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The Norfolk Legal Examiner provides coverage of personal injury and safety issues making headlines in Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, and surrounding areas. You can find news stories and legal insights that matter to individuals, families, and communities.

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

Its No "Accident"

Personal injury lawyers are trained to use words to persuade. One key word that comes up in personal injury litigation again and again is the word “accident.” People are very used to talking about automobile accidents or car accidents. The problem is that accident implies that it is nobody’s fault.

By Richard Shapiro

/ 17 Aug 2006

Auto Black Box Secrets-Is Your Car Spying On You?

The use of black box or event data recorder in late model cars is becoming a hot topic in criminal and civil litigation. More police are using black boxes to help solve traffic crimes. In Virginia, police officers are routinely downloading this information, when necessary to help figure out what hap

By Richard Shapiro

/ 16 Aug 2006