All Topics

• Slip, Trip or Fall cases: When Is A Hole Or a Condition Causing Personal Injury Open and Obvious?

  Rick Shapiro | December 31, 2008 5:52 PM | 1 CommentVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  I wrote a full article about a recent federal court decision out of Richmond, Virginia (within the Federal court circuit over West Virginia (WV), Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC) and South...

• Major Railroad Worker Verdict Against CSX for Engineer Exposed to Toxic, Hazardous Fumes

  Rick Shapiro | November 20, 2008 9:03 AM | 1 CommentVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  My FELA railroad injury lawyer/colleague William (Bill) Kvas, a Minneapolis, Minnesota lawyer recently reported a $661,500 West Virginia (WV) FELA/railroad worker verdict recovered against...

• Fentanyl Patch-Overdoses and Deaths Connected to Prescription of Patches

  Rick Shapiro | November 11, 2008 8:46 AM | 1 CommentVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  Our personal injury law firm is now investigating two separate fentanyl patch overdose death cases, both coincidentally occuring in North Carolina, and both involving the 75 mcg/hr dose patch...

• Fentanyl Patch Drug Associated with Overdoses & Death Claims

  Rick Shapiro | November 05, 2008 11:29 AM | 1 CommentVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  The Food and Drug Administration issued a Public Health Advisory regarding the safe use of fentanyl pain patches, such as Duragesic, citing reports of deaths in patients using the fentanyl patch....

• Top Three Insurance Company Tricks After Car Accident

  John Cooper | October 28, 2008 4:24 PM | 1 CommentVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  After practicing 20 years in Virginia (VA) in the field of car and truck accident law, I have seen how all of the insurance companies play games when people have been hurt on the road in a car...

• Should the Public Care Whether Railroad Workers Have Limited Hours of Service?

  Rick Shapiro | October 14, 2008 8:54 AM | 1 CommentVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  Why should you care if railroad conductors and engineers will work less hours? Do you care if new railroad safety legislation puts stricter controls on rail employers in how they compute the time...

• Feds Ban Cell Phone & PDA Use in Railroad Operations Under Emergency Order-Effective October 27, 2008

  Rick Shapiro | October 11, 2008 12:30 PM | 1 CommentVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  In the wake of the Metrolink passenger rail collision-the worst and most deadly rail accident in over 10 years-the federal Railroad administration (FRA) issued an emergency order that takes effect...

• Conrail Rocked by 2.6 Million Diesel Exhaust Asthma Verdict

  Rick Shapiro | May 08, 2008 7:52 PM | 1 CommentVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  In late April 2008, an Ohio state court jury ordered Conrail to pay $2.6 million to its former locomotive engineer, for negligently causing his diesel exhaust asthma lung disease. Frank Battaglia, worked in the Detroit, Michigan rail yards for Conrail for 23 years as a railroad engineer, before he was eventually diagnosed with diesel exhaust fume asthma.

• When Railroads Take Police & Legislators on Train Ride, Is It Really About Safety, Or About Their Liability?

  Rick Shapiro | September 08, 2006 8:22 AM | 1 CommentVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  There was a recent article in the local newspaper concerning Norfolk Southern Railway Company conducting a special train ride carrying one hundred people in two passenger cars behind a locomotive, to help these people understand rail safety and the dangers of railroad crossings. However, Norfolk Southern Railway Company and "Operation Lifesaver", a non-profit group, have been accused of trying...

• Boating Injuries: Does Federal Maritime Law or State Law Apply?

  Rick Shapiro | June 30, 2006 7:00 AM | 1 CommentVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  A tricky point that applies when a personal injury occurs on a boat (commercial or otherwise) is whether the closest state negligence law applies, or whether federal maritime law applies. The point can be critical on many evidence issues, as Virginia still holds that contributory negligence of an injured person totally bars recovery, whereas federal maritime law only considers the injured...