Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers Blog
by actuate | November 28th, 2022
After car accidents, many victims expect a battle with the other drivers’ insurers. They know those companies will want to protect their profits as much as possible, and that means their claims may be reduced or even outright denied.
But what many car accident victims don’t count on is their own car insurance providers playing hardball, too. Unfortunately, when it comes to giving out payments to injured victims, insurance companies operate the same way whether the victims are their policyholders or they were injured by their policyholders.
Thankfully, there are a few steps you can take to increase your chances of getting full compensation from your insurer after a crash:
- Report the crash right away: Your insurer likely requires near immediate notification of any accidents, regardless of whether you were at fault or not. Call the claim reporting line within a day or two of the crash and tell your insurer what happened. Be honest about when and where the accident occurred and the severity of your injuries.
- Get medical treatment right away: Insurance companies are skeptical of just about every claim they receive. And when victims don’t go to the doctor in the hours or days immediately after an accident, they become even more skeptical. The sooner you go to the doctor or hospital, the more seriously the insurance company will view your claim.
- Call a lawyer right away: Getting a lawyer after a crash isn’t just for dealing with the other driver’s insurance company. It’s also for dealing with your insurance company! The sooner you call, the sooner your lawyer can start building your claim.
Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers is here to take your call 24/7. Contact our Virginia car accident lawyers anytime for a free consultation.
by actuate | November 21st, 2022
When you purchase sunscreen and apply it before spending the day outdoors, you feel good knowing that you’re protecting your skin, reducing your risk of sunburn, and decreasing your risk of skin cancer. But a May 2021 study found that of 300 popular types of sunscreens tested, 78 contained benzene, which is a known carcinogen.
Many of the affected sunscreens are spray or aerosol versions, and they include the following Johnson & Johnson brands and products:
- Aveeno Protect + Refresh aerosol sunscreen
- Beach Defense aerosol sunscreen
- CoolDry Sport aerosol sunscreen
- Invisible Daily Defense aerosol sunscreen
- UltraSheer aerosol sunscreen
People who are frequently exposed to benzene face an increased risk of developing many types of cancer, including leukemia and lymphoma. And while Johnson & Johnson has issued a recall for many of its affected sunscreens, not all sunscreens containing benzene have been removed from store shelves. In addition, countless Americans still use and have these sunscreens already in their homes.
If you or someone you love developed leukemia, lymphoma, or another type of cancer after using a Johnson & Johnson sunscreen, especially if it was a spray or aerosol sunscreen, there’s a chance the cancer was caused by benzene exposure.
At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, we’re working hard to help people harmed by dangerous sunscreens get the compensation they deserve for their medical bills, lost wages, and more. Contact our Virginia defective product lawyers anytime for a free consultation of your case and to learn how we can put our decades of personal injury law experience to work for you.
by actuate | November 14th, 2022
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) that result in long-term complications are both highly disruptive to victims’ lives and extremely expensive. A 2013 study found that TBIs can cost victims and their families hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of their lifetimes. That’s because TBI victims may lose the ability to work and may require ongoing health care for decades.
There are many law firms that take on TBI claims for their clients, but they have one goal in mind: getting settlements as quickly as possible. When law firms want quick settlements, they’re only looking out for themselves and their profits. They want their clients to accept the first settlements so they can move on to their next cases (and next pay days).
At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, we don’t work that way. We know that TBI victims and their families deserve maximum compensation for all the ways their injuries have affected them and changed their lives. We work hard to get our clients every penny they’re owed, even if it means longer negotiation periods with insurance companies and even going to trial if necessary.
The last thing we want is to get a settlement for a TBI victim who needs more money just months or even weeks later. It’s our goal to ensure our clients get the money they need to compensate them for their TBIs for the rest of their lives. If you or a loved one suffered a TBI that was caused by someone else’s negligence, contact our Virginia brain injury lawyers today for a free consultation.
by actuate | November 7th, 2022
As Virginia workers’ compensation lawyers, we can tell you firsthand that getting approved for benefits after a work-related injury is rarely easy. The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (VWCC) intentionally makes it difficult for workers to get approved to help reduce the risk of fraudulent claims, but in doing so, it causes many valid applications to fall through the cracks.
