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
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
The human body is not designed to withstand an impact with a car. If you get hit at a crosswalk by an automobile, you are likely going to be seriously hurt. The lightest cars weigh several thousand pounds. Even if the vehicle is moving at a relatively slow speed, it may well break your bones if it h
In order to successfully recover for injuries caused by the owner or operator of a premises, you have to show that the business was negligent in that they failed to use ordinary care to keep their premises safe and to warn of hidden dangers. However, in Virginia, you also have to show that you, the
This year, for the first time, the federal government has moved the switch over to daylight savings time into early March. With this change, comes the early arrival of Spring sleep deprivation. Any change can disrupt people’s sleep patterns. When sleep patterns are disrupted, a person operating a ve
The news has been filled lately with problems at VA hospitals and Walter Reed Medical Center in particular. The problems range from decrepit, unsanitary facilities to long waits and beauracractic indifference to injured soldiers. Unfortunately, this was not news to me as a lawyer working on cases fo
Skiing is a fun winter-time sport that the whole family can participate in. However, skiing injuries can be permanently disabling. The use of helmets while skiing has greatly improved safety on the ski slopes. Skiers often collide with each other and fixed objects like trees. If you have a helmet on
Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for 18 to 20 year old people in America. About 5,500 deaths and 450,000 injuries occur each year involving teen driving.Wrecks involving teens are probably most attributable to inexperience and judgment errors caused by not having enough time behind
The regional planners and chambers of commerce have been trying for a decade to come up with a unified name for Southeastern Virginia having settled on Hampton Roads. When I grew up in Norfolk, Virginia in the 1960’s, this area was commonly called Tidewater. Whatever the name, the region containing
In the recent past, the federal courts have changed their rules related to discovery to account for electronic information in civil cases such as wrongful death and personal injury files. Discovery is the process by which the injured person can get information and documents from the at fault party w
There was a huge fireball as a CSX freight train crashed south of Louisville, Kentucky today.CSX, as one of the two East coast railroad companies, puts many communities at risk. This freight train derailed with tank cars containing hazardous material forcing the evacuation of residents in Bullitt Co
It is amazing that something as simple as marking the body part to cut on can prevent surgeons and hospitals from harming patients.However, it works. Hospitals have long needed to modernize and standardize their practices to ensure patient safety. A landmark 2000 article and study showed that a hund
