If you have been involved in an accident and hire an attorney to pursue a claim, you must disclose to your attorney all prior accidents and injuries.

 Hiding them just doesn’t make any sense.

The same holds true when you seek medical help. You should be telling your doctor everything, especially if you are going to be making an injury claim.

In a recent federal court case the judge through out a doctor’s testimony, calling him a “hired gun” when he failed to discover (and the patient failed to volunteer) important information that likely would have affected his opinion in the case.

You can read about this important case about prior injuries and Virginia car accident claims here.

Every once in a while a real dirtbag lawyer like Stephen Conrad comes along. His mission is to enrich his own pockets by outright stealing of client money. Like Bernie Madoff, Conrad’s in jail for a long, long time.

Some lawyers are trying to work to prevent this type of massive theft from happening again. There is legislation proposed in Virginia that would require an insurance company to notify the accident victim whenever the insurance company mails a settelement check to the victim’s lawyer.

How could this ever be a bad thing? Well, some lawyers argue that it unfairly singles out plaintiff’s lawyers for a “new rule” and, I guess. their feelings are hurt.

The debate over Virginia’s payee notification statute rages on and I’ve written a bit about it here.

A Halifax County couple from Nathalie died of the personal injuries the suffered in a single-vehicle crash on May 9 when their Jeep ran off the road and collided with a tree.

According to Virginia State Police, 47-year-old Gary V. Anderson and 49-year-old Rachel Terry Anderson were both pronounced dead at the scene at 8:40 p.m. Police say both were wearing their seat belts.

The collision took place on U.S. 501, three-tenths of a mile south of state Route 795.

Also on that same day, a 2-year-old boy died when he ran in front of a vehicle in Prince Edward County at 8:20 p.m. Farmville resident Addison V. Mina was struck as a vehicle pulled onto Longwood Avenue. He was the 21st pedestrian to die on Virginia highways in 2009, in comparison to 36 at the same time in 2008.

A 20-year-old man from Suffolk suffered serious personal injuries on May 14 when the SUV he was driving flipped over on Interstate 264 at the city line between Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

The driver, whose name police did not release, received air transport to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

According to Virginia State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Cotten, the man was “driving at a high rate of speed” while eastbound in a Ford SUV on I-264 near Newtown Road when he attempted to cross four lanes of traffic. She said he collided with a pickup truck and a GMC vehicle, causing his SUV to go airborne, fly over the concrete Jersey wall, and flip into the traffic in the westbound lanes.

The driver became trapped in the vehicle and had to be extricated. He received helicopter transport to the hospital with multiple injuries. Others involved in the crash suffered only minor injuries.

According to his campaign, Virginia senator and Democratic gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds was involved in a car accident in Louisa County in which two people were injured on May 9.

Deeds’ campaign said that he was returning home to Bath County to spend Mother’s Day with his family after a campaign even in Fredericksburg when he rear-ended another vehicle while driving west on state Route 22 shortly after 6 p.m.

According to Maj. Donald A. Lowe of the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office, the collision took place just outside the town of Louisa near where state Route 22 intersects with School Bus Road.

Lowe said that deputies at the scene were told by Deeds that he spotted the taillights of a vehicle in front of him and attempted to stop, but his brakes failed to properly respond and he ran into the back of the other vehicle.

Lowe said Deeds was issued a $30 summons for following too closely.

According to Lowe, two of the three passengers traveling in the vehicle Deeds’ collided with received transport to the University of Virginia Medical Center, where they underwent treatment and were released. Deeds was uninjured in the crash.

On May 13, a man died of the personal injuries he suffered in a single-vehicle crash near Unionville Elementary School in Orange County at around 9 a.m.

Virginia State Police spokesman Sgt. F.L. Tyler said that the man was southbound on State Route 522 in a 1995 Oldsmobile when he lost control, ran off the right side of the road, and collided with a tree.

Tyler said the impact caused the car to catch fire with the driver trapped inside. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tyler said he did not believe the man was a local resident, but police would not release his identity until his next of kin had been notified.

The crash remains under investigation by Trooper B.M. Taylor.

An 81-year-old woman from Chilhowie died of the personal injuries she suffered in a collision with a driver who ran a red light in Washington County on May 13.

According to Virginia State Police spokesman Sgt. Michael Conroy, Margaret “Peggy” Kegley was attempting to turn left onto Route 700 from Highway 19 when her 2005 Ford Taurus was struck on the driver’s side door by a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer SUV driven by 23-year-old Wise resident Melinda Miller, who failed to stop for a traffic light.

Miller received transport to Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Conroy. He said an infant in her vehicle was properly restrained and was unharmed in the crash.

Conroy said that Miller has been charged with reckless driving and further charges are at the discretion of the Washington County Commonwealth’s Attorney.

A Virginia state trooper sustained personal injuries on May 15 when his patrol vehicle was sideswiped by a woman who was driving drunk, according to police.

According to Sgt. Michelle Cotten, spokeswoman for the Virginia State Police, the collision occurred at the intersection of Hampton Roads Center Parkway and Magruder Boulevard shortly after 6 a.m.

Cotten said that a Dodge Intrepid driven by 23-year-old Ciara Shavon Palmer was on a ramp from the parkway onto northbound Magruder Boulevard when she changed lanes in an unsafe manner and sideswiped the car of Trooper Steven Bethea. Cotten said Bethea went to the hospital to have his injuries checked out.

Palmer was uninjured in the crash. Cotten said police charged her with driving under the influence, making an unsafe lane change, and carrying a concealed weapon because she had a knife in her purse.

On the night of May 6, a Virginia State Police trooper suffered personal injuries while responding to an Interstate 81 crash in Wythe County.

Trooper O.J. Lilly received transport to Wythe County Community Hospital to receive treatment for injuries to his arm, neck, and ankle and was later released.

According to 1st Sgt. J.M. King, the crash took place during a heavy rain storm shortly before 8:30 p.m. He said that at the time, Lilly was driving north on I-81 and was on his way to respond to an accident.

King said that Lilly’s 2008 Ford hit water on the road and hydroplaned before colliding with the rear of a tractor-trailer rig belonging to Pikesville, Kentucky-based Jones Oil Co.

King said Lilly’s cruiser was totaled, but the tractor-trailer only suffered minimal damage.

Virginia State Police say that a woman from Floyd County suffered fatal personal injuries in a May 3 crash in which she lost control of the vehicle, which overturned twice on state Route 653 in Floyd County.

Police said that 23-year-old Ashley Renee Chaffin was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred shortly after 10 a.m. Police say she was northbound when the vehicle slid off the road in a curve, hit an embankment, and overturned twice before coming to rest on its roof. Police say she was not wearing her seat belt.

On that same day, police say 47-year-old Swoope resident Harry E. Powers was pronounced dead at University of Virginia Medical Center at 2:30 p.m. from the injuries he suffered in a May 2 crash on state Route 742 in Augusta County. According to police, he was southbound when his motorcycle collided with two deer and he lost control of the vehicle.

Police also say that 20-year-old Colonial Beach resident James M. Barnes died after the minivan in which he was riding ran off the road and struck a tree on state Route 202 in Westmoreland County on May 2. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 9:30 p.m. Police say he was not wearing a seat belt.

These three deaths raised the toll on Virginia highways in 2009 to 215, in comparison to 274 at the same time a year ago.