Why is it difficult? The biggest reason is because of how many forms need to be filled out and how closely the VWCC scrutinizes them. When it finds a single missing piece of information or questionable answer, it can put the brakes on your application. The best-case scenario at this point is that your application—and benefits—are halted for weeks or months, and the worst-case scenario is the VWCC denying your claim altogether.
At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, we help injured workers build their applications from the ground up from day one. It’s our goal to help our clients avoid delays and denials as much as possible. Because we know exactly what the VWCC looks for when it reviews claims, we can significantly reduce the chances that it finds anything that might raise the alarm on your claim and result in more scrutiny and a longer time of your family not receiving benefits.
Contact us today for a free consultation. We have decades of experience building successful Virginia workers’ compensation applications, and we know how to expedite the process to get the money you’re owed into your bank account as quickly as possible.
by actuate | October 31st, 2022
Medical malpractice isn’t always a case involving a doctor or surgeon who made a negligent mistake and injured or harmed a patient. It also frequently involves a patient being harmed by a healthcare clinic or hospital’s negligence. And while a specific employee, such as a nurse, physical therapist, or physician assistant may be the person who made the mistake, the organization they work for may be held liable—not the individual healthcare worker.
However, suing organizations for medical malpractice isn’t always easy. Just as doctors and surgeons have malpractice insurance to protect them from lawsuits, so too do healthcare clinics and hospitals. In fact, the amount of coverage they have—and the legal protection they’re afforded—is often much greater than what doctors and surgeons have access to.
At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, we know the challenges involved with suing negligent clinics and hospitals, but we also know how to win those cases. We work hard to help our clients and their families get the compensation they’re owed, even if it means going up against multi-billion-dollar hospital systems that are armed with big legal teams and uncooperative insurers.
If you suspect that your or your loved one’s preventable injury or illness was caused because of a negligent healthcare clinic or hospital, we want to hear from you. Contact our Virginia medical malpractice lawyers today for a free consultation.
by actuate | October 24th, 2022
Fall is one of the best times of year to be a cyclist in Virginia. The scenery is beautiful and the weather is mild. But no matter what time of year you ride your bike, you face serious risks from other road users. When you ride your bike, especially if you bike in an urban area, your biggest priority should be reducing your risks of being struck by vehicles.
Here’s how to stay safe while cycling:
- Wear a helmet—Just as wearing a helmet saves motorcyclists’ lives, it can also save your life if you’re struck by a vehicle while riding your bike. Make sure your helmet fits you properly, and replace your helmet if it gets damaged in a crash.
- Obey traffic laws—When you bike on public streets, you’re required to obey traffic laws just like people in cars, trucks, and SUVs. That means you need to come to a complete stop at stop signs and red lights, obey the speed limit, and maintain your lane.
- Avoid distractions—Riding a bicycle requires focus and concentration. If you’re listening to music, engrossed in a podcast or audiobook, or looking at your phone, your focus won’t be on your surroundings. Keep distractions to a minimum while riding, and ensure your eyes, ears, and mind are focused on staying safe.
Even the safest and most conscientious cyclists can be seriously injured when other drivers are negligent, careless, or reckless. If you or someone you love is injured while riding a bike in Virginia, Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers wants to help.
Contact our Virginia bicycle accident lawyers today for a free consultation.
by actuate | October 17th, 2022
In most states, the biggest hurdle to clear in a car accident claim is proving the other driver was negligent and the majority at fault for the crash. But in Virginia, there’s another hurdle: proving the injured driver played absolutely no role in his or her crash—especially if they were initially assigned even a small share of blame.
Because Virginia uses a contributory negligence system of fault, drivers who are assigned even 1% of fault for speeding, failing to signal, or having a brake light out can’t receive any compensation after a crash. However, fault assigned at the accident scene by police isn’t always accurate or even relevant.
