In his latest post to our firm’s Eastern Shore Virginia Injury Attorneys Blog, my colleague Randy Appleton reports on a collision between a semi and smaller commercial truck on Route 13 in Machipongo, VA, that left a box truck driver injured. Randy notes that the box truck driver hit the tractor-trailer after the semi jackknifed, which highlights the dangers truckers create when they lose control of their vehicles. To read more, click over to “Semi Crash on Route 13 in Machipongo Sends Trucker to Hospital With Injuries.”

EJL

About the Editors: The Virginia (VA) trucking accident attorneys at Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton have experience handling truck accident cases in Virginia, North Carolina (NC), and other Southeastern states. Check out our case results, which illustrate our track record of success in truck accident personal injury cases. Trucking injury lawyers Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. They have also been named Virginia Super Lawyers since 2010, an honor fewer than 5 percent of outstanding attorneys receive. To learn more about Virginia truck accident injury law, take a look at this free report written by an experienced truck wreck injury attorney in Virginia.

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A long-haul truck driver from Birmingham, Alabama (AL), lost his life in a rear-end collision with another tractor-trailer on I-81 in Rockbridge County, Virginia (VA), early in the evening of January 30, 2012. According to the Roanoke Times, the man ran into the back of a stalled semi in the right-hand lane of the interstate, which was temporarily closed for repairs. The man in the stopped truck was not hurt in the crash near the 197 mile marker just north of Lexington, VA.

View a larger ma of the stretch of I-81 near Lexington, VA, where two semis collided and a trucker lost  his life.

Police have not determined why the one semi was stopped in what would normally be a traffic lane, nor why the deceased trucker was unable to stop or change lanes in time to avoid the fatal crash. Regardless of the circumstance, my fellow Virginia truck accident victims’ attorney colleagues and I send our heartfelt condolences to the friends and family members of the man who lost his life.

Stopping on the highway, even on the shoulder, always creates risks for people in the pulled-over vehicles and everyone passing by. That written, and especially on interstates with posted speed limits of 70 mph or higher, all drivers need to be on the lookout for disabled vehicles. Virginia strengthened its move-over law that requires drivers to slow down or, when safe, change lanes to give space to emergency responders specifically to prevent fatal crashes.

EJL

About the Editors: The Virginia (VA) trucking accident attorneys at Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton have experience handling truck accident cases in Virginia, North Carolina (NC), and other Southeastern states. Check out our case results, which illustrate our track record of success in truck accident personal injury cases. Trucking injury lawyers Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. They have also been named Virginia Super Lawyers since 2010, an honor fewer than 5 percent of outstanding attorneys receive. To learn more about Virginia truck accident injury law, take a look at this free report written by an experienced truck wreck injury attorney in Virginia.

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A dump truck tire blowout on VA Route 20 just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, on January 16, 2012, sent the truck and a small car being driven nearby careening off the road and into the woods. According to WVIR-TV NBC 29, both the car’s driver and the dump truck operator suffered injuries requiring hospital treatment. Both people were able to return home the same day, but the truck driver had to be cut from the cab of his vehicle.

As a Virginia personal injury attorney whose law firm often represents victims of trucking accidents, I know that the wrecks caused by failing equipment can often be deadly. Both the people involved in the Charlottesville crash can be considered lucky to have not been injured more severely.

At the same time, the trucker and car driver could also have been victimized by a defective tire. Only a full investigation into the crash can reveal whether the tire blew out because it was improperly inflated, allowed to become bald and unbalanced, driven over a puncture hazard or unsafe in design or by manufacture. Whatever the case of the tire failure, there is a cause and either the company owning and operating the dump truck or the tire maker can and should be held liable for injuries resulting from the accident.

EJL

About the Editors: The Virginia (VA) trucking accident attorneys at Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton have experience handling truck accident cases in Virginia, North Carolina (NC), and other Southeastern states. Check out our case results, which illustrate our track record of success in truck accident personal injury cases. Trucking injury lawyers Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. They have also been named Virginia Super Lawyers since 2010, an honor fewer than 5 percent of outstanding attorneys receive. To learn more about Virginia truck accident injury law, take a look at this free report written by an experienced truck wreck injury attorney in Virginia.

