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Hampton Roads toxic drywall victims take their battle to state insurance officials

John Cooper — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:07:56 GMT

Hampton Roads homeowners saddled with toxic Chinese drywall are facing another challenge: Getting home insurance companies to cover their losses.

"I always thought insurance would cover this,” homeowner Larry Ward told WAVY-TV earlier this week. “I went right to my insurance company asked them about this. Evidently there are some exclusions in every policy.”

I wrote about this difficult issue in October, and my colleague Jim Lewis wrote about a tour federal officials took of Chinese drywall-afflicted homes in Hampton Roads.

Many insurance policies have “pollution exclusions,” often taken to refer to something outside the home – a chemical spill, for example – damaging the inside of the home.

But it’s not clear whether pollution exclusions cover the damage caused by toxic Chinese drywall. However, insurance companies have denied toxic Chinese drywall claims in other states by citing the pollution exclusion.

State insurance officials in Virginia are studying the issue; Virginia Beach City Councilman Bill DeSteph wants the state insurance commissioner to rule that the pollution exclusion can’t be applied to Chinese drywall. DeSteph has also been lobbying on behalf of residents in the General Assembly.

Meanwhile, Ward has had to abandon his home, fearing for the safety of his children. Repair quotes from contractors have run from $220,000 to $450,000. His insurer has not denied his claim, but it hasn’t accepted it either. He told WAVY that his claim is now in his insurance company’s litigation department.

"You just have no clue of what damage it's causing, and how frustrating it is to have a beautiful home and have to walk away from that home," Ward told WAVY.

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, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers.

(MM)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

FAA system failure raises safety concerns

Emily Mapp Brannon — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:59:19 GMT

The system that failed is the behind-the-scenes communication network the Federal Aviation Administration uses to track flight times and paths, The New York Times reported.

Without it, The Times reported, airlines were forced to fax flight plans to the FAA, and then air-traffic controllers had to type the flight plans into the FAA computer manually.

Those flight plans usually include hundreds of numbers and letters, as well as the kind of aircraft, place of departure, and precise en route flight plan – checkpoints, altitudes, and more, The Times said.

A bad circuit board was blamed for the glitch, the Los Angeles Times reported. And while federal officials emphasized that passenger safety was never an issue – radars, radios and other critical systems continued to work – the failure raises yet more troubling questions about the FAA’s technology situation.

“The aviation agency’s data processing system has a variety of problems,” The New York Times said. “While it was hailed as a marvel when it was introduced decades ago, much of it is written in obsolete computer language and the agency has been slow to provide updates.”

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta was hit especially hard, with AirTran cancelling 30 flights and Delta Air Lines cancelling 54. Hundreds more were delayed, the Los Angeles newspaper said.

(MM)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Emily Mapp Brannon

AMA Guidelines For Permanent Partial Impairment Ratings Are An Important Piece Of The Personal Injury Puzzle

John Cooper — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:12:04 GMT

As a personal injury lawyer, it is important to use the AMA guides to permanent partial impairment to your client's advantage. AMA is the American Medical Association, which is the primary national professional group for doctors. They publish and periodically revise a book that sets forth how to quantify permanent partial impairments of various parts of the body after an injury. Most orthopaedic doctors, who are the primary specialists for bone and musculoskeletal injuries, are familiar with this set of guidelines. Personal injury lawyers need to be very familiar with them as well to make sure that they use them whenever possible to help get maximum compensation for people who are hurt in car wrecks and other injury cases.

There are essentially two types of impairment guidelines within the rating system. One type is based upon diagnosis of the injury saying if you have had a herniated disc in your back with surgery and have certain residual symptoms, that you get a certain percentage of permanent partial impairment rating. The other set of guidelines looks at range of motion problems to evaluate how permanently injured the person is. The minimum ratings for injuries are between 3 and 5 percent.

It is extremely important that the lawyer be aware of how the guidelines will likely come out in his client's case where there are permanent injuries . Then, in an appropriate case, the attorney can ask the doctor to do an AMA impairment rating. Often, this requires a separate doctor visit for the orthopedist to have the most recent information about the plaintiff's continuing injury. Obviously, the doctor has to be paid for his time in analyzing these issues and issuing a written report. The personal injury law firm can pay for this forensic examination as a client cost advance. This means that the client does not have to pay for it out of their pocket, but will reimburse the firm at the end of the case. Typically, the fees charged by orthopedists for such an evaluation are not insignificant, likely ranging from several hundred dollars to over $1,000.00 depending upon the community.

