Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer - Virginia

Strict enforcement from VSP on I-64 in Norfolk this weekend

Randy Appleton — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:22:11 GMT

Drivers on Interstate 64 beware: The Virginia State Police is out in force this weekend.

Troopers are being paid overtime in a federally-funded effort to keep Virginia’s highways safe, the VSP’s superintendent said in a press release.

The operation is called Operation Air, Land and Speed and is designed to discourage speeding and other reckless behavior, The Virginian-Pilot reported.

Speeding is the cause of many traffic accidents in Hampton Roads and elsewhere. My colleague Emily Mapp Brannon wrote in October about a fatal motorcycle accident in Chesapeake where speed was a factor.

“Speed and reckless and distracted driving endanger too many lives on the Commonwealth’s roads,” W. Steven Flaherty, the Virginia State Police superintendent, said in a press release. “Every motorist must remember to buckle up and drive defensively not aggressively while they are behind the wheel, especially during the holiday season.”

Troopers will be on I-64 – as well as Interstate 66 in northern Virginia – starting today and going through Sunday. They are using both marked and unmarked vehicles, as well as motorcycles and aircraft.

The Virginia State Police said that in December 2008, when the agency last conducted Operation Air, Land and Speed on I-64, it ticketed 251 drivers for reckless driving, 1,783 for speeding and 227 for not wearing a seat belt. The VSP also made 24 arrests for drunken driving, drug possession and other crimes.

“Unfortunately, the only way to get some drivers to adopt safer driving habits and behaviors is through stepped up enforcement projects,” Flaherty said.

(MM)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Appleton

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.

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.

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

Wrongful Death Suit Reinstated in Virginia (VA) Against Parents Hosting Visting Teen

Rick Shapiro — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:41:31 GMT

Courts and juries can find adults who have temporary supervision or custody of children liable for injuries to those children even when the harm resulted from the actions of someone other than the supervising adults.

Summarizing this Nov. 5, 2009, ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court in a single sentence is difficult. As is all-too clear above.

What the ruling means for babysitters, parents who allow their children's friends to sleep over or spend other long periods visiting, or teachers and care providers is that they can be found to have a legal and civil duty to protect other people's children even when the children are not physically with the babysitter, host, teacher or caregiver.

Virginia's High Court voted 5-2 to support this interpretation of adults' child care responsibilities and liability when partially reversing a lower court's ruling that Richmond-area parents could not be held liable for the death of a North Carolina (NC) who was spending the night at their home.

The lawsuit stemming from the car crash death of 14-year-old Jaimee Elizabeth Kellerman now returns to a Virginia circuit court. In 2005, Kellerman died when a car she was riding in and which was being driven recklessly by 17-year-old Nathan DeFrank ran off a rural highway and hit a tree. Kellerman had permission from her parents to sleep over at the home of Paul and Paula McDonough. But, according to a Daily Press report, Kellerman's parents had specifically asked the McDonoughs not to let Jaimee ride with "boys with cars."

The Kellerman family is seeking $15 million from the McDonoughs in a wrongful death suit for being negligent in protecting Jaimee.

I cannot speculate on the outcome of the reinstated lawsuit, but I can say the Virginia Supreme Court has affirmed a high degree of liability for responsible adults in protecting children from the actions of other people. Broad determinations of liabilities are not rare, especially in regards to wrongful death claims. In light of this, and particularly the ruling in the Kellerman case, I can only advise adults asked to supervise minors (i.e., anyone under 18 years of age) to exercise the greatest care in ensuring those children's safety--a rule nearly all parents already follow but one which this tragic case underscores..

About the Editors: The Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm, whose attorneys work out of offices in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC), edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.

EJL

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Shapiro

Fall-Related Death of Worker at Norfolk Sanitation Plant Under Investigation

Rick Shapiro — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:57:00 GMT

Randy Piche, a long-time Hampton Roads Sanitation District employee, died Tuesday morning after falling through an opening on a third-floor walkway at the Army Base Treatment Plant in Norfolk on Tuesday morning. Neither the wastewater and sewage-treatment organization nor the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health department have yet determined why Piche, a 37-year HRSD veteran, would have fallen to his death.

