Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer - Motor Vehicle Accidents

Virginia (VA) Cities May Be Responsible For Injuries

John Cooper — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:54:10 GMT

Authored by: John M. Cooper

As a personal injury attorney practicing in Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA), I am all too aware of the special rules that apply to injuries caused by a city employee.

Under some circumstances a city employee can be held responsible for bad driving or other negligence, but sometimes a special law called sovereign immunity prevents the injured person from making a claim against the city, whether that is Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Williamsburg, Newport News, or Hampton, Virginia (VA). The rule is not always clear as to when a city will be at fault and when they won't be. The key is to contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after an injury occurs especially when a Virginia (VA) city is involved. There are many special rules including deadlines for bringing a claim in order to make to get a recovery where a city is involved.
In 2004, Hampton, Virginia (VA) was forced to pay 7.5 million dollars to settle a case against the school district where a school bus driver hit a motorcyclist causing brain injury. The liability of the city depended on the fact that the bus driver had not yet gotten any students on the bus when the incident happened. The tricky rules as to when a city in Virginia (VA) is responsible for ordinary negligence, like the rest of us on the road, or where they are responsible only for gross negligence, which is very hard to prove, depends upon the specific facts.
Additionally, when you have against a city like Norfolk, Virginia (VA), for instance, you have to send a letter in a certain format to the government official specified in the Virginia (VA) code. If this letter is not sent out within six (6) months of the event there will be no insurance coverage or other city responsibility under Virginia (VA) law.
It is important that you have an attorney who knows about these complex rules, if you or a loved one gets hurt or killed by the fault of someone who is a government employee. We have successfully handled many of these kinds of cases over the years. Recently, my law partner Jim Lewis had successfully handled a case against a police officer in Albemarle County, Virginia (VA) who severely hurt a woman riding on a motorcycle. The accident was not the fault of the woman and she had horrible broken bones with hospitalizations and huge medical bills. It is a good thing that this lady contacted an attorney who was experienced in this area of the law to make sure that she was able to get compensation for her medical bills, permanent injury, and future lost wages.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Stunt Plane Pilot Crashes and Dies Before Air Show

Jenny Albano — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 13:11:50 GMT

On Friday, September 7, a stunt plane crashed just hours before an air show. The pilot was practicing his stunts when the plane crashed; the pilot did not survive.

Jan Wildbergh, the flight leader with the Skytypers Air Show Team, died following the crash at the Oceana Naval Air Station.

The pilots in the show had just finished their routine and were landing when the last plane, No 6, crashed. A witness said that the plane flew into the ground while still under its own power. According to the team spokesman, the plane had no ejection system, and the plane was flying to low for him to try and escape with a parachute.

"He probably tried to continue to make the maneuver and save the plane, possibly by doing a belly flop," team spokesman Ralph Roberts said. There will be an investigation into the crash of this plane.

The Skytypers Air Show Team performs at shows across the country, often doing low-level flying maneuvers and creating aerial smoke messages, called skytyping, according to its Web site. A computer in the lead plane sends radio signals to the others to coordinate puffs of smoke to form words while the planes fly about 250 feet apart.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Airlines, Cruises, Buses, and Other Mass Transit Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

One Woman Is Dead After A Collision With A Mack Truck

John Cooper — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:16:29 GMT

Authored by: John Cooper
The driver of a Toyota Camry was confirmed dead at the scene by Norfolk, Virginia (VA) police officers Monday morning after her car collided with a Mack truck hauling dirt.

The accident happened at the intersection of 27th Street and Llewellyn Avenue. Reports indicate that the trucked which was headed west on 27th Street, pushed the car that was southbound on Llewellyn into the intersection and wedged it around a metal utility pole.

The woman driving the car has not been identified and no charges have been filed against the driver of the truck at this time. The property damage to the car was serious. The vehicle was crumpled up and seemed cut in half in the newspaper picture. No wonder the female driver was killed in the crash. Huge trucks on city streets scare me to death!!!

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Tractor-trailer accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Fairfax, Virginia (VA) Man Paralyzed for Life in Accident

John Cooper — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:14:25 GMT

According to a published article in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly, on December 27, 2005 at 3:45 am, Jerome Stewart of Fairfax County, Virginia (VA) was in an accident that left him a quadriplegic.

