Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer - General Personal Injury

Bunk Beds Recalled Due to Collapse Hazard

Jenny Albano — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 22:32:36 GMT

d-Scan Inc., in conjunction with the CPSC, is recalling about 500 Jubee Bunk Beds because the upper bunk may collapse on top of the lower bunk which could seriously injure or kill consumers.

The recalled bunk beds do not comply with federal safety standards and have wooden side slat supports that can separate from the bed frame causing the upper bunk to collapse. The firm is aware of seven incidents in which the upper bunk collapsed after the side slat supports separated from the bunk bed's frame. No injuries have been reported.

The bunk bed are twin size and were designed for children. The bed does not come assembled and the consumer must put it together. The beds are made from maple wood and have a four-step ladder attached to one side of the bed; there are also three pullout drawers under the bottom bunk. Only model number 82008 is included in the recall.

The bunk beds were sold at at specialty furniture stores across the U.S. and on several websites from December 2004 to April 2006.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Florida Lawyer Brings Class Action Against UnitedHealthcare

Jenny Albano — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:59:30 GMT

Attorney Joe Saunders, of Pinellas County, filed a class action suit against UnitedHealthcare yesterday. The lawsuit accuses UnitedHealthcare of Florida of misrepresentation and fraudulently marketing some of their health care plans.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants, UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare, enrolled Medicare recipients into their Medicare Advantage HMO or PPO plan without authorization from the client. Also the company did not inform the client that enrolling them into the Medicare Advantage plan disenrolls them from the Medicare Program.

The Medicare Advantage plans, such as Secure Horizons and Complete Care, provide only limited or no skilled nursing home case, require people to pay expensive copays, and limit the number of doctors patients can visit. UnitedHealthcare has been accused of using fraudulent marketing practices by using the names Secure Horizons and Complete Care that imply that these plans cover the same amount as the Medicare Program. In actuality Medicare covers much more, such as paying 100% for nursing home care up to 20 weeks, provides patients with a larger choice of doctors, and copays are less expensive.

The case came about when Charleen Edge, Saunders' mother, was tricked into a Medicare Advantage plan without her knowledge. Apparently, Edge was contacted by UnitedHealthcare and was told that her old plan was expiring and being replaced by the new Part D program. The company recommended that she add two AARP policies- a cheap supplement plan and the new drug plan. But instead UnitedHealthcare enrolled her in their Medicare HMO plan which only pays bills for certain doctors.

When Edge found out that she was not on the plan she had requested she asked the company to disenroll her. Both of her complaints were unanswered, but when Saunders complained UnitedHealthcare finally took her off the plan. However, when Edge broke her pelvis a few months later and had to be rehabilitated in a nursing home, Medicare rejected her $30,000 medical bills. Medicare stated that UnitedHealthcare had re-enrolled Edge into the HMO plan two months before her accident.

Saunders believes that there are many other people who have had the same problems with their insurance companies and is now waiting to see if a judge will certify that UnitedHealthcare HMO members represent a class of people suitable to mass litigation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Jury Selection Key to Success in Serious Personal Injury Cases

Jim Lewis — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:07:13 GMT

Before any serious personal injury case, whether it be an automobile personal injury case, a medical negligence personal injury case, or a products liability personal injury case, a process occurs wherein the lawyers are allowed a limited number of questions to the individuals who are candidates to sit on the jury trial of a serious personal injury case. This process is called voir dire.

This process is one of the most important aspects of a serious personal injury trial and serious personal injury attorneys should concentrate on getting as much information during this process as they possibly can before the serious personal injury trial begins.

In a recent case, which I handled on behalf of our firm, our client was in a serious automobile accident that resulted in serious injuries to her. More and more, insurance companies who defend serious personal injury cases are refusing to compensate personal injury victims who have been in serious personal injury accidents in a way that they are entitled to. This results in personal injury trial attorneys having to go to court and try a lot more cases. We recently had this experience on behalf of our client and the trial court at the beginning of the personal injury trial allowed me to ask the potential jury how many of them believed that there were too many frivolous personal injury cases being filed in America today. When I asked the question, 11 of the 15 people raised their hands, indicating that they believed that there were too many frivolous personal injury trials being filed in America today.

The judge then allowed me to have an extensive discussion with each of them about why they felt that way and what about personal injury cases made them think they were frivolous. This gave me the opportunity too "pre argue" why my personal injury accident trial was not frivolous and why they should award my client the compensation that she deserved.

Ultimately, of the seven individuals who comprised our jury, six of them had raised their hands when asked about frivolous lawsuits. Even though six of the seven jurors felt that there were too many frivolous lawsuits being filed in America today, they returned a verdict for my client in the total amount that I requested them to, $194,000. This occurred in a case where I had only asked the insurance company to compensate my client in the amount of $60,000.

The lesson that we learned in this serious personal injury accident trial was that the more information you can get from your potential jury before actually beginning a serious personal injury trial the better the results will be for you.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jim Lewis

Summer means increased risks of pool injuries.

John Cooper — Wed, 30 May 2007 15:37:40 GMT

At this time of year in Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) and across Hampton Roads, in Newport News, Williamsburg, Suffolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake, Virginia (VA) people are getting their pools ready for the summer months. Pool safety is key. With increased swimming in pools, and use of diving boards, there are greater chances of head injuries and drowning deaths. Pools are supposed to be well marked to show what the water depth is, to prevent people jumping in and getting closed head trauma or spinal cord injuries. However, a significant number of children and adults will be hurt in diving accidents during the summer, sometimes involving significant damage to the brain, or even causing paralysis of the limbs as a result of hitting the head, or neck, on the pool's hard bottom.

If you are in charge of a residential or public pool, please make sure that all necessary safety measures are taken to reduce this kind of accident. Likewise, pool owners, and operators, need to be careful to prevent drowning death, particularly of the very young. Pools have to have sufficient gates and barriers to keep out little kids, unaccompanied by parents. If you are in charge of children, make sure you know where they are and keep them away from pools without adult supervision. If someone in your family has been hurt, or killed in an accident involving a swimming pool or diving board, please contact a personal injury lawyer, to look into what your options are as far as taking legal action against the swimming pool's owner or managers who fail to take reasonable steps to protect the public.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

How prepared is your injury lawyer?

John Cooper — Tue, 29 May 2007 11:25:11 GMT

As a Virginia (VA) attorney handling injury cases like automobile accidents for about 18 years, I have come to recognize preparation as the key to success in handling serious injury cases in Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) or in any court. The best attorneys prepare their cases better than the insurance defense lawyers who they go up against.

The lawyer can't control what the facts are in a car crash or the severity of his client's injuries. One thing that the personal injury lawyer can control is being more ready than the insurance lawyer at each step of the accident case, from claim to jury verdict. I pride myself on being a master of the facts and law as it relates to any car or truck wreck case that I am working on. If I know more about what is going on with the accident case than anyone else involved in the process, I can be sure that I am in the best position to get the maximum recovery possible for the client and their injury. If the injured person's lawyer really is a master of the facts and the law through preparation, then often the insurance claims representative, the defense lawyer, and even the judge may defer to that lawyer as to what the exact facts and applicable law is for the case.

The injured client typically knows how prepared his lawyer is in handling his accident case. Does the lawyer know who he is when a client calls about his accident case? Does the lawyer come to a deposition having already interviewed the witnesses and with a written list of questions or topics to be covered? Has the injury attorney consulted with the expert witnesses such as doctors before trial? The answers to these sorts of questions show the person who is hurt in an automobile accident case that the lawyer representing him is prepared.

If you are not satisfied with the way your lawyer is preparing your injury case, you should ask for a sit down conference with them to figure out if they are the right person for the job. You always have an absolute right to change attorneys. The worst thing that could happen if you change attorneys is that the first attorney may ask for some compensation for his time spent on the matter. However, in Virginia (VA) the fired attorney is not entitled to ask for his percentage fee in the contract, under our Virginia (VA) ethics rules. Although I do not recommend changing attorneys unless absolutely necessary, if you get the sense that your attorney is not prepared or is not communicating appropriately with you about your lawsuit, then you should feel free to contact other injury attorneys to discuss the matter. If you call me about your desire to change lawyers, I will usually first recommend that you try to get straight with the old lawyer. However, if you do want to change I usually suggest that do so as soon as possible before your injury case has been moved forward in a way that may be hard for a better lawyer to undo.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Surgery increases insurance claim value.

John Cooper — Fri, 25 May 2007 09:32:57 GMT

A Virginia (VA) or North Carolina (NC) injury case involving a surgery is worth more money than a case without a surgery. In some ways this makes sense in that an injury which is serious enough to require a surgery likely involves pain and suffering greater than one where the doctor did not see the need to send the patient to a surgeon.

In an automobile accident lawsuit, the insurance company will pay you and your attorney more on the case in part based upon the amount of the medical bills. The more complicated a procedure, like a surgery, the more bills there are that the insurance company must take into account in their evaluation of the claim. Typically a surgery will involve multiple medical bills including that for the surgeon like an orthopedic doctor or a neurosurgeon, as well as bills from the hospital, the radiologist, and the anesthesiologist.

In a typical car crash case, the insurance company like State Farm will treat a case that required surgery for the injured person more seriously than they will a case where the client only had conservative treatment like physical therapy. The insurance companies often refer to cases without broken bones as "soft tissue" cases. The top personal injury lawyers in Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC), and the United States, have tried to change the language to move away from that phrase and instead talk about "connective tissue" injuries. In either case the part of the muscular-skeletal system is the same, namely, the parts that attach to the bone like the muscle, ligaments and tendons. Sometimes an injury to these other structures that connect the skeleton and the muscle together can be just as debilitating and painful as ones where a bone is broken and requires surgery. In fact a broken bone that gets surgically reduced or put back in its proper shape is likely to heal in most circumstances. A tendon or ligament which has been stretched out of shape may be harder cure. However, insurance companies still treat cases where the injury is to the soft tissues of the body as less deserving of full and fair compensation.

This kind of evaluation of serious lawsuits is also made in the context of FELA cases against the rail on behalf of injured railroad workers. The railroad will nearly always pay more to a person who got hurt during their railroad work where surgery was required, than where they have, for instance, a back injury that does not require surgery. This is true in FELA cases even though medical bills are typically not admitted into evidence in a FELA trial the way they are in an automobile accident trail. The assumption by the railroad claim agent and law department is that the lawyer with a FELA case involving a surgery is in a stronger position to get the jury to be fair with the client than where there's not been a surgery.

This increased evaluation and compensation for surgery over other methods of treatment in some ways is unfair and not necessarily a fair reflection of the amount of pain, suffering, and disability suffered by a person in an injury case. First, I would never recommend to a client to have a surgery. This is always a decision that needs to be made by the client in conjunction with his doctor. However, the decision of whether to have a back surgery to alleviate chronic back pain is typically based upon the patient's own perception of the pain and their ability to deal with it. If the patient wants to avoid surgery then the doctor will simply continue with conservative measures like pain medication, physical therapy, exercises, and perhaps injections. If the pain is so excruciating that the person can not function on a daily basis with their chronic back pain, then they and their doctor will normally elect for surgical remedies. Sometimes, the patient who has surgery may end up being significantly better off having had it. Other times the surgery will in the long run not greatly change the extent of their permanent pain from an injury. However, there are certain pressures toward having a back surgery including that the insurance companies will pay better for a surgery than for long term conservative chiropractic treatment for example. I try to stay out of the decision as a personal injury lawyer about whether or not to have surgery because it really is up to the individual client and their physicians. I have also known clients who because of unusual circumstances ended up dying during or after a back surgery. The risks of surgery are real including permanent paralysis and death. I certainly would think long and hard before undergoing surgery. I think most patients and doctors generally don't go for surgery unless it's a last resort after going through the normal conservative measures first, even in the context of a lawsuit.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Injured tourists need Virginia Beach personal injury lawyer

John Cooper — Thu, 24 May 2007 13:45:53 GMT

The lawyers in our firm are often retained as personal injury counsel to represent people from outside of Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) who are visiting here as tourists and unfortunately get hurt. Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) and other parts of our area in eastern Virginia (VA) and north east North Carolina (NC) are big tourist destinations. Our area boasts tourist spots that attract visitors from across the country including Williamsburg/Jamestown, Virginia (VA) and its historical sites, the great beaches of Virginia Beach, the Outer Banks of North Carolina (NC) and the cultural activities in Norfolk, Virginia (VA) including the large Waterfront Arts Classical Music Festival. Unfortunately some number of people who are visiting Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) are going to get hurt while they are here.

Typically tourists who get hurt are going to end up in the local emergency rooms like Virginia Beach General Hospital or Norfolk General Hospital. Eventually their medical care will be followed up by their doctors in their home state. The law that governs an injury case is the law of the place where the injury occurred. So if a tourist gets hurt in Virginia (VA) it is the Virginia (VA) injury law or wrongful death law that controls the case.

We get a lot of calls from tourists who were hurt down here who need help. Because we have so many clients who are out of state in our railroad accident business, and because we carry law licenses for many states, not just Virginia (VA), and North Carolina (NC), we are used to dealing with clients who are not living right here in Norfolk/Virginia Beach. We are able to take care of them through our toll free number, email, faxes, and over night delivery services when necessary. We are often brought into cases by out of state lawyers who themselves were contacted an injured person who was hurt here in Virginia Beach, or Norfolk, Virginia (VA). For example, we were recently hired in a couple of cases where the injured folks were struck as pedestrians in Virginia Beach by a motorist. The injuries were quite severe in this case. The attorney from out of state found us because we are listed as some of the best personal injuries lawyers in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) area. One of the ways that other lawyers find us is through our rating in the Martindale Hubble attorney rating system which gives our firm the highest rating of AV for being among the most preeminent law firms in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) with high ethical standards. Another way the lawyers often find us is through our association with groups of other excellent attorneys across the country such as the American Association for Justice, formerly ATLA, and Primerus which is like the good house keeping seal of approval for lawyers. Normally these lawyers will simply turn the case over to us for primary handling, if the injury occurred here in Virginia (VA). Sometimes depending upon the lawyer and client's preference we can have them work together with us to handle the lawsuit. In any event, one of the things that our firm has a lot of experience in doing is working with clients outside of Virginia (VA) who happen to have been hurt in Hampton Roads as tourists or otherwise.

Authored by: James C. Lewis

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Virginia Injury Lawyer, Born Blogger

John Cooper — Wed, 23 May 2007 15:30:25 GMT

I was born to blog. I have only recently come to this realization. As the editor of the Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia (VA) Injuryboard blog website for the past year I have had a great time blogging about personal injury subjects.

My law firm Hajek, Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis, and Appleton based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) has handled automobile accident and FELA cases for many years. Recently, we have put a lot of energy into our marketing to try to develop case leads for people who need a personal injury lawyer in Norfolk / Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) and throughout the southeastern United States. My law partner, Rick Shapiro, is the editor of the Injuryboard blog website for Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). When he and folks at the Injuryboard asked me to become editor of this website, I did not know anything about blogging. Frankly, it sounded like a big expenditure of energy without much reward. I found it to be just the opposite.

Everyday I wake up with fresh ideas about personal injury law and topics that I can write about. I get to write the short articles that I hope contain useful information for people searching for a personal injury attorney in Norfolk, Virginia (VA) and Portsmouth, Virginia (VA). I have always loved writing. I get out my dictation machine and record my thoughts on a topic having to do with personal injury practice or wrongful death cases. I know a lot about this subject because I have been practicing law emphasizing personal injury for over 18 years. Then I get to use my editing skills to take the rough draft and finalize it to be placed on the website. I find I really enjoy this form of expression. My goal is to post one article about a personal injury topic on my Norfolk/Portsmouth, Virginia (VA) Injuryboard website everyday. I am proud of my body of work which I believe provides useful information to the general public and particularly for people who have been in a recent car accident or other situation where they have been hurt. I enjoy sharing what I know about a field of law that I have developed expertise in. Also, when I go to Google or some other search engine and type in "Norfolk, Virginia (VA) injury lawyer", I am proud to see my name and this website pop up as one of the first page of internet information and best sources about personal injury in Virginia (VA).

