Note: see also category Head & Brain Injuries.
Brain injury is a major cause of death and disability of people under age 45 and a significant medical/legal issue in tort and insurance law today. According to the Brain Injury Association of Virginia (VA) 28,000 visits to an emergency room occur in Virginia (VA) each year as a result of traumatic brain injury. Across the U.S. traumatic brain injury (TBI) costs over 56 billion dollars every year.
Brain Injury Association of Virginia (VA) provides information to the Virginia Legislature on behalf of family members and people who suffer from brain injury. The organization also provides a toll free helpline for people to provide assistance in coping with this difficult and often misunderstood disease. Their toll free line is (800) 334-8443. According to the Brain Injury Association of Virginia (VA) website, there are over 151,000 Virginians living with long term problems from brain injuries. Because of the large number of members of the Armed Services in Virginia (VA) the issue is particularly important in this state. One of the main types of injury that our soldiers come back from Iraq with are brain injuries as a result of both open head injuries and closed head injuries from improvised explosive devices.
Attorneys handling personal injury and wrongful death cases in Virginia (VA) have become increasingly aware of the prevalence of brain injury in recent years. Clients can suffer life threatening and catastrophic brain injuries in car accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, slip and fall injuries, trip and fall injuries, bicycle accidents, off road accidents, medical malpractice accidents, and products liability cases like defective ladders. Each of these areas of these personal injury and wrongful death cases may well involve brain injury to the client. Knowing how to identify cases of brain injury and to properly handle them in a Virginia (VA) lawsuit is key to competent representation. To learn more about this subject, please visit our section on Head and Brain Injuries.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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