InjuryBoard Virginia Beach Archives

• Whose Side Are They On?

  Staff Writer | April 24, 2006 4:33 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  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...

• Nursing Home Injury Cases-Maintaining Inadequate Insurance Is a New Troubling Tactic

  John Cooper | April 24, 2006 9:25 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  Cases of nursing home abuse and neglect are quite common these days. The main reason is that many of these facilities are run with an eye towards the bottom line for the owners and not the benefit of the patients. Some corporations which own nursing home facilities will squeeze every last dime out of the facility in part by reducing staff. Another game that the nursing home industry has been...

• Automobile Accidents Involving Cell Phones-A Growing Problem

  John Cooper | April 23, 2006 9:21 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Automobile Accidents

  So many drivers these days are talking on the phone while driving. Studies have shown that talking on the cell phone while driving is very close to the danger of driving while drunk. The reason is that your mind is taken up with your conversation and not 100 percent focused on the road.It is the slight lapses in focus that lead to car wrecks. In litigation over car wrecks causing personal...

• Virginia Medical Negligence Law Now Requires Certification

  John Cooper | April 21, 2006 2:02 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  Virginia recently changed its laws related to medical malpractice cases. The new law requires that the lawyer certify that he has an expert witness in the appropriate specialty who will testify that the defendant violated the standard of care before serving the lawsuit. This law is actually a good thing. Now, there will be fewer lawsuits filed by lawyers who are not really experienced medical...

• U.S. Supreme Court Allows Suits Against Postal Carriers for Creating Tripping Hazards

  Rick Shapiro | April 21, 2006 10:55 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Miscellaneous

  Long ago, the federal government and its agents could not be sued for torts (a civil wrong). However, the federal government passed an act called the Federal Tort Claims Act many years ago that allows suits for negligence against federal agents, including postmen, if they are negligent and the negligence leads to injuries.What if your postal carrier leaves your box in a strange position outside...

• Medical Mistakes: Worse Than We Thought?

  Staff Writer | April 20, 2006 9:32 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  Five years ago, the Institute of Medicine issued a startling report that acted as awake-up call to hospitals, health care providers, and patients: As many as 98,000people die each year in hospitals in the United States from infections, drug mix-ups,and other mistakes--mistakes that could have been prevented. Two of the authors of that report recently published a follow-up article in...

• FDA Weakens Victim's Rights

  Staff Writer | April 20, 2006 9:26 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  The Bush Administration has taken yet another step to weaken the rights ofvictims of medically related mistakes. The latest effort to protect the drugmanufacturers in the United States is the issuance of a new rule by the Food and DrugAdministration pertaining to labeling requirements by drug manufacturers. The firstthing this new rule does is make it clear that the Food and Drug...

• DEA Agent Shoots Himself And Then Sues DEA In Aftermath

  Rick Shapiro | April 15, 2006 8:40 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Miscellaneous

  The ultimate embarrassment: An experienced DEA agent demonstrates gun safety to children in Orlando, Florida, and during the videotaped safety discussion he accidentally shoots himself in the foot! In the aftermath, he is now suing the DEA! Why?Paige alleges that the DEA intentionally leaked the tape to the media, and that the video has made him the butt of jokes on the internet, affecting...

• Is The Highway Shoulder Really A Safe Stopping Place?

  Rick Shapiro | April 15, 2006 8:30 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Automobile Accidents

  Is it safe to pull over on the shoulder of a highway to change a tire, change drivers, get something out of the trunk, or even to be pulled over by a police officer?Based on my experience as an injury lawyer, the answer is a resounding "no." If you can, get off the busy highway first, or at least pull all the way off the shoulder at an exit ramp where the main traffic is not blasting by your...

• Vehicle Air Bags: Friend Or Foe?

  Staff Writer | April 13, 2006 8:38 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Automobile Accidents

  For years, the automobile manufacturers of the world have touted air bags as soft pillows that will greatly reduce injuries and deaths on our nation's highways. While it is true that air bags have reduced deaths and injuries, these achievements have come at a high cost. Due to the manufacturer's decision to rush air bags into our cars when first required by the National Highway Transportation...

• Auto Black Boxes Finding The Courtroom

  Staff Writer | April 13, 2006 8:35 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Automobile Accidents

  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...

• The Most Dangerous Days of The Year Are??

  John Cooper | April 12, 2006 10:33 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  Monday, April 3, 2006 was a dangerous day on the road. Every Monday following the conversion back to daylight savings time in the Spring is a heavy day for traffic accidents. The problem is that everyone is an hour short of sleep and in a rush. This results in a statistical increase in the number of car wrecks. I hope you made it through the day okay.Another dangerous time is to be in the...

• Turning Down A Low-Ball Insurance Co. Offer and Winning In The End

  John Cooper | April 12, 2006 10:27 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Automobile Accidents

  I had a great time and got a super result in an automobile wreck case recently in the Norfolk Circuit Court, Virginia. My client was involved in a low speed, low property damage rear end collision. She also had pre-existing conditions in her back and fibromyalgia. I was thrilled when the jury came back with a verdict of $25,000.00, plus interest. $25,000.00 was the maximum available insurance...