Virginia Supreme Court Reinstates Punitive Damage Award

A drunk driver injures two people in a Virginia car accident. The injuries are not serious or life threatening, but not only is the driver drunk, he is also talking on his cell phone when he causes a car accident. Both cases go to trial and both accident victims obtain an award of compensatory and punitive damages. One injury victim gets an award of fourteen thousand dollars ($14,000) in compensatory damages and one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in punitive damages. The other injury victim gets an award of five thousand six hundred thousand dollars ($5600)in compensatory damages and also gets one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000)in punitive damages. The trial judge thought that the $100,000 was okay for the car accident injury victim who received an award of $14,600, but felt that the award of $100,000 for the car accident injury victim who received an award of $5600was just too much. In fact, the trial judge reduced the punitive damages award to $50,000. The Virginia Supreme Court recently reversed the decision of the trial court. The Virginia Supreme Court's decision is a good one. The drunk driver's conduct was terrible. 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, Buckingham, Staunton, Waynesboro, Culpepper, Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News

Albemarle Courts May Move

Virginia personal injury lawyers and attorneys who handle car accident cases and other personal injury cases in Albemarle county and the city of Charlottesville have first hand experience with the courts in those jurisdictions and the state of the courthouses. Charlottesville only has one courtroom for circuit court cases, such as significant and serious personal injury cases. It can take more than 18 months to schedule a trial date for a complicated and serious personal injury case that will take an experienced personal injury lawyer and attorney a few days to present to a jury. The Albemarle courthouse is also challenging for the experienced serious personal injury lawyer and attorney as meeting rooms are often used as courtrooms. The Daily Progress reports today that there is some discussion going on among supervisors to building a new court complex. While I hate to see the old and very historic courthouse in Albemarle put out of service, it is time to accommodate the needs of the citizens of the county who have to resort to the courts for justice. 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, Buckingham, Staunton, Waynesboro, Culpepper, Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News

Traffic Tickets For Cars And Bikes

Charlottesville Tomorrow reports that traffic tickets for bikes are on the rise in Charlottesville. As an experienced personal injury lawyer in the Charlottesville Albemarle area, I am aware that this area has a reputation as a bike friendly place to be. However, what many cyclists do not realize is that a traffic ticket for an infraction involving a bike has the same effect as a traffic ticket involving the operation of an automobile when it comes to your driver's license. If you are convicted of failing to stop your bike at a stop sign, it is just like failing to stop your car. You get the same number of points and you are subject to the same fine. Bicyclists are required to obey all traffic signs and signals. They are also required to use proper hand signals for turns. The failure to follow the traffic laws can result in a ticket. One issue the article did not address concerned the unlicensed bicycle operator. What happens if they receive a ticket? Well, they still have to pay the fine or go to court if they want to contest the charge, but since they do not have a license, there can't be an assessment of points. 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, Buckingham, Staunton, Waynesboro, Culpepper, Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News

Virginia Personal Injury Lawyers Can't Loan Money

Virginia personal injury lawyers and attorneys can't loan money to their injury clients. To do so is a serious ethical violation and can subject the Virginia personal injury lawyer and attorney to a loss of his or her license. So what does a Virginia personal injury lawyer and attorney do when the injury client says that he or she is going to borrow money because of desperate times created by the injury. I think the attorney should counsel against the loan and try to see if there are other sources of funds for the client. Maybe a family member will help out. Maybe there is a possibility of a bank loan at a reasonable interest rate. If all of these options fail, the attorney should help the client avoid the lenders who charge truly excessive rates of interest. 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, Buckingham, Staunton, Waynesboro, Culpepper, Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News

Child Traffic Accident Deaths Decrease

Recent headlines announced that child car accident deaths decreased by 43% over the last decade. The decrease was attributed to increased use of seat belts and car seats. While it is good news, it underscores the increase in car accidents for teens and inexperienced drivers who are increasingly driving while distracted. Recent changes in Virginia law have made it a primary offense to text while driving. However, enforcement can only be random and sporadic, just as it is for speed limits. The odds of being pulled over for any traffic offense are incredibly low. So if we are to see a decrease in the teen car accident rate, there must be a change in the culture and a recognition by teens that such behavior is incredibly risky. To that end, parents must set the example and avoid talking on the cell phone while driving. I realize that it is unpopular to suggest that we don't answer the ringing cell phone while driving, bu tit is risky driving behavior. Most studies that have looked at talking on the cell phone while driving equate it to driving after having two or three drinks of an alcoholic beverage. But most of us will say that we can drive safely while talking on the cell phone, particularly if we are using a hands free device. Well, most of us are just wrong and science proves it. So if you want your children to drive safely, set a good example. Don't speed and don't talk on the cell phone while 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, Buckingham, Staunton, Waynesboro, Culpepper, Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News

Snow And Ice Cause Virginia Car Accidents

Snow and ice snarled traffic and caused a slew of car accidents across Virginia. When a car or truck accident involves weather conditions, who is at fault? This question can have significant implications if you are an injury victim as result of a car or truck accident in Virginia. Many times, the party who caused the accident will claim that it was an "Act of God" since the weather conditions were a contributing factor to the auto accident. In such cases, all of the facts must be examined to see if the accident was caused by negligence or if it happened because of unanticipated conditions that were not the result of anyone's negligence. An auto accident involving "black ice" is one of the most difficult auto accident cases. The driver who slid on the black ice will claim that he or she did nothing wrong and that the accident could not have been avoided. As an experienced Virginia personal injury attorney, I like to investigate such claims as soon as possible. In today's modern technology oriented world, one of the first things to look at is whether or not the driver was using a smart phone at the time of the accident. Cell phone use records can be obtained form the wireless carrier and then we can see if the driver was distracted. So don't assume that there is no claim for a personal injury in Virginia when snow or ice conditions are involved in a car 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, Buckingham, Staunton, Waynesboro, Culpepper, Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News

Railroad Accident Involving Transport Of Oil

Recently, there have been several significant railroad accidents involving the transportation of oil by rail. Increased domestic production and importation of oil from Canada account for the dramatic increase in the use of railroad transportation of oil and petroleum products. Transportation of hazardous chemicals by rail has always been an area where there is the potential for some type of disaster. A good example of the extreme hazards that can be posed by a chemical spill due to a railroad accident is what happened to the small South Carolina town of Graniteville some years ago. A train derailed and chlorine gas escaped from a tank car. The town was devastated and several people died. The recent disaster in Canada involving exploding rail cars was just as disastrous. Such incidents are not once in a century disasters and if one were to happen in a larger metropolitan area, the consequences will be dire. Oil and chemical cars routinely travel through major metropolitan areas. A chlorine gas leak in Richmond, Virginia would be a Graniteville disaster times one hundred. 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, Buckingham, Staunton, Waynesboro, Culpepper, Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, , Hampton, Newport News