Latest Legal News | Norfolk Legal Examiner

Our Law Firm Stays Very Active With The Norfolk/Portsmouth Bar Association

The Norfolk/Portsmouth Bar Association is a voluntary group of attorneys in Virginia who practice in that geographical area. Even though our law firm is located in Virginia Beach, we stay very active with the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar. Part of the reason is that the Cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth

By Richard Shapiro

/ 19 Apr 2007

How Insurance Companies Think

Insurance companies make their money by taking in premium dollars and paying out as little as they can get away with. That basic equation is why insurance companies do what they do. As a personal injury lawyer, it always amazes me to see the huge number of dollars wasted by insurance companies on te

By Richard Shapiro

/ 18 Apr 2007

Record Medical Malpractice Verdict in Florida (FL) Shows Pattern Of Medical Mistakes

In one of the largest medical malpractice verdicts in U.S. history, a Florida (FL) jury awarded over $200 million to a man who was left brain injured and disabled after emergency room personnel misdiagnosed a stroke as a headache. Ironically, shortly after this malpractice occurred, the Florida (FL)

By Richard Shapiro

/ 16 Apr 2007

Health Insurance Companies Get Greedy Again!!

Under the terms of most health insurance policies, and in accordance with the law of many states, if you are injured as a result of the negligence of someone else and sustained serious personal injury, your health insurance company is required to pay for the medical care that is needed to treat your

By Richard Shapiro

/ 12 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

Research Confirms Danger of Talking on the Phone While Driving

Recent research has looked at the human brain’s ability to multi-task like driving and talking on the cell phone at the same time. The conclusion is that people are not as efficient as they think at being able to concentrate on two things at once. Car crashes and serious personal injury may be the r

By Richard Shapiro

/ 9 Apr 2007

A Good Plaintiff Side Personal Injury Lawyer Harder to Find in Rural Communities

We at Hajek, Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton get many of our clients from the surrounding rural communities. This includes the areas of northeast North Carolina (NC) from Roanoke Rapids and Rocky Mount east to Camden and Currituck counties. In Virginia (VA) , we also get clients from South Hill an

By Richard Shapiro

/ 5 Apr 2007

AMA Guidelines For Permanent Partial Impairment Ratings Are An Important Piece Of The Personal Injury Puzzle

As a personal injury lawyer, it is important to use the AMA guides to permanent partial impairment to your client’s advantage. AMA is the American Medical Association, which is the primary national professional group for doctors. They publish and periodically revise a book that sets forth how to qua

By Richard Shapiro

/ 4 Apr 2007

Corporations In Injury Cases Often Destroy Evidence

In 18 years of practicing injury law, it has never stopped amazing me how insurance companies and corporate defendants will “lose” or outright destroy important evidence about a personal injury accident. It is often hard to prove that this loss of documents in a personal injury case was intentional.

By Richard Shapiro

/ 3 Apr 2007

Fatal Railroad Crash Caused By Fatigued Crew

The National Transportation Safety Board finally acknowledged in March of 2007 that a overtired transportation crew was the reason for a head on collision of two freight trains in Mississippi almost two years ago that killed four people. This train wreck involved the failure of a crew to comply with

By Richard Shapiro

/ 27 Mar 2007

Coal Train Derails But No one Hurt

On March 19, 2007, a Norfolk Southern coal train derailed in Suffolk, VA. At 2:00 a.m., the train with 4 locomotives was traveling at 40 mph when 37 of the 148 cars left the track. The train wreck left a pile of twisted metal and tons of coal on the ground and cutoff the power to 1,000 customers.Acc

By Richard Shapiro

/ 23 Mar 2007

More Death And Bad Results On The Weekends Was The Result Of A Recent Study Of Hospitals

If you can avoid it, do not be in the hospital over a weekend when the less trained and inexperienced staff are in charge. This warning to avoid medical errors by timing your visits to the hospital is particularly true over holiday weekends like July 4th. The reason is simple in my opinion . All med

By Richard Shapiro

/ 23 Mar 2007