A garbage truck, owned by Potomac Disposal Services of Virginia LLC, collided with Stewart's 1990 Jeep Cherokee while he delivered The Washington Post. His spinal cord at level C5-C6 was damaged, leaving him with no use of his arms or legs. The injured man, who is 60 years old, is now dependent and has been in a hospital, rehabilitation center or nursing home since the wreck. He has suffered everything under the sun including pneumonia, sepsis, urinary tract infection and bed sores. With no health insurance, his bills were piling up and exceeded $1 million. The Washington Post's subcontractor fortunately had a workers compensation policy that helped Stewart get the medical treatment he needed.

Stewart's attorneys had a few plans to prove that he was not negligent. The driver, who had hit him, it was discovered, had been involved in a few minor accidents before. Because of the size of these trucks, the truck drivers had been trained to avoid backing up anywhere if possible. The judge allowed this evidence about the earlier problems the driver had. There shouldn't have been a problem to begin with because the truck driver could have maneuvered the truck through a parking lot without hitting the plaintiff.

Zurich American Insurance Company offered to settle the case for $2 million but Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc., the excess insurer, initially refused to offer any money from their $25 million coverage. Recently, Stewart's attorneys continued mediation with the insurance companies and settled at $12 million.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Seatbelts Reduce Death and Serious Injury in Car Crashes

John Cooper — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:00:41 GMT

In May, 2007, another annual click it or ticket campaign occurred. The Virginia click it or ticket program is trying to improve statewide safety belt compliance which is currently 78.6%. The goal for Virginia (VA) is to get the rate of people wearing their seatbelts up to 82%. North Carolina (NC) has been ahead of Virginia (VA) on seatbelt usage, having a rate of 86.7% of its motorist buckling up in 2005. North Carolina has used a click it or ticket campaign, and they had a dramatic reduction of 14% in fatal and serious highway injuries. The North Carolina program became a model for other states across the country.

Wearing your seatbelt you avoid having your head or your face strike something in the car in the event of a collision. In a recent report from March of 2007, by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), it was indicated that there has been an increase in hospitalizations related to traumatic brain injuries based upon the study of data from nine states in 2003. Motor vehicles wrecks were a main cause of the traumatic brain injury hospitalizations. Each year in the U.S. there are over a million emergency room visits because of brain trauma and 50,000 deaths. Traumatic brain injury can involve devastating and permanent impairment even when there is no open wound to the skin or the skull on the head.

Buckle up in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC), not just to avoid a ticket, but to protect yourself from becoming a highway statistic. Make sure that the young and the old in your family also buckle up as they are often less likely to do so.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Head restraint systems in some minivans perform poorly

John Cooper — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:58:56 GMT

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently looked at 6 different minivans and found that those in the Ford 2006 Nissan Quest, the 2005-2006 Toyota Siena and the 2004-2006 Mazda MPV among others failed to give efficient head support in the event of a whip lash injury.

The test measured the effects of rear end collisions at relatively low speeds and found that the necks of the test dummies were put at risk. Because of anatomy, the neck is the most at risk to be hurt in a standard rear end car accident. Proper design of the head restraint on the seat in a vehicle is important in preventing some of these common injuries. What you want to achieve is to have the head restraint be high enough toward the top of your head and close enough to the back of the head to provide support in the forward and back motion in these car wrecks. Changing these seat back designs is not that difficult for the manufacturers. Hopefully, the auto makers will do what is necessary to perform better on these tests in the future.

You can help yourself by making sure that your head rest in the best position possible for you. This generally means to move it forward and have it in a place where it is not to many inches from the back of your head. Ideally, it should come up to within an inch of the top of your head as well. You can improve the chances of not being hurt in a car crash by making this simple adjustment in your own car.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Automobile and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Virginians can't sue bar over drunk driver

John Cooper — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:34:48 GMT

There is a law in Virginia (VA) called the Dram Shop Law that provides immunity to bar owners and other commercial establishments who serve alcohol to a patron who ends up harming someone on the road as a drunk driver.

The same immunity protects individuals who throw parties in their homes even when they knowingly serve too much to drink to an intoxicated person who kills someone with their car. Not all states have this immunity for bars. For example, North Carolina (NC) does not allow businesses to get off the hook so easily when they contribute to a motor vehicle accident with injuries or death.