Because of the standardized and objective way that AMA impairment ratings are done, the insurance companies evaluating automobile wreck cases must pay attention to them. Having this evidence of permanent injury confirms the value of the case and can often result in more money for the client than the same injury file without this proof. To the extent the injury case has to go to trial, some very strong arguments can be made from this evidence of injury. For example, you can say that a person is like a valuable, famous painting. If you take a painting and cut 20% out of it, you have essentially destroyed the work of art. Given that some paintings sell at auction for $20 million dollars, what is a damaged human life worth? These kinds of proof and argument in serious injury cases are often the difference between a significant win and a less than satisfactory result.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

International Paper Killing Jobs in Franklin, Virginia (VA)

John Cooper — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:21:01 GMT

In today's tough economic times, no one can really be certain about keeping their jobs. This truth hit the people of Franklin, Virginia (VA) very hard, when they learned that a local paper mill was closing. This mill employed over 1,000 people, all of which are now going to be without work.

Carroll Story, the president of the United Steelworkers local that represents the workers, said: "Right now, everyone is in a hole. They're in a daze, a dream. They're like, 'What happened?' "

"You have people here 30, 40 years, and this is all that they've ever done," said Story, 49, who has worked at the mill for 31 years. "It's going to be devastating to the community. There's not enough work in this area to absorb this work force."

The Memphis-based company, International Paper, has been closing several mills around the country, but shutting down the Franklin mill alone is going to account for more than 2/3 of the company's recent lay-offs.

While the laid-off employees will be getting severance packages, and job-placement assistance, it will be difficult for the surrounding community of Isle of Wight County, Virginia to absorb the new pool of labor. Thus, a community that has depended on this mill since 1887 is now going to be forced to undergo drastic changes.

The paper company's representatives claim that it was a difficult decision for them, and in no way reflected on the employees' skills or hard work, but many in Franklin are now bitter about the way big business has chosen profit over people. Often, a corporation, in selling a plant, will refuse to sell it to anyone who competes with the company pulling out in paper products which is likely the best use for the property and would be the easiest way to reuse the factory.

It is certainly a difficult situation for everyone involved, but my heart goes out especially to the citizens of Franklin, Virginia, who are the most recent victims of the recession and the greed of corporate America. Loss of your job is a devastating problem for a worker or family to face. Although the people of Franklin will survive this body blow, it is sad that the company did not do more to prevent this damage to people who had given so much to the business for so long.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Will Dangerous Ammonia Refrigeration Systems be Phased Out?

John Cooper — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:47:23 GMT

Every year ammonia refrigeration systems cause accidents and explosions in large commercial factories across the United States. Although large companies are aware of the risks of using ammonia refrigeration, it is very important that companies inform their workers of these risks as well. Workers who may be exposed to ammonia or become victims of an ammonia blast should know the potentially lethal effects of this chemical. Even a small leak in these refrigeration systems can have deadly consequences if not caught in time. Ammonia refrigeration is very dangerous because when the chemical is mixed with air in the 16%-25% range it can cause a large explosion capable of leveling an entire building. The ammonia itself is also very toxic and is corrosive to the eyes, skin, and lungs. Workers involved in ammonia accidents of this type are likely to sustain severe injuries and burns if they survive. Even though ammonia is a serious health hazard, many large corporations choose to use this type of refrigeration because of ammonia’s heat transferring properties, its cost effectiveness, its wide availability, and its low impact on the environment.

As OSHA and EPA regulations for ammonia refrigeration systems are becoming more stringent, corporations and insurance companies are looking for an alternative to ammonia refrigeration that would also minimize the safety risk to workers. It seems that carbon dioxide may be a good candidate for future refrigeration systems. Carbon dioxide refrigeration is already being widely used in Europe because unlike ammonia, carbon dioxide does not pose a health risk and is non-toxic and non-flammable. Since carbon dioxide is a benign chemical it is also not heavily regulated by OSHA or the EPA. Carbon dioxide does have some drawbacks however. Carbon dioxide is very effective for use in freezers, and coolers in the low range of the temperature scale, but is not very effective for the high side of the scale for use in an engine room or condensers because carbon dioxide has to be highly pressurized.

However, many companies have found that using both ammonia and carbon dioxide is a very effective method. Using both chemicals allows for effective use with low and high scales. It also increases safety because concentrations of ammonia will be lower and the ammonia will be contained in areas such as engine rooms far away from workers. This method using both ammonia and carbon dioxide is called a CO₂/Ammonia Cascade System and it is likely to replace refrigeration systems that use ammonia alone in the next few years. Greenhouse gases called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) that have been commonly used as refrigerants are being banned and phased out in most developed countries including the United States. These bans have led companies to seek alternative refrigerants that do not have a negative impact on the environment. As the United States is scheduled to conclude its phase out of HCFCs by 2030, refrigerants such as ammonia and carbon dioxide that are non-ozone depleting will be more widely used. The CO₂/Ammonia Cascade System that offers the advantage of increased safety may very well be the future of refrigeration.

