In August of 2003, John Wilson, a former conductor for The Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad, was injured when a fence pole hit his shoulder while he was on the side of a train car. Wilson, a United Transportation Union local chairman, filed a FELA claim against the railroad company he worked for because of this close clearance problem on the line servicing the Ford Motors plant.
The FELA lawsuit was filed by a competitor law firm. The Portsmouth, Virginia (VA) jury awarded him compensation for being knocked out of his job and for his injury which required surgery. Portsmouth, Virginia (VA) is generally known as being one of the best jury pools for plaintiffs in the Hampton Roads, Virginia (VA) area. The Norfolk, Virginia (VA) & Portsmouth, Virginia (VA) Belt Line Railroad is appealing the $330,000 awarded to Wilson.
The Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad is used to service industries and yards in those Virginia (VA) cities. The Norfolk Southern Railroad uses the Belt Line, so it does not do business in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA) to prevent being sued there.
For more information on this subject, please refer ot our section on Airlines, Cruises, Buses, and Other Mass Transit Accidents.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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