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.

Two Tractor Trailers Collide in Maryland

Two tractor-trailers were driving on Interstate 70 Friday morning when they collided, causing one truck to spill corrosive chemicals. The trucking accident happened in Frederick County. The accident happened when an Arnold Trucking tractor-trailer ran out of fuel as it traveled up South Mountain, tr

By The Legal Examiner

/ 9 Jun 2007

Mount Carmel Nursing Home Cited for 16 Federal Violations

The Mount Carmel Nursing Home in Greenfield, Wisconsin was cited for numerous violations and needs to have them fixed before any new admissions will be paid for with state funding. The home was in danger of being closed in 1998, but since then has had a record of very few violations. The nursing hom

By The Legal Examiner

/ 9 Jun 2007

Unborn Child Allowed to Sue for Medical Malpractice

A 2-year-old boy is allowed to bring forth a medical malpractice suit against the doctor that misdiagnosed his father a month after he was conceived according to an appeals court. A doctor did not correctly identify colon cancer and instead diagnosed it as diverticulitis. Judge Michael Gibbs should

By The Legal Examiner

/ 8 Jun 2007

E. Coli Contaminated Meat Recall Expanded

370,000 more pounds of ground beef were added to a recall that covers meat sold in 11 states. The ground beef could potentially be contaminated with a deadly form of E. coli bacteria. The bacteria can cause dehydration and bloody diarrhea. The recalled products may contain the O157:H7 strain of E. c

By The Legal Examiner

/ 8 Jun 2007

One Man Killed in North Carolina Car Accident

A group of five people traveling through North Carolina were involved in a single car accident on Saturday. One man was killed and all the others were hospitalized with injuries. The driver of the car is 80-years-old. The driver was driving north on I-95 through Four Oaks, N.C., about 12:30 p.m. Sat

By The Legal Examiner

/ 8 Jun 2007

More Suits Settled In Plane Crash Case

The estates of two wrongful death victims of a recent aviation crash have settled their cases with the airline. The claims involved the crash of a Comair Jet carrying 50 people that attempted to…

By Richard Shapiro

/ 25 May 2007

Pre-existing injury in accident cases

One issue that comes up a lot in automobile accident cases and FELA railroad cases is the questions of pre-existing conditions, like degenerative disc disease. Pre- existing condition means that the claimant had something wrong with the part of their body before it was injured in the car or train ac

By Richard Shapiro

/ 24 May 2007

Evenflo Recall of Bad Car Seats as an Example of Products Liability Case

A recall was recently done of the Evenflo Embrace infant car seat/carriers made before April 8, 2006. This involves over 450,000 bad infant car seats with faulty handles. If you or your family has experienced and injury as a result of this defective product in Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC), or

By Richard Shapiro

/ 19 May 2007

Consumers Injured and Hospitalized by Bad Beef.

In a news piece on May 11, 2007, an announcement came out that beef shipped to Virginia (VA) among other states was recalled because of E. coli. Over 100, 000 pounds of beef was accidentally shipped to eight states according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture which appears to have been tainted. S

By Richard Shapiro

/ 18 May 2007

Older People Face Jury Prejudice

Trial lawyers in the cities of Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake, as well as other areas of Virginia (VA) are all trained to anticipate the prejudices that jurors have and express toward parties to litigation. Especially in cases involving medical negligence and malpr

By Richard Shapiro

/ 11 May 2007

Virginia Tech tragedy raises security issues

By Editors Rick Shapiro & John CooperWith over 30 dead Virginia Tech students, the entire nation including Virginia residents mourn the loss of innocent lives. As of the day after the massacre in Blacksburg Virginia, it appears that the gunman was himself a Virginia Tech student with serious psychia

By Richard Shapiro

/ 17 Apr 2007

The Rules On Calling Yourself A Personal Injury Specialist Are A Problem In Virginia (VA)

There are ethics rules that apply in Virginia (VA) that say you cannot hold yourself out as a personal injury specialist no matter how specialized you are in personal injury law. In Virginia (VA), there are no recognized specialties in any field of law, including representing injured people. The sta

By Richard Shapiro

/ 10 Apr 2007