For example, a driver with a brake light out who was hit head-on shouldn’t be assigned any fault for the crash if that was the only violation the responding police officer found them to have committed, because it had no role in the crash. Unfortunately, this type of situation still happens.
No matter how injured drivers are, they can’t get money for their medical bills and lost wages if the accident report notes they did anything, no matter how minor, to even potentially contribute to the crash.
At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, we deal with this scenario every day. Not only do we work hard to prove at-fault drivers’ negligence caused their crashes, but we also find evidence to help reduce our clients’ level of fault to zero. If you were recently injured in a crash that wasn’t your fault, we want to help. Contact our Virginia car accident lawyers today for a free consultation.
by actuate | October 10th, 2022
Wrongful death claims are among the most difficult damages claims in Virginia for two reasons. First, they require a lot of evidence and proof that shows the negligent party contributed to or caused an innocent person’s death. Second, they’re typically built shortly after a person’s death during a highly emotional time when their family is still grieving their loss.
Because of these challenges, it’s extremely important for grieving families to get the right law firm on their side to help them with their wrongful death claims. Having the right lawyer not only increases the chances of success, but it also gives families peace of mind knowing that their claims are in good hands and that their lawyers have compassion for them.
Many law firms claim to handle wrongful death cases, but they lack the experience and empathy required to handle them the way they’re supposed to be handled. That can leave grieving families feeling even worse, especially when their claims are denied and their questions and concerns are ignored or brush off by their lawyers.
If you recently lost a loved one because of another person’s or party’s negligence, we want to help. The Virginia wrongful death lawyers at Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers know what you’re going through, and we want to take some of the stress and grief off your shoulders. Contact us today for a free consultation. We’ll work hard to help your family move forward through this difficult and emotional time.
by actuate | October 3rd, 2022
There are few things more distressing to patients than taking a prescription or over-the-counter medication thinking it will help them feel better, only for their health to become worse than before. When that happens, it’s often because the medications they took were defective, mislabeled, or contaminated.
Patients who are harmed by medications that are supposed to be safe are often eligible to seek compensation through drug injury lawsuits, but it can be difficult to tell the difference between a drug injury and a side effect. If you suspect you or someone you love is a drug injury victim, ask yourself the following questions:
- Has the drug been recalled? When drugs are recalled because of defects and after causing new injuries or illness, there’s a good chance the patients who experienced bad outcomes suffered drug injuries.
- Was the bad outcome a known possibility? Some drugs have the potential to cause serious complications, but the manufacturers know about these side effects and publicize them. When drug manufacturers either don’t know about adverse effects or hide them, harmed patients may be eligible for drug injury compensation.
- Was the complication severe? Minor side effects or complications, even when they aren’t publicized or noted, may not result in patients being eligible for compensation. Most drug injury lawsuits involve serious injuries or illnesses that are caused by defective or dangerous medications.
At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, we work hard to help drug injury victims get maximum compensation. Contact our Virginia drug injury lawyers for a free consultation if you suspect that you or a loved one were harmed by a dangerous medication.
by actuate | September 26th, 2022
In most states, people who are injured in accidents can file compensation claims against at-fault parties to get money for their medical bills, lost wages, and other damages, even if they are partially at fault themselves.
For example, if a driver gets hit from behind by another driver who was following them too closely, but the first driver’s brake lights weren’t working, they may be assigned partial fault, but not enough fault to make them ineligible for compensation.
But in Virginia, being assigned even 1% of fault makes injured victims ineligible to get ANY compensation. That’s because the state uses a contributory negligence system for injury claims. Only Virginia, Alabama, Maryland, and North Carolina use this model, and it makes it very tough for victims to file claims, as small amounts of fault can be assigned in many cases.
It’s important to have an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side in any state, but it’s particularly important in contributory negligence states. At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, we not only prove other parties injured our clients, but we also prove they weren’t at fault for their injuries.
We do this by collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, reconstructing accident scenes, and more. There are no steps we won’t take in our quest to clear our clients’ names and their paths to maximum compensation.
If you were recently injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, but you were assigned partial fault anyway, we want to help. Contact our Virginia personal injury lawyers today for a free consultation.
