This is tragic. The year is not getting off to a good start on Virginia’s highways. In some cases, folks would certainly have survived had  they been wearing their seatbelts. (I can still remember the TV commercials, from the early 60’s “Buckle up for safety, buckle up for safety, always buckle up.”

Here are some recent press releases about Virginia car accidents from the Virginia State Police.

According to state police, five people in Virginia died within a three day span from personal injuries they received from accidents on the state’s roads.

According to Virginia State Police, on Saturday, February 2 a 28-year-old man from Bridgewater died in Rockingham County after his car struck a bridge and overturned in a creek. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

On the same day, a 30-year-old man from Pearisburg died in Giles County after he ran off the road at state Route 200, overcorrected, and then rolled the vehicle. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle, the police said.

On Friday, February 1, a 43-year-old man from Dillwyn died in Buckingham County after his pickup truck struck a bridge after hitting a patch of ice, according to state police. They said that even though he was wearing his seat belt, he was ejected from the vehicle. Not sure how that  happened if he really was wearing a seatbelt.)

Also on Friday, a 65-year-old man from Covington died in Botetourt County after his SUV ran off the road and over an embankment, state police said.

On Thursday, January 31, a 36-year-old man suffered fatal personal injuries in Campbell County after he pulled in front of another vehicle. Police said he died three hours afterwards at Lynchburg General Hospital.

In the year 2008 so far, 55 people have died on the highways of Virginia.

The Washington Post is reporting today on the aftermath of a tragic car/truck accident that took place here in Fairfax County in January, 2007. Three people were killed when a gasoline tanker truck struck the rear of a car that was sitting in the middle of the Beltway in the middle of the night, apparently without hazard lights. According to the Post, no one knows why the car was stopped in the middle of the road.

The trial in the traffic accident case took place this week. The truck driver had been charged with a mideamenor but he jury found him guilty only of a traffice infraction and set his fine at $500.00

The families of the victims were understandably upset and questioned “why only $500 for the loss of life?”

The answer is that after any accident involvling injury or death, there may come two cases. One is brought by the state prosecutor for vilation of laws. The other is a civil case brought for recovery of damages for death or injury.

They are different and usually the one has nothing to do with the other.

The case that just finished is the “punish” the defendant for any violation of law. A civil case, on the other hand, is to compensate victims.

So there may be a civil case that arises out of this case. It seem that it will be very difficult as Virginia allows for no recovery if you, yourself, caused the accident in any way.

So this is how this may shape out. The driver of the car sitting in the dark on the Beltway may not be able to recover from the truckdriver. If there were passengers in the cars that were struck, their families may have a claim against the driver of the car who stopped without lights on. Still, a tough case since we don’t know how long the car had been there or what caused it to be stopped.

A real tragedy all around.

How do you find out who in your local community is the best for your case? I believe that there are certain questions to ask that will lead you to the best person for your case—no matter what type of claim you have. It may involve some time on your part, but that’s OK because the decision as to who your attorney will be is very important.
The world of personal injury claims is, in my opinion, much too specialized for someone who does not regularly handle these cases. Too many times we have looked at cases that other—inexperienced—attorneys have handled. Sometimes they were divorce or criminal attorneys trying to help out a client. That’s just no good. Get a specialist.

You should be aware that the insurance companies who defend personal injury and accident cases know who the attorneys are in your area who actually go into court to try cases and who do not. The insurance companies use that information to evaluate their risk. One of the first questions some insurance adjusters will ask when a serious claim comes in is: who is representing the plaintiff? I’ve heard insurance defense lawyers laugh as they head for trial against one of these attorneys! Its like shooting fish in a barrel for them.

If this information is important to the insurance company, shouldn’t it be important to you?

You Are At War—But It’s a War That Can Be Won

The day you were injured, you entered a war zone. Insurance companies and some in the government have declared war on injured people and their attorneys. They have waged the war in the media and their propaganda has had a tremendous effect on juries and their verdicts. This is called tort reform. The success that the insurance companies have had in tainting the minds of jurors has emboldened them to not offer fair settlements until you prove to them that you are ready, willing and able to go to trial.

