Roanoke Personal Injury Law Blog

2 killed in multi-vehicle crash that began with speeding

On behalf of Daniel Crandall of Crandall & Katt, Attorneys at Law posted in Car Accidents on Friday, July 3, 2020.

Although speeding is practically part of the American driving experience, it remains a crime because it is unnecessarily dangerous. Some experts say that the chances of dying in a car accident are ten times higher at 70 miles per hour than half that speed. As a result, we should all be more thoughtful about our velocity on highways.

A tragic accident in Petersburg highlights the need for speed control. Two people were killed and several others were injured in a multi-vehicle crash that reportedly began with a Jeep moving faster than 110 mph on Interstate 295.

How do I recognize a brain injury?

On behalf of Daniel Crandall of Crandall & Katt, Attorneys at Law posted in Brain Injuries on Friday, June 26, 2020.

You may notice your reflexes are not what they were before. It may be harder to remember words or perform tasks you used to take for granted. A brain injury can have effects that are not obvious right away or even later, but they can be permanent and affect a person's quality of life.

What is a brain injury under the law?

The legal world sees brain injury in substantially the same way as the medical world. Any trauma or medical problem that results in a permanent or temporary loss of function in the brain is considered a brain injury. They are particularly dangerous among injuries, more often resulting in death or permanent disability than any other trauma.

What are the general effects of brain injury?

What are the most dangerous consumer products on the market?

On behalf of Daniel Crandall of Crandall & Katt, Attorneys at Law posted in Products Liability on Friday, June 19, 2020.

There are many consumer products on the market; however, some are more dangerous than others. Manufacturers and government regulators alike recall countless consumer products from the market due to some risk of serious bodily or life-threatening injuries every year.

Flooring has consistently tended to be the most dangerous of all consumer products over the past few years. Nearly two million people become injured due to flooring materials each year in the United States. The elderly, especially those over 80, are the most vulnerable to getting hurt by flooring. Females tend to suffer more flooring-related injuries than males. At least 60% of such incidents involve women.

Truck overturns after rear-end crash outside Lynchburg

On behalf of Daniel Crandall of Crandall & Katt, Attorneys at Law posted in Truck Accidents on Friday, June 12, 2020.

If you're driving up Interstate 81, you may pay a little more attention to the trucks on the road. That makes a lot of sense because collisions with a tractor-trailer or other heavy vehicle almost certainly mean serious damage to a car. Injury or even death are also possible consequences of a truck crash.

One concern on highways and other roads is a rear-end crash. Trucks take a while to accelerate, but they also take a while longer than smaller vehicles to slow down and stop. Highway construction, regular traffic and other things that could suddenly slow things down have to be approached carefully.

Death in legal custody may be a wrongful death

On behalf of Daniel Crandall of Crandall & Katt, Attorneys at Law posted in Wrongful Death on Friday, June 5, 2020.

We are cursed with knowing that everything dies from early in childhood. Although death is inevitable, it should come at the end of a long full life. And people deserve to be punished if they cause an earlier death, which is why criminal justice is that the heart of modern society.

But criminal charges do not always apply to situations in which one person's action or inaction caused a death. Sometimes, a person may cause someone's death without knowing about it until later. This could happen if someone's inaction, or a failure to perform a required duty, is the cause.

Fatal car accident in Virginia Beach results in charges

On behalf of Daniel Crandall of Crandall & Katt, Attorneys at Law posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, May 27, 2020.

Car accidents are just that. Unless someone means to hurt someone else with a vehicle, it is rare that the results of a crash result in an arrest. Even in cases in which a driver is at fault, criminal charges are rare unless a driver's negligence is ruled to be a criminal act.

A fatal accident in Virginia Beach did result in an arrest after it caused the death of a worker on the side of the highway. A man was driving eastbound on Interstate 64 when he lost control of his vehicle and attempted to compensate and struck an embankment. The force of the collision threw the car into the air, where it struck a survey crew member preparing a new public works project.

Computers join the fight against brain injury

On behalf of Daniel Crandall of Crandall & Katt, Attorneys at Law posted in Brain Injuries on Friday, May 22, 2020.

Brain injuries have long been a threat to humans, leading to all sorts of personal protective equipment. Anyone rides a bike or works on a construction site can attest to the value of always wearing a helmet. But products for personal protection often have a limit, and people can still suffer injuries even when they work hard to prevent it.

Some brain injuries are difficult to detect, even when symptoms present themselves and top doctors are on the case. Many injuries to the head may have superficial signs or no signs at all while still affecting the cognition or health of victims. Many machines used in hospitals, such as computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imagers (MRIs) were developed to look inside the skull when this is a danger.

Medical supply lawsuit reaches settlement with manufacturer

On behalf of Daniel Crandall of Crandall & Katt, Attorneys at Law posted in Products Liability on Wednesday, May 13, 2020.

We don't get through much of the day without the help of appliances or other machines. From opening cans to driving across town, we constantly rely on products designed and built by people we will never meet. Occasionally, we are putting our lives in their hands.

This is why the civil court system in Virginia and elsewhere in the United States lets customers who have had problems with their purchased products take the makers and creators to task. Financial damages may seem like little comfort after an injury or death, but they can help families and other loved ones recover from an unjust loss.

Smyth County truck accident involves fire and injuries

On behalf of Daniel Crandall of Crandall & Katt, Attorneys at Law posted in Truck Accidents on Friday, May 8, 2020.

Most of our everyday actions do not come with a lot of risk unless we spend a lot of time climbing cliffs or diving for buried treasure. One thing we do nearly every day that can come with risk is being near trucks and other heavy vehicles.

This is because the weight and speed of trucks and their cargo make any collision a possibly fatal incident. Several risk factors can come together to cause a truck accident, like heavy traffic or construction zones.

Veterans' facility at center of lawsuit regarding wrong medicine

On behalf of Daniel Crandall of Crandall & Katt, Attorneys at Law posted in Wrongful Death on Thursday, April 30, 2020.

There are many ways that someone may recklessly or negligently cause the death of someone else -- and what might be a crime in some situations may simply be called an "unfortunate accident" in others. Sometimes the lines are so blurred that it's hard to say if a crime was committed. That's when a wrongful death lawsuit can come into play. A wrongful death lawsuit can hold someone responsible for the preventable death of another -- even when there's been no legal crime committed.

For example, some former soldiers who died at a Virginia veterans' affairs facility are the subjects of a pair of wrongful death lawsuits alleging improper medical care. The two victims and ten others may have received fatal doses of insulin even though they did not suffer from a disease requiring this drug as a treatment.