Virginia Beach, VA
Car accident Lawyer at Virginia Beach, VA
Practice Areas: Car Accidents, Personal Injury ... +4 more
OUTCOME: Won Appeal Before Federal Appeals Court for client
The trial judge determined that a 1 Million dollar insurance policy did not apply to cover my client. I appealed and won the appeal ruling that the full 1 million dollar policy applied. Soon after the ... insurer settled the case for a substantial part of the policy coverage. Published Decision is: Bray v. Ins. Co. of State of Pa., 917 F2d 130 (4th Cir. 1990).
OUTCOME: WV Supreme Court appeal victory in death case
The West Virginia Supreme Court reversed a summary judgment ruling in favor of Norfolk Southern Railway Co., and reinstated a Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) mesothelioma wrongful death claim of ... his widow, Freda Ratliff, in a 5-0 decision handed down on March 12, 2009 (Ratliff v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co, Civil Action No. 05-C-423). The Court ruled that a separation agreement release of all claims, known and unknown, that train engineer Ratliff signed 19 years before developing mesothelioma, was void under a provision of the Federal Employers Liability Act, section 55, which prohibits railroad efforts to exempt itself from liability. Ratliff's attorney, Richard N. Shapiro, offered that on behalf of the Ratliff estate and family. We are grateful that the Supreme Court agreed with our position that a separation agreement release could not bar a mesothelioma FELA claim, when the disease was first diagnosed 19 years after Mr. Ratliff's retirement. This terrible asbestos cancer cut short Mr. Ratliff's golden years, and in a horrible way at that.
OUTCOME: $800,000.00
Our client was seriously injured when he was on vacation and suffered a trip and fall injury at his vacation home.
OUTCOME: Settled Confidentially on Appeal
Rick's client was a railroad brakeman/switchman who lost his life to lung cancer. He was exposed to asbestos, diesel fumes, and radiation during his 40 year career with CSX. Rick's client also worked o ... n asbestos-laden locomotives and inhaled diesel exhaust on switching engines for decades. The Knoxville jury trial (Winston Payne Estate v. CSXT) lasted about two weeks and the jury deliberated for a full day, before returning their $8.6 million verdict, which is what Rick asked for in his closing statement. CSX appealed this jury verdict and in 2016, the case was settled confidentially.
OUTCOME: $2.5 Million Jury Award
Frank S. Wright was on his Ryobi ride-on lawn mower cutting grass and trying to get his backyard to look nice in preparation for holiday festivities on December 23, 2010. Just two days before Christmas ... , the Wrights were planning to come together at Frank's home to enjoy eachother's company. Suddenly, without warning, Mr. Wright's mower exploded engulfing him in flames. The fire was so powerful that Mr. Wright died just moments after the explosion. Mr. Wright's wife heard the explosion and saw her husband covered in flames. She ran outside and tried to put the fire out, but the flames were so strong and Mr. Wright was covered in so much fuel that all she could do was watch in horror. Mr. Wright’s estate filed a wrongful death action. Their attorneys were Virginia Beach & Norfolk wrongful death lawyer Richard Shapiro and Kansas City, Misouri wrongful death lawyer Rob Sullivan. The case was filed against the lawn mower manufacturer, Ryobi, and the seller of the mower, Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. The case was litigated in the Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division. The defense team for Ryobi and Home Depot tried to argue that Mr. Wright was "plowing leaves" on a cold day and that's what caused the fire. They also argued that he shouldn't have even been operating the mower because he was elderly and had some health problems (Mr. Wright was 88-years-old at the time of his death). The jury simply did not accept such preposterous arguments. The trial lasted five day and after deliberating for approximately four hours, the federal jury returned a $2.5 million verdict in favor of the widow. The jury determined that Ryobi was negligent in manufacturing the fuel tank and fuel line and that they owed a duty to Mr. Wright, along with thousands of other Ryobi customers, to warn of the discovered defects.
OUTCOME: $1.5 Million Settlement
A commercial pilot who was permanentyl disabled by an electrical shock injury suffered in a Virginia hotel room received $1.5 million in a settlement with the hotel's owner. The hotel attacked the p ... ilot's electrical expert's theories, and moved to exclude the expert opinions as unreliable and suspect, given that the pilot's two experts did not conduct tests on what the pilot contended was the same light fixture, or under reliable similar circumstances.The pilot, in response, argued that the hotel completely failed to preserve or maintain the main, known material evidence (i.e., the light fixture, whether in the ceiling area or preserved with the entire fixture and its wiring apparatus). This is so despite its awareness from the very first hour after the incident that the pilot was shocked in their shower. The hotel admitted that the room remained out of use for well over a month, but it produced no pictures, inspection reports or confirmation of what if anything was done to alter the fixture in the first days or weeks. The hotel contended no changes were made, but when the pilot's expert was permitted an inspection months later, the pilot contended the fixture was entirely different. The court ordered two settlement conferences. At first, the parties were unable to settle the case prior to the final pretrial hearing. But in the second settlement conference, after the pretrial hearing decisions and about a week before trial, the parties settled the case for $1.5 million in exchange for full and complete settlement of all claims.