Legal

The law affects every part of daily life. Our legal section offers clear, practical explanations of new laws, court rulings, and local and national legal developments. Whether you’re following a major lawsuit or seeking to understand how a new law impacts you, this section keeps readers informed about what’s happening in Virginia’s courts and legislature.

DOT-111 Rail Tank Car Compared To Ford Pinto

The leader of a railroad safety organization recently testified before the Federal Railroad Administration regarding the necessity of upgrades to a commonly used train tank car. The woman, Karen Darch, told federal regulators that the DOT-111 is the rail equivalent of the Ford Pinto and…

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 18 Sep 2013

The Importance of Having Car Insurance and Having More-Than-Minimum Coverage

Most states require, by law, drivers to carry some sort of car insurance that provides protection of the car, and themselves. Obtaining insurance is an important part of being a responsible car owner. The auto insurance you buy should, at minimum, meet state requirements, but…

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 5 Sep 2013

Claims Concerning Robotic Surgery On The Rise

A recent article discussing robotic surgery mentioned how the trend towards lawsuits against the maker of the popular da Vinci robotic surgical system has taken off in recent years. Law firms across the country have been filing suits in increasing numbers, each claiming that patients…

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 23 Aug 2013

Mother of Two Electrocuted Children Files Wrongful Death Claim

The mother of two children who were electrocuted at the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri over the July 4 holiday is suing Union Electric. The lawsuit alleges that the two children, 8 and 13, were swimming near the dock at the vacation home of the…

By Richard Shapiro

/ 14 Aug 2013

Boating Accident in North Carolina Spurs Lawsuit

Attorneys in Guilford County, North Carolina have filed a lawsuit on behalf of a man who lost his three year-old child, his pregnant wife and her brother in a boating accident on High Rock Lake over this past Memorial Day. Though this is not a…

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 13 Aug 2013

NY: DUI on Conditional License Now a Felony

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill last week that is going to strengthen what is known in the state as Leandra’s Law. That law imposed tough penalties on people who operate a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and have a child…

By Richard Shapiro

/ 29 Jul 2013

North Carolina Patients Injured After Using Tainted Injectables

According to a recent article in Time Magazine, the FDA announced that it discovered bacteria and fungus growing in vials of drugs manufactured at a Tennessee compounding pharmacy. The…

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 20 Jun 2013

NSC Study Concludes Crashes Caused by Drivers on Cellphones Under-Reported

A new study by the National Safety Council (NSC) has concluded that the numbers of motor vehicle crashes involving cellphones are vastly under-reported in national statistics on fatal automobile…

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 31 May 2013

Intuitive Surgical Issues Urgent Warning Regarding da Vinci Surgical Robot

A scary message by Intuitive Surgical Inc., the company that makes the da Vinci surgical robot, has doctors on alert after a potential issue with the machine was uncovered. Last week the…

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 27 May 2013

Lowering the DUI threshold makes perfect sense.

In an effort to curb alcohol-related car accidents, the U.S safety board proposed that the long standing benchmark for drunk driving, be lowered from 0.08 blood alcohol content (BAC) to 0.05. The…

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 14 May 2013

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

May is “Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month”. According to NHTSA statistics, motorcycles make up only two percent of the vehicles on the road, yet they are involved in ten percent of…

By Legal Examiner Staffer

/ 14 May 2013

Will incriminating evidence be preserved if I get hurt?

The spoliation of evidence is the intentional or negligent withholding, hiding, altering, or destroying of evidence relating to a legal proceeding. Such spoliation has two potential…

By Jim Lewis

/ 31 Mar 2013