Admit it. Until you or a family member were injured you, too may have thought, that a personal injury lawyer is a bad person and that people who make claims and file lawsuits are stealing from society. That’s what billions of dollars in insurance company advertising will get you!

It looks like the members of Virginia’s General Assembly are falling over over themselves to repeal Virginia’s abusive driver fees. No more collecting huge fines from drivers and bicyclists.

I never saw what all the fuss was about. Its a choice to drive stupidly and endanger yourself and others. No one makes you drive fast. Sure, the fees were onerous but stupid driving costs so much to our society now.

Now, lets move on to the ban on cell phone texting. That’s another good idea, though how anyone would ever know that that’s what you were doing is beyond me.

Then, after that, lets ban use of cell phones while driving.

All good ideas.. I’m behind them.

My wife says that some folks don’t know what a “personal injury lawyer” actually is. What kind of cases does an injury attorney handle?

Let’s start at the very beginning:

Lawyers say that they do “personal injury cases” or “accident cases” or “wrongful death cases” and yet, my wife Sandi tells me that she does not think that everyone understands exactly what this means. Indeed, people who have known me for years will come up to me and ask me for a referral to an automobile accident attorney! They do this even though I think that they know exactly what it is that I do.

A personal injury, automobile accident, or wrongful death case is any type of claim where a person has been injured or killed due to someone else’s carelessness. If the only damage in your case is that your car got banged up, then you don’t have a personal injury case – but you may have a property damage case. We do not handle property damage cases, but there are many lawyers who do so. If both you and your car have suffered an injury, then you have both a personal injury and a property damage claim. In those circumstances, either your insurance company or their insurance company will usually take care of the property damage claim.

If someone’s negligence causes the death of another, then this is called a “wrongful death” claim. The law of each state or jurisdiction differs significantly regarding what can be recovered in a wrongful death case. You need an attorney who understands the specialized wrongful death laws.

Some folks tell me that before they come in to meet with a personal injury attorney, they’d like to ‘get to know them a little better.” To some extent, the Internet has made that more possible than it ever was before. After all, we even have video today.

Here’s an audio interview that you can listen to at your computer; download to a MP3 device or burn to a CD. This link will take you to the Ben Glass personal injury interview.

Within the last few days, our office has received several inquiries regarding cases that were being handled by Woodbridge, Virginia attorney Stephen Conrad. The Virginia State Bar has this information about Mr. Conrad at its website. November 20, 2007

__________________________

“Stephen Thomas Conrad, 1986 Opitz Boulevard, Woodbridge, VA 22191

VSB Docket Nos. 08-053-071695, 08-053-071778, 08-053-072155, 08-053-071337

On November 20, 2007, the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board administratively suspended Stephen Thomas Conrad’s license to practice law for failure to comply with a subpoena duces tecum.”

__________________________

Several of the calls to our office have been people seeking representation and apparently were represented by Mr. Conrad.

First, let me be clear that I don’t know anything about Mr. Conrad’s status other than what the Virginia State Bar has at its website.

The State Bar has a client protection program/fund, so if you believe that you may have a claim against that fund, you should contact the bar at 804 775 0500.

If you have a pending claim, you should consult with an experienced attorney in that practice area (personal injury, family law, criminal.)

Our practice is limited to personal injury and medical malpractice work. To inquire about our services we require that you first visit www.BenGlassLaw.com and request our personal injury book.

Have you seen that internet chain email about the “Stella Awards?” The “Stella” they are referring to is the lady who was badly burned by McDonald’s hot coffee all those years ago. Purportedly, the “Stella Awards” focus on ridiculous lawsuits that are supposedly happening someplace.

California personal injury attorney Jonathan Stein has a great post reminding us that this is pure fiction, drummed up probably by an insurance company executive trying their best to keep from paying a legitimate claim.

Here’s another great place to go whenever you get one of those “too hard to believe” emails.

Ever seen a lawyer ad that said that? I see them all the time. TV…Radio…Yellow Pages…

What, exactly does it mean? Do you find it helpful in making a determination as to which attorney to hire?

I’m guessing you wouldn’t find an ad that says “I care and will work for you” very helpful, either.

After all, isn’t that what you would expect to hear from a lawyer soliciting your business?

That’s why I wrote The Truth About Lawyer Advertising.