Having practice law in Virginia (VA) for over 18 years specializing in car accidents and wrongful death, I am well aware of this unfortunate law. I have often been hired regarding terrible motor vehicle wrecks where people have died at the hands of intoxicated drivers. The issue often comes up as to whether the bar or club where the negligent motorist last visited could be held responsible for their negligence in serving alcohol to a person who was obviously a risk to harm others on the road. In these situations I have had to advise my injured client or the family who has lost a loved one that under Virginia (VA) law you normally cannot sue the bar. This often comes as surprising and unhappy news to the persons wronged by the drunk driver and the recklessness of a commercial establishment like a restaurant. However, it is the law in Virginia (VA) governing negligence cases and has been tested in the Virginia Supreme Court. I am always amazed when this situation occurs and a personal injury lawyer files a baseless claim against the bar. It's not that I wouldn't want to file that suit if it was permitted by law. My reason for being disappointed in my fellow personal injury lawyers when they file that frivolous suit is that I know they have likely given false hope to their clients about having any chance of success. Often the lawyer filing this case against the bar for the harm caused by their drunken patron will get his name in the newspaper on the front page. Sometimes I wonder if that is the only reason that these lawyers file lawsuits which have no chance of success, but make good press. I often think that the newspaper reporters don't know enough about the law to point out that pursuit of a file prohibited by the Dram Shop Law is a waste of the courts time and the client's emotional energy in this tragic circumstance.

When the two teenagers were killed by a drunken illegal immigrant recently in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) this sad situation repeated itself. A bereaved father hired a personal injury lawyer who sued the Mexican restaurant that had served this driver alcohol before getting on the road. There is almost no chance that a Virginia Beach Circuit Court judge will let the case go forward because of the Dram Shop law. However, the splashy front page news coverage that the lawyer gets makes him look like a hero who is doing something about the problem. Really the only productive way to address the issue is to go to the legislature and change this unfair, anti-consumer law. That is not likely to happen because the powerful insurance lobby in the Richmond, Virginia (VA) state legislature will prevent any change in that law from occurring. A future change to the Dram Shop Law in Virginia (VA) will not help the poor family of the teenage girl whose life was recently taken by a drunk driver. However, if enough pressure is put on the legislature, perhaps the law could be changed which will alter the bad conduct of bar operators in the future. What you should do if you care about this issue is let your Virginia (VA) state senator or delegate know how you feel about it. For a list of contact numbers for the Virginia (VA) General Assembly click here.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) is one region regarding injury law

John Cooper — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 16:21:21 GMT

For some folks in Tidewater, Virginia (VA) it is a matter of pride that they are from Portsmouth, Virginia (VA) v. Newport News, Virginia (VA), v. Smithfield, Virginia (VA). When it comes to car wreck cases though, it makes no difference whether your injury lawyer works in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, or Suffolk, Virginia (VA). The key is to get the best auto accident attorney available.

In a typical bodily injury insurance claim related to a motor vehicle accident, the client will only sit down face to face with his attorney on two occasions. The day that you sit down to sign the contract hiring the attorney is the first date that you will want to be seated side by side with the lawyer. The other day will be when the lawyer is handing you a check for the settlement proceeds, closing the case. Because our law firm, like most who handle lots of automobile accident cases, will come to you whether you are bed ridden at home or an inpatient in a hospital to sign you up for a serious injury matter, it may be that you only are in the lawyer's office on one occasion in an average case. Most cases are resolved with out the necessity of filing suit after the organization of the medical records and negotiations which take place by phone. The ease of legal communication by email, fax, and overnight delivery also minimized the need for an injured client to be in his lawyer's office in person. Even if a lawsuit ends up being required because the insurance adjuster is not being fair about the automobile claim, there is likely to be only one other in person visit in an office, for a deposition before the trial.

So it is not necessary that your lawyer be the closest law office to your home for your typical car, truck, or motorcycle accident case. It is far more important that the lawyer be someone who is smart, competent, and diligent. If you live in Chesapeake and your lawyers office is in Newport News, Virginia (VA) it really doesn't make any difference. It's not like a chiropractor, a family doctor, or a physical therapist who you are going to regularly go see so that convenience matters. It is more like going to a specialist such as an orthopedic surgeon. Hopefully, you're not going to see that medical specialist too many times. It's much more important that you have a surgeon that is experienced in doing the procedure in question and who also has a good trust worthy manner. The difference between driving 15 minutes compared to 30 minutes to go to the office of the surgeon is secondary to finding the best surgeon that you can get. The same is true in finding the right injury trial lawyer for your car crash case. It's far more important that you have an experienced injury attorney who is smart and ethical, than not having to drive so far on the one or two times that you may have to go to the person's office.

