaling fumes hundreds, if not thousands of occasions while he worked as a railroad engineer usually involving his location inside locomotive engine cabs. His attorneys argued that federal railroad administration (FRA) regulations prohibit diesel exhaust fumes from entering into the locomotive engine cab, and that this regulatory violation directly led to lung disease in Mr. Battaglia.

Battaglia’s doctor testified that his diesel asthma was likely the result of his long-term exposures while working for the railroad. Conrail is a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern, and one of Norfolk Southern’s medical doctors also gave testimony to defend Conrail, along with other doctors that were specially retained on behalf of Conrail. Conrail denied the worker suffered any disease from diesel fumes.

The jury received testimony for an entire week, and then deliberated five hours before returning the $2.6 million verdict in favor of Battaglia. This is the second major verdict attorney Leizerman has obtained in a diesel exhaust fume trial, with an earlier verdict for another railroad locomotive engineer several years earlier, who sued Norfolk Southern. That earlier verdict was upheld on appeal in the state of Ohio appeals court system.

Rail workers most exposed to diesel fumes are railroad locomotive engineers, railroad conductors, railroad carmen, and railroad shop workers who have worked around diesel engines for decades. I have written a number of articles recently (see our library here on this site, and on the Injuryboard Virginia Beach web blog) about the growing occupational awareness that diesel exhaust fume exposure over the long term has led to not only diesel asthma, but that medical experts have documented an increased incidence of lung cancer in railroad workers with these long-term exposures to diesel fumes as well. Our law firm has received an increasing number of inquiries from railroad workers who believe they may suffer diesel asthma lung disease. There were many types of railroad engines that permitted the diesel fumes to trail inside the engine cabs, and it is important to investigate and document the types and classes of engines worked on or around, the long term exposure that may be involved, and all other potential causes of disease besides diesel fumes. Also, only an experienced occupational medical physician can determine if your particular form of lung disease symptoms are consistent with this often undiagnosed form of “diesel asthma," and the doctor must also evaluate any other occupational exposures to dusts, fumes and similar irritants.

The Environmental Protection Agency, recently in 2008, finally put into effect new regulations governing diesel engine emissions in railroad locomotives as well as trucks and other types of motors using diesel fuel. Soon, there will be monitoring requirements for what types of emissions are coming from the engines, but this will have no affect on workers who may have been exposed in the past. There have been a number of medical journal articles discussing the pervasive adverse health affects of diesel fumes, and the awareness of the dangers of long term exposures have now been well documented. The public is just now starting to understand the issue.

Our law firm also practices personal injury law and concentrates much of our effort in the area of railroad worker injuries and diseases (website: HSInjurylaw.com ).

Abingdon, Va., Man Hit by Train, Killed

A 49 year old Abingdon, Va., man was struck by a train in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 8, 2008. The man was walking on the Virginia Creeper Trail, which is near the railroad tracks, on his way home.

Abingdon Police Chief Tony Sullivan noted that the tracks provide a shortcut to "just about anywhere," because they run through the center of town.

The train that struck the man was 52 cars long and weighed over 2,783 tons. The train engineer saw the Abingdon man walking southbound on the tracks about 100 yards ahead of the train. The engineer sounded the horn and attempted to stop, but was unable. A spokesman for Norfolk-Southern says that it would typically take a train of that size at least a mile to stop.

North Carolina Man Killed in Va. Beach Crash

A 26 year old North Carolina man was killed early Sunday morning when his car flipped several times in Virginia Beach. Police believe that the man was travelling at about 85 mph at the time.

Police are unsure at what time the accident occurred. The last phone call went out from the man's cell phone at 2 a.m., but the accident went unnoticed until a passerby phoned it in around 6 a.m.

According to police, the driver was not wearing his seat belt and had been drinking. The car flipped two or three times before coming to a rest. The man had been ejected from his vehicle.

Former Virginia OBGYN back in business after seven malpractice claims

The Virginian Pilot recently reported that a former Virginia obstetrician is practicing in North Carolina after repeatedly injuring babies during deliveries in Virginia. The Pilot reported that Dr. Enrique Tomeu practiced in a Virginia Beach obstetrics group until 2004 when he abruptly closed his office and left the area. Dr. Tomeu was sued 7 times for similar injuries to babies during child birth. The injury is called shoulder dystocia. When this injury occurs it often involves larger babies. The baby's shoulders can get stuck behind the mother's pelvic bone during delivery. In that position the nerves that connect the shoulder, arm and hand to the spinal cord can be stretched, pulled out or torn. This injury can result in a disorder known as "Erb's Palsy" a form of paralysis. This injury can result in permanent disabling of the shoulder, arm and hand.

According to Virginia Beach Circuit Court records, Dr. Tomeu was sued 7 times in Virginia for inflicting similar injuries during deliveries. After Tomeu left Virginia he practiced in New Zealand for a year. While in New Zealand, a coroner found him partially responsible for a baby's death. After being relieved of his duties in New Zealand, the practitioner ended up in North Carolina where is practicing now.

The Pilot previously reported that despite reform in the medical malpractice reporting, there are still doctors managing to go under the radar. The individual that suffers the most is the new patient who has no knowledge of their doctor's malpractice history.

At our law firm, we handle all types of personal injury cases. We have personally handled many shoulder distocia cases which are the exact types of injuries reported in this article. If you or someone you love has been injured in by malpractice please call us for a free consultation. We will do everything we can to ensure that your rights and interests are served.

Most Lethal Melanomas? Scalp and Neck

A study from the University of North Carolina has demonstated that skin cancers can vary in lethality depending on where they start. After considering over 50,000 cases of melanoma in the past decade, the researchers concluded that patients whose lesions begin on their scalp or neck died nearly twice as fast as cancers that began anywhere else on the body.

Scientists are not surprised by this, says Dr. Vijay Trisal of the City of Hope National Medical Center in L.A., who notes that "maximum sun exposure areas are the scalp, face and neck."

Norfolk Southern Settles Train Crash Lawsuit

Norfolk Southern has settled a lawsuit with Avondale Mills, a South Carolina textile company. The lawsuit was about the 2005 train wreck that caused a toxic chemical spill which killed 9 people.

On January 6, 2005, the Norfolk Southern train left the tracks onto a spur, rear-ending a parked train whose crew had not remembered to switch the tracks back to the main rail. The wreck caused a car carrying chlorine to release a poisonous cloud over Graniteville, South Carolina, killing nine and injuring 250. Another 4,500 people had to be evacuated.

The lawsuit settled for an undisclosed amount.

Richmond, Va. Woman Killed in Auto Accident

A Richmond, Virginia, woman was killed on March 22 in a car crash on I-95 near Chesterfield County, according to Virginia State Police. She was headed north on the interstate when she ran off the right side of the road into a ditch and slammed into a barrier.

Police believe that alcohol may have been involved in the crash.

This crash brings Virginia's highway fatality total to 182 for the year, as compared with 179 on this date in 2007.

Crash with Ambulance Kills College Senior

A senior student at the College of Charleston was killed on Tuesday morning in South Carolina when her car was struck by an ambulance that had just left a downtown hospital.

The ambulance was just leaving the hospital on it's way to an emergency call. As the ambulance moved into the oncoming traffic lane to pass stopped cars, it collided with the student's car, slamming into the driver's side doors. The impact of the crash was enough to send both vehicles careening into stopped cars.

The student, 22, died of head injuries an hour later at Medical University Hospital.

Virginia Man Trapped Under Rail Line

A Prince William man was seriously injured on Tuesday when a rail car toppled over, trapping him under it. Around noon, an open-top rail car carrying gravel tipped on top of the unidentified man in his mid-30s. After rescuers worked for 40 minutes to free him, he was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital.

The train car belonged to Chemung Contracting, a company with a plant in Gainesville, Virginia. Reports from the Washington Post state that the man was a Chemung employee.

Virginia Police Investigating Crash in James City County

Virginia police are investigating a fatal car accident in James City County.

Just before 3 a.m., a 2006 Dodge Dakota was headed southbound on Ironbound Rd when the driver lost control of the vehicle and ran off the road. The driver was thrown from the car and died at the scene. Police say she was not wearing a seatbelt and travelling at an excessive rate of speed.

No word yet on whether alcohol was involved.

N.C. Student Skipping School Dies in Fatal Crash

An early morning crash in Union County, N.C., Thursday has left one young man dead and another critically injured. The two students, both 17, were high school seniors on track to graduate, according to school officials.

The crash occurred when one of the young men rounded a corner too quickly, struck the curb, and then overcorrected and crossed the center line, causing a head-on collision. The student who died was a passenger. He was not wearing his seatbelt.

Two-Thirds of Hysterectomies May be Unnecessary

Nearly 600,000 hysterectomies are performed every year in America. The surgery is so popular, according to CNN, that nearly one-third of all women will undergo the procedure before they turn 60.

However, experts are now saying that as many as two-thirds of those women do not need the surgery. Doctors like Lauren Streicher, M.D., an assistant professor of obstetrics and gyneconology at Northwestern University, are finding that there are alternative procedures that offer fewer complications and shorter recovery times.

Common problems with the hysterectomy procedure are sexual problems, incontinence, and a slight loss of physical strength.

One of our own attorneys makes it onto the 2007 list of Virginia’s largest verdicts.

At Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton, we pride ourselves on years of experience handling various personal injury matters. We are proud to announce that one of our own attorneys, James Lewis, was recognized by Virginia Lawyers Weekly obtaining one of Virginia’s largest verdicts in 2007.

Jim’s case involved a medical malpractice claim for injuries inflicted upon the plaintiff, an infant, during a difficulty delivery. The delivery resulted in permanent injury to the plaintiff’s shoulder and arm. A Virginia Beach Circuit Court Jury awarded $1.75 million, the medical malpractice cap at the time of the injury to the plaintiff and an additional $137,224 to the plaintiff’s mother.

At our firm we handle personal injury matters involving millions of dollars in damages as well as claims involving smaller amounts. Despite the differences in the injuries and damages, we treat all of our clients with the same level of attention and care. If you have been involved in an accident or other personal injury matter, check out our website. Here you will find a great deal of information about our attorneys and the types of cases we handle.

Virginia Child Injured in Police Car Crash

An auto accident involving a police cruiser on Thursday afternoon left a two-year-old child in the hospital with head injuries, according to a report from Virginia State Police.

The accident occurred at approximately 2.09pm at the Clarion Road exit, off U.S. 29 in Altavista, according to Sgt. David Cooper.

Melissa Camiglio, the mother of the injured child, was driving her 1999 Chevrolet Prism on U.S. 29 when she failed to stop at the Clarion Road stop sign. This resulted in her vehicle being crashed into by Altavista Police Officer Devin H. Snead’s 2007 Ford Crown Victoria cruiser.

According to Cooper, Camiglio’s two year old child suffered head injuries in the accident because she was not adequately restrained in the vehicle. The child was airlifted to Roanoke Memorial Hospital where there is no word on her condition. Snead was taken to a local physician after complaining of neck and back pain as a result of the accident.

Despite her assertions that she tried to stop at the stop sign, Camiglio was charged with both reckless driving and for failing to restrain a child properly in her vehicle.

Trooper M.B. Okuley in charge on the investigation says Camiglio’s car will be checked for mechanical problems during the course of the investigation.

Charity Doctors Open to Malpractice, Says Virginia Supreme Court

The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that doctors who work in charitable foundations are not immune from malpractice suits.

The cases ruled upon by the Virginia Supreme Court involved the University of Virginia Health Services Foundation, who wanted immunity from malpractice suits. The Foundation’s lawyers claimed that because its physicians were working for a nonprofit organization, they should be protected from malpractice lawsuits.

However the Virginia Supreme Court refused to rule in favor of the Health Services Foundation, saying that while the physicians working for the foundation did perform “commendable” charity care for its patients, the majority of the foundation’s services were not charitable.

The court said, “HSF operates like a profitable commercial business with extensive revenue and assets… HSF is therefore not immune from tort liability under the doctrine of charitable immunity.”

According to the court’s 28-page opinion, the Virginia Supreme Court found that the University of Virginia Foundation "operates more like a for-profit business than a charitable organization."

The court concluded that of the foundation's $225 million in annual income in 2005, charitable work made up less than one per cent.

Another college that will be affected by the ruling is Eastern Virginia Medical School, which also has a nonprofit physicians group called the Academic and Physicians and Surgeons Health Services Foundation affiliated with it.

