Latest | Virginia Beach Legal Examiner

Truck Accident Leaves One Dead

A Swift Transportation Company truck and a Philip Sims Trucking truck collided in an accident that caused a multi car pile up on Interstate 80 west of North Platte, Nebraska. The accident occured on Monday February 12th. Slick roads and poor visibility led to hazardous road conditions and at least t

By The Legal Examiner

/ 21 Feb 2007

Man Dies of Severe Head Injury

A carpenter working on the University of Tennessee’s new aquatic center died after suffering severe head trauma on the worksite. The 53 year old man was found at the base of one of the walls.The Tennessee office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating, according to Milissa

By The Legal Examiner

/ 14 Feb 2007

Unfortunately, Hospitals Can Be Deadly

By: James C. Lewis, HSCLA AttorneyIt may come as a surprise but 2 million patients residing in hospitals get hospital-acquired infections every year. Infection stalls recovery, sometimes requiring weeks of intravenous antibiotics or a grueling round of surgeries to remove the infected tissue. Approx

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 25 Jan 2007

KCS Railroad Pays 37.5 Million Dollars for Crossing Injuries and Death

An amazing story of a railroad’s careless conduct and the intense and lifelong consequences of such carelessness arose out of a recent 37.5 Million Dollar settlement that Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCS) paid in October, 2006. I personally spoke with Tom Jones, one of the several trial law

By Richard Shapiro

/ 20 Jan 2007

Should Doctors Working for Hospitals be Immune from Suits if Employed by a Charitable Foundation?

In one of the cases, MacArthur v. UVA Health Services Foundation, the Virginia circuit court judge dismissed in a footnote the contention of the plaintiff’s attorney that the salaries of the physicians who work for the foundation are so high that this negates any claim that it is a true charity beca

By Richard Shapiro

/ 19 Jan 2007

Surgeons Can be Held Liable if Nurse Carelessly Leaves a Sponge Inside a Patient's Body

There has been an interesting decision of the California Court of Appeals relating to whether a doctor is liable for a nurse’s mistake where the nurse leaves a sponge inside the body of a patient, unbeknownst to the doctor. Lawyers with our firm have had several prior cases involving infection and o

By Richard Shapiro

/ 19 Jan 2007

Lawyers Battle On For The Doctors Who Testify In The Courtroom

I have previously written a blog article about the amazing efforts by some doctors to try to silence and even revoke the medical licenses of doctors who give honest testimony in medical malpractice cases, almost always on the side of the victim or patient. In other words, when a doctor is sued for m

By Richard Shapiro

/ 18 Nov 2006

Medical Malpractice Reform Hurts Consumers While Ballooning The Profits of the Insurance Companies

In a recent article in the American Bar Association Journal published in October 2006, written by Terry Carter, the article explores how Texas has passed massive tort reform of its medical malpractice laws. The massive overkill championed by President Bush when he was governor, Texas style, places a

By Richard Shapiro

/ 17 Nov 2006

Does the Doctor You Trust Not Trust You? (Especially If You Have A Medical Malpractice Claim)

Would you be surprised to learn that the physician that you trust has very strong opinions relating to whether or not you should be able to sue a careless doctor for malpractice? Would you be extremely surprised to learn that the doctor you trust, regularly testifies on behalf of doctors that are su

By Richard Shapiro

/ 8 Oct 2006

Potential Jury Tampering Under Review After Plaintiff's Big Texas Vioxx Verdict

A Texas jury delivered a $32 million verdict against the makers of Vioxx. Now attorneys firm Merck want to obtain bank and cell phone records because one of the juror’s had just paid off a $10,000 loan from one of the plaintiffs that was a party to the case. According to an article in Lawyers Weekly

By Richard Shapiro

/ 21 Sep 2006

Are Damages Recovered In A Personal Injury Case Taxable When Paid?

We are often asked by our clients if the proceeds or damages from a personal injury case settlement are taxable. The general answer is that personal injury settlement proceeds are not taxable on their receipt by the taxpayer/client. There are some important exceptions.It is fair to say that a genera

By Richard Shapiro

/ 20 Sep 2006

New Rules On Black Boxes In Cars Enacted

Car manufacturers will be required to tell new car buyers when their car is equipped with a black box or “event data recorder” under new regulations issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The formal description for the black box is “event data recorder” -which is any electroni

By Richard Shapiro

/ 19 Sep 2006