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This month a tanker truck carrying 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel overturned on Highway 15 in Loudoun County, Virginia.

The tanker truck was closely following behind two cars when they apparently slammed on their brakes.  In order to avoid hitting the cars, the driver drove into an embankment, and the tanker truck overturned.

No one was hurt in the crash, and no fuel was leaked into the neighboring community.

While we applaud the quick action taken by the truck driver, we personally know that not every story has the same ending. Unfortunately, many truck accidents results in serious injuries to innocent victims. Our firm focuses on helping those accident victims, and we are proud of the results we have achieved in helping them recover from their loss.

Truck accidents in Virginia are very different from common car accidents, and that is why you need to hire a law firm that will send out investigators to collect evidence on your behalf. The truck driver will have several insurance companies all working to make the problem go away quickly.  You need someone on your side that will:

• Collect any and all forensic evidence including skid marks, debris, vehicle or tire damage, and data systems on the truck are the physical evidence of the accident;
• Consult with forensic experts; and
• Get through the web of liability including all available responsible parties and relevant insurance that may be available to you or a family member.

To get more info, take a look at this free consumer report, written by a truck accident lawyer in Virginia, discussing what a victim needs to do after a serious accident involving a commercial truck.

About the Editors: The Virginia (VA) trucking accident attorneys at Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton have experience handling truck accident cases in Virginia, North Carolina (NC), and other Southeastern states. Check out our case results, which illustrate our track record of success in truck accident personal injury cases. Trucking injury lawyers Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. They have also been named Virginia Super Lawyers since 2010, an honor fewer than 5 percent of outstanding attorneys receive. To learn more about Virginia truck accident injury law, take a look at this free report written by an experienced truck wreck injury attorney in Virginia.

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The driver of a truck determined to be at fault for an accident that sent as many as 24 Carteret County, North Carolina (NC), students to the hospital with minor injuries  has been charged with failing to yield right of way to the bus transporting the children.

The driver, who lives in Beaufort, NC, hit the school bus on November 8, 2011, at the intersection of Professional Park Drive and Troon Way.

As experienced North Carolina (NC) trucking accident injury attorneys, my colleagues and I see numerous accidents in which school buses are hit by trucks or cars. In February 2011, for instance, we reported on a wreck in Pamlico County, NC, in which a six-wheel box truck hit a bus and injured several students. In the same month in Garner, NC, four children were injured when a garbage truck hit a Wake County school bus.

It seems far too many truck drivers are driving carelessly. We have represented many clients who have been badly hurt or even killed in truck accidents.

In 2010 our firm attained a $3.5 million settlement after a commercial driver in a tractor-trailer rear-ended a passenger vehicle on I-64 in Norfolk, VA . Our client was the child of a passenger who died in the car that caught fire as a result of the collision.

DM

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.

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Two tanker trucks collided and burst into flames on a freeway near Phoenix, Arizona (AZ) on November 9, 2011, killing one driver. The accident happened when a milk tanker rear-ended a tanker truck carrying about 7,700 gallons of diesel fuel.

The extreme fire caused police in the nearby city of Chandler to order the evacuations of at least two hotels and businesses alongside I-10.

As an experienced Virginia (VA) trucking accident injury attorney my thoughts are with the family of the deceased driver.

When flammable materials are being transported on the highway, there is always a higher risk that the consequences of a wreck will be tragic. That’s what happened in 2008 when a tanker truck went over an embankment near Roanoke, VA, and caught fire. Likewise when a tanker carrying liquid nitrogen rear-ended a car on an I-77 bridge over the Ohio River in West Virginia and sparked a fire that killed three members of a family.