Virginia Plane Crash Suit Settled for $15 Million

The family of a surgeon who died in a Virginia plane crash has won $15 million in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Dr. Rizer was killed on March 20, 2003 during an instrument approach to Runway 17 of Leesburg Executive Airport in Leesburg, Va.

Probate Judge Thomas A. Swift approved the settlement in favor of Maria Rizer and Dr. Milisa K. Rizer, the wife and sister of Dr. Franklin M. Rizer, which included $6 million in attorney fees.

According to Judge Swift, the court will divide up the net proceeds of the estate ($8,634,572) between Melisa Rizer; Maria Rizer, Kaylin Rizer Allshouse of Columbus, his niece; and the estate of Wanda Mae Rizer, his mother.

According to the lawsuit filed against Mooney Airplane Company Inc., Mooney Aerospace Group Ltd., Honeywell International Inc. of Columbus and Winner Aviation Corp., the airplane Rizer was in had defective equipment and instruments on board when it crashed three-quarters of a mile from the Leesburg Airport runway in Virginia.

Honeywell was identified as the makers of the autopilot flight director control system in the lawsuit which stated that “the aircraft experienced catastrophic failures, including avionics and instrumentation failures resulting in the fatal crash.”

The lawsuit also states that the aircraft “experienced catastrophic failures, including avionics and instrumentation failures resulting in the fatal crash.” Mooney allegedly “failed to disclose that the aircraft had undergone major circuitry rewiring, repairs, troubleshooting modifications and other alterations… The aircraft suffered a continuous stream of avionics and other instrumentation failures during the operation of the aircraft from Kerrville, Texas, to the airport in Vienna.”

Seat belts save lives in Suffolk, Virginia accident

The Virginian Pilot recently reported that two drivers escaped a near fatal accident on the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel thanks to seat belts. The Monitor-Merrimac Bridge shut down traffic for over an hour on February 16, 2008 when one of the drivers attempted to change lanes and struck the other vehicle. The other vehicle flipped over several times upon impact. The driver of the vehicle which flipped over was trapped in her truck for some time before rescue personnel could get her out. Fortunately both drivers were wearing their safety belts which saved them from more serious or fatal injuries.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2006 42,642 people were killed in automobile accidents. Although this number is still too high, it reflects is a 2% decrease since 2005. Of those fatalities, only 45% involved restrained drivers. That means that an astonishing 55% of the occupants involved in fatal car crashes were not using their seatbelts. Even more upsetting is that nearly 64% of the fatalities which occurred at night involved unrestrained occupants.

Don’t be another statistic. Make sure you tell your loved ones, children, and friends to always wear their seatbelt. If you or anyone you know has been injured in an accident, please give us a call. We will help to ensure that your interests and rights are protected.

Norfolk Southern stock goes up, increase in traffic on Virginia railroads

The Virginian Pilot reported that Norfolk Southern's stock has risen to 9.6 percent on January 23, 2008, closing at $ 49.41 a share. The Norfolk Southern railroad company has tracks which run through 22 states on the East Coast. This locomotive giant is benefiting as more cargo is being shipped through East Coast, rather than West Coast. Congestion at West Coast ports has a lot to do with the shift to East Coast railroads for shipping.

In 2003, about 20 percent of Norfolk Southern's international traffic moved through East Coast ports, ending up on East Coast railroads. At the end of 2007, 50% of the railroad's import container business arrived via the East Coast.

If you are a Norfolk Southern railroad employee who operates or works on the trains, you are more likely to be at risk for injury while working as a result of this increase in railroad traffic. It only makes sense that if more cargo traffic is flowing through Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina by Norfolk Southern trains, more railroad accidents and/or crashes could result.

Railroad injuries are governed by the Federal Employers Liability Act or FELA . If you are injured while working on a railroad or on the train itself, call our firm to discuss your case. We have many years of experience in litigating under FELA and some of our employees are former railroad employees.

Caution: Drunk Drivers Ahead

As personal injury attorneys in Hampton Roads, Virginia, we frequently deal with injuries resulting from car accidents caused by drunk drivers. According to a recent article in The Virginian- Pilot, Democratic Delegate Lionell Spruill of Chesapeake, Virginia is proposing a bill that would require repeat drunk drivers to mark their vehicles with bright yellow license plates. The bill, HB 1281, would require people with three or more DUI convictions to keep yellow plates with red lettering on their cars for five years after getting their licenses back.

According to another Virginian-Pilot article, approximately 10 percent of all intoxicated drivers in the Commonwealth of Virginia are caught in Virginia Beach. This information definitely hits too close to home.

If this bill were passed, what would be the result? Would everyone on the road near a yellow tagged vehicle swerve to get out of harm’s way? It seems a good suggestion. Sadly, many of those driving under the influence are managing to fly under the radar. Worse yet, many of them won’t be caught until it’s just too late and someone else has suffered an injury, or even worse-death, at the hands of these reckless drivers. It’s good to see that legislators are recognizing that law enforcement alone is not enough to prevent drunk driving. If implemented, perhaps these yellow tags will save someone’s life or prevent another automobile accident. Maybe the stigma of driving with this yellow tag will send some drunk drivers the message and deter them from getting behind the wheel while intoxicated.

Here at Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis and Appleton, we hope that you and your loved ones never suffer due to a drunk driver’s negligence. If you have, please contact our firm and we will work with you and your family to help you recover fully from the injuries caused by a car accident, especially one caused by an intoxicated motorist.

Use of Seat Belts Saves Lives in Virginia (VA)

In 2007, Virginia (Va.) suffered 1,012 deaths on highways according to preliminary statistics which makes it the deadliest year since 1990. There is an indication that several of these fatalities were contributed to by either drivers or passengers failing to properly utilize seatbelts. Of course, many of these accidents were probably caused by speed or alcohol and the victims had little chance, if any, regardless of the use of safety restraining devices. On average, 38% of highway fatalities are alcohol related according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. Virginia showed a 40% decrease in 2007 over 2006 in alcohol related fatalities which is attributable in part to increased enforcement of safety restraining devices in cars. However, car crashes are still the leading cause of deaths for Virginians under the age of 30. VDOT reports that wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of dying in a car crash by 45% and by as much as 60% in a truck or a SUV. Based on these statistics, common sense indicates that the utilization of seat belts by drivers and passengers is a good way to prevent injuries related to automobile accidents as well as fatalities.