 

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.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Med Pay - The Forgotten Insurance Coverage

John Cooper — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 16:02:59 GMT

Medical payments ("med pay" for short) coverage, an option on automobile insurance, is extremely important to getting a good result in a personal injury case arising out of a car crash.

Many people forget about med pay. Because it is an optional coverage on your automobile insurance, people do not always buy it. Medical payments coverage says that if you or anyone else gets hurt arising out of the use of your vehicle, that the insurance company will pay medical expenses up to a certain dollar figure regardless of fault. Typically, it is sold in increments of $1,000.00 or $5,000.00. So, med pay covers you if you are driving and you run your own car into a tree. It would cover medical bills of up to $1,000.00 limits or whatever you buy, even if you caused the accident yourself. It would also do the same for any passengers in your vehicle. Moreover, if you or a family member are hurt in someone else's car, your medical payments coverage would kick in if they don't have any, or over and above the car owner's, if they do have medical payments coverage.

The reason insurance companies don't try to sell this coverage very hard to consumers is that it is a very good deal for consumers and not such a great deal for the insurance companies. Typically, $1,000.00 worth of med pay coverage will only cost $20.00 per year. I, myself, carry $10,000.00 worth of medical payments coverage on my vehicle. It is such a good deal that nobody who can afford it should go without it. However, when I ask clients about it in the context of their automobile wreck and injury, they often do not know whether they have it or not. Typically, we have to look at their declaration sheet showing the coverages they have or to write to their insurer to find out.

If you are in an accident that is not your fault and our firm is representing you, we will collect any med pay without a fee on the medical payments money. The reason is that it is so easy to collect using the same medical bills and records we use against the at-fault driver. In fact, the ethics rules in Virginia require that in an uncontested medical payments case, that the lawyer not charge a fee. I have seen some attorneys, sadly even experienced ones, doing personal injury and not obeying this ethics rule.

Using your med pay is an advantage to you. It allows me, as your attorney, to get you more money for your personal injury case. The dollars in your pocket end up better if you have med pay. The defendant, at-fault driver, is still responsible for the full amount of your medical bills, as if med pay did not cover any of them, at least in Virginia. The fact that medical payments coverage is used to pay your bills from an accident does not lessen the responsibility of the at-fault driver. All it does is sweeten the amount of money that I am able to put in your pocket as a result of an injury case. The amount of medical payments coverage is often the difference between being able to have an acceptable result and getting the case settled, rather than a less happy result. These days, the insurance companies are being unfair in how much money they are willing to pay in many personal injury cases . If I can get all your bills satisfied through medical payments coverage, then we are in a much better position to make the numbers work for you. This is especially true if you do not have health insurance.

So, my advice to you is to go and check your declaration sheet or call your insurance agent to find out whether you have medical payments coverage on your policy. If you don't, go ahead and get it. I hope you do not need it, but you will be glad to know it's there when an injury occurs. You can add it even in the middle of your policy period and do not have to wait until your next renewal. Of course, medical payments coverage only applies if you had it at the time that the car wreck occurred. Finally, there are other tricky aspects of medical payments, such as the fact that you can stack your medical payments, if you have multiple cars on one policy. For example, in Virginia, if you and your spouse have one State Farm policy with $1,000.00 worth of medical payments coverage, you really have $2,000.00 worth of available coverage. You multiply the number of cars on the policy times the limits of med pay.

Knowing how to deal with med pay is one of the reasons that you want an experienced personal injury attorney who focuses on injury cases exclusively. With me and my firm, you have that experience and dedication to one particular field of law.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Children Hurt at Daycare Centers

John Cooper — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:22:31 GMT

With more Americans having to have two incomes to make ends meet, more and more people have to put their kids in daycare from early ages. Parents often assume that they are entrusting their child's safety to a responsible and caring adult, but this is sadly not always the case. Stories of children dying from neglect at daycares, or suffering from physical or sexual abuse at the hands of their work day guardians are becoming more and more frequent.

The story of a 22 year-old Virginia woman who is accused of "striking, slapping and sitting on" an 18 month-old baby at the daycare center where she worked is no exception.

According to a local news source:

Ila Howell of Suffolk, who worked at the First Baptist day care center on Main Street, is accused of striking, slapping and sitting on the child who was in the care of the center, said Debbie George, police spokeswoman. The incidents reportedly occurred in the last two weeks of October.

Police issued warrants for Howell's arrest Friday but could not locate her, George said. She turned herself in to police Saturday morning.

Howell faces three counts of misdemeanor simple assault. She was released from Western Tidewater Regional Jail on $1,000 bond.

