The National Council on Aging estimates that 10 percent of Americans who are older than 60 have fallen victim to some form of abuse or exploitation. The council lists the types of mistreatment experienced by older people as including physical, sexual and financial abuse; involuntarily…
After a surprise rollout and more than a year of starts, stops and general confusion, dockless e-scooters will be fully legally available for rent and riding at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront by Summer 2020. As any public official, ER doctor and personal injury lawyer in…
For many people, their cell phone is their lifeline, not only used for its telephone functions, but also for email communication, texting, social media, bill paying, bank account access, web searches, and more. A dead battery isn’t just an inconvenience but can mean have a…
Disease outbreaks like the emerging coronavirus pandemic that erupted out of Wuhan, China, during the first weeks of 2020 affect much more than people’s health. For instance, one of my first thoughts when I read that health care services conglomerate Cardinal Health recalled millions of…
The government is issuing a recall for a surgical stapler after reports that seven patients were seriously injured, and one died. According to news reports, the medical device, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit, is used to simultaneously cut and staple tissue back together…
The short answer to the title question is no. A driver who operates negligent or recklessly cannot use wet or slick pavement as an excuse to avoid settling insurance claims for property damage, personal injuries or wrongful deaths. My Virginia Beach-based law firm colleagues and…
Roughly 20 years ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) created a controversial program for medical device manufacturers to submit alternative summary reports regarding known risks involving their devices. This program allowed device manufacturers to hide reports from the general public; report
Accidents happen, even when you are on vacation. Our personal injury law firm learned this painful truth from a case in which a man who lived in Florida slipped and fell on loose steeping stones sunk into a hillside at a Virginia lake house. Our…
We have reached the top five civil justice stories of 2019. This is Part II of Legal Examiner’s annual compilation of the 10 most important civil cases of 2018, created by Virginia Beach, VA attorney-author Richard N. (Rick) Shapiro and his research assistants, a year end compilation…
Over the past several years, there have been more than 42 million vehicles recalled that were equipped with 52 million defective Takata airbags, that affected at least a dozen vehicle brands. The defective airbags could explode potentially send shrapnel into the face and body of…
A spate of news stories in mid-December 2019 filled in many of the remaining gaps in the story of who drove and financially benefited from pushing addiction to the powerful opioid painkiller OxyContin. Details of how members of the Sackler family, owners of the drug…
In a sentence, rental agents have legal duties to ensure that landlords comply with the North Carolina Vacation Rental Act. An agent who fails to meet that basic duty can potentially be held liable for personal injuries and wrongful deaths that occur at properties covered…
