Automobile Accidents

• Working Carefully With Doctor's Treating Injured Clients Makes A Difference

  John Cooper | July 07, 2006 1:32 PM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  By: John Cooper, HSCLA attorneyOne of the key things in any injury case is working with experts. The primary expert in any injury case is the treating doctor; typically, a specialist, like an orthopaedist or a neurosurgeon. Good communication between the attorney and the treating doctor is key to successful conclusion of a case. Some attorneys simply write a letter to the doctor asking them...

• Cell Phones Used While Driving As Dangerous As Drunk Drivers Per New Study

  Rick Shapiro | July 06, 2006 7:57 AM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  Have you ever noticed that during some interesting cell phone conversations (while you are driving your car!) that you forget your speed? Or that those bright green, yellow and red lights overhead actually have a meaning? Well, new research is good (or bad) depending on whether you are a chronic cell phone driver. The amazing new research recently published by the Human Factors and Ergonomics...

• 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...

• Virginia & North Carolina Boating: Personal Watercraft Accidents & Injuries Increasing

  Rick Shapiro | June 28, 2006 8:51 AM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  Virginia and North Carolina offer special amenities to residents and visitors: beautiful oceans, bays and waterways. One of the most popular aquatic pastimes is the use of a personal watercraft (PWC), including jet skis, waverunners, waterbikes and waterscooters, representing a market that has ballooned in the last couple of decades. Unfortunately, the explosive growth has led to more...

• Highway Motor Vehicle Death Rates Increased in 2005

  John Cooper | June 21, 2006 3:01 PM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  The highway death rate increased in 2005 for the first time in about 20 years, according to recently released federal statistics. Although more people are using safety belts and there have been various national campaigns against drunk driving, 43,200 people died in motor vehicle wrecks in 2005, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Many of these deaths are caused by...

• Automobile Accidents Involving Cell Phones-A Growing Problem

  John Cooper | April 23, 2006 9:21 AM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  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...

• Is The Highway Shoulder Really A Safe Stopping Place?

  Rick Shapiro | April 15, 2006 8:30 AM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  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 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  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 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...

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

  John Cooper | April 12, 2006 10:27 PM | 0 CommentsVirginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk, VA

  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...