This is a woman who was hired to be a caregiver to young children. The fact that she exhibited this type of aggressive behavior while on the job is inexcusable. What makes this story worse is that this daycare had already been investigated for inappropriate forms of discipline, but the complaints were thrown out.

We need to know that our children are safe, even when we cannot personally see to their safety. This is the responsibility of daycare owners and employees, and anyone who would shirk such an important responsibility should not be in the daycare business.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Woman Gets $8 Million Verdict from Richmond, Virginia (VA) Jury

John Cooper — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:47:13 GMT

A Richmond Circuit Court jury has returned an $8 million verdict to a Richmond woman in a law suit against the Greater Richmond Transit Bus (GRTC), the company that provides mass transit throughout the Richmond, Virginia (VA) area.

The accident happened within sight of the Richmond, Virginia (VA) courthouse. The woman was walking to the Library of Virginia, where she is a research Liberian, when she was struck by a GRTC bus on Marshall Street. The accident caused her to suffer fractures in her right shoulder blade, back, right sacrum, and left hip socket.

Thankfully, she mostly recovered from her injuries; however, she incurred $180,000 in medical bills. The woman also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. According to her lawyer, the extent of her mental anguish was so severe that she was advised by a counselor and a psychotherapist not to be present in the courtroom during the trial. She will require $400,000 for future medical treatment.

The bus company admitted liability for the woman’s injuries and the jury returned an $8 million dollar verdict.

The lawyers at Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton would like to congratulate Jason Konvicka on obtaining a strong result for his client. It was truly a job well done.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Feds link toxic Chinese drywall to corrosion in homes

Emily Mapp Brannon — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:06:00 GMT

Federal officials have found a “strong association” between toxic Chinese drywall and corrosion of electrical systems in homes, according to The New York Times.

The conclusion is one of the few public statements from the federal government that the drywall is at fault for problems in thousands of homes.

The toxic drywall issue is important to many Hampton Roads homeowners, where toxic drywall has forced countless people from their homes.

My colleague John Cooper wrote recently about a number of area homeowners who traveled to Richmond to lobby lawmakers and regulators on the issue.

“The real suspect can now be confirmed,” Jack McCarthy, president of Environmental Health & Engineering, told The Times. His company studied 51 homes for the government. “There’s a strong association with the drywall and hydrogen sulfide and the corrosion that we see in these homes. Temperature, humidity and air exchange rates are contributing factors.”

Homeowners in the South are most at risk, the study found. High temperatures, high humidity, and confined air circulation in well-insulated air-conditioned homes all bring the toxic hydrogen sulfide out of the drywall.

The finding comes from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency that has been the locus of complaints from homeowners. More than 2,000 homeowners have complained to the federal government about the drywall.

The commission declined to link the toxic drywall to the health problems that many homeowners have suffered. However, it is studying how to get homeowners financial aid. It has also asked the Internal Revenue Service to permit deductions of drywall-replacement costs as a casualty loss.

(MM)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Emily Mapp Brannon

Falling trees: The silent danger in storms

Jim Lewis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:17:57 GMT

Last week’s nor’easter has reminded us of a silent danger – large trees at risk of falling down in a storm and injuring someone.

The risk of injury isn’t trivial – a 17-year-old Newport News boy was badly hurt when a tree more than six feet in diameter fell into his family’s trailer at Warwick Mobile Home Estates at 12095 Jefferson Ave. on Nov. 12.

My colleague Rick Shapiro has written recently about a number of other storm dangers, including drowning while driving, chainsaw safety and generator safety.

The Newport News teen told WAVY-TV that he was sitting on his living-room couch and watching TV – hoping school would be cancelled – when his life changed forever.

"All of a sudden the house started shaking. I thought it was, like, an earthquake," the boy told WAVY.

The tree cut the trailer in half and tore off the roof. It took a crew from Hampton Roads Crane & Rigging Co. – using a 60-ton crane – two hours to lift the tree and free the boy, whose legs were pinned to the floor.

The boy has been released from the hospital after surgery and x-rays. While he didn’t break any bones, the Daily Press reported, he did suffer some nerve damage in his back and legs.

In a case where a tree causes not only personal injury but property damages, the legal issues of responsibility often involve whether a business or homeowner was aware that the tree was in a weakened condition, or was actually a dead tree, as several examples. If the damages orginates from a condition on the business/homeowner property, and if the responsible person/entity knew or should have known of the danger, liability may attach under the law. Injury attorneys must explore these issues and all potential sources of insurance, such as homeowners, or property/liability insurance.

Proper care and maintenance can often prevent trees from falling down as the tree in Newport News did. Tips include: frequent and proper pruning, avoiding damage with lawn mowers and other yard equipment, and digging too close to the tree.

(MM)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jim Lewis