Northern Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer

Lawyer Ads - How Can You Really "Read" Them?

Ben Glass — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 06:10:00 GMT

There are lots of lawyer ads on TV and the Internet.

Some make outrageous claims, others are just plain meaningless.

Here is a little video that we put together to shed some light on lawyer advertising.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

What Questions Should You Ask an Injury Lawyer Before Hiring Them?

Ben Glass — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:06:39 GMT

Injured and need a lawyer? While your best bet to start your journey to hiring the best lawyer for your case is generally a referral from a friend who has needed and used the same type of lawyer, many people don't have that luxury.

Thus, they turn to TV ads and the Internet to choose. In both media, there are a ton of choices.

Where do you even begin?

Here's a litlte video that suggest the questions you might want to ask. Remember, each case is different.

It is your responsibility to find the best lawyer for you, which will depend on a lot of circumstances.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Virginia Supreme Court upholds verdict in "Mommy Makeover" plastic sugery death

Ben Glass — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 09:04:35 GMT

The Supreme Court of Virginia has upheld a nearly $2 million verdict against a Virginia Beach plastic surgeon after a mother of four died shortly after undergoing a "mommy makeover" plastic surgery procedure.

[An original report of this trial of a death after a "mommy makeover" is here.]

The Court said that there was no juror misconduct and that Matthew Galumbeck, MD had waived several of the errors he now complained of.

In 2008, Maritess Lopez underwent a "mommy makeover". Galumbeck describes the procedure at his website as:

Mommy Makeovers address a critical concern of wives, moms and working women - to get the best, long-lasting results with the least downtime. With a single surgery date, there is a single recovery to manage, and women get back to family, work and daily activity sooner.

Lopez's many alleged that she had been sent home too soon after the procedure and that she had signs of complications when she was discharged. They also contended that a call to Galumbeck's office the next day was ignored.

During trial the family proved that although Galumbeck's prior website said that all of the anesthesiologists there were board certified, the one assigned to Lopez's surgery was not.

Galumbeck contended that he complied with the "standard of care" and tha the call the next day never happened.

On appeal, Galumbeck argued that the court should have granted him a mistrial after a juror was seen shaking hands with an expert witness. He also argued that he had not been paid for the surgery.

The Supreme Court of Virginia, in a ruling dated March 2, 2012, ruled that Galumbeck had not proven juror misdonduct and that he had waived several of the errors he was now claiming had been made.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Should a Lawyer Refer a Client to a Doctor?

Ben Glass — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 05:40:25 GMT

From time to time when we talk to a potential new client, they tell us that "lawyer X down the street says that if I sign with his firm, he will choose my doctor and make sure I pay not co-pays or have any expenses until the case if over.

That potential client wants to know "what doctors do you send your clients to?"

I tell them that I think that a "lawyer to doctor referal is a kiss of death to your case. "

It's not just me. I've heard Fairfax County Circuit Court judges say this at seminars for years. They tell me that they see the jury's heads drop when its brought out on cross examination that "your" doctor (the one your lawyer sent you to) referred you to the doctor.

Think about it. Insurance companies keep track of this stuff. They will bring it out on cross. How credible does your doctor sound when it turns out he sees 25 clients from your lawyer's office a month?

I sat down recently with a local chiropractor to find out his view on this. He's a little renegade. While many of his peers pitch me on some sort of "you refer to me and I'll refer to you deal", watch this video to see where he stands on this.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

The Importance of Buying the Correct Type of Car Insurance

Ben Glass — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:07:00 GMT

The big insurance companies typically offer you a a range of insurance coverages. They'll sell you the towing coverage, lost wage coverage, etc.

The most important coverages are liability and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

Most insurance agents don't explain car insurnace policies well at all.

In this video, I emphasize the reasons to re-think what type of coverages you are buying.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

How Much Does it Cost to Increase Your Car Insurance?

Ben Glass — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 05:44:00 GMT

Many people think that car insurance is expensive. The truth is that once you have insurance the cost to vastly increase your coverage is minimal (unless of course you have a terrible driving record, then it can get expensive)

But, for most of us, the cost of protecting our famiy from the financial devastation of being in an accident is minimal...

In this video I discuss how moving from $100,000 to $500,000 of coverage with Allstate cost this family just $50.00 extra dollars per year.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Which are the two most important parts of your car insurance policy?

Ben Glass — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 05:52:00 GMT

Do you really know what your car insurance policy does and does not do?

Are you sometimes confused by all of the "options" you have?

The two most important parts of your car insurance policy are the "liability" and the "uninsured motorist" section.

In this video I start to walk the audience through their car insurance policies. Nearly everyone in the audience had brought their own policy and they had many questions!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Did You Know It's Perfectly Legal to Drive Without Insurance in Virginia?

Ben Glass — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 06:35:00 GMT

Here's a pop quiz on Virginia law:

Question:

What is the minimum amount of insurance you must have on your car before you can legally operate it in Virginia?

Answer:

Most people are shocked to find out that under Virginia law its fine and dandy to drive without car insurance.

Go ahead, take a look at the VIrginia Division of Motor Vehicles Car Registration form.

All you need to do is to tell the state that you are uninsured (and pay a relatively small fee). Done!

Now you can drive.

This crazy Virginia policy can have devastating consequences for Virginia families.

Here's the story of an illegal immigrant who caused death and serious injury and there wasn't enough insurance to pay for the damages.

You can protect yourself.

Watch the videos and read the story at DrunkDrivingVictimSpeaks.com

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

What you need to know about on-line insurance quotes

Ben Glass — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:38:00 GMT

Experienced personal injury attorneys often get questions from clients about car insurance. Most people are actually underinsured when it comes to car insurance.

In this "expert interview" series attorney Ben Glass interviews a local independant insurance agent about various aspects of car insurnance. In this episode we discuss on-line insurance quotes.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Death and Serious Injury in Fairfax, Va - Do You Have Enough Insurance

Ben Glass — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:54:06 GMT

I was recently invited to speak to a group of active and retired federal workers here in Northern Virginia. The topic was: do you have enough car insurance. Remarkably, about 50% of the standing room only attendees brouught their car insurance policies and after my talk, we were able to discuss the various limits that people had.

The talk was inspired by this terrible Northern Virginia accident.

During a break one lady called her car insurance company and increased her coverage to $1,000,000. She was quoted an additional premium of $75.00 per year!!!

Here's an excerpt from the talk:

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass