Latest Legal News | Norfolk Legal Examiner

Should I get medical care after an injury?

One of the initial questions faced by the victims of other’s negligence is whether they should seek medical attention.While the answer to this question is driven by the facts of the particular incident (i.e. the age of the victim, site of the injury, degree of trauma, etc.), early and appropriate me

By Richard Shapiro

/ 30 Oct 2006

Railroad Defense Bullies

It never ceases to amaze me how attorneys representing big corporations like CSX Railroad will try to bully and threaten the injured worker and his attorney only to give in in the end when faced with clear law in favor of the little guy.One example of this bluster by railroad defense attorneys has t

By Richard Shapiro

/ 25 Oct 2006

A Hospital Is No Place For A Sick Person

We have all heard a similar joke, even from health care providers, that the last place you want to be if you are sick is the hospital.Hospitals are dangerous places. In addition to infections, there are many other dangers of injury and death posed by hospitals that are preventable. An independent ag

By Richard Shapiro

/ 13 Oct 2006

Multi-State Injury Cases Are More Complicated

If your personal injury case involves more than one state, it is more complex and requires an attorney familar with handling such cases.Lots of personal injury cases involve more than one state. For example, if you are from North Carolina and you have a car crash just across the border in Virginia,

By Richard Shapiro

/ 12 Oct 2006

Mild Brain Injury Verdict

Not long ago, we saw a huge verdict of $3,000,000.00 in a mild brain injury case in Hampton, VA.A 41 year old woman was driving when a dump truck took a left turn in front of her. In addition to orthopedic injuries, the woman suffered symptoms of brain injury like memory loss, anxiety and loss of ba

By Richard Shapiro

/ 18 Sep 2006

My Law Firm Partner Doubles As Inventor of Fold Flat Products

My partner, Rick Shapiro, edits the Virginia Beach IB blog and has been practicing mostly injury law for over 20 years, but is also an inventor of new “fold flat” products with patented folding wheel axles. He recently posted a blog article called seeing “Both Sides” which discusses being in the str

By Richard Shapiro

/ 13 Sep 2006

Plaintiff's Lawyers Share Power of Information

Trial lawyers representing injured people have in recent years gained a huge advantage by sharing information over the internet with fellow plaintiff’s side lawyers through listserves or groups of lawyers with a common interest.For years, defense lawyers have shared information with other lawyers re

By Richard Shapiro

/ 12 Sep 2006

Allstate's Dirty Hands Policy

A book is about to be published, over Allstate Insurance Company’s objections, entitled “From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves – How Allstate Changed Casualty Insurance in America.” This new book criticizing the insurance carrier is written by author David Berardinelli of New Mexico, who is a plaintiff’s

By Richard Shapiro

/ 6 Sep 2006

Med Pay – The Forgotten Insurance Coverage

Medical payments (“med pay” for short) coverage, an option on automobile insurance, is extremely important to getting a good result in a personal injury case arising out of a car crash.Many people forget about med pay. Because it is an optional coverage on your automobile insurance, people do not al

By Richard Shapiro

/ 5 Sep 2006

Upcoming Seminar Presentation on Medical Evidence at Trial

John M. Cooper has prepared written materials on the topic of powerful medical evidence presentation at trial to be used at a seminar for other lawyers in Norfolk, VA on October 26, 2006. I will also present live at the class to teach other lawyers about use of medical evidence as a continuing legal

By Richard Shapiro

/ 24 Aug 2006

Insurers Listen to Computer Not People

Many insurance companies, including Allstate, State Farm and Farmers, use a computer program to determine the value of injury claims. Some companies, such as Allstate, take the number that their computer program called Colossus spits out as the value of the claim giving no discretion to the claims r

By Richard Shapiro

/ 19 Aug 2006

Family awarded $1.5 million for missed melanoma

A Virginia Beach jury recently awarded a family $1.5 million for the death of a 51 year old caused by the failure to diagnose cancer.The cancer started as a raw spot on a finger. The doctors treated it as just an infection. Only with a second biopsy did the doctors figure out that this was a melanom

By Richard Shapiro

/ 18 Aug 2006