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Economic and emotional damages in Virginia (VA) wrongful death cases

John Cooper — Tue, 22 May 2007 14:44:59 GMT

An attorney handling a wrongful death case in Virginia (VA) must consider both the economic and emotional losses associated with the client's family member's death. Under Virginia law the family of a person who was killed by the negligence of another is potentially entitled to damages set forth on a list in the Code of Virginia (VA).

Generally, these damages for wrongful death fall into two categories namely economic damages and grief damages. The economic damages for wrongful death in Virginia (VA) are for things like funeral expenses, the medical bills for the deceased to be treated before they died for the injuries caused by the other person's negligence, and the future lost wages to the family for a person who was working at the time of his or her death. The best lawyers in Virginia (VA) also will typically hire an expert economist who can also calculate economic losses for the value of the services that the person who was killed performed for his family. For example, a homemaker does so many things and provides so many services for their family that its hard to even know all the things that person does that others in the house rely on. What the economist can do is to calculate what the cost of replacing those services would be to the family as if they were to go out to hire someone else to do all of the cooking, cleaning, and other chores that the person wrongfully killed used to do. Even for a wage earner in a wrongful death case, there are household services which an economist can put a number on. For example, if a husband use to cut the grass, and do household repairs that is an economic cost to his family when he is taken away. Knowing how to work with an expert economist in a wrongful death case is one of the skills a top wrongful death attorney provides to the client.

Wrongful death can occur as a result of an automobile accident or as a result of medical malpractice. People are also wrongfully killed as a result of faulty or defective products. If you believe that your loved one has been killed as a result of someone else's fault, you should definitely talk to an experienced lawyer who regularly handles wrongful death and serious injury cases. Typically, there is no charge to consult with an attorney who does this kind of work as we work only on a percentage basis, getting paid only if we are able to obtain a favorable result for you or your family.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Top 5 Ways Not To Choose Your Personal Injury Lawyer

John Cooper — Fri, 18 May 2007 10:19:31 GMT

I have been practicing law in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Virginia (VA) for about two decades focusing on accidental injury and wrongful death cases. I have heard amazing stories about how million dollar automobile accident cases have gone to lawyers who really had no business handling such a case for all sorts of strange reasons. The suggestions for a person with an accident case in Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) from me and my law partner, Richard N. Shapiro:

1. Do not pick your personal injury lawyer based on the last attorney you happen to have contact with such as the real estate lawyer who did your closing on your refinance or the lady lawyer you hired to do your traffic case in the Norfolk General District Court. These attorneys may be great at real estate or traffic but in today's era of specialization that may not be the attorney that you want handling a serious injury file.

2. Do not pick your personal injury lawyer based upon that attorney who hangs out in the bar that you sometimes got to after work because he is a great guy. That lawyer in the bar may be everyone's best friend, but your automobile injury case deserves an attorney whose main qualification is not just staying on the bar stool when drunk.

3. Do not pick your personal injury lawyer based on who paid the yellow pages $100,000.00 to be on the back of their book. That lawyer may generate a lot of calls from people in Virginia (VA) who have automobile accidents, but it does not mean that he is a good lawyer who will get the best result and give the best service on your injury case just because he shelled out that money to buy some cases.

4. Do not pick your personal injury lawyer because he happens to have the same last name as you do. Although I am sure you love your name, this is no way to decide who is going to represent your family in a big automobile accident case that may be one of the most important financial transactions of your life.

5. Do not pick your personal injury lawyer because they happen to be a family member even though they have never handled significant personal injury litigation. I am sure that your niece who just graduated from law school in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) or your cousin who is an insurance defense lawyer in Norfolk, Virginia (VA) are nice people. However, what you need is someone who regularly handles automobile accident cases with serious injuries from the plaintiff's perspective, meaning that of the injured person. Further, you want someone who has done that for a long time with a proven track record of being good at it. You do not want to have a claim against your family member for messing up your injury case. Go to the right attorney right away.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper