Archive for January, 2009

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Fairfax County leads the State in Car Accident Deaths

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

In 2007, there were 53 car accident fatalities in Fairfax County. There were more car accident fatalities in Fairfax County than any other County in Virginia. While the number of deaths on Fairfax County roads far exceeded all other the other Virginia Counties, the death rate per licensed drivers was  among the lowest in the state. The death rate per 1,000 Virginia licensed drivers was the second lowest in the state, with a death rate of 0.07.

The County with the lowest death rate per 1000 licensed drivers is Arlington County with a death rate of 0.04 per 1000 licensed Virginia drivers. With over 746,000 licensed drivers, Fairfax County is one of the most congested counties in the Commonwealth. The sheer volume of traffic causes the death rate to be so high. However, as a consequence of the number of drivers, our traffic is much more highly regulated than other counties. The Virginia County with dubious honor of having highest death rate per 1000 licensed drivers is Highland County, West of Charlottesville, bordering West Virginia. Highland County, with roughly 2000 licensed drivers, has a death rate of 1.46 per 1000 drivers. You might think that the road were safer in the hills and mountains of Virginia, but you would be sadly mistaken.

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$79,000 Fairfax Motorcycle Accident Settlement

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

In the Spring of 2007, our client was riding his motorcycle home from work in Fairfax, Virginia. He was driving on a residential street following another car as they approached a curve in the road, where another car was attempting to enter the roadway. While the other driver yielded to the car in front of our client, he did not appreciate the fact that a motorcycle was following that car, and as a result he pulled into traffic directly in front our client, and his motorcycle.

The impact between the car and the motorcycle was severe. Our client was an expert motorcycle mechanic, and had customized his bike to a large degree. Unfortunately, the motorcycle was totaled. Worse was the fact that despite wearing all the required safety equipment available, our client broke his forearm and required surgery. The surgery entailed a metal plate and screws to hold together the unstable fracture. After a number of months the plate and screws were removed, and our client after months of therapy, and two surgeries had finally reached maximum medical improvement. The treating orthopedic surgeon provided our client a 5% permanent partial disability rating. With approximately $23,000 in medical expenses, a 5% permanent partial disability, and approximately $10,000 in lost wages we were able to settle this matter to the satisfaction of our client.

The main issue in this case was the apparent inability of the defendant to appreciate the fact that there was motorcycle approaching him. This is one of the largest factors contributing to motorcycle accidents. Unless people begin to recognize that we share the road with motorcycles, there will undoubtedly be a continued increase in motorcycle accidents in Virginia.

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Fairfax Car Accident Lawyers – Fairfax Car Accident Statistics

Friday, January 9th, 2009

In 2007, the County of Fairfax saw 17,152 car accidents, with 53 fatalities. Of those car accidents, 8,019 were accidents involving injuries.  1051of those car crashes involved alcohol. 648 persons were injured in the alcohol related accidents, and there were 22 alcohol related deaths. Considering that there were over eight thousand injury accidents, there was a large need for Fairfax Car Accident Lawyers to represent those injured.

These statistics for Car Accidents in the County of Fairfax can be compared with prior years as The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles releases their annual statistics for Car Accidents throughout the Commonwealth.

Motor Vehicle traffic is highly regulated in the County of Fairfax, and yet the number of accidents seems to be on the rise. Perhaps this has been caused by the large construction projects on the Capitol Beltway (I-495) , or perhaps due to the ever increasing congestion in Northern Virginia. Unfortunately the official State statistics do not show the locations of the Fairfax County car accidents.

All told there were 1,403 injury accidents within the City of Alexandria.  Considering the difficulties in obtaining fair compensation from large insurance companies, it is always best to retain an experienced lawyer to represent your interests. Attached are the latest 2007 Fairfax County Car Accident statistics from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. 2007-fairfax-county-car-accident-statistics

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Fairfax Virginia Car Accident Prompts Lawmakers to Introduce "Ashley's Law"

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

On February 13, 2008 Ashley McIntosh died from injuries she suffered when a Police Cruiser entered an intersection on Route 1 in Fairfax County with its emergency lights on but without its siren. In many states it is the law that emergency vehicles such as Police Cruisers responding to emergencies must have both their emergency lights and sirens on in order to proceed lawfully through a red light.

Virginia allows officers to use lights and sirens but only as may be reasonably necessary. As a result of this provision, although Fairfax officer Amanda Perry was charged with reckless driving for entering the intersection that fateful day when Ashley McIntosh was killed, she was found not guilty by a substitute judge from Stafford County.

Since that time, there have been many questions raised as to why Virginia would make it optional for a Police Officer to use all his emergency equipment when disregarding traffic laws. While the policy of Fairfax County is to have its officers use both lights and sirens, the state provision allows for the “reasonably necessary” loophole. Having both light and sirens functioning, provides valuable information to other drivers that they need to yield to the authorities, and get out of their way. In Fairfax, Alexandria and Arlington, Loudoun and Prince William Counties, the congestion that is almost always present on the roads requires that this law be changed.

Thankfully the surviving family of Ashley McIntosh have pushed to get “Ashley’s Law” introduced to the Virginia Legislature. Toddy Puller (D-Fairfax), and David Englin (D-Alexandria), will be introducing this bill to the legislature this session. It is time for Virginia to join the majority of states, and require the use of emergency lights and sirens without exception. This is too simple a proposition for our legislature to ignore. Please contact your state legislators and tell them that they should support “Ashley’s Law”.

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The Most Common Mistake Injured Employees make in Virginia Workers Compensation cases

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

The most common mistake we see in terms of potential client who come to us with Virginia work injuries, is the failure to document their injury, or their disability. So many times an injured workers tells us that they are unable to work, but have no medical records or documents to support that claim. Part of the problem is that these injured workers have entered a medical-legal setting where they must be able to prove to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Company why they are entitled to receive benefits. The Insurance Company will be constantly looking over your shoulder. If you don’t attend a doctor visit, they will want an explanation. If you fail to obtain a disability slip from your doctor, they won’t pay any wage benefits. If you can’t prove you went to the doctor’s office because you have been unable to get copies of your medical records, they may not pay your mileage reimbursement. If you fail to show up for light duty, you will be fired. As a result of the adversarial nature of a Virginia Workers’ Compensation Claim, the injured workers need a different approach to assure that they receive all they are due under the law.

Here are some suggestions, which should help:

  • Don’t take anyone’s word for it. Get it in writing. It is not good enough that the doctor says you can’t work, get a disability slip which states you can’t.  Make sure you know for how long the doctor has taken you off of work, and be sure to return to your physician before your disability runs out. Every Workers Compensation doctor is familiar with disability slips and should not have any problem with giving you one, if necessary.
  • Make sure you promptly get copies of your medical records. Nothing helps you more in the course of your claim than having copies of your medical records.
  • If your employer doesn’t have light duty available to you, get something that states that. 

There are any number so different ways that you can go about protecting yourself just by getting the proper documentation should anyone question what is happening in your case. The most important thing to remember is that a workers compensation claim is a legal proceeding. You need to follow the law, and you will be held to a high standard should you decide to represent yourself. Taking a few simple steps will allow you to avoid headaches later in the claim.

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$3 Million Virginia Workers Compensation Settlement

Sunday, January 4th, 2009

Just so the record is straight, there is another firm who advertises that they settled a $3 Million dollar Virginia Workers’ Compensation Case on behalf of a brain injured worker. So that that there is no confusion or misrepresentation, Daniel Barrera was the lawyer who singlehandedly obtained that $3,000,000.00 Virginia Workers Compensation Settlement. In fact, Mr Barrera has obtained over $1,000,000.00 for his clients on six separate occasions.

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How to go about hiring a lawyer for an injury case.

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

I have always found it strange how injured accident victims go about hiring a lawyer. For many years, injured accident victims relied on the yellow pages or television as their main source of information as who they should hire to handle their personal injury claim. Unfortunately the Yellow pages ads never really provided much information at all, and the television lawyer ads were worse. Decisions were usually made based on the size of the ad, the placement within the book, the eye grabbing photos, or the catchy telephone number.

