Virginia Beach Personal Injury Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

Virginia Motor Vehicle Accidents:

Legal claims that arise from vehicle accidents are typically governed by the law of negligence. Any individual who negligently operates a motor vehicle may be required to pay damages to an injured victim. A personal injury case involving a vehicle accident may become formalized through civil court proceedings, or may be resolved through an informal settlement before a lawsuit is filed. Vehicle accidents can include:

• automobile accidents
• train accidents
• admiralty and maritime law
• truck/ATV/SUV rollover accidents
• aviation accidents
• bicycle accidents
• boating/cruise ship/yacht accidents
• bus (commercial or school bus) accidents
• intersection accidents
• motorcycle accidents
• pedestrian accidents
• rear end collisions
• semi-tractor trailer accidents

The surviving family members of a fatally injured accident victim may be able to bring wrongful death charges against the defendant.

Virginia Automobile Accidents:

The Virginia car accident attorneys of SLA have years of experience and a successful track record representing clients who have suffered significant injuries in automobile accidents. The Firm works closely with doctors and other health care providers to discuss the short and long-term medical consequences of an injury, and possesses a detailed comprehension of Virginia's automobile insurance and liability laws and the different sources of recovery available to car accident victims and their families.

Virginia Train and Railroad Accidents:

Train, railroad, and railroad crossing/car or truck accidents can result in personal injury such as sprains and fractures, catastrophic injury such as head trauma, brain damage and paralysis and loss of lives or property. Train, railroad and rail crossing collisions/wrecks can include derailments, collisions involving toxic chemicals, collisions with passenger vehicles or other trains, grade crossing accidents, or accidents due to mechanical failure.

It is the railroad's responsibility to ensure there are appropriate signals and gates at every railroad crossing for safety precautions. If the railroad fails to take such precautions, they are liable for any injury or death that ensues. Victims of train and railroad accidents may be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, medical expenses, property damage, lost wages and loss of earning capacity.

Virginia Wrongful Death:

A wrongful death occurs when a person is killed due to the negligence or misconduct of another individual, company or organization. A legal action for wrongful death belongs to the decedent's immediate family members, usually a surviving spouse and children, and sometimes parents. Under certain circumstances, unrelated minor children living with and supported by the decedent may also bring a claim for wrongful death. In order to bring a successful wrongful death cause of action in Virginia, the following elements must be present:

• The death of a human being caused by another's negligent or intentional conduct.
• The survival of family members who are suffering the loss of financial support, love, care, comfort, supervision, guidance, household assistance and general society previously provided by the deceased.

The general rule in wrongful death cases is that one is entitled to recover both economic and non-economic damages which are suffered as a result of the loss of a loved one. Economic damages in a wrongful death case include an award for the financial contributions that the decedent would have made to his wife, children and/or parents had he or she survived. It also includes the recovery for funeral services in memory of the decedent and for burial costs. Non-economic damages include loss of love, society, companionship, comfort, affection, solace or moral support. For more information, please contact the Virginia wrongful death attorneys of SLA today.

Virginia Traumatic Brain Injury:

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a medical phrase used to describe the damage to the brain suffered by sudden impact or physical force to the head. Essentially, the human brain floats in a fluid substance called cerebrospinal fluid. TBI can result when the force of momentum causes the brain to impact against the skull. This type of injury, often the result of hitting your head on the windshield, pavement, or object, is frequently referred to as a "closed head injury." Whiplash can also cause TBI. These closed head injuries can result in lasting physical and mental problems.

Virginia Spinal Cord Injury:

Spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs when the nerves within the spinal canal are damaged. Most SCI's are caused by trauma to the vertebral column, affecting the spinal cord's ability to send and receive messages between the brain and the body's systems that control sensory, motor and autonomic function. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of SCI, followed by acts of violence, falls, sports injuries and diseases such as polio, spina bifida, and Friedreich's Ataxia. The spinal cord does not have to be severed in order for a loss of functioning to occur; it only has to be fractured.

Virginia Medical Malpractice:

Medical malpractice is the failure of a health care provider to follow the accepted standards of practice of his or her profession in the community where the service is rendered. If a physician was careless, lacked proper skills or disregarded standardized rules resulting in injury to a patient, a jury may find the health care provider liable for negligence. Hospitals can also be held liable for the negligence of their employees, including staff nurses and technicians.

Examples of Medical Malpractice include:

• Failing to diagnose a tumor while reading an x-ray
• Puncturing a nearby organ or tissue during surgery
• Failing to order necessary and appropriate medical tests
• Failing to diagnose a condition in time to treat it properly
• Failing to refer a case to a medical specialist
• Prescribing incorrect medication
• Brain Injury
• Birth Injury
• Cerebral Palsy
• Incorrect diagnosis that results in a failure to treat a medical condition
• Failing to properly administer anesthesia
• Emergency room negligence
• Dental Malpractice
• Cosmetic Surgery Malpractice

Defective Products Liability:

Products liability refers to a manufacturer or seller being held liable for placing a defective product into the hands of a consumer. Products liability cases may include defective or poorly designed machinery, tools, motor vehicle defects, recreational products, pharmaceuticals, and other defective products and equipment. A person injured by a defective or dangerous product may be eligible to file a lawsuit for products liability and recover damages under one of the following categories: strict products liability, negligence, or breach of warranty.

Virginia Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect:

Americans are living longer than ever before. The fastest growing segment in the United States is the elderly population. As a result of this demographic shift, many elderly Americans have become residents of nursing homes during their final years. As many of these nursing homes are under-funded and under-staffed, a disturbing incidence of neglect and abuse is being reported. Injuries sustained by nursing home residents due to neglect and abuse often involve the inappropriate use of physical restraints, joint contractors, overuse of sedatives, unnecessary use of urinary catheters, loss of mobility, pressure sores and lack of nutrition with weight loss.

Virginia Construction/On-the-Job Accidents:

Construction labor makes up one of the three most dangerous occupations in the United States today, each year producing thousands of debilitating injuries and wrongful deaths. Factors that contribute to construction accidents include workers lifting loads with worn and weathered cables, working on elevated platforms without fall protection or wearing defective safety harnesses and lanyards, and/or working in trenches with improper benching and using outdated tools and equipment. Farming and manufacturing accidents, as well as the oil and gas industry can also cause serious injury and toxic exposure.

• Toxic Exposure: Due to the tremendous growth of corporate industry in the United States over the past fifty years, the number of dangerous, toxic substances in the environment has grown significantly. Some toxic substances are shown to cause substantial injury to people; i.e., lead-based paint linked to brain damage, especially in children; asbestos linked to lung cancer and restrictive lung disease; drycleaning and other solvents linked to brain damage and major organ damage; pesticides such as dioxin and DDT linked to birth injuries and toxic landfill waste linked to leukemia.

If you or someone you know in the eastern United States, including Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Washington, D.C., South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Maryland or Louisiana, needs the assistance or skilled legal counsel of an experienced serious injury lawyer, contact Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton, P.C., today at 866-608-1626, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free initial consultation.