Industrial plants are inherently dangerous places to work. In Virginia alone, more than 150 workers died in workplace accidents during 2008. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration posts weekly summaries of deaths at work on its Web site. The most recent set of summaries, from Aug. 28, 2009, includes 18 entries. Listed causes of death ranged from electrocutions and crush injuries to falls and explosions.

Employers have legal and moral obligations to minimize risks to their employees. If HRSD did not have signs, guardrails or procedures in place to make it difficult or impossible to fall through the walkway opening at its plant on the grounds of the Norfolk International Terminals, then the organization would be liable for contributing to, or even, principally causing, Piche's death.

Regardless of the cause of the accident, my thoughts go out to Piche and his friends and family. I have seen too many times the tragedies that can result when people work in unsafe conditions and environments.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law, and we have experience handling slip, trip and fall cases. Check out this case result involving a woman who slipped and was injured at a restaurant. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now. We provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as pro bono public information services.

EJL

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Shapiro

Congressmen, feds tour Chinese drywall homes in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach

Jim Lewis — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:22:47 GMT

Just last week, Hampton Roads victims of Chinese drywall trekked to Washington, D.C. to make their case to lawmakers and regulators, as I wrote about last week. My colleague John Cooper has also written about how the defective drywall sickens occupants and ruins appliances, wires and pipes.

On Monday, many of those same officials came to Chesapeake to make an on-the-ground assessment of a growing problem that potentially affects hundreds of thousands of homeowners.

Sen. Mark Warner found himself putting a piece of Chinese drywall to his nose and giving it a good sniff, according to news accounts of the visit. Warner and others toured the Hampshires at Greenbrier, a development in Chesapeake build by T he Dragas Cos., The Virginian-Pilot reported.

The company's chief executive, Helen Dragas, said during the tour that her company will spend $70,000 each on 73 condos it built with Chinese drywall in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.

Inez Tenenbaum, chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said neither her agency nor any other government agency has the money to pay to fix people's homes. That, she said, will have to come from Congress.

Warner said banks and lenders need to step up and aid people who bought homes with the faulty drywall.

"What we're going to be doing in the meantime is seeing if we can get some forbearance from the mortgage payments being made because these families are having to continue to pay mortgages on homes that are uninhabitable," Warner said, according to The Virginian-Pilot. "Some of the families... are going to have to declare bankruptcy."

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper 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 injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . In addition, 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.

(MM)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jim Lewis

Virginia Drivers Getting an Education in the Dangers of Driving Drunk

Jim Lewis — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:31:48 GMT

Tuesday afternoon saw the launch of a coordinated, and much-needed, public education campaign to drive home the message that drinking and driving puts everyone on Virginia's roads at risk for injury and death.

The Virginia State police, the state's chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Virginia's secretary of public safety announced the Help Eliminate Alcohol Related Tragedies, or HEART, initiative at the state police station in Chesapeake. During HEART education sessions, instructors will invite participants to wear specially designed goggles that give wearers the sensation that they are legally drunk.

HEART joins ongoing programs such as MADD's Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving and the state police's Highway Safety Challenge. But every effort to discourage people from drinking and driving--as well as to discourage drugged or distracted driving--is welcome. This weekend saw a brief police pursuit of speeding drunk driver on Lynnhaven parkway in Virginia end in the death of the impaired driver. Across the country, nearly 13,000 traffic deaths involved a drunk driver in 2007. Three hundred thirty-two of those deaths occurred in Virginia.

Accidents happen. Having practiced personal injury law for three decades, I know that maybe better than anyone. I also know that accidents are more likely to happen when people drink then drive. I am glad to see each new effort such as HEART to reduce drunk driving and wish it great success.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law, and our attorneys have handled thousands of car and truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. In addition, check out our FREE special reports on distracted driving and The Best Guide to Car Accident injuries in Virginia. Our primary office is based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now, and we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations. Call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as pro bono public information services.

EJL

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jim Lewis

Driver's ed returning to public high schools

Rick Shapiro — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:56:30 GMT

USA TODAY had an interesting story Thursday about how driver’s education, on the wane in public schools for many years, is becoming more popular.

A generation ago, driver’s ed was in almost every American high school. But as time passed, more and more students took the course from private instructors.

In Virginia, the state Department of Motor Vehicles requires residents 19 and under to take a state-approved driver’s education course and to hold a learner’s permit for at least nine months before getting a full driver’s license.