In reality, none of the things that causes one to call a particular lawyer from the yellow pages has any real bearing on whether you should hire that lawyer or not. The same is mostly true about TV advertising. Some of the cheesiest ads have been lawyer ads, and they  have been resoundingly criticized and mocked over the years. Sirens, smashing gavels, helicopter sounds, exploding cars, or some talking head spokesperson should not have and influence on whether you call one lawyer or another. Thankfully, things have begun to change.

The Internet has begun to show that yellow page and TV ads for professional services really are a thing of the past. Five minutes spent at a good lawyer website can be more valuable than reading all the lawyers ads in the Northern Virginia Yellow pages. I have spent hours trying to answer questions from the public about problems that they have experienced in their workers compensation and personal injury claims, and will continue to do so. To the extent that you can walk away more knowledgeable after reading from our website, is more valuable to me than any ad we might place in the Yellow Pages.

So what should you look for in hiring a lawyer? Here is a list of some of the important factors to consider in hiring a lawyer:

  1. Does the lawyer actually go to court or does he/she farm out your file to another firm should the case need litigation. You would be surprised how many lawyers do not handle their own litigation; they merely settle cases, and nothing more. If the insurance company makes a low ball offer there is no way for that lawyer to say “see you in court”. You should consider hiring a lawyer who has confidence in your case so that he/she can and will file suit and take your case to trial.
  2. If the lawyer does go to Court, how many trials have they had? I have represented injured accident victims in well over 100 trials. Not many lawyers can say that. If something unusual happens in Court what is the probability that your lawyer will know how to handle it. It comes down to one word, experience. An experienced lawyer is your best ally in the Courtroom.
  3. Is your lawyer willing to discuss the potential value of your case. Many lawyers have difficulty speaking with their clients regarding the value of case for fear of giving the client unrealistic expectations. There is no reason why an experienced lawyer shouldn’t be able to speak with a client regarding the potential value of their case at any time.
  4. When you call the office, are you able to speak directly with the lawyer, or are your handed off to a staff member? Are you really that unimportant that the lawyer can’t take the time out of his day to discuss your case directly with you? I still can’t understand why people put up with this type of behavior.  If you hire a lawyer, and you need to speak directly with that lawyer, for whatever reason. You should, at a minimum, be able to get your call returned promptly. There are many times when clients call me, and I am unavailable as I am in Court, or in a meeting, however there is no reason why I can’t call that client back by the end of the day.
  5. Does the lawyer return your calls? If he doesn’t, you should think about the kind of relationship you have with your lawyer, and what he or she would do if your didn’t return their calls.
  6. Does the lawyer have a website, and is he available through e-mail? Welcome to the 21st Century. Yes, you can send me an email, and hopefully I have answered many of your questions on this website. There is no reason for a lawyer not to give you his or her e-mail address.
  7. When you speak directly to your lawyer, is he or she able to explain things to you without resorting to legal terms? Do you get along well with this person? Lawyers speak for a living. Many can’t stop talking. That doesn’t mean that they are good communicators. Should push come to shove, you might need a good communicator to convince seven jurors that you should get what you deserve.
  8. How much does the lawyer charge for an injury case? The standard charge is 1/3, and 20% for Workers’ Compensation cases. Why pay more? Perhaps you should speak with someone else should the lawyer ask for a higher percentage. Will the lawyer receive more than the client in connection with an injury claim? This is terrible situation that only makes injured accident victim feel victimized again by the legal system.

As you can see, the list of considerations in hiring a lawyer could go on and on,  and I could step on a few more toes along the way, but these are a few of the considerations that should point you in the right direction. Some lawyers don’t want you to hear or read these things. Some would much rather that you make up your mind based on the TV ad with the helicopter sounds, or the police lights. Legal cases can take years. Make sure that you will be able to stick with your lawyer from start to finish.

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