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On October 20, 2009, authorities in Norfolk and Virginia Beach reported fatalities as a result of a truck striking a woman in Norfolk and a two-vehicle crash in Virginia Beach. In Norfolk, a Dominion Virginia Power truck struck a woman crossing Little Creek Road near Granby Street. The woman later died of her injuries at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. In Virginia Beach, a mother and her daughter died after being involved in a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of Dam Neck Road and Corporate Landing Parkway. They were ejected from the car as it overturned several times. The daughter died at the scene, while the mother succumbed to her injuries after being taken to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital. The Virginia Beach Police are still unclear as to who had the right-of-way.

Tragic accidents such as these are an unfortunate part of life. If you or a loved one has been involved in a serious auto or truck accident we can help. The attorneys at Pierce & Thornton have experience and expertise in representing families of those seriously injured or killed by the negligence of car or truck drivers. We can put together a team of qualified investigators and gather the information and data necessary to reconstruct the accident and determine who was at fault. Call today for an immediate consultation with one of our auto or truck accident attorneys.

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Despite having combined medical expenses of $555,662 and lost earnings totaling over $70,000 from injuries sustained at a Virginia Beach rental home, 36 plaintiffs are forced to share a mere $375,000 settlement. The injuries were sustained after the collapse of a third-story deck holding several dozen wedding guests at a large six-bedroom beachfront rental home in the Sandbridge section of Virginia Beach. City officials who inspected the collapsed deck found that it had been attached with nails to the exterior of the house, rather than bolted to the frame. Records also showed that the nails had rusted and corroded, and that there was no flashing to shield rain from other parts of the deck.

The injured wedding guests as well as the couple getting married sued the owners of the rental home for negligently failing to maintain the structure. The bride was reportedly told that the deck could support wedding guests.
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Two workers at a nursing home in Galax, Virginia, have been dismissed due to allegations of abuse of residents. The workers are being investigated by the police and criminal charges are expected. There are many nursing homes throughout the Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and the overall Tidewater area that provide fine care to their residents. However, over the course of 25 years of practicing medical malpractice law, I have seen many instances of abuse and neglect of nursing home residents. Sometimes, there is simply inadequate staffing to provide the necessary level of care for the nursing home residents. Sometimes, the nursing home employees simply fail to provide appropriate care, thus resulting in injury or death to the resident of the home. At Pierce & Thornton, we have handled nursing home cases involving pressure sores, falls, medication errors, abuse and neglect and many other cases involving injuries to and death of residents at nursing homes.
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I was stopped at a stoplight in Virginia Beach on my way to work this morning when I saw a car rapidly approaching in my rear-view mirror. Anticipating that the car was not going to stop, I pulled my car into the other lane while the approaching car skidded to a stop in what was the spot where I was sitting. I looked over in amazement to see the driver still texting on his cell phone. If I had not been looking in the rear-view mirror, I’d be writing this from a hospital bed.

A Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study released recently showed truck drivers are 23 times more likely to be in a crash if they are texting, and several fatal accidents have been blamed on drivers or train operators who were distracted by texting. Many people say that the only thing that would make them stop texting is if they actually had an accident or ran off the road while texting. A far wiser choice would be to pull over if you need to send a text or wait until you reach your destination. Many states, including Virginia, have passed laws making it a traffic offense to text while driving. Effective July 1, 2009, Virginia law prohibits vehicle operation while using any handheld device to read, type or send a text message. While some may view this as an unnecessary intrusion of their individual liberties, lives will be saved due to the passage of this law.
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A Virginia nursing home and rehabilitation center is the focus of an investigation by the Galax County Police Department, according to a local news agency. Two nursing home employees have been dismissed from employment at the nursing home under investigation. Nursing home abuse and neglect was also recently brought to light here in Tidewater when a malpractice case was settled against a nursing home whose employee had repeatedly sexually abused a patient.
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In Hampton Roads, it is not unusual to see patrons walking in and out of the many tanning salons along the Virginia Beach oceanfront, as well as salons in Chesapeake, Norfolk, and Newport News. As good as one may look and feel with a suntan, the risks of developing melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, are extremely high. Pierce & Thornton has successfully represented in Court the families of clients whose physicians failed to diagnose melanoma, leading to the clients’ deaths.
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Serious injury and death occur in the workplace at an average rate of 15 times a day nationally, according to a recent study by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Serious safety violations increased 12% from 2003 through 2007, while the average fine against employers for deadly workplace violations averaged only $11,300. Even in the most serious cases, employers rarely face criminal prosecution. The lack of significant monetary penalty serves little deterrent to employers to provide a safe workplace for their employees. Under Virginia law, a worker injured in the course and scope of his employment can’t sue his employer unless the employer willfully placed him in harm’s way. However, if a third-party or “stranger” to the workplace causes the injury or death, a Virginia employee has the right to bring a lawsuit for injuries incurred.

If you have questions regarding a significant injury at work, call one of the attorneys at Pierce & Thornton.

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Virginia Beach parents, whose baby died suddenly after birth in April, 2005, are trying to reform the Virginia Board of Medicine procedures for public complaints. Their infant died as a result of dangerously low amniotic fluid (oligohydramnios). The mother, who was at high risk because of her age, had undergone chorionic villus sampling, more commonly called CVS, in which a needle is inserted into the placenta to extract tissue. The couple suspects that this procedure caused a small leak of amniotic fluid that was undiagnosed and untreated. The amniotic fluid index was well below the 5 centimeter level that is considered cause for concern. The baby was delivered via Caesarian section and died almost immediately due to underdeveloped lungs, which is a by-product of oligohydramnios.
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Victims of medical negligence related to medication errors won a major victory last week. The United States Supreme Court upheld a $6.7 million jury award to a musician who had lost her arm due to a mishandled injection of Phenergan, an anti-nausea medication. The Court rejected the defense argument that federal law limits lawsuits against drug makers.

In a 6-3 decision, the Court held that federal approval of the medication’s safety label did not mean that the manufacturer was shielded from lawsuits like the one filed by the patient.

This is the Supreme Court’s second ruling this term which has turned away business groups’ attempts to argue that federal regulations strip a patient’s rights to seek damages for negligence under state law.

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A recent research study reveals that hospital deaths are significantly higher when the patient is admitted on the weekend rather than during the week. The study cites lower staffing levels and less experienced hospital staff working weekends as possible explanations for the higher mortality rate.

This same study also concluded that being discharged from the hospital on a Friday has increased risks of death or readmission within thirty days. Early discharge may occur on a Friday in the rush to get patients out of the hospital and therefore, inadequate discharge instructions are given or the increased likelihood of discharging a patient before they are medically stable to go home occurs.

The lesson to be learned here is that one should try to avoid admission to a hospital over the weekend (which, of course, is sometimes unavoidable) or being discharged before the weekend. If you or your family member is discharged on a Friday, be sure to confirm with the physician your understanding of all discharge instructions, including all reasons that you would need to return to the hospital.

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