I live in Norfolk, Virginia (VA), the home of Norfolk Southern Railroad. I have been doing automobile accident injury cases in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) for about a decade before I joined my current firm of Hajek, Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis, and Appleton, PC. That was in 1997 and since t
Until the 1980’s and 1990’s, the major U.S. freight railroads routinely had train crews getting on and off moving railcars.At different times they used this dangerous practice at CSX and Norfolk Southern and the predecessor railroads like Conrail. Even after the railroad made a new rule saying it wa
I have taken calls from injured people in Virginia (VA) for over two decades. So, it’s not hard for me to imagine what is on the mind of a person who has just been a car wreck and has been hurt as a result of someone else’s fault. It’s a situation that I help people with everyday. Here are some answ
The damages that you can collect for in a car wreck case in Virginia (VA) are set forth in the Virginia (VA) Model Jury Instructions, number nine. The Virginia (VA) Model Jury Instructions are a list of the law that the judge would read to the jury before they deliberate at the end of a personal inj
As an injury attorney, I pay attention to the numbers of accidents reported by the government. United States Department of Transportation issued a report that in 2002 there were over 4,500 tractor trailers involved in fatal collisions. Over 5,000 people died in these truck wrecks. The study put out
Our firm uses the slogan “All we do is injury law” to summarize what our firm’s focus is. However, there are really many types of cases within personal injury law. As a Virginia (VA) personal injury attorney, it always amazes me that clients may not fully understand what areas of law we practice in
There are three components of a good vehicle collision case, namely 1) liability, 2) damages and 3) insurance. You need to have all three of these elements in order for you to have a car wreck injury claim that I can help you with. If any of these elements is missing, I may be forced to decline the
Although I have always recommended clients hire a personal injury as soon as possible after an injury, the reasons for fast action are especially true in significant trucking wreck cases. The insurance company for the trucker will be out on the scene immediately collecting evidence and documenting w
A well written letter to the editor in a recent Virginia Pilot talked about the loss of young lives in the context of the recent Virginia Tech tragedy.No words can comfort a parent who has lost a child. That is probably one of the hardest and most unnatural types of grief in the world. The author no
I read in a recent news clip where eighteen people were injured when a car collided with a bus. One of injuries was critical. This happened in New York. However it could have been any town in the U.S including in Virginia or North Carolina. Car wrecks involving buses are not infrequent. Sometimes th
I just met with an expert witness in a railroad crossing case (truck hit by train) whose field is vision and human factors. This lady, Ellie Francis, has two PhDs in these areas. She is an incredibly high powered expert in these subjects which are central to what happens during vehicular accidents l
A recent medical study of professional football players has showed that brain injury is a more significant problem, than thought. However, brain injury has probably been ignored or down played in the NFL and the medical community for a long time. Because brain injury is not always as obvious as some
