The American Tort Reform Association (“ATRA”) maintained its standing as the least reputable, overtly partisan, and highly deceptive special interest group in the U.S. with its release of an annual report of so-called “judicial hellholes.” Newport News, Virginia made the watch list. I live in…
A major commuter railroad serving Connecticut and the New York City area has been ordered to pay an unfairly disciplined employee nearly $300,000. The ruling, issued on December 16, 2014, by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, includes record punitive damages of $250,000, about…
A traumatic brain injury, commonly referred to as a TBI, occurs when there is a sudden, blunt trauma to the brain. An estimated 2.4 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The leading cause of…
For smokers who work on the railroad, heed this warning – there is a disturbing synergistic effect between smoking and asbestos exposure in the proliferation of mesothelioma cancer. If you have been exposed to asbestos and smoke, you are at a much higher risk of…
When is the host of a cookout or other gathering of multiple families liable for injuries suffered by a child who is not his or her own? The Virginia Supreme Court clarified this tricky issue of civil law when ruling on October 31, 2014, that…
Many men that suffer from low testosterone (also known as Low T) are taking hormone replacement therapy drugs that are linked to serious health concerns including heart attack and stroke. Several studies associate certain testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) drugs to an increased risk of cardiovas
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 125 million people face workplace exposure to asbestos worldwide. This exposure is responsible for some 100,000 occupational deaths annually from diseases like lung cancer and asbestos. The railroad industry is one such occupation affe
Unfortunately, many drivers try to save money by having “minimum” car insurance policies. These are policies with coverage limits that would barely cover a routine fender-bender accident. If you get into a serious auto accident and the at-fault driver has this type of auto insurance…
The Virginia Supreme Court on October 31, 2014, issued a ruling that could significantly benefit plaintiffs who file wrongful death claims against corporations operating in the state. The decision came 10 years after the husband of the woman seeking to hold a Haymarket, VA-based lumber…
An unexpected tragedy led to the daylong closure of the main government office building for the Town of South Boston, Virginia (VA), on October 28, 2014. A steel vault door weighing several hundred pounds fell off its hinges and landed on an accounts receivable clerk…
A collision between a Union Pacific freight train and a tractor-trailer in Mer Rouge, Louisiana (LA), on October 5, 2014, left two rail crew members critically injured. The conductor needed to be flown by helicopter to shreveport, more than an hour away, to have his…
Union Pacific on September 26, 2014, received an order from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to reinstate and pay punitive damages to a rail yard worker it had illegally suspended for reporting safety problems. In announcing its ruling in the whistleblower case, the…