As a lawyer who works on wrongful death cases arising from car wrecks, I know your loved ones would rather have you alive than have an insurance claim for your death on the road. Buckle up to keep your family from needing to hire an injury attorney to help them pick up the pieces after a tragedy.

Merck Settles Vioxx Claims for $4.85 Billion

Family Members Who Contract Asbestos Cancers-“Take Home” Asbestos Cases Create Difficult Legal Issues

What happens if an employee carries asbestos home on their clothing, and decades later a spouse or even a child contract asbestos induced cancer (mesothelioma terminal cancer) and the only known source known is from the parent who worked at a plant or factory?
The answer is many courts around the country have a allowed such claims but some states have denied liability of the employers on the argument that the family member did not have a “foreseeable” cause relationship with the employer. Some courts have reasoned that its foreseeable that the employee could develop the disease, but not the family member who never even went to the employment place/factory.

These so called “take home” asbestos cases are creating controversy around the country. In August, 2007 an appeals court in Washington State reversed the dismissal of a suit by a spouse of a Kimberly-Clark employee who merely washed her husband’s clothes nightly and then developed mesothelioma asbestos cancer. Washington’s court ruled the suit should go forward. However, also in 2007 a Michigan Supreme Court ruled otherwise and found that the Ford Motor Company did not have a duty to protect the step-daughter of a former worker, because she had never been on Ford property. Mesothelioma cancers develop over 30-50 years and this explains in many ways why these cases are still arising now. A case arising now can relate to exposure of a worker in the 1950's, 60's or 70's. As of now, the highest state courts in Georgia, Michigan, and New York have rejected these “take home” suits but New Jersey and Indiana have allowed them, along with Washington state.
In Virginia, where our law firm is based, a court recently allowed a Plaintiff named Mitchell to proceed against Dupont where a parent brought the asbestos on work clothes into the home, and his wife later contracted mesothelioma. In the Mitchell case in Virginia, according to the court’s opinion and published reports, Mr. Mitchell had been an engineer for Dupont in Virginia where he was regularly exposed to asbestos. The court ruled that Dupont knew or should have known that asbestos exposure was involved in Mr. Mitchell’s employment but the court ruled that it failed to warn he or his wife of any dangers about the possible at-home exposure to asbestos fibers. The Virginia court decided the “test” wast whether it was reasonably foreseeable that the consequences of Dupont’s actions, considering that it used a dangerous instrument or article, in a manner and under circumstances in which Dupont knew or should have known that it could likely produce injury.. The Plaintiffs in Mitchell argued that asbestos is a dangerous article. Mitchell argued that Dupont had a duty to take actions to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm to others such as Mr. Mitchell’s wife.
However, the Mitchell case has not reached the highest court in Virginia but it is strong authority that Virginia permits these types of claims, if the evidence reaches the level examined by the Court in the Mitchell case.

FDA Questioning Cold Drug Ingredients

Sudafed's manufacturers recently swithced from pseudoephedrine to phenylephrine after the passage of a new law which required all pseudoephedrine products to be kept behind the counter. Following the change, researchers at the University of Florida have petitioned the government to examine the new ingredients used in Sudafed, arguing that the new products may not work in adults or even be safe for child consumption.

Banked Blood May Lack Vital Compenent

Graco Recalls Cribs After 3 Deaths

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Simplicity cribs are being recalloed following infant deaths. The cribs, which are designed in a way that allow the drop-side wall to be installed upside down, create a gap that can be deadly when children become trapped.

The following crib model numbers are being recalled: 4600, 4605, 4705, 5000, 8000, 8324, 8800, 8740, 8910, 8994, 8050, 8750, 8760, and 8996. The model number can be found on the envelope attached to the mattress support and on the label attached to the headboard.

Labor Day Holiday Brings Major Increases in Car Accidents and Deaths on the Highways in Virginia, and Elsewhere

Most of us take advantage of Labor Day weekend by enjoying the last bit of summer before we welcome the fall season. Oftentimes this involves cookouts, parties, and other gatherings of people to celebrate the three-day weekend. Unfortunately things don’t always go as planned – with a holiday oftentimes comes an increase in car and truck accidents and related injuries and fatalities. In many cases, this is due to an increase in alcohol consumption and the recklessness involved with drinking and driving, perhaps even more at beach and waterfront areas, like Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton and other coastal cities in nearby North Carolina (NC) areas like Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Corolla, and Manteo.

This increase in car accidents and fatalities during holiday weekends is not a matter to be taken lightly. Labor Day weekend 2007 produced more motor vehicle-related fatalities in Virginia (VA) than any other Labor Day in the past ten years, with 19 persons losing their lives due to someone’s alcohol consumption, speed, inattention, or inexperience. 11 people died on Virginia (VA) roads during this same weekend in 2006, while 14 were killed in car or trucking/car accidents during Memorial Day weekend 2007. Among those killed and suffering personal injury in these accidents were people of all ages, creeds, and economic classes.

During the holiday weekends, Virginia and North Carolina residents, please remember to take care when driving. About 30 percent of traffic fatalities each year in Virginia are alcohol related, so remember, don’t drink and drive. And if you or a loved one has been the victim of someone else’s negligent driving choices, please contact our personal injury law firm, Hajek Shapiro Cooper Lewis & Appleton, to talk about your rights as we offer free consultation. Again, “all we do is injury law” every day, every year.

Diabetes May Hike Death Risk From Pneumonia

Coal Mining Tragedy

People across the nation have been following the story of the six miners trapped in a Utah coal mine. This weekend, after a sixth borehole pierced the mine shaft where the men have been trapped for over three weeks, their families are in agony. Not only were the miners not found, but the area discovered was too debris-filled and the air too deplete of oxygen to sustain life. Some are now questioning whether the mine was safe enough for the men to be working there in the first place. It has been suggested that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has been accommodating the coal mining industry at the expense of safety, and that coal mining companies are exchanging the safety of their workers for more productivity. The fact that there were more coal mining deaths last year (47 deaths) than in any other year for over a decade suggest that the claims may be founded.
The safety of coal mines is of great concern for many residents of West Virginia and Virginia, places where coal miners are hard at work. In fact, West Virginia leads the nation in underground coal production, directly employing over 40,000 West Virginians and accounting for about 50 percent of U.S. coal exports. 26 West Virginia counties produce coal, with McDowell County, WV leading the way. Coal mining also occurs in Virginia (VA) in the counties of Wise County, VA, Dickenson County, VA, Lee County, VA, Buchanan County, VA, Russell County, VA, Scott County, VA, and Tazewell, VA.
Unfortunately, coal mining fatalities and injuries have occurred in West Virginia (WV) and Virginia (VA) coal mines. In 2006, a total of 25 people died in West Virginia (WV) coal mines. The Sago mine, the mine where most of those deaths occurred, had been cited for having had over 200 violations the year before, 96 of which were considered “significant and substantial.” The total number of violations written by WVMHS&T inspectors in 2005 was actually over 10,000. And we are still hearing about even more injuries and fatalities occurring as the result of the negligence of coal mining companies. In fact, just a few weeks ago (July 26,2007) MSHA cited the operator of a West Virginia (WV) coal mine for a roof fall that fatally injured several workers.
If you or a loved one has been killed or suffered a personal injury in a coal mining accident, please feel free to contact one of our personal injury lawyers at Hajek, Shapiro Cooper Lewis & Appleton, as several of our lawyers are licensed in West Virginia as well as Virginia.

Duke Patient Blames Surgical Tools for Illness

LA Surgeon Accused of Hastening Man's Death

U.S. News Releases List of Top Hospitals

Railroad Injunction Suit Fails Against F.E.L.A. Claimants

Four FELA Plaintiffs filed suit in Richmond, Virginia Circuit Court against CSX. Over objection of Plaintiff, venue was transferred to a rural county in Virginia, Southampton County. After the venue transfer orders were entered, all four Plaintiffs took nonsuit entered by the Southampton County Circuit Court. A Virginia nonsuit is similar to a dismissal without prejudice, but gives certain special “savings” rights of refiling the Virginia suit either in the circuit court where the nonsuit was entered, or in a federal court.

Rather than refiling in the state or federal courts of Virginia, three of the FELA Plaintiffs chose to re-file their actions in Jacksonville, Florida state court. One of the four Plaintiffs filed suit in North Carolina state court, as the particular Plaintiff was a resident of North Carolina.

CSX Transportation Inc. filed for injunctive relief in Southampton County, circuit court Virginia, asking the court to enjoin all four Plaintiffs from proceeding with their FELA actions except in Southampton County circuit court, Virginia. CSX asserted that the Plaintiffs were blatantly forum shopping and should be enjoined, and sought attorneys fees. CSX argued that once the Plaintiffs initially filed their actions in Virginia, and nonsuited the actions in Virginia, that the Plaintiffs were limited to proceeding in that Virginia state court under the Virginia nonsuit statute’s venue limitation clause, Virginia Code sec 8.01-380.

The railroad workers, in response:
1. Entered a special appearance objecting to jurisdiction because the four nonsuit orders were final orders from the previous action, and since the actions were nonsuited they that could not be acted upon by the court as they became final orders months earlier;
2. That a line of U.S. Supreme court cases has held that injunctive relief may not be entered by a state court, enjoining a sister state or federal court from proceeding with a FELA action;
3. That CSX had adequate remedies at law and therefore injunctive relief was not appropriate. The adequate remedy at law was challenging the jurisdiction or venue basis of the re-filed FELA actions in the other states.
The workers counsel argued that a trilogy of U.S. Supreme court cases beginning with Baltimore and Ohio R.R. Co. v. Kepner, 314 U.S. 44 (1941), Miles v. Ill. Central R. Co., 315 U.S. 698 (1942), and Pope v. Atlantic Coast R.R. Co., 345 U.S. 379 (1953) which made clear that a state court does not have the power to enjoin a FELA Plaintiff from proceeding with a FELA action in a sister state. Further, the workers noted that CSX, in defending the re-filed actions in other sister states, were challenging venue and jurisdiction and this was the appropriate legal remedy for CSX. Last, the workers counsel made note that Virginia had interrupted its own state nonsuit statute, Virginia Code Section 8.01-380, as being a venue limitation statute that controlled intra-state venue selection after nonsuit and not venue between the state of Virginia and a sister state or a foreign nation’s jurisdiction. Clark v. Clark, 11 Va. App.286 ( 1990 )
One interesting research note that arose from this injunction was that the FELA, at 45 U.S. Code Sec 56, permits concurrent state and federal court jurisdiction, however, in the late 1940's, the Congress enacted the Federal forum non conveniens statute 28 U.S. Code Sec 1404 (a) partially in response to “vexatious” forum shopping by FELA Plaintiffs. However, at the time of the passage of the Federal forum non conveniens provision in the U.S. Code, Congress took up, but rejected, an amendment that would also provide that the forum non conveniens statute applies to state court actions. In ruling in the last of the trilogy of these venue/injunction cases, the U.S. Supreme court in Pope noted that workers were harassing employers in distant forums without restriction, and went on to note that adding state court forum non conveniens “prevailed in the House” but that the amendment “died in the Senate Judiciary Committee” and “section 6 of the Federal Employers’ Liability Act was left just as this court has construed it” (referring to the Miles case above), Pope, 345 U.S. 379. The upshot of the U.S. Supreme court trilogy of cases is that state venue statutes may not discriminate against FELA Plaintiffs who are nonresidents of a forum state. In detailed analysis, the U.S. Supreme court discussed the fact that states could enact non-discriminatory intra-state venue laws, so long as they did not adversely discriminate against nonresidents or nonresidents FELA Plaintiffs. With the recent proliferation of venue restriction statutes around the nation, FELA practitioners must carefully review the U.S. Supreme court decisions to determine whether any particular state venue statute may encroach on rights granted by the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, as interpreted by the trilogy of Supreme Court cases culminating with the Pope decision.

Keeping our Kids Safe: Alarming number of injuries/deaths of children in DUI/drinking accidents

On May, 19, 2007 a 6 year old boy was killed in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA) when his father ran the SUV off the road, crossed the median, struck a guardrail and overturned. The father had been drinking, and using illegal drugs the night before. He was not only speeding, driving recklessly but was driving with a suspended driver’s license. The kindergarten boy was ejected from the vehicle and died.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) between 1997 and 2001, 1,985 child passengers died in alcohol-related crashes over two-thirds of these children were killed while riding with a drinking driver. MADD has identified common problems surrounding this type of child endangerment.

The most common problems are:

Cases are not properly charged, resulting in a lack of prosecution;

Properly charged cases are often plea bargained down or dismissed;

Reports made to child protective agencies are not documented or investigated;

There is a general lack of awareness of the breadth and scope of the issue;

Divorced parents who are confronted with this issue face legal challenges and the financial risk of subjecting themselves to civil contempt actions by refusing visitation privileges;

Many lack the financial resources to seek relief in the civil court court system.

Child abuse or neglect is defined in Black's Law Dictionary as:

"When a child's parent or custodian, by reason of cruelty, mental capacity, immorality or depravity, is unfit to properly care for him or her, neglects or refuses to provide necessary physical, affectional, medical, surgical or institutional care for him or her or is under such improper care or control as to endanger his or her morals or health."

Child endangerment as it pertains to impaired driving falls into the above legal definition of child abuse. An impaired parent or caregiver who knowingly puts a child in the car with the intent to drive is making a choice. This choice falls under the "improper care…as to endanger his or her [the child/children's] morals or health."

Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and non-fatally injure someone every two minutes. More than half of the 414 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-related crashes during 2005 were riding with the drinking driver. Forty-eight children age 14 years and younger were killed as pedestrians or cyclist were struck by impaired drivers according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Despite the severity of the punishment for driving under the influence with a child in the car on a reasonably regular basis, law enforcement officers report making DUI arrests of people who have children in their vehicles.

Many of our clients do not realize that Virginia, North Carolina, and most other states usually allow a spouse or child to make a personal injury or wrongful death claim (and/ or file suit) against another spouse or parent. This odd situation arises when a careless parent causes the wrongful death of their own child, or causes serious personal injuries. Virtually every car insurance policy would provide liability coverage to the driver/parent, despite the claimant being a spouse or even a child. A guardian or "next best friend" is appointed for purposes of being the child's representative in a lawsuit of this type. Often, the difficult decision becomes economically obvious. There may be no source of compensation for the spouse or child's injuries otherwise. We have handled many injury claims where a wife recovers from a husband, or where the back seat passenger children must make a personal injury claim against the driver/parent.

CSX Raises Speed of Trains in North Carolina

In Matthews, North Carolina (NC) CSX train speeds will be increased. On July 15, 2007 it will increase from 30 to 40 mph and then again on July 22, 2007 to 49 mpg. CSX states that the higher speeds will increase the efficiency of train operations, reduce the waiting time for motorists, and shouldn’t increase the danger. CSX says that the public will probably not notice a difference since there will still be a standard 22 second warning light. Matthews, North Carolina (NC) has railroad crossings on Campus Ridge, Tank Town, and Crestdale roads.

Here are a few tips to follow while at railroad crossings, offered by CSX: Never try to beat a train because it takes up to a mile for a train to stop after the emergency brake is applied. Always expect a train at the crossing and look in both directions to see if a train is going by.

Our law firm specializes in suing the major railroads, like CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Amtrak, so we watch what they do closely. Railroad crossings accidents are fairly common and it is the occupant of the motor vehicle who is likely to be killed or seriously injured in one of these wrecks. Be careful as railroad companies often see claims for death or injury at crossings as just a cost of doing business.

Chesapeake, Virginia (VA) Parents’ Lawsuit for Dog Attack

Kayla, an 8 year old girl from Chesapeake, Virginia (VA), was mauled by a pit bull on March 8, 2007. The child was rushed to Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia (VA). She was delivering Girl Scout cookies when the dog lunged at her arm, leaving her with 70 to 100 stitches. The parents sued to recover for the child’s injuries in the Chesapeake Circuit Court, in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA).

Barbara Waters, Cecil Hawk, and Sherry Hawk, the defendants in the case, were described as either the owners, keepers or harborers of Dixie, their pit bull. Dixie was euthanized at Chesapeake Animal Control. The family’s medical damages were more than $20,000 and their attorney is seeking $250,000 from each defendant.

As lawyers handling accident and injury cases in Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) we have had numerous clients hurt by dogs and careless pet owners. The trick is to find homeowner’s insurance coverage. This insurance is the type that pays the recovery in dog bite cases. You hope you don’t get attacked by a dog, but if you do, hope that the pet owners have home owners’ insurance, or you may be without a recovery for your injury.

Virginia (VA) Man Injured by Negligent Driver Settles Case

On April 2005 at 5:45 a.m., while driving on US 29 in Centreville, Virginia (VA), the defendant made a left turn, blocking the plaintiff’s vehicle. Testimony from an eyewitness stated that the defendant’s tractor trailer was not visible at the time of the crash. The plaintiff suffered a transverse acetabular fracture, right-side rib fractures and a crush injury to the left wrist causing him to undergo extensive reconstructive surgery. The 38 year old also had a hip replacement and will now walk with a cane for the rest of his life.

A suit was filed against the driver, his employer, and the owner of the tractor trailer in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia (VA). According to the Virginia Lawyers Weekly the suit alleged negligence “per se” based on numerous safety violations, including the failure of the driver and company to properly inspect the vehicle to insure that the trailer was equipped with proper safety equipment. After suit was filed the case was settled for $700,000.

Truck Drivers at Risk from Accidents and More

1.3 million long-haul drivers need serious medical attention. Nearly 15 percent of truck drivers in the U.S die from work related accidents as published in The Virginian Pilot. New research has shown that truck drivers are at an elevated risk including numerous health problems such as obesity and smoking. 25 percent have sleep apnea and 50 percent are smokers. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is considering the possibility of tightening health requirements in the trucking industry. They already have requirements for diabetes and high blood pressure.

As a personal injury and accident lawyer in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), I was amazed by that first number that over 1of every 10 truck drivers will die from wrecks behind the wheel of a semi. Wow! This makes it another dangerous job in transportation right up there with railroading which has historically been one of the nation’s most hazardous jobs.

Our firm has seen a rise in accident lawsuits where the at fault driver claims to have blacked out. Then, we as the plaintiff’s attorney must get into the driver’s medical records to see if they had a sudden emergency as claimed, or negligently failed to get care for sleep apnea, diabetes, etc.

Infant Settlement of $8.35 Million in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA)

While a passenger in a car being driven on Tidewater Drive in Norfolk, Virginia (VA), a four year old girl was injured by a speeding car. The defendant was late to an appointment and sped through a red light, hitting the car in which the child was a passenger. The child was left in a coma for 14 days and, when she woke up, had apparently suffered extensive brain injuries.

