Virginia Train Derailment Results In Railroad Injuries. Last week, a CSX train derailed in Southampton County. The train derailment took place in the early morning hours and the cause of the derailment is not yet known. The 41 car train was carrying mixed freight and originated in Portsmouth, Va. It was en route to Rocky Mount, NC. What we do know about this train derailment is that the two railroad employees aboard the train suffered injuries and that one of the train crew members had to be taken by helicopter to the hospital. We also know that diesel fuel from the train engine caused a large fire. Railroad employee injury incidents like this are not uncommon. Railroad work is particularly dangerous. For that reason, railroad workers are covered by a special law, the Federal Employer's Liability Act, or FELA, that allows them to make a legal claim for their railroad injury or injuries against the employing railroad, whether it is CSX, Norfolk Southern, or even a smaller railroad like the Buckingham Branch Railroad. Train derailments are not uncommon. Earlier this year, a CSX coal train derailed near Scottsville, Va. Fortunately, the railroad employees were not injured in that railroad accident. Our law firm has handled a large number of railroad employee injury cases. Cases involving the FELA are quite different from automobile accident cases. The important issues in a railroad injury case require experience in the field to identify and address those issues as soon as possible. For instance, in a recent railroad employee injury case involving the Buckingham Branch Railroad, a site visit and early investigation proved crucial in resolving the injured railroad employee's FELA case. Please contact me directly if you need advice concerning a railroad injury and your FELA case. Francis P. Hajek Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm Experienced Injury and Accident Lawyers Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Greene, Augusta, Staunton, Waynesboro

Virginia Medical Malpractice Lawyer Comments On Malpractice Cap. As a Charlottesville personal injury lawyer and attorney, I get a lot of calls about potential Virginia medical malpractice cases. Most medical malpractice victims are not aware that Virginia has a cap on medical malpractice damages. Currently, the cap is 2 million dollars. While this sounds like a lot of money, if the medical malpractice victim has medical bills of 2.5 million dollars, the cap still applies. It is an absolute limit on damages. As a result, bankruptcy may be the only option for the Virginia medical malpractice victim. The medical malpractice cap has been in effect since 1976. Most medical malpractice attorneys and lawyers look at the cap as a license that has been given to insurance companies, a license to gamble. Medical malpractice insurance companies know that their exposure is limited to the cap and so they can always gamble that they will do better than the cap amount in every case by just letting a judge or jury decide the damages. Even if the medical malpractice is the result of errors by several doctors and a hospital, the cap applies to all defendants in the case so that the most that can be recovered is the cap amount. Challenges to the cap on constitutional grounds have been rejected by the Virginia Supreme Court. Francis P. Hajek Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm Experienced Injury and Accident Lawyers Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Greene, Augusta, Staunton, Waynesboro

Virginia State Police Ticket Over 1,000 Drivers In One Day. The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that the Virginia State Police hit drivers on Virginia interstates with over 1,000 tickets this past Saturday. Enforcement efforts focused on I-81, I-64, and I-95. There have been many car accidents involving both trucks and cars on Virginia interstate highways in recent months. Virginia personal injury lawyers and attorneys have been kept busy as accident injuries and fatalities have mounted. A recent accident on I-81 involved over 40 cars and trucks with many injuries. In the recent crackdown on drivers, there were over 1,00 speeding tickets, 255 reckless driving citations and numerous drunk driving charges. The funding for the traffic enforcement operation came from federal highway safety funds. The ticket proceeds will benefit Virgina's Literary Fund. Francis P. Hajek Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm Experienced Injury and Accident Lawyers Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, , Greene, Augusta, Staunton, Waynesboro

Louisa County Car Accident Causes Two Fatalities. Virginia State police report a single car accident killed the driver and passenger in Louisa County, Virginia. Speed was reported to be a factor as the car rolled over several times. This brief description of the car crash does not convey much information about this tragic car accident, nor does a picture emerge. We know that both the driver and passenger were wearing seat belts. We know that the driver was only 21 years old. Apparently, he lost control of the car and ran off the road at 9:15 p.m. on a Sunday evening. We also know that he passenger was 41 years old. Beyond these facts, our imaginations must fill in the blanks. A photograph would help. As a personal injury lawyer with decades of experience, one of the first resources that I always use is the police file. When there is a fatality involved, I usually find a detailed file that is full of photos, measurements and witness statements. Under new procedures, it is now much more difficult to access state police files. The accident report from a state trooper must be obtained through the Division of Motor Vehicles. Virginia personal injury lawyers are working to change this new procedure as it imposes a real burden on car and truck accident victims. As an experienced personal injury attorney, I appreciate the effort to streamline the procedure for obtaining car and truck accident reports, but those reports need to be readily available so that a prompt and thorough investigation of the accident facts can be undertaken. Francis P. Hajek Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm Experienced Injury and Accident Lawyers Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Greene, Augusta, Staunton, Waynesboro

Madison, Va. Personal injury Lawyer Reports. Sometimes you can choose which county or city court will be the place for your client's lawsuit. More frequently, a Virginia personal injury lawyer and attorney is limited to the county or city where the car or truck accident happened because that is where the accident happened and the car or truck driver who caused the accident also happens to live in the same city or county. If by chance, the driver who caused the car or truck accident lives in a different city or county, the Virginia personal injury attorney and lawyer can consider filing the lawsuit in the driver's place of residence. These choices, also known as venue selections, can be very important to the outcome of a personal injury case. Some jurisdictions have reputations as being favorable for plaintiffs and others are known to be favored by defendants. Sometimes it is the reputation of the judge in a particular county or city that can influence the venue choice for a personal injury lawsuit. But for a Virginia personal injury lawyer to have a choice in the selection of the place of the lawsuit, there must be some fact that provides that choice, such as a defendant who lives out of state, or even in a city that has plaintiff friendly reputation. For instance, if you are driving on I-64 in the Charlottesville area and a truck driver from Madison, Va. causes an accident, the Virginia personal injury attorney can choose between the court in the city of Charlottesville and the court in Madison County. These choices are set out in the Virginia code provisions governing venue in civil actions or lawsuits. There are many factors that go into a venue choice. It could even be determined by the personal injury attorney's knowledge concerning which court will provide a speedier trial date. Francis P. Hajek Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm Experienced Injury and Accident Lawyers Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Greene, Augusta, Staunton, Waynesboro

Albemarle Motorcycle Accident Results in Crash Fatality. The Virginia state police accident reconstruction team is investigating a motorcycle crash in Albemarle County that left the 18 year old motorcycle operator dead. Preliminary reports indicate that the motorcycle rider was speeding when a GMC Yukon SUV turned into his path of travel. The SUV occupants were not injured, which is not surprising because they were in a vehicle that weighs over 6,000 pounds. Motorcycles do not win battles with trucks or SUVs. In our personal injury practice, we have worked with traffic experts who formerly were with the Virginia state police accident reconstruction team. It can be important to show how an accident happened, or how it could have been prevented, and such an expert can assist in court. The estate of the motorcycle rider likely has the fact that the motorcycle rider may have been speeding is probably one of the causes of the accident. The bar of contributory negligence applies whenever it is established that the claimant contributed to the accident, even if that contribution was not a major cause of the car crash. The doctrine is harsh and it may be that juries do not apply it when the contributory negligence is not a significant cause of the car or truck accident. Most states have adopted comparative negligence where the court or jury compares the respective fault of the parties involved in the accident. Francis P. Hajek Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm Experienced Injury and Accident Lawyers Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Greene, Augusta, Staunton, Waynesboro

Personal Injury Lawyer Attorney in Louisa, Va., Comments On Recent Crash And Accident The recent report of a crash causing injury to 8 people in Louisa, Va. caught my attention because the accident involved a golf cart. The eight people who were injured were all on the same golf cart when it was involved in an accident. I have never seen eight people on a golf cart. Most carts seat two people and some have a back seat that will accommodate two or three people. I suppose you could squeeze four people into each seating area, but it seems that such a crowd would make the golf cart difficult to handle. As a personal injury lawyer, one issue that comes to mind for the injured is whether there is insurance coverage for their injuries. Since the golf cart was being operated on a public road, I think everyone's automobile insurance comes into play. But, if the cart had been on a golf course, I do not think auto insurance policies would have covered the injured. Homeowner's insurance policies could also provide some coverage, but the language of each policy would have to be examined to see if there is coverage. Some golf cart owners have golf cart insurance. It is readily available and provides coverage just like an automobile insurance policy. Although we don't know the definitive answer about insurance coverage for the victims, we do know that the driver of the golf cart was charged with reckless driving. Francis P. Hajek Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm Experienced Injury and Accident Lawyers Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Greene, Augusta, Staunton, Waynesboro