Latest | Virginia Beach Legal Examiner

West Marine Recalls Folding Bicycles Due to Risk of Injury

When we use a product, we expect it to work and to be reasonably safe. If a product turns out to be defective, it can be a distressing realization, along with possibly suffering a serious personal injury from the defect. Unfortunately, many products turn out…

By Patrick Austin

/ 12 Feb 2014

State Lawmakers Scramble for Railroad Oil Spill Safety Plans

In the aftermath of several deadly railroad oil train accidents state governments are hiring rail inspectors and oil-spill experts and preparing emergency plans. The railroad accidents have become more frequent as oil shipments by train have grown 400 percent since 2005. Recently the U.S. National…

By Jim Lewis

/ 10 Feb 2014

Norfolk Southern Loses Case Before Seventh Circuit Concerning Workplace Retaliation

A railroad trackman working in Illinois was unfortunately forced to experience just how far some railroad companies will go to retaliate against workers who were injured on-the-job. The worker, Justin Reed, finally had his case heard by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals who sided with…

By The Legal Examiner

/ 4 Feb 2014

Audit Reveals VA Hospitals Spend Hundreds Of Millions Paying Medical Malpractice Claims

A recent audit conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs showed that the government agency spent more than $800 million over the past decade paying claims to injured veterans and their families who suffered due to preventable medical mistakes. The trouble appears to be increasing,…

By Patrick Austin

/ 4 Feb 2014

More Oil Spilled By Trains Last Year Than In Previous Three Decades Combined

America’s oil boom has resulted in a tremendous increase in the amount of crude oil being carried by trains, especially on routes crisscrossing the middle section of the country. In 2008, the Association of American Railroads said that 9,500 carloads of crude oil were transported…

By Randy Appleton

/ 30 Jan 2014

Three Teens Die in West Virginia Car Accident: How to Stop the Distracted Driving Trend

Not all car accidents can be prevented. But some can. Often some of the most tragic loss of life from car accidents occurs when teens are behind the wheel. This was the case for three West Virginia high school students. 16-year-old Krystan Butcher was driving…

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 27 Jan 2014

New Nationwide Emergency Room Report Card Data Released

Would you walk into an emergency room if there was a sign on the door that read, ‘This emergency room received a D+ grade’ ? Probably not, unless you were in dire medical need. Unfortunately the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has released the…

By Jim Lewis

/ 23 Jan 2014

FDA Announces Recalls of the Da Vinci Surgery Robots Due to Stuck Instrument Arms

One of the new advances in medicine that you may have heard of is a robot that can perform minimally invasive surgery. The name of this machine is the da Vinci robot. Unfortunately, the increased use of da Vinci surgical devices in medical procedures, coupled…

By Jim Lewis

/ 15 Jan 2014

Everything You Think You Know About E-cigarettes is Probably Wrong

Have you ever been told that you must wait 30 minutes after eating before you can swim? Though often touted as the truth, it’s actually a common misconception without any merit – just like the misconception that e-cigarettes are a safe way for smokers to get…

By Richard Shapiro

/ 7 Jan 2014

Newest Crude Oil Railroad Accident Raises Even More Questions About Railroad Safety

A huge fireball rose into the sky turning the North Dakota town of Casselton into what looked like a war zone. The culprit was a freight train carrying crude oil that collided with a train carrying grain that had derailed earlier. The collision sent fireballs…

By Richard Shapiro

/ 7 Jan 2014

Meet the Future: Cars Able to Avoid Accidents

In a news story that elicits images of flying cars and robot nannies (shout out to all Jetsons fans), vehicles are now coming equipped with sophisticated accident avoidance technology to help prevent wrecks. New vehicles have long been rated by how well they protect the occupants in…

By Patrick Austin

/ 7 Jan 2014

Georgia’s Patient Injury Act Will Not Reduce Health-Care Costs, May Instead Harm Patients

An article by Sam Nicholson, titled “Bill Trims Rights not Costs.” explains how a current proposal currently before the Georgia (GA) General Assembly will devastate families already injured by doctors through medical malpractice. The proposal will take away their right to trial by jury bestowed on

By Richard Shapiro

/ 31 Dec 2013