I wrote a full article about a recent federal court decision out of Richmond, Virginia (within the Federal court circuit over West Virginia (WV), Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC) and South Carolina (SC)) where the federal judge denied a motion to dismiss a delivery driver’s personal injury lawsuit against a Firestone Tire store, resulting from his injury when he tripped in a parking lot pothole. In a case called Cring v. BFS Retail and Commercial Operations LLC, the opinion by Judge Payne outlined the fact that under Virginia law courts are permitted to find contributory negligence on behalf of the injured victim when the hazard or condition was open and obvious, and with ordinary care, the condition/hole could have or should have been avoided by the injured person. The conservative Federal judge next addressed whether the injured delivery driver could be held negligent for simply failing to look down at the moment before tripping into a pothole. The federal judge observed that the Virginia Supreme Court stated that a jury must examine the size, location and visibility of defects or conditions to determine whether they are truly open and obvious to a personal injury victim. The Judge ultimately would not dismiss the suit and for a full article discussing this decision click here.
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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