Trooper P.C. Gardner is the fourth Virginia trooper to be struck by a passing vehicle in only six weeks. Virginia’s General Assembly, recognizing the dire need to protect troopers from the danger of inattentive drivers, has passed an amended version of Virginia’s “move-over” law. The law requires that motorists who are able to move into an adjacent lane away from the emergency vehicle that is on the side of the road must do so or face criminal penalties, including up to one year in jail and/or a $2,500 fine, and license suspension. The bill as revised and passed by the General Assembly takes out language that was previously used to differentiate between whether the emergency vehicle was actually in a lane of traffic or was instead on the shoulder of the road. As now written, all drivers must move over, if able, regardless of whether the emergency vehicle is in an actual lane of traffic or completely over on the shoulder of the road. A full text copy of the new law and its revision can be found here:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+ful+CHAP0818

Florida jury awarded parents of a severely brain damaged child $35 million

Researchers fail to reveal consulting fees from drug makers

Radiologist failed to get test results to primary doctor before patient's death

Medical device debris left behind in patients presents unknown danger and can lead to years of suffering

Jury awards twice the amount of medical malpractice cap to woman for chronic foot pain that led to amputation

Drug maker Merck accused of improper ghostwriting during peer review process to gain FDA approval

Mother of badly injured boy sues over use of metal bats in Little League Baseball

Abusive Driver Fees Repealed

The first Senate bill filed in 2008 was to repeal the Civil Remedial Fees bill, which became effective on July 1, 2007.

Federal Regulators asked to review heart stent advertisements

Federal Government to pay $1 million to family of victim killed in motorcycle accident involving former Rep. Bill Janklow

Why do car accidents happen?

Dr. Mannering’s study of accidents in Washington State from 1992 to 1997, a period during which air bags and antilock brakes became prevalent, showed that counter to what would seem logical, there was no major reduction in accidents even with the spread of two seemingly effective safety features.

“It just shows how hard it is to determine what causes an accident,” he said. “The one thing you might conclude — it’s called an offset hypothesis — is that people have an acceptance of a level of safety. If they felt safer because of the air bags and brakes, then maybe they drove faster or switched the radio on and off more to, so to speak, compensate.

“What seems like an exact science — determining who or what causes accidents — is actually quite difficult,” Dr. Mannering said.

Insurance companies, carmakers, inventors, safety advocates and clearly drivers themselves all have an interest in learning about what might reduce the number of accidents or at least make them less severe. Yet there is surprisingly little data to help them.

U.S., China Reach Auto Safety Agreement

The government on Wednesday signed an agreement with China that will improve information sharing on auto safety following last summer's recall of thousands of defective Chinese-made tires. The "memorandum of understanding" signed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and China's National Reform and Development Commission will "strengthen cooperation and communication" on several motor vehicle regulation and safety issues. In June, NHTSA ordered a U.S. importer, Foreign Tire Sales Inc., to recall as many as 450,000 tires it had bought from Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. The Union, N.J.-based importer initially said it did not have the financial resources to conduct a full recall, but then announced in August that it would recall 255,000 tires.

Teen Drivers at High Risk for Distraction and Death

Every year, teenage drivers are involved in 6,000 to 8,000 car crashes -- four times the rate of older drivers.

A recent National Teen Driver Survey attempted to find out why. And to get more honest answers, researchers asked thousands of high school students what their friends do while driving.

While some 90 percent of teen drivers say they don't drink and drive, nine out of 10 say they've seen passengers distracting the driver, or drivers using cell phones. More than a third say they don't wear seat belts consistently.

Increase in Virginia drunken-driving deaths

Virginia recorded one of the largest increases nationwide in drunken-driving deaths last year, according to U.S. Department of Transportation figures released Monday.

Three-hundred people were killed on Virginia roads in drunken-driving crashes, an increase of 21 over the previous year. Only nine states recorded higher increases. Tops on the list were Arizona, Kansas and Texas, each of which recorded 34 more drunken-driving deaths in 2006 than in 2005.

The Importance of Experience in Brain Injury Cases

The most important thing that Barbara Williams brings to her clients is her experience.

For more information, follow the link below.

Lawsuit Filed in Killing Of Man by Fairfax Police

The parents of Salvatore Culosi, who was shot to death last year by a Fairfax County tactical officer, filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against the county, the police chief and the officer, alleging that police exercised gross negligence by using deadly force to arrest a suspected sports gambler.

"Nearly 14 months and still no justice for Sal," Culosi's parents, Salvatore and Anita Culosi, wrote in a statement yesterday. "Despite all our efforts, the county continues to refuse to answer our questions. This leaves us no recourse but to pursue truth and accountability through the courts."

For more information, follow the link below.

State Farm Suspends New Homeowner Policies in Mississippi

Bob Woodruff Recovers From Wounds in Iraq

ABC News Reporter Bob Woodruff, who was injured while reporting on the war in Iraq, has made a recovery.

Mr. Woodruff has proven to be a friend of the injured, having interviewed Kit Calahan while he was struggling with his rehabilitation.

We are pleased that Mr. Woodruff has recovered and wish him the best.

Bob Woodruff Teams With BIAA to Assist Brain Injured Veterans

McLean, Va., February 28, 2007 – The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has entered into a partnership with ABC Anchor Bob Woodruff and his family to raise awareness of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to administer the newly created Bob Woodruff Family Fund for TBI to assist servicemen and women and their families affected by the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The announcement was made today by Susan Connors, president and CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America.

For more information, follow the link below.

Insurance Industry Posts Record Profits In 2006

WASHINGTON --

The insurance industry made record profits in 2006, and a new report out Monday said it's at customers' expense.

Some consumer groups said companies are paying out lower claims and charging higher premiums than in the last 50 years.

For more details, follow the link below.

State Farm agrees to Katrina Settlement

Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. will reconsider thousands of Hurricane Katrina claims under a Mississippi settlement that may cost the insurer as much as $500 million, the state's attorney general said.

State Farm, ordered to pay a Mississippi couple $2.7 million when it lost its first Katrina-related jury trial earlier this month, will pay policyholders a minimum of $50 million, according to Attorney General Jim Hood. Hood is dropping a civil lawsuit against the insurer and said he won't pursue criminal charges.

For more information, follow the link below.

Having trouble contacting an insurance company? Click here.

We have compiled a list of contact numbers for every major insurance company operating in the United States today.

For more information, follow the link below.

DUI checkpoints: Keeping Loudoun's roads safe

"Stop, stop," several law enforcement officers at a sobriety checkpoint on Main Street near Pickwick Drive in Purcellville yelled at a vehicle that passed through without slowing down on Dec. 15 about 11:50 p.m.

The vehicle kept moving as the officers ran toward it.

For more details, follow the link below.

Teen's brain injuries are slow to heal

Fifteen-year-old Arielle Serrano still needs help to recover.

Arielle was hit by a car in March as she crossed Dale Mabry Highway, by Plant High School. Her fractured bones - pelvic and lower right leg - have mended. But progress in healing her brain injuries has been slow.

Doctors have described her as being in a "low-response state." She is more alert than a person in a coma, and has times when she sleeps and when she wakes. She is making slow progress, but she can't get up or do things for herself, said her father, Jose Serrano.

For more details, follow the link below.

New Study Sheds Light on Hospital Infections

Hospital infections are responsible for thousands of deaths a year. The problem would be easy and inexpensive to fix. What are the HMO's and Hospital chains doing about it?

Nothing.

Injured Virginia Teenager Responds to Verbal Commands

A Forest teenager, who suffered a brain injury when her family’s minivan was struck head-on earlier this month by an accused drunken driver, is now responding to verbal commands.

Jennifer Barrick, 15, is the only member of a family of four who is still in the hospital.

For the rest of the story, please follow the link below.

Brain Injury May Occur Within One Millisecond After Head Hits Car Windshield

Research by a Sandia National Laboratories engineer and a University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center neurologist shows that brain injury may occur within one millisecond after a human head is thrust into a windshield as a result of a car accident.

This happens prior to any overall motion of the head following impact with the windshield and is a new concept to consider for doctors interested in traumatic brain injury (TBI).

For the rest of the story, follow the link below.

Virginia Senate Candidates Differ Sharply on Tort Reform

Senator George Allen (R) and his opponent Jim Webb (D) have taken opposing stands on tort reform.

In an interview with the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, Senator Allen supported tort reform legislation, and was quoted as saying "...Frivolous lawsuits have a negative effect on our economy."

In contrast, Democratic Candidate Jim Webb came out firmly against tort reform, citing a series of statistics that show that tort filings have been on the decline, and that tort reform would help big business at the expense of the average citizen.

Virginia Suffered 347 Alcohol Related Fatalities in 2005

Drunk drivers that cause accidents deserve a lot more that just points on their licenses or a few days in jail. A drunk driver that causes a serious injury or death should be held responsible for financial losses that their victims suffer. Barbara S. Williams is an experienced attorney that has built her career on helping the injured receive fair and just compensation.

Follow the link below for more information.

Pharmaceutical Provider Pays Michigan $52 Million in Medicare Fraud

A pharmaceutical provider and its parent company agreed to pay Michigan $52.5 million in the largest Medicaid fraud recovery in state history, Attorney General Mike Cox and state health officials announced Thursday. Specialized Pharmacy Services and Omnicare Inc. agreed to the settlement in a civil lawsuit after an investigation allegedly showed that the company improperly billed the state $17 million over six years

Army explores issue of living wills as more return from war in comas

A growing number of troops are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe brain damage, prompting the Army to examine whether living wills or other care directives from soldiers ought to be available to battlefield doctors.
The issue was raised this summer by wounded soldiers and families of casualties during a symposium sponsored by the Army's Wounded Warrior Program.

For the whole story, follow the link below.

Indiana Man Wins $20 Million Verdict v. Allstate

Indiana Man Wins $20 Million Verdict v. Allstate

A jury on Thursday decided that Ted K. Fields was in bad hands with Allstate and awarded the Valparaiso man $20 million.

Fields' attorney, Kenneth J. Allen, said the jury's decision supports his contention that Allstate acted in bad faith against its customers, and he hopes the verdict sends a message to Allstate and other insurers to treat their customers fairly.

For the whole story, follow the link below.

Kentucky Man Wins $700,000 Insurance Verdict

A jury awarded a Campbellsville man more than $700,000 Wednesday night for damages he suffered after losing his son in a 1995 collision that killed five.
Harlon Barnett, individually, and as administrator of the estate of Steven Ray Barnett, filed suit against Hamilton Mutual Insurance Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio and Caulk and Eastridge Insurance Co. of East Broadway in Campbellsville in Taylor Circuit Court on Jan. 4, 2000
For the whole story, follow the link below.

Florida Resident Receives $100 Million in Malpractice Case

Steve Yerrid, representing a man whose stroke was misdiagnosed as a headache, thanked a jury for awarding his client $116.7 million in compensatory damages on Friday. At a hearing Tuesday, he begged them to send a message to doctors and insurance companies everywhere: "Don't ever put profits over patients' safety." "Now's not the time for mercy," Yerrid said. "Now's not the time, as I said, for compassion. Now is the time for the sword." The jury complied. The three men and three women took about a half hour to award Allan Navarro $100.1 million in punitive damages. For the whole story, follow the link below

Brain injury budget faces cut

Brain injuries are so common among U.S. troops that they're called the signature injury of the Iraq war, but Congress is poised to cut military spending on researching and treating them.

Louisiana Ruling Gives Hurricane Victims More Options

BATON ROUGE, La. -- A state judge Wednesday ruled as constitutional two new state laws giving insurance policyholders more time to sue their insurers or file claims over damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
District Court Judge Kay Bates, who read her ruling from the bench, said the extension of the time periods doesn't expand citizens' rights under existing contracts but gives those who were displaced by the storms more time to enforce their rights.

For more information, please follow the link below.

New Report on Insurance Companies Performance After Hurricane Katrina

Residents of the Gulf Coast region have had their coverage claims almost uniformly denied by their insurance companies, despite the fact that Big Insurance had a year of record-breaking profits. This serves as a reminder that when you are dealing with an insurance company, having legal representation is crucial.

To read the whole story, follow the link below.