- Ben Glass | January 29, 2007 10:36 AM |
Category:
Automobile AccidentsAccording to a report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Virginia ranked 18th among the 50 states in automobile insurance with an average expenditure of $702.23. Kenneth J. Schrad, director, Division of Information Resources for the Virginia State Corporation Commission, said the state had ranked in the lower tier among auto rates for several years. He said the amount of...
- Ben Glass | January 27, 2007 6:40 AM |
Category:
MiscellaneousAccording to a recent report from the Centers For Disease Control, at least three babies have died and one in 1,500 children needed treatment in hospital emergency rooms during 2004 after being given over-the-counter cough and cold medicines.This is important information: According to the report there is no safe dosage of the cough and cold medication that has been established for babies, nor...
- Ben Glass | January 26, 2007 3:04 PM |
Category:
MiscellaneousIn a Vioxx trial going on right now, apparently the judge and the Merck & Company lawyer are really going at it. Apparently, Judge Carol Higbee has chastised attorney Diane Sullivan for "deliberately violating [court] orders on repeated occasions."According to a Bloomberg article on the Vioxx trial: Higbee repeatedly clashed with Sullivan at Humeston's first trial, which ended in November 2005....
- Ben Glass | January 25, 2007 12:49 PM |
Category:
MiscellaneousOk all you folks lining up to take sub-orbital space flights originating in Virginia--beware that if the rocket ship provider launching you atop a couple million gallons of explosive fuel screws up and kills you, you might not be able to sue them for their carelessness.I kid you not. There is a bill that has been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly that would shield spaceflight entities...
- Ben Glass | January 21, 2007 5:55 AM |
Category:
MiscellaneousThere is a great article in the Washington Post this morning about how one guy took on the government and won. It seems that Robert Eberth owned a car that he was saving for his son. He kept it parked and didn't have it inspected.While the car was parked on a private road at his housing complex it was ticketed by Prince William County police. Eberth thought that was wrong so he looked up the...
- Ben Glass | January 20, 2007 6:04 PM |
Category:
Automobile AccidentsMy friend New York personal injury attorney Gary Rosenberg reminded me that there is a great book that has been published for plaintiff's attorneys. From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves purports to expose Allstate and its claims handling practices. Must be a good read, according to Business Week, Allstate tried hard to keep this book from seeing the light of day. In February, a New Mexico state...
- Ben Glass | January 19, 2007 4:44 PM |
Category:
Medical MalpracticePublic Citizen has just published a new report, again exposing the medical malpractice "crisis" for what it is, a big hoax on the American Public. This new report will provide additional ammunition for citizens (particularly like those in Virginia, Texas and Florida) that face some of the most one-side doctor protective legislation in the country.In a press release, Public Citizen said:The real...
- Ben Glass | January 18, 2007 3:08 PM |
Category:
Automobile AccidentsIn 2006 17 pedestrians were killed and 300 pedestrian crashes in Fairfax County. There were 19 fatalities in 2000 and 2001. According to the Fairfax County Times newspaper the majority of these crashes are centered on high traffic, high volume roadways with fairly dense populations. According to a 2005 study conducted by the Inova Health Systems a disproportionate number of the pedestrians...
- Ben Glass | January 18, 2007 5:43 AM |
Category:
Automobile AccidentsI may be in the minority but I like the idea of red light cameras at some of Northern Virginia's busy intersections. I think they make people more aware of the danger of running red lights. Sure, some people get rear ended, but then, that means everyone has to pay more attention.The Virginia State Senate passed legislation yesterday to restore the red lights at some Northern Virginia...
- Ben Glass | January 17, 2007 2:35 PM |
Category:
Automobile AccidentsA bill has been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly to ban most cell phone use while driving. Exceptions would be made for emergency use and for hands free devices.House bill 233 Provides that, except in certain emergency situations, the operator of a moving motor vehicle is prohibited from using any wireless communication device unless the device is equipped for hands-free communication...
- Ben Glass | January 16, 2007 1:11 PM |
Category:
Medical MalpracticeYou would think that if a surgeon leaves a sponge or towel in a patient during surgery that there couldn't be any real defense to the medical malpractice case that is brought.In the "what will they think of next" category, some Cleveland Clinic doctors are defending the medical malpractice case on the theory that the towel left in side the (now dead) patient's body, "prolonged her life." Ok, Ok,...