I happen to live in Norfolk, Virginia (VA) and practice personal injury law in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). I hope that my potential clients are wise enough to realize that if I am the right person for their accident case that is doesn't matter if they are in Hampton, Poquoson, Isle of Wight, or Currituck County, North Carolina (NC). The quality of the legal representation is what matters not the name of the particular city or county where the lawyer happens to have his address.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Seven motorists died in 2 crashes in western Virginia

John Cooper — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 17:00:30 GMT

According to recent published reports from the Associated Press, a Georgia family had 4 people killed when their car went off Interstate 81 near Salem, Virginia (VA), and overturned. According to the Virginia State Police, the wreck occurred in the early morning hours.

These 4 highway fatalities happened only a half a day after 3 other people died in a head on collision in Bedford County, Virginia (VA). The wreck in Bedford County took the lives of residents of Salem, Virginia (VA), and Vinton, Virginia (VA).

One Virginia State Police official was quoted as saying that "not wearing seatbelts was a partial cause of the catastrophic results" in one of these vehicle wrecks. Often wearing your seatbelt can be the difference between a serious injury and losing your life in a major wreck. In a Virginia (VA) personal injury lawsuit, it is inadmissible that the injured person was not wearing his seat belt. When my client is wearing his seat belt in an auto accident case, I, as the injury lawyer, can tell the jury that.

Being killed in an automobile accident is more common than you might think. Sometimes accidents will happen even if all the drivers are using their best efforts to pay attention to the road and driving defensively. As a personal injury lawyer from Norfolk, Virginia who handles cases including in Virginia (VA), western Virginia (VA), and West Virginia (WV), I encourage motorist to do everything in their power to protect themselves and their families from these tragedies, including buckling up.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Motorcycle and Bicycle Injuries Among the Worst

John Cooper — Sat, 19 May 2007 15:48:35 GMT

In the Virginian Pilot on Sunday, May 13, 2007, there was a piece that a 22 year old motorcyclist was killed in a wreck. The accident happened in Norfolk, Virginia (VA) on Saturday and the young man died in a local hospital the next day. The driver that hit the motorcyclist has not been charged and the cause has not been determined.

Our firm, Hajek, Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton, P.C., routinely handles accident cases where our client got hit on their motorcycle or bicycle by a car or other vehicle. The injuries in motorcycle and bicycle accidents are often among the most severe. The injuries to the motorcyclist or bicyclist are often serious injuries, if not death, because the rider is so unprotected. When you have a vehicle weighing at least 3,000 pounds for the smallest car and 5,000 pounds for light trucks and SUV's hitting the human body, bones are likely to be broken. Also even if a bicyclist or a motorcyclist wears all the recommended and required safety protection equipment there are still parts of the human body which are going to come in contact with metal of the automobile or the concrete of the roadway. So it is not uncommon that when a motorcycle or bicycle is hit by a motorist that there are terrible road burn injuries or other damage to the skin. Virginia and other states have different rules whether motorcyclist and bicyclist of different ages are required to wear helmets. In the absence of properly fitting head gear and without some luck, collisions between motorcyclist or bicyclist and cars are going to risk serious closed head injury or traumatic brain injury.

The nature of the roadway is often not conducive to safe bicycle riding. Typically, there are no bike lanes to ride on. Motorist often fail to see bicycles and motorcycles meaning the accidents are t-bone collisions where the car is essentially spearing the bicyclist or motorcyclist. Often the rider is thrown a significant distance from the two wheeler in these accidents. Despite some educational programs trying to encourage motorist to share the road, Virginia (VA) motorists still do not give proper attention to people on bikes. Many motorists also do not realize situations where a bicycle has the right of way or what the rules are as far as bicycles on the roadway. In urban environments like Norfolk, Virginia (VA) and Portsmouth, Virginia (VA) more accidents may occur with people on bicycles, because the motorist are not expecting to see a bicyclist as opposed to another car or pedestrian.

Safety and courtesy work both ways. Motorist should look out for bicyclists, and bicyclists and motorcyclists need to be careful given their vulnerability to injury in an accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper