Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers Blog
by actuate | August 9th, 2011
August 9, 2011
A Newport News, Virginia, man was burned on the job on Tuesday, August 9, while working on the roof of a church.
HamptonRoads.com reports that the man suffered an electrical burn around 10 a.m. when he came into contact with an electrical line that powered a rooftop air conditioning unit. The man — an employee of Hampton, Virginia-based Tidewater Roofing Company — was helping to repair the roof of Saint Paul AME Church on 2500 Chestnut Avenue.
The Newport News Fire Department used an aerial tower ladder from one of their trucks to bring the worker safely down to the ground — blocking thru traffic on Chestnut and 26th Street for 30 minutes.
The victim was transported to Riverside Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. His name has not yet been released.
Read more.
Who do you think should be held liable for this on-the-job Virginia accident? Do you think this will become a Virginia workers’ compensation lawsuit?
If you or someone you know thinks they can claim Virginia workers’ compensation, the injury lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.
by actuate | August 4th, 2011
August 4, 2011
Two people died and two more were injured late Monday, August 1, when a 1996 Buick Century went off Route 178 in Pungoteague, Virginia, and hit a tree stump before flipping over.
Both the 53-year-old male driver and the 72-year-old front-seat female passenger died at the scene north of the corner of Boston and Big Pine roads. The two were next door neighbors in Craddockville.
Two female passengers in the backseat were hospitalized. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
All four people were wearing seatbelts during the crash.
Police now say that alcohol played a role in the crash, which occurred shortly after 10 p.m.
DelmarvaNow.com reports that the passenger who died spent the night playing bingo at the Accomac Elks Lodge, where she was picked up by a friend. The additional two passengers had also been playing Bingo.
The driver’s brother-in-law said, “He would help anyone out. He was a good guy.”
Read more.
What do you think can be done to deter drunk drivers in Virginia?
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a Virginia auto accident, the injury lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.
by actuate | July 28th, 2011
July 28, 2011
A Norfolk, Virginia, police officer who fatally injured a bicyclist a year ago was fined and sentenced to community service on Friday, July 22.
The accident occurred around 1 a.m. on July 25, 2010, when Officer Derek Folston was speeding to reach a non-emergency call and struck a bicyclist on the 1500 block of Brambleton Avenue. The collision caused the cyclist severe injuries from which he died two months later.
Fox43TV.com reports that the bicyclist had a blood alcohol level of .20 when he was hit.
Folston and another officer in a separate cruiser had both been speeding to reach the Tidewater Gardens area over the Campostella Bridge. Court records revealed that neither had lights or sirens turned on, and Folston admitted to driving 20 miles over the speed limit. Both officers have been on administrative duty since the accident.
Convicted earlier this month of misdemeanor reckless driving, Folston was fined $1,000, sentenced to 100 hours of community service, and had his license suspended for 60 days. Judge Jerrauld C. Jones suspended a six-month jail sentence, The Virginian-Pilot reports.
Read more.
Do you think police should be required to turn on their lights and sirens if speeding toward a destination? Should punishment be less for them when they cause fatalities while on-duty?
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a Virginia auto accident, the injury lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.
by actuate | July 21st, 2011
July 21, 2011
A Capron, Virginia, man fell asleep at the wheel very early Thursday morning and wrecked his vehicle on Interstate 664 near Newport News, Virginia. Both he and a passenger suffered non-life threatening injuries in the crash. It is not known whether or not they were wearing seatbelts.
The accident occurred around 3:30 a.m. near the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel when the sleepy driver drifted off the highway. He then awoke and over-corrected, jerking his 2001 Ford back onto the road. The Virginia State Police Department report that the man’s vehicle flipped several times.
The man and his passenger were both transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital via ambulance. Immediately following the accident, the southbound lanes of Interstate 664 were closed to enable the life-flight helicopter Nightingale to land, but the helicopter was later canceled. The northbound lanes were open again by 5 a.m. on Thursday.
The driver has been charged with reckless driving.
Alcohol is not said to be a factor in the crash.
Read more.
What do you think can be done to discourage fatigued drivers from getting behind the wheel in Virginia?
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a Virginia auto accident, the injury lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.
by actuate | July 14th, 2011
July 14, 2011
A worker died in an accident that occurred Wednesday, July 13, while he was on the job at Tapscott Brothers Logging near Scottsville, Virginia–about 70 miles west of Richmond.
According to The Daily Progress, the 56-year-old victim was pinned between a forklift and another piece of machinery.
Lieutenant Aaron C. Hurd of the Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Office said the man was declared dead at the scene of the accident at Rolling Road South in Fluvanna County.
Rescue officials from both Fluvanna County and Scottsville arrived to help, as did several deputies.
Officials said that an autopsy will be conducted on Monday, July 18, because the man died in a work-related accident.
According to TimberLine Magazine, Tapscott Brothers Logging was founded in 1983.
Read more.
Do you think all job site deaths need to be thoroughly investigated for the potential of faulty equipment or negligence?
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a Virginia wrongful death, the injury lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.
by actuate | July 7th, 2011
July 7, 2011
A two-vehicle crash in Newport News, Virginia, last month ended with three people hospitalized for injuries. Police now say that the 17-year-old driver who caused the crash had been drinking and has been charged with two counts of DUI Maiming, DUI first offense, Reckless Driving, and Underage Possession of Alcohol.