- Ben Glass | January 16, 2007 9:29 AM |
Category:
Medical MalpracticeLegislation has been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly that would allow doctors and labs to mail results directly to patients.Huh?? They can't do this now? Why not?It seems like the medical community has never quite figured out that maximum information to the patients is a good thing. Stop being big brother and holding back info because patients won't understand it.. I can't tell you...
- Ben Glass | January 15, 2007 2:11 PM |
Category:
Medical MalpracticeThe 2007 Virginia General Assembly Session brings with it more attempts to make Virginia medical malpractice claims more difficult for patients, while not providing any balancing requirements for defendants. A bill introduced in the House would allow for dismissal with prejudice of any malpractice claim where a court finds that the certification of merit currently required to be obtained by the...
- Ben Glass | January 14, 2007 10:39 PM |
Category:
MiscellaneousThe sad case of Salvatore Culosi, the local optometrist gunned down by a Fairfax County SWAT team last year when they went to arrest him for allegedly running a gambling ring got sadder as investigators confirmed that the SWAT team should never have been there for his arrest in the first place.According to published reports, a police review says Fairfax County police went overboard in using a...
- Ben Glass | January 13, 2007 10:24 PM |
Category:
MiscellaneousThe Supreme Court of Virginia has overruled a trial court and ruled that a lawsuit filed by a woman alleging that legal thriller author John Grisham intentionally inflicted emotional distress on her be allowed to go forward. The lawsuit, filed by Katharine Almy, alleged that Grisham and a co-defendant agreed to obtain documents bearing Almy's handwriting from her children's file at a local...
- Ben Glass | January 09, 2007 3:10 PM |
Category:
Medical MalpracticeA Florida heart surgeon has been indicted following testimony he gave in a Michigan medical malpractice case. . According to the indictment Dr. Alex Zakharia, allegedly overstated his medical qualifications and thus participated in a scheme to defraud.The case he gave testimony in was a case where he was testifying for the plaintiff against the United States government. The case is in the...
- Ben Glass | January 08, 2007 9:25 AM |
Category:
Automobile AccidentsThe National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the unfortunate subway train derailment that injured 20 people in Washington, D.C. yesterday. The District of Columbia recently passed "anti-runner" legislation so lawyers and their employees should (unless asked by a victim) not be contacting victims of this subway accident directly.Unfortunately, this means that the insurance...
- Ben Glass | January 08, 2007 6:34 AM |
Category:
Medical MalpracticeSomeone asked me recently what types of Virginia medical malpractice cases do we see most? I think that's pretty easy. The most frequently seen case is one involving some sort of communication error. This can be anywhere from a miswritten or misread prescription, to a failure to read a CT scan indicating a deadly disease to health care providers failing to communicate because of language...
- Ben Glass | January 05, 2007 5:55 PM |
Category:
MiscellaneousWhat better way to make sure that no doctor treats an accident victim than to tell doctors that their fees for accident cases are capped? This is what is being proposed according to a post at the on-line Insurance Journal.For once I agree with the head of a medical society:Michael Kornett, chief executive officer of the Medical Society of New Jersey, said blocking the price controls is the...
- Ben Glass | January 04, 2007 4:39 PM |
Category:
MiscellaneousAccording to an article at www.sunsentinal.com, the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court wants lawyers and judges to get themselves into public elementary, middle and high schools to talk about the law.Apparently, a survey by the Florida Bar last year showed a real lack of understanding, among adults of the American legal system.At first, they laughed:Lewis said some people chuckled when...
- Ben Glass | January 04, 2007 5:22 AM |
Category:
Automobile AccidentsFrom time to time I get questions about Virginia personal injury law emailed me by potential clients. Without revealing personal information, I can answer the questions here because others may have the same question.Question: I've been injured in an accident, what are standard percentages or break-downs for pain ?Answer: there are no standard percentages for pain. Each case is determined on its...
- Ben Glass | January 03, 2007 1:48 PM |
Category:
Medical MalpracticeVictims of medical malpractice in Nevada are finding that it's getting harder and harder to find a lawyer to represent them. Limits on verdicts and caps on attorney fees are making it unprofitable to practice. This according to a Physicians and Medical Malpractice Insurance website. Apparently the Nevada legislature passed an incredibly low limit of $325,000 for pain and suffering damages. That,...
- Ben Glass | January 02, 2007 2:17 PM |
Category:
Automobile AccidentsIn yet another sign that whenever you hear an insurance company whine about losing money all you have to do is say "show me the facts," the Insurance Information Institute has issued a press release that says you can expect to pay less in 2007 for car insurance. The drop won't be great (.05%) but what is significant is that the auto insurance companies must be reaping enourmous profits to...