In Virginia Beach, the school board talked about cutting drivers education in 2008 because of high costs, long waiting lists and accounting issues.

After debate and discussion, the school board decided to raise driver’s education tuition from $100 to about $350 – enough to make the program break even on its own, but still less than many private providers.

However, there is still a debate among experts about the efficacy of driver’s education classes. The director of the Center for the Study of Young Drivers at the University of North Carolina told USA TODAY that there is some hope for greater effectiveness of a dramatically revised version of Driver Training (not simply education), but at present that impact will be speculation.

However, an executive at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety told the newspaper that driver’s ed is “not effective in reducing crashes. It’s a lot to expect that a relatively limited amount of time with a teen could have a big effect on their risk-taking behavior.” My response to this is: if we don't train them when they are learning, when should we train them? After they develop bad habits? The point is to update and modernize how we teach young drivers-and if this can happen at schools, great.

I hope schools everywhere put safety first and offer driver's ed to all students.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper,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.

(MM)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Shapiro

Fatal hit-and-run crashes increasing in Virginia (VA)

Rick Shapiro — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:42:02 GMT

AAA Mid-Atlanti c believes the Virginia-Maryland-Washington D.C. region is going through what it calls an “alarming” increase in hit-and-run accidents, the Washington Post reported earlier this week.

Evidence collected by AAA indicates that the number of hit-and-run crashes in Virginia and Maryland – 44 in 2008 – will be more in 2009.

"About 60 percent of the people killed in hit-and-run crashes are pedestrians,” as AAA spokesman told the Post. He added that "one in five pedestrian fatalities involve hit-and-run drivers."

In the Hampton Roads area, two tragic hit-and-run accidents have been in the news recently. In August 2009, my colleague Emily Mapp Brannon wrote about a fatal crash in Greenville, N.C. when a moped rider was killed.

Also in August 2009, bicyclist Charles Francis McCarthy Jr. was riding on Johnstown Road in Chesapeake when he was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver, WAVY-TV reported. The driver, Sarah Magnolia Perry, was later arrested and charged with drunken driving.

In addition, I have written at length about the importance of uninsured motorist auto insurance if you're a victim of a hit-and-run driver.

Most hit-and-run accients happen in urbanized areas like Hampton Roads, the AAA spokesman said.

"Deadly hit and run crashes most often occur on weekends and during the evening. Fifty-eight percent of fatal hit and run crashes occur on Friday, Saturday or Sunday; forty-seven percent of fatal hit and run crashes occur between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.,” according to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

My colleagues and I share the public’s outrage at hit-and-run accidents. We have represented many victims in such crashes and approach such cases with vigor.

(MM)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Shapiro

Workplace Fatalities Rebound After One-Year Low

Emily Mapp Brannon — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:44:01 GMT

"Exposure to Harmful Substances and Environments." "Contact with Objects and Equipment." "Transportation Incidents."

These are the rather neutral categories the Virginia (VA) Department of Labor and Industry uses to group on-the-job incidents in which workers got killed each year. In 2007, 146 Virginians died on construction sites, in factories and at offices. That depressing total increased to 154 in 2008. The most-deadly recent year for employees in Virginia was 2005, which saw 186 workplace fatalities in the Commonwealth.

Looking inside the statistics reveals stories like that of construction worker Marcus Brown, who died after falling from a platform at a White Wave Foods plant in Harrisonburg. Another story behind the statistics is that of Richard Slone, a highway construction worker struck and killed by a car while doing repairs on Virginia Route 419 near Roanoke.

Workplace injuries such as electric shocks, amputations and inhalation of toxic fumes take an even greater toll on Virginia workers than outright fatalities. My colleagues and I have many decades of experience representing injured workers and their families, so we know how devastating industrial accidents can be. We particularly specialize in railroad injury cases, but we are dedicated to protecting workers in all settings. We can only hope that both injuries and fatalities on the job decline this year and moving forward.

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. We also host a YouTube injury law video library with more than 50 videos covering many FAQs on personal injury subjects. Lawyers with Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton are licensed in VA, NC, SC, WV, DC and KY. They handle car, truck, railroad, medical negligence cases and more.

EJL

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Emily Mapp Brannon