She then underwent 30 days of rehabilitation at Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters. Doctors performed a number of tests and scans, revealing many behavioral and memory problems. She was diagnosed with a severe traumatic brain injury, brain dysfunction, and attention-deficit disorder. The insurance company for the at fault driver claimed that the girl was an average student and that with medication her problems would be under control. However, the Plaintiff’s experts stated that she would need 24 hour supervision in a care facility.

The large settlement was recently achieved by lawyers from Norfolk, Virginia (VA). They must have done a great job for the family of the injured girl. The lucky thing is that there was lots of insurance available from St. Paul Travelers and Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Companies. The Defendant was an employee of a local TV station which resulted in the large commercial insurance policy. With a brain injury, having a deep pocket is important because of the huge future life care costs to the injured person.

Fireworks in North Carolina (NC) and Virginia (VA) Pose Danger

There were at least 300 calls to 911 operators in the Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) and the Outer Banks (NC) areas on July 4, all of which dealt with the illegal use of fireworks. With the dry climate many brushfires were also called in from Portsmouth, Virginia (VA), Chesapeake, Virginia (VA), and Manteo, North Carolina (NC). Some of these brushfires were even caused by professional pyrotechnics.
Norfolk, Virginia (VA) authorities confiscated over $15,000 worth of fireworks from people illegally selling them to Virginia (VA) residents. These profiteers may receive 12 months in jail and fines of up to $2,500.

Fireworks may be fun to watch and use during the holidays, but can be very dangerous and cause serious personal injuries, burns, eye injuries or permanent scarring. Faulty and defective fireworks can also lead to products liability claims, if they cause injuries. If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence or carelessness of others, please call our law firm.

Errors in the Healthcare System Could Potentially Kill You

About 98,000 people die a year because of a mistake made by health professionals, making medical error the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. Many of these deaths are caused by the lack of communication between your health care providers. This however may be prevented by the acute care clinical information system (CIS) which has all of your records on file. This computer has the power to store and revise information including: medical records, medications, lab results, and current treatments. Simple errors shouldn’t cost you you’re life. As hospitals and doctors get more up to date with technology, many medical mistakes of the past can be avoided, like prescribing conflicting drugs.

If you have suffered because of an error made by a health care professional contact Hajek, Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis, & Appleton. Your health is important to your family and us. It never hurts to call an injury lawyer as we work only on a percentage basis, so unless you make a recovery you owe us nothing.

Elderly Woman Conned by Insurance Company

Vera Smith purchased a policy from Penn Treaty which promised her that she and her family would be protected from her medical costs as she aged. Penn Treaty promises that your “home” is “your personal residence, whether it be in a private dwelling, a home for the retired or aged, or a residential care facility”. In 2000 she upgraded her policy, but many benefits were dropped from her old plan.

As Vera became older and battling Alzheimer’s, she was forced to move in with her daughter. Her daughter built an add on, which was handicap accessible and called Penn Treaty to let them know of the change of address. However, Penn Treaty did not accept this living arrangement because it was not the policy’s definition of “home.” Vera’s daughter sent in pictures of the home addition and receipts for the lease her mother paid her each month (which she signed being power of attorney for her mother). But Penn Treaty still did not accept this, saying that they did not accept anything signed by another person besides Vera. Penn Treaty continued to deny benefits but Vera’s daughter remained persistent, filing a bad-faith complaint in state court which the insurer finally settled.

Virginia (VA) Woman Killed by Reckless Recreational Vehicle (RV)

According to a published report in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly, a major Virginia (VA) wrongful death claim recently settled. Driving down I -95, Jeanette Walker, experiencing car problems, pulled onto the shoulder and stepped out of the car, leaving her 3 children in the car. While she was walking towards a nearby exit, an oncoming recreational vehicle (RV) swerved off the road. The impact of the recreational vehicle (RV) was no match for Ms. Walker and she later died at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals in Richmond, Virginia (VA).

The recreational vehicle (RV) was owned by a man in New Hampshire, but was being used at the time by a 16 year old, Travis Salo, and his 6 teenage friends. Salo told police at the scene that he fell asleep behind the wheel on their journey from New Hampshire to Florida. Nationwide Insurance Company offered $300,000 in coverage on the recreational vehicle (RV) and Allstate Insurance Company offered $100,000 coverage on defendant Salo. The recreational vehicle (RV) owner had an umbrella policy on the recreational vehicle (RV), but Nationwide initially refused to increase the offer of settlement. The case was settled for 1.5 million during seven hours of mediation.

New Dog Registry Allows Virginians to Find Dangerous Dogs

This month the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services brought to the public the new online dog registry in Virginia (VA). This registry is for dogs deemed dangerous by a judge. Using the website, www.vdacs.virginia.gov, you can find dogs in your area by simply typing in your ZIP code.

Many dog owners however feel that it is unfair to bunch dogs that have killed people with ones that have only caused minor damage. They also hate that they have to go through such great lengths to keep their dogs, such as acquiring insurance for up to $100,000 as well as abiding by the registry requirements which include: paying the state $100 and local government $35 annually. If these fees are not paid, owners are liable to receive up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Dog bite injuries are a serious problem. Many times the victim of these accidents is a child and the resulting medical problem is a facial injury and scarring. As a firm, we have helped Virginia (VA) families with these often tragic cases. The new Virginia (VA) registry may help us win these dog bite lawsuits by increasing the available proof of notice of danger to the owners and the available insurance.

Attorney John M. Cooper to Present at Lawyer Seminar in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA)

John M. Cooper of Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton will be teaching to other personal injury attorneys on September 25, 2007 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). The seminar is entitled How to Successfully Resolve Automobile Injury Cases. Mr. Cooper received his B.A. from University of California at Berkeley and his J. D. degree from the University of Virginia. John M. Cooper has lectured at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) on Medical Malpractice issues and for the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association on trial issues. This 5 segment program taught by John Cooper will give Virginia attorneys new strategies to use in their own trials involving automobile injury cases. They will learn the following: Initial Considerations for the Plaintiff, Defense Planning for the Automobile Accident Case, Favorable Settlement Methods and Proposals, Ethical Considerations, and Winning Trial Techniques.

Railroads Seeking Younger Generation of Workers

With an extreme shortage in employees, from many older employees retiring, and going out on occupational disability, railroads are turning to a younger crowd. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) estimates that in the next five years 80,000 new rail technicians will be needed. Union Pacific is recruiting everyone from high school graduates to engineers and those with military backgrounds. Most workers average an income of about $67,000 a year plus benefits.

The reason for this sudden need for railway workers came about in 2001 when employment laws changed. The law allowed workers having 30 years or more of experience to retire at the age of 60 (U.S Railroad Retirement Board). The demand for railroad workers has increased from numerous factors besides retirement. The Virginian Pilot noted: “These include the growth in container shipping; limits on how many hours long-haul truckers could drive; soaring gas prices; the Wyoming coal boom; and the demand for Midwestern corn for ethanol development.”

The railways are spending 9.4 billion to increase rail capacity according to The Association of American Railroads (AAR). This is because railroads are hauling freight more than ever. 5.8 million Carloads were hauled in the first few months of 2007 which leaves an ever increasing need for workers right now. However, much experience will be lost from the workers who are retiring. The new workers replacing them will not have as much experience and will therefore be more prone to personal injuries.

We routinely represent rail workers hurt on the job in FELA cases. Our law firm finds that younger workers may be less aware of their FELA rights to make claims for injuries against their railroad company employers. The newer rail worker, whether conductor, engineer, track man, or car man, is more likely to have a catastrophic loss like brain injury, broken bones, loss of limb, or even death, often because of insufficient training.

New Driving Safety Laws Take Effect in VA

With the ever enlarging rate of car fatalities and injuries, new laws have been put into effect by the Virginia (VA) legislature. These new Virginia (VA) laws are to include the following:

The mandated age for safety seats, which previously required these seats for any children under the age of 6, has now been raised to the age of 8.

Some of Virginia Beach’s stop lights will now have security cameras on at all times to catch red light violators who will be mailed their tickets.

Bad driving will now have worse consequences attached. For every major violation, a heavy fine will ensue. Drivers under the influence will receive fines up to a total of $2,250, reckless drivers may receive $1,050 in fines, and suspended license drivers might be charged $750. These fines will be used for Virginia Beach (VA) transportation work.

Cell phones will now be illegal in cars by drivers under the age of 18. Penalties are to include heavy fines and/or loss of license.

These new laws and more can be found at http://legis.state.va.us/

Staph Superbug May Strike 5% of Patients

North Carolina House Approves Binding Arbitration in Med/Mal Cases

The North Carolina House of Representatives bill allows parties who both agree to binding arbitration to pursue it. In binding arbitration, each side presents his case to a neutral judge who determines what a fair value of the case is. This bill aims to "fast-track" smaller cases only, as it limits the amount of damages to $1 million.

Is Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) motorist relief plan stalled?

As a resident of Norfolk, Virginia (VA) who commutes to Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) for my work as a personal injury lawyer, I have watched with interest the progress our local Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) governments are making to approve a road plan to get traffic moving better in Southeastern Virginia (VA). My commute is actually a reverse one going from Norfolk, Virginia (VA) to Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) in the morning when most workers are going the opposite way. However, traffic in Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) has gotten bad enough to almost catch up with the traffic snarls for motorists in Northern Virginia (VA), outside of Washington D.C. This year the Virginia (VA) Legislature approved a plan that would allow the local governments to tax themselves to provide funds for road projects here in Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA). In order for this plan to pass 7 of the regions 12 localities must approve it. Thus far, the majority of the Tidewater, Virginia (VA) area residents already approved the plan by the vote of the City Councils in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Williamsburg, Virginia (VA). James City County voted yes on June 13, 2007. Three area municipalities have already voted no namely York County, Hampton, and Poquoson, Virginia (VA). One has indicated that it will probably vote no to improving the roads and those are, namely, Chesapeake, Virginia (VA). The Chesapeake vote is ironic because most of the new roads that will be funded by the plan will be in Chesapeake. That leaves that the fate of area motorist in the hands of the leaders of Isle of Wight, as well as the City of Suffolk. One of those three counsels must approve the plan, or it won’t happen. The problem is even with this plan the traffic problems will only begin to be addressed in the next 5 years. Without the plan there is almost no chance of any relief for a decade. One valid complaint about the road plan is that, instead of the Virginia State Legislature taxing everyone across the state to provide for the states road needs, they have pushed the problem onto the local governments. This is certainly less than perfect. However, this compromise plan to improve the roads is better than no improvement at all.

Although, quality of life and economic vitality are the main reasons why Hampton Roads needs highway funding, there are also public safety issues. Crowed roads and stop and go traffic on major highways are a big problem leading to automobile accidents and injuries. One of the main reasons that people have car crashes is because of variable speed of different vehicles on the road. One truck is trying to go 65 miles per hour as the expected speed on a major highway like Interstate 64 East in Norfolk, Virginia and a car is suddenly slowing to 30 miles per hour because of breaking vehicles ahead before the interchange heading to Chesapeake. This is a situation ripe for a collision. The truck may not be able to stop quickly enough because of the way brakes work on tractor trailers. The big rig could end up jack knifing or going out of control as a result of locking up his brakes in an effort to stop or slow suddenly because of the unexpected traffic.

Another scenario where wrecks regularly occur is also caused by highway bottlenecks for instance, when the traffic is really thick during the morning on Interstate 264, going from Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) into downtown Norfolk, the cars tend to get more compressed together rather than leaving the space they should between vehicles. If a person driving a minivan drastically slows because of the backed up traffic going through the downtown tunnel to Portsmouth, Virginia (VA), the commuter following too close right behind the van may rear end it if the commuter takes their eye off the road for just a second. We all know how common rear end collisions are. Once an accident happens on the highway, there is also a chance of chain reaction wrecks happening behind the first collision, causing more people to be hurt or even possibly killed.

Another problem that can occur as a result of snarled traffic is road rage. Some motorists get out of control angry as a result of being late for an appointment or just inconvenienced by the parking lot traffic trying to cross the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel to Hampton, Virginia. They may do something reckless in their driving, like trying to drive on the shoulder, or just being aggressive with their car or truck. Obviously, a person who is not able to control his emotions is a risk to other motorists as well as the passengers in his own car.

Finally, there is the public safety issue of hurricane evacuation. Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) has the benefit of being on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. This also makes us susceptible to hurricanes and flooding. One of the main things that would be improved as far as public safety by improving the highway system would be to allow people to better escape in the event of an emergency. One of the main evacuation routes would be for residents of Chesapeake to get out of town to the west on route 460 tow

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