Virginia (VA) Personal Injury law firm news

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). I am an injury lawyer from Portsmouth, so this medical risk to kids in my home town bothers me a lot. According to published reports in the Virginian Pilot, the federal government is still trying to help fund dealing with lead contamination in housing in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA). Lead poisoning injuries especially affect children younger than 6, with devastating results including permanent brain injury.

The health risk of lead poisoning is mostly in the low income housing in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA) older neighborhoods. Portsmouth is not alone in that many older cities with aging public housing face similar problems. For example, locally there are known lead contaminated dwellings in Newport News, Virginia (VA), and Surry County, Virginia (VA). Homes built before 1950 tend to be the biggest hazards. Through increased education about the problem, the national number for elevated lead levels in children was down to 310,000 in 2002 compared to over 13 million kids in 1978 based on number from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Although, I am hopeful as an injury lawyer about the decreasing numbers of reported cases, lead paint is still an ongoing problem in Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) and in the lives of young people who have brain damage and slowed growth because of their exposure to this toxic substance in their homes. If you think your loved one may have been exposed to lead, please call us about making an insurance claim. Lawsuits have brought more public awareness of this threat to children’s health.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the NE North Carolina (NC) border and handles car,truck,railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

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How can you identify a top Virginia injury lawyer for your case? Look no further.

Our VA personal injury lawyers have been selected for many accolades.

Two of the attorneys with our Virginia Beach accident injury law firm, James Lewis and Rick Shapiro, have been named the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Two of our VA injury lawyers -- Lewis and Shapiro - have been named to Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury since 2010. In addition, Lewis and Shapiro have been selected for inclusion in the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. 

Our VA accident injury law firm was the first in the commonwealth nvited to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Rick Shapiro was named as one of the Top 100 Injury Lawyers in Virginia by the National Trial Lawyers Association.

In October, 2000 our law firm and co-counsel obtained what was then the largest verdict in Virginia's history for an injured person. Our brain damaged client received an initial award of $46 million that rose to $60 million with interest when the defendant abandoned an appeal and agreed to settle. 

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

In Virginia, this includes Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Richmond, Petersburg, Roanoke, Salem, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Ashland, Big Stone Gap, and every community on the Eastern Shore, including Accomack, Onancock, Chincoteauge, Wachapreague, and Cape Charles, Bloxom, Eastville, Exmore, Greenbackville, Machipongo, Mappsville, Melfa, Nassawadox, Onley, Tangier, Temperanceville, Wachapreague and Wallops Island.

In West Virginia, we can handle personal injury claims in Bluefield, Beckley, Bridgeport, Charles Town, Charleston, Fairmont, Huntington, Lewisburg, Madison, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville, Parkersburg, Ripley, Sutton, Weirton, Wheeling and any other town or county.

Injury Lawyers licensed in VA, WV, North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC.