DePuy Hip Replacement Recall Affects Many in Virginia

Johnson & Johnson recently announced a recall of its DePuy hip replacement system or joint. The recall affects many hip replacement systems installed since 2003 and many patients in Virginia are affected. The hip replacement systems fail at twice the normal rate and also release excess amounts of heavy metal ions into the body. A revision surgery is necessary. Immediate action is required. If you are unsure as to whether your hip replacement system is being recall or if you are having problems, you should contact our affice as soon as possible,

Call us toll free (877) 222-1588 or email us at ewilson@winjurylaw.com and fhajek@winjurylaw.com for a free consultation with Eddie Wilson or Francis Hajek.

Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm
Experienced Injury Trial Lawyers
Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Staunton, Waynesboro

Bicycle Accidents and Injuries

Summer is almost over and with its passing goes the most dangerous time of the year for bicyclists. Over a third of all bicycle fatalities occur in the summer months. Interestingly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's database indicates that most fatal bike accidents occur in urban areas (66 percent) and are between the hours of 5PM and 9PM (30 percent). Unfortunately, children account for 21 percent of the fatalities. To prevent or minimize accidents, we recommend the use of a helmet. Wearing a helmet has been shown to reduce the chance of serious injury by up to 85 percent. Wearing highly visible colors is another way to reduce the chance of an accident. Avoiding biking at night is another key strategy in preventing bicycle injuries. Even if precautions are taken, accidents happen and oftentimes the cyclist is not at fault. Over 40 percent of bicycle accidents occur t intersections, primarily because drivers do not give cyclists enough room to maneuver. If your bicycle accident was caused by an irresponsible driver or an unsafe road condition, contact us.


Call us toll free (877) 222-1588 or email us at ewilson@winjurylaw.com and fhajek@winjurylaw.com for a free consultation with Eddie Wilson or Francis Hajek.

Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm
Experienced Injury Trial Lawyers
Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Staunton, Waynesboro

Virginia Appellate Lawyers Win Malpractice Case

The Virginia Supreme Court has determined that the failure of an appellate lawyer to comply with certain filing requirements in the Supreme Court that led to the dismissal of an appeal did not constitute legal malpractice. The reason for the decision is that the Court found that the appeal was a losing proposition and so the failure of the lawyers to do what they needed to do was not a problem. In other words, they were wasting their time (and their client's money) by filing a sure loser of an appeal, so a fatal mistake in that process really did not matter. The underlying case involved an $8 million dollar judgment against the Wintergreen ski resort arising out of a skier's injury. Does this mean an appellate lawyer is pretty much insulated from malpractice claims? Most likely is probably the best answer. In this case, the error was glaring. But, as in any malpractice case, you have to show not only that there was a mistake by the lawyer, but also that the mistake made a difference in the outcome. Here the Virginia Supreme Court determined that the mistake made no difference as the appeal would have been dismissed on the merits. It makes sense, but it also means that appellate lawyers will rarely have to worry about malpractice claims.


Call us toll free (877) 222-1588 or email us at ewilson@winjurylaw.com and fhajek@winjurylaw.com for a free consultation with Eddie Wilson or Francis Hajek.

Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm
Experienced Injury Trial Lawyers
Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Staunton, Waynesboro

Jury Selection in a Personal Injury Case

One of the most challenging aspects of a personal injury lawyer's practice is jury selection. Unlike many states which do not restrict jury selection, Virginia limits the questioning of prospective jurors. Further, many trial judges in Virginia do not even allow the lawyers to conduct the questioning. As a result, questioning of prospective jurors in Virginia's trial courts is not an extended affair. Usually, a jury will be selected in less than an hour. I have tried cases in other states where the selection process can take a day or two. For instance, in North Carolina, lawyers can interview each prospective juror about almost anything. In that process, it is possible to determine a lot of information which assists the lawyer in making an informed selection of jurors. In Virginia, a lawyer will be able to find out some background information about each prospective juror and whether there is any bias to either party, but not much else unless the trial judge allows more detailed questioning. Usually, that does not happen and the process is very rapid. The benefit is that you get to the heart of the trial very quickly. The downside is that you really do not know much about your jury and how the individual jurors think. And, those are not the only issues that personal injury lawyers face in the jury selection process. Virginia law provides that the list of prospective jurors can be obtained 3 days before trial. Until this year, the time limit was 2 days. In theory, the 3 day period can be used to research prospective jurors' backgrounds. In reality, it is difficult to get the list on time. What's more, the jurors who are produced on the day of trial often are not the ones on the list provided 3 days before. All of these issues make it difficult to garner much knowledge about prospective jurors before making a selection. It really is necessary to have an experienced personal injury lawyer work through these treacherous issues.


Call us toll free (877) 222-1588 or email us at ewilson@winjurylaw.com and fhajek@winjurylaw.com for a free consultation with Eddie Wilson or Francis Hajek.

Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm
Experienced Injury Trial Lawyers
Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Staunton, Waynesboro

Oddities of Virginia Law - Lawsuit Dollars

A Virginia personal injury lawyer has many decisions to make in the course of representing an injury victim. One of the most interesting and important decisions is how much money do you ask for in the personal injury lawsuit. The amount sued for is referred to as the ad damnum amount and in Virginia you have to state in your lawsuit the amount you are requesting as an award. The amount chosen is significant for several reasons. Most importantly, a personal injury plaintiff cannot recover more than the amount stated in the ad damnum. So, if you sue for a million dollars and the jury awards two million dollars, you may only recover one million dollars. Another reason you have to be careful about the ad damnum is that if there is only a minor injury and you ask for a million dollars, you run the risk of seeming to be greedy in the eyes of the jury. Virginia law does permit a personal injury lawyer to ask the jury to award less than the ad damnum and this is a way to avoid any appearance of being greedy. Virginia law also allows for amendment of the ad damnum. Thus, if the value of the personal injury case changes during the lawsuit, you can ask the court to allow a change in the amount set out in the complaint. An experienced personal injury lawyer also takes into account the location of the lawsuit. It may be that a lawsuit in Charlottesville or Albemarle county will be evaluated differently than one in Fluvanna or Nelson County. Different judges also handle requests for amendment in a disparate fashion. One judge may allow amendments as a matter of course, while another judge will require a showing of good cause. Again, an experienced personal injury attorney can guide you through these minefields.

Call us toll free (877) 222-1588 or email us at ewilson@winjurylaw.com and fhajek@winjurylaw.com for a free consultation with Eddie Wilson or Francis Hajek.

Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm
Experienced Injury Trial Lawyers
Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Staunton, Waynesboro

Pedestrian Struck and Killed by SUV in Charlottesville

Virginia law provides many protections to a pedestrian. For instance, a pedestrian has the right of way at all intersections where the speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less. However, such protections are useless when the pedestrian steps into the path of oncoming traffic at night while wearing dark clothing. Tragically, such was the case in Charlottesville in the Pantops area. In addition, published reports indicate that the pedestrian had consumed alcohol before the accident. The lessons to be learned from this incident are obvious. The effects of the tragedy will probably remain a mystery to most of us. I am currently handling a pedestrian case with facts that are quite the opposite of this case. And, my client survuved to tell what happened.

Call us toll free (877) 222-1588 or email us at ewilson@winjurylaw.com and fhajek@winjurylaw.com for a free consultation with Eddie Wilson or Francis Hajek.

Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm
Experienced Injury Trial Lawyers
Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Staunton, Waynesboro

Will Big Truck Traffic Decrease? Norfolk Southern Railroad Completes Expansion

Norfolk Southern railroad has completed a massive 3 year project that allows it to run double stacked trains from Norfolk, Va. to Columbus, Ohio. The project involved increasing tunnel and bridge heights and other improvements to allow double stacked trains to cover the route. The trip from Norfolk to Columbus is now 250 miles shorter and 24 hours quicker. The cost of the project was staggering. NS contributed 97.8 million dollars. The federal government paid 83.3 million dollars and Ohio and Virginia contributed 9.8 million dollars. Now that the money has been spent, will we see any reduction in truck traffic on the interstate highway system. A fully loaded double stacked train holds the equivalent of 280 tractor trailers. Was this a good use of federal and state tax dollars? Are we taxpayers getting any benefit from this project?We can assume that NS will become more competitive with the the trucking industry with this new route. Is it fair to provide these subsidies to a railroad company? On the other hand,doesn't the trucking industry benefit equally from state and federal maintenance of highways? The questions keep forming in my mind but there are no good answers, yet. Stay tuned.

Call us toll free (877) 222-1588 or email us at ewilson@winjurylaw.com and fhajek@winjurylaw.com for a free consultation with Eddie Wilson or Francis Hajek.

Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm
Experienced Injury Trial Lawyers
Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Staunton, Waynesboro