Given the hazardous loads they are carrying drivers of tankers have a high responsibility to drive carefully. If they fail in this responsibility the driver or their employer can face a lawsuit. In 2010 two of my law firm colleagues secured a $3.5 million settlement for the family of a man who was killed in a fiery wreck after his vehicle was rear-ended by a tractor trailer.

DM

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.

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A West Virginia (WV) coal truck driver who drove his vehicle into another truck on Cabin Creek Road near Wealthy Acres in Kanawah County on October 20 has admitted to police he was taking the narcotic painkillers Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone from Reckitt Benckiser) and Oxycotin (oxcodone from Perdue Pharma) before starting his shift. WSAZ NewsChannel 3 reported that the driver who caused the head-on collision has been charged with DUI causing injury, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, driving left of center and reckless driving.

As experienced West Virginia trucking accident attorneys, my colleagues and I see a number of trucking accidents caused by alcohol or drug abuse. Impaired driving is the fourth most common cause of wrecks caused by truckers. Also, a study conducted by a Maryland trauma center revealed that approximately 34 percent of drivers involved in crashes admitted tested positive for only drugs, while just 16 percent tested positive for only alcohol.

This accident in West Virginia illustrates the large number of injuries and deaths caused by coal trucks. In December 2010, for instance, we reported that a coal truck driven in a reckless manner claimed the life of a 19-year-old in West Virginia.

If a truck driver who has taken drugs causes an injury, the trucker’s employer may be liable in a personal injury lawsuit. If you’ve have been injured due to a truck driver’s negligence, there are a number of important steps that need to be taken. We recommend downloading our guide to truck accidents.

DM

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.

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My colleague Jim Lewis has written about an accident at the intersection of Bonney Road and South Budding Avenue in Virginia Beach, VA, in which a dump truck hit a car. Injuries were sustained in the wreck. To learn more, take a look at “Truck Slams Into Car on Bonney Road in Virginia Beach, Causes Injuries.”

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About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.

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Amherst, Virginia (VA) resident Phillip Sparrow, 55, died on impact when a logging truck T-boned his car, according to police who spoke with WSET-Channel 13. Tragic events like this happen all too often with trucks, and I can’t help but wonder what should have been done to prevent such devastating results. Most residents of the area where Sparrow was killed knew that the intersection of Riverville Road and Piedmont Road was a “perfect mix to cause a fatality,” WSET reported.

That perfect mix is a dangerous intersection that makes it hard to see oncoming traffic and that requires drivers to, according to one resident, “pull almost completely out in [the] road … to see if a truck is coming.”  What’s worse, is that sometimes the logging trucks coming down the road are going too fast.  Some locals estimate the speeds at around 75 mph, when the posted limit is only 45 mph for trucks.

The combination of an obscured vantage point and speeding logging trucks make some residents “scared every time [they] come out” of the roadway, and, expressing hopes that this tragedy will not be in vain, they hope it will convince Virginia Department of Transportation to finally make this perfect mix intersection into a 4-way stop.

Trucking accidents such as this can cause life-altering injuries, or worse, can take someone’s life.  Less than a year ago, my colleague, Randy Appleton and I helped the survivors of a 25-year-old man killed in a trucking accident recover $3.5 million dollars in a settlement.  His car was hit by a truck whose driver admitted he did not see the car until seconds before impacting the car and killing the man.  This is why I say this type of accident happens all-too-often, and why this type of accident makes me angry and concerned as a motorist who shares the road with truckers.

As a wrongful death attorney, I not only express my condolences to the Sparrow family, but strongly suggest that they seek the advice of a Virginia law firm who will represent their interests and who will fight to make it known that tragedies like this ought to have been prevented.

Our firm has published a free consumer guide to trucking accidents and has information available for those interested in holding trucking companies responsible for the wrongful death of their loved ones.

AY

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.

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My colleague Kevin Duffan has written a new blog post for our Virginia personal injury attorneys’ website about a former Chatham, VA, town council member who was involved in a serious accident with a truck. The man may have fallen asleep at the wheel before hitting the truck, according to reports.

DM

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.

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