If you’re thinking of filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, you may need an affidavit of merit. Half of the states in the US now have laws requiring plaintiffs file an affidavit with their lawsuit, including Virginia. An affidavit of merit is a signed document, reviewed by a…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…