Automobile Accidents

• Beauracratic Problems At Veteran's Administration Hospitals Is Not New

  John Cooper | March 19, 2007 9:38 AM | 0 CommentsNorfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton, VA

  The news has been filled lately with problems at VA hospitals and Walter Reed Medical Center in particular. The problems range from decrepit, unsanitary facilities to long waits and beauracractic indifference to injured soldiers. Unfortunately, this was not news to me as a lawyer working on cases for military families who are hurt by someone's negligence. Over my 18 years of doing personal...

• Teen Driven Cars - A Dangerous But Inevitable Combination

  John Cooper | March 01, 2007 4:03 PM | 0 CommentsNorfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton, VA

  Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for 18 to 20 year old people in America. About 5,500 deaths and 450,000 injuries occur each year involving teen driving.Wrecks involving teens are probably most attributable to inexperience and judgment errors caused by not having enough time behind the wheel. Thus, practice driving is key. Each state, including Virginia, mandates a certain...

• Hampton Roads - A Collection of Separate City and County Courts

  John Cooper | February 28, 2007 3:57 PM | 0 CommentsNorfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton, VA

  The regional planners and chambers of commerce have been trying for a decade to come up with a unified name for Southeastern Virginia having settled on Hampton Roads. When I grew up in Norfolk, Virginia in the 1960's, this area was commonly called Tidewater. Whatever the name, the region containing a million and a half people really is a collection of smaller jurisdictions. A personal injury...

• Structured Settlements

  John Cooper | January 15, 2007 10:32 AM | 0 CommentsNorfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton, VA

  In a big recovery from a wrongful death or injury matter, structured settlements can make a huge difference for the client.Structured settlements are an important thing for a personal injury lawyer to know about and to explain to a client in any significant case. Structured settlements are an option under a special provision of the federal tax law that allows money received from personal...

• Picking The Right Injury Attorney

  John Cooper | December 27, 2006 10:21 AM | 0 CommentsNorfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton, VA

  Choosing the right attorney to handle your injury case is an important decision. You shouldn't just take anyone who claims to do injury work off the TV. Many of the best personal injury lawyers do not advertise on TV (because they do not have to). The kinds of clients who use the television to select their personal injury lawyer are often the least informed consumers. For example, if you want...

• Unfair Law of Contributory Negligence Still King in Virginia

  John Cooper | November 28, 2006 9:21 AM | 0 CommentsNorfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton, VA

  Many people do not realize that Virginia keeps an ancient English law on the books for car wreck cases and other torts saying that if the injured person is 1% at fault, they shall recover nothing.The rule of contributory negligence says that the injured person has to have acted reasonably for his own safety or he gets nothing. If the person who was hurt by the clear negligence of another is...

• Big Business vs. The Little Guy

  John Cooper | November 21, 2006 12:05 PM | 0 CommentsNorfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton, VA

  It never ceases to amaze me how big insurance companies and corporations do everything in their power to prevent people from being able to make injury claims when they get hurt.Big businesses use all of their money and leverage to try to pay as little as they can get away with paying in all regards. One of the easiest things for them to do is to limit the rights of regular citizens, "the little...

• The Hospital Emergency Room Is No Place For A Sick Person

  John Cooper | November 02, 2006 2:37 PM | 0 CommentsNorfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton, VA

  Hospital emergency rooms are stretched to the limits, which can lead to medical mistakes.A 1999 study showed that more than half of all preventable hospital error claims result from mistakes in the emergency room (ER). The main problem is chaos. Hospital emergency rooms are not properly funded and they are treating more patients with fewer resources. Part of the problem is more Americans...

• Family Doctor, Chiropractor or Orthopedist - Who Do You Choose?

  John Cooper | November 01, 2006 2:29 PM | 0 CommentsNorfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton, VA

  Our clients often ask us who should I go see after an automobile wreck with a personal injury.The choice of what kind of doctor to go see is up to the individual. There is no right answer. Generally, I, as an attorney, try to stay out of the decision. However, I do give information to folks who have had a personal injury so they can make a more informed choice for themselves. Obviously, if...

• Accidents Most Likely Near Home

  John Cooper | October 31, 2006 2:22 PM | 0 CommentsNorfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton, VA

  The vast majority of car wrecks happen within a 3 mile radius of your home.If you think about it, it is just a matter of common sense that more personal injuries happen near home. You are on the road more near your house than anywhere other than work. Because almost every trip begins and ends near home, that is the place that you are most likely to be hit in your vehicle by the negligence of...