All Topics

• New Rules On Black Boxes In Cars Enacted

  Rick Shapiro | September 19, 2006 9:59 AM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  Car manufacturers will be required to tell new car buyers when their car is equipped with a black box or "event data recorder" under new regulations issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The formal description for the black box is "event data recorder" -which is any electronic devices that capture crash or collision data, in the seconds before, during and after...

• Seeing "Both Sides" Of Product Safety-As Injury Lawyer and Inventor/Designer of Products

  Rick Shapiro | September 13, 2006 6:40 PM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  I don't know how many product liability injury lawyers also are inventors in the United States, but I suspect it's a tiny number, or maybe just me alone. Beginning in 1999, I filed my first patent application for a new type of folding wheel axle for typical wagons and carts which allows them to fold flat. Since that time I have filed for and been granted 12 United States patents, and have...

• 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...

• Surprising Study Reveals That Stop Signs Make Railroad Crossings More Dangerous

  Rick Shapiro | May 21, 2006 9:47 AM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  As current chairman of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America's "Railroad Law Section" I have closely followed the argument by the nation's railroads that adding simple stop signs to highway grade crossings makes them safer, reducing the risk of injuries or deaths. The railroad arguments seemed logical to me--at least initially. Why wouldn't making all drivers stop at...

• Whose Side Are They On?

  Staff Writer | April 24, 2006 4:33 PM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  The thought of a surgeon taking a scalpel to the wrong limb or patient sends chills down the spine of anyone who has been admitted to the hospital. Eighty-four cases of what's known in the business as "wrong site surgery" were reported in the United States last year. But that's just the "tip of the iceberg" because many hospitals across the country aren't obligated to account for such blunders...

• Auto Black Boxes Finding The Courtroom

  Staff Writer | April 13, 2006 8:35 PM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  Black boxes, which have provided invaluable information in determining what has caused airliners to crash for years, are increasingly finding their way into vehicle injury litigation. An estimated 25 million automobiles in the United States now have so-called event data recorders, a scaled-down version of the devices that monitor cockpit activity in airplanes. The boxes are usually silver, not...

• Electricity, Gas, Explosions--Special Rules Apply to Extremely Dangerous Activities

  Rick Shapiro | March 05, 2006 10:09 AM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  Virginia follows some special tort rules when it comes to blasting, electricity, explosives and gas. Any person who is involved with explosive products or blasting activities must use use a high degree of care, corresponding to the dangers involved, to prevent injury to others. If this is violated, there is "strict liability" on the person or company involved with the explosives. The law...

• Injury Arising From Railroad Activities

  Rick Shapiro | March 03, 2006 9:56 AM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  There are several categories of railroad injury related cases. First, a federal law, the Federal Employer's Liability Act (FELA), gives rail workers the right to sue their railroad employer directly for injuries suffered on the job--this law trumps workers compensation entirely. Accidents and serious injuries do happen, and many are caused by the fault or negligence of a railroad in ways that...

• Virginia Law Firm Disclaimer

  Staff Writer | October 25, 2005 10:30 AM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  WARNING: No attorney or law firm can or should guarantee results or outcomes to a potential client. Every case presents different facts and different legal challenges. This website may include real case accounts and prior case references, however, this information is presented to demonstrate legal strategies that were adopted in the past, and the results that were obtained cannot be a predictor...

• Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton, P.C.

  Staff Writer | February 28, 2005 5:00 PM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton law firm is dedicated to representing those injured due to the carelessness and fault of others, including railroad, truck and car accidents, faulty product injuries, and medical malpractice claims. The firm has represented thousands of accident victims throughout the Eastern United States and the firm's lawyers have over 100 years combined legal experience. ...