From the beginning, Police told WAVY that they believed alcohol played a role in the crash, after which one person remained in critical condition. Two others were in serious but stable condition.
The accident occurred June 8, 2011, near the intersection of Lucas Creek Road and Cabell Drive around 8:01 p.m. when a yellow Volkswagen driven by the teenager was traveling north on Lucas Creek. The Volkswagon collided head-on with a red Nissan traveling south on Lucas Creek.
The red Nissan contained a driver and a child, and the Volkswagon contained only the driver.
All three people were taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center.
The teen’s first hearing is set for July 11.
Read more.
Do you think that justice has been served in this Virginia auto accident?
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a Virginia auto accident, the Virginia auto accident lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.
by actuate | June 30th, 2011
June 30, 2011
On Tuesday a jury acquitted a 26-year-old Norfolk, Virginia, man who’d been accused of causing the 2009 drunk-driving crash that killed two people and caused serious brain injury to another.
The driver, who is an enlisted Navy sailor, stood trial for a week, and jurors took two days to reach a verdict—finding the man not guilty on two counts of aggravated involuntary manslaughter and a single count of maiming. A 22-year-old nurse and a 25-year-old Navy sailor both died in the crash, while a third passenger sustained permanent brain injury. A fourth passenger escaped with minor injuries.
The crash occurred on July 25, 2009, when the man’s BMW crashed into a tree off Granby Street and caught fire. He had been giving four strangers a ride home from Red Dog Saloon in Ghent. The man testified in court that, while driving, he’d been hit sharply in the jaw by an object or a person in the backseat and passed out. He testified that he didn’t remember the crash.
Though the driver’s blood alcohol content had been above the legal limit, a defense attorney argued that there was “reasonable doubt about what happened it that car.”
Read more.
Do you think justice was served in this case?
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a Virginia auto accident, the Virginia auto accident lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.
by actuate | June 21st, 2011
June 21, 2011
A 33-year-old man from Cincinnati, Ohio, died Sunday night after falling from a balcony at the Virginia Beach, Virginia, Oceanfront hotel where he was staying. His death follows the death of a toddler who, just two days earlier, also died after falling from an Oceanfront hotel balcony in Virginia Beach.
Just after 9 p.m., the man fell from a ninth-floor balcony at the Four Sails hotel at the 3300 block of Atlantic Avenue and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was staying at the hotel with his wife and three children.
Police spokesman Adam Bernstein told WTKR that foul play was not suspected in the death and that it hasn’t yet been determined whether the man jumped or fell from the balcony. He also told WAYTV that alcohol is “definitely a factor in this case.”
This death follows a similar Virginia Beach tragedy. On Friday, a two-year-old girl from Staunton, Virginia, fell five stories through the balcony railing at the Sandcastle Oceanfront Resort in Virginia Beach. The toddler slipped through a six-inch gap between the bars of the balcony railing and hit a canvas awning before landing on a patio outside a restaurant. She died the following morning at Norfolk General Hospital.
Newsleader.com reports that state building codes updated in 2009 state that balconies should allow no more than four inches between bars on a railing but that because this hotel was built in the ’60s it didn’t have to adhere to those codes.
Read more.
Do you think this death could have been prevented had the hotel balconies been designed differently? Do you think a hotel should be held liable if a visitor falls from its balcony?
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a Virginia wrongful death, the Virginia wrongful death lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.
by actuate | June 16th, 2011
June 16, 2011
A Richmond, Virginia, school bus driver was issued a summons today for failure to yield the right of way, allegedly initiating a car crash that killed a 46-year-old man last month.
The accident occurred around 3:30 p.m. on May 10 when the 60-year-old bus driver failed to yield as he was attempting to turn left onto Belmont northbound from West Belmont Road. He then collided with a red SUV that was traveling south on Belmont Road. One of the SUV’s passengers was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the SUV and four other passengers—ages ranging form infant to adult–suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Neither the school bus driver nor any of the six students on the school bus were hurt.
Shorty after the accident last month, Richmond news station WTOC reported that people who live near Belmont and West Belmont say it’s a perpetually dangerous intersection. Public works officials told a reporter they would re-evaluate whether or not to add a traffic light there and would repaint the faded stop bars on the road.
Council woman Reva Trammell said a traffic light needs to be added, telling WTOC,”We won’t have to creep up to get out. It will be a light to tell us to go, red or green. Right now, without a traffic light you have to creep up.”
Read more.
Who do you think is at fault in this Virginia auto accident?
If you or someone you know has been involved in a Virginia auto accident, the Virginia auto accident lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.
by actuate | June 8th, 2011
June 9, 2011
Sky Express was deemed as a “clearly unsafe carrier” by the Virginia Department of Transportation after a recent Virginia auto accident involving the carrier.
A Virginia auto accident involving Sky Express killed four people, and lawmakers are wanting to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
According to frederickburg.com, senators are urging stricter oversight of motorcoach carriers and enforcement of rules.
The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Administration sited Sky Express several times in the past, including incidents for driver fatigue, the reason behind the recent Virginia auto accident.
37 percent of accidents, which may include Virginia auto accidents, investigated by the national Transportation Safety Board find that driver fatigue is the cause.
Do you think bus drivers should be held to the same standards as semi-truck drivers? Do you think federal regulation of buses could reduce the number of Virginia auto accidents?
If you or someone you know has been involved in a Virginia auto accident, the Virginia auto accident lawyers at Lowell Stanley can help.
