(703) 273-9500

Practice Areas

Blog

Library

Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice case dismissed. Statute of limitation was not tolled. Court finds no continuous treatment.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Woman tells what it was like when she was a 13 year old girl and regained consciousness after being in a coma from a traumatic brain injury.

Blogs

Car Accidents

6/2/2009
Sandra Rohrstaff, Partner
Comments (0)

Texas just passed a law that is designed to protect people from personal injury lawyers (and chiropractors) who contact injured people and tell them they may need to go to a chiropractor (even if they're not injured) and to hire a lawyer to help them get compensation for their injury.

I HATE reading stories like this. Why? Not because I'm a trial lawyer, and this story paints me with a really black and smelly brush, but because I'm a trial lawyer who doesn't lie to get clients and I still get painted with the black and smelly brush. (In Virginia, lawyers are already prohibited from making direct contact with a person who has been injured.)

We at Weiner, Rohrstaff & Spivey only represent people who have been seriously injured because of someone else's carlessness. In fact, we will fire a client if we find out he or she has lied to us.

Near the end of the article there is important information: The Texas Trial Lawyers Association joined in the effort to get the bill passed. I spoke to an attorney in Texas who helped to get the law passed. He said that unscrupulous lawyers and doctors were descending on injured people like locusts. (Well, okay, that reference to locusts is mine.) It had become a real problem, so the Texas TLA helped get a law passed that will make such high-pressure tactics a criminal offense.

I am currently president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and I am proud that another trial lawyers association stood up to do the right thing for the clients of trial lawyers who work every day for their clents. I hate that there are crooked trial lawyers who take advantage of the injured who do not know their rights and who take advantage of the system. They hurt their clients and other trial lawyers who are honest. I work hard to be sure that people know that I am not an ambulance chaser.

In fact, I want to hear from anyone who was solicited by a trial lawyer while they were laid up in a hospital bed and were heavily medicated. That's just wrong.

Labels: Accident ambulance chaser Crash fraud injury lawyer

4/7/2009
Sandra Rohrstaff, Partner
Comments (0)

Defense Medical Examiners - A World of Hurt

In Virginia, as in most other states, if a person has been injured and brings a claim against the careless person who injured her, the defense for the careless person usually asks that the injured person be examined by a doctor chosen by the defense. This is also true in workers' compensation cases, where the employer will have the employee examined by a doctor chosen by the employer. In both workes' compensation and injury cases, the DME (defense medical exam) is performed by a doctor who regularly does such examinations for the defense.

Sometimes these examinations are referred to as IMEs, INDEPENDENT medical exams, but they are anything but independent. Injured people are mistaken if they think that the doctor hired by the insurance company is there to help them. The doctor is there to help whoever it is paying his or her bill. And, they may do many such examinations in one day and make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars every year on such examinations.

This New York Times article highlights doctors in New York; however, you can be sure that Virginia has doctors who are similar to those featured in the article.

Don't get me wrong. If an injured person sues a careless person, the defendant has a right to have the injured plaintiff examined to verify the injuries. My objection is the cozy relationship some doctors and defense lawyers have with each other, where the lawyers always send the injured people to the same doctors because they know that the doctor will say that the injured person is exaggerating. It's not fair to paint every injured plaintiff as exaggerating.

if we ever learn that our clients are lying to us, or exaggerating their injuries, we refuse to take their case. We do not believe it helps the justice system for anyone on either side of a case to scam the system, and we do not tolerate such behavior.

if you have been injured by someone else's carelessness, give Weiner, Rohrstaff & Spivey a call. We can help you decide whether you have an injury that is severe enough to benefit from the assistance of an experienced personal injury lawyer. Contact us by phone, 703-273-9500, by email at srohrstaff@wrsattorneys.com, or through our website www.wrsattorneys.com.

Labels: Accident defense medical examination injury insurance company lawyer Virginia

Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents

4/4/2009
Sandra Rohrstaff, Partner
Comments (1)

Cars + Children = Danger

Now is the time of year when more and more cars and trucks will be on the roads and highways - spring is here and families get out and about. And, more and more children are out and about riding bikes and playing in their yards with other children. I recently wrote an article -- children and cars don't mix.

We have all heard of -- or even experienced -- tragic stories of children who are happy and carefree playing outside one second and severely injured the next by a careless driver. If your child was injured by a careless driver, contact Weiner, Rohrstaff & Spivey for help. Our phone number is 703-273-9500, or email srohrstaff@wrsattorneys.com or contact us through our website at www.wrsattorneys.com. We can help.

Labels: Accident children death Fatal injury lawyer

Drunk Driving Accidents

3/17/2009
Sandra Rohrstaff, Partner
Comments (0)

St. Patrick's Day DUI

Lots of celebrating for St. Patrick's Day was done over the past weekend. However, you can be sure there are still plenty of celebrants who will be out on the roads today and tonight. Make sure you and your family are among those who are celebrating responsibly.

A Virginia DMV report on the numbers of people who are injured or killed by drunk drivers and who are convicted of DUI charges over this holiday shows that the numbers continue to be noteable.

If you are among those affected by a drunk driver, you need to speak to an attorney experienced in these matters. Give us a call, 703-273-9500, or contact us through the website, http://www.WRSattorneys.com, for information that will help you.

Labels: Accident Alcohol death Drunk Fairfax lawyer Virginia

Recommended Services

1/19/2009
Sandra Rohrstaff, Partner
Comments (0)

Richard Auger, Ottawa Lawyer

If you need a great lawyer in Ottawa, I recommend Richard Auger of Auger Hollingsworth. Richard and I are both members of a group of master lawyers from all over North America.

Richard focuses his practice on criminal defence, personal injury and on representing people before commissions of inquiry. He also represents clients, both individuals and businesses, in a wide range of civil litigation matters.

Richard is a guy who is both "hard" and "soft". The "hard" part is that he is an aggressive advocate for his clients. His list of results is quite impressive. The "soft" part is that he is very active in his community and is committed to giving back. He practices law with his wife, Brenda Hollingsworth.

Contact Richard Auger at 613-233-4529 or via email at richard@ottawalawfirm.ca.

Labels: criminal injury lawyer Ottawa

12/4/2008
Sandra Rohrstaff, Partner
Comments (0)

Jim Parrish - Great Lawyer in Manassas

I believe that lawyers ought to be generous with their time and efforts and do whatever it takes to help people make their way through the maze that is the legal system. Whenever anyone calls Weiner, Rohrstaff & Spivey to talk to us about their legal problems, and they have a problem that we cannot help them with, we do not hesitate to refer them to a good attorney we know who can help them out.

Sometimes, we even refer people who call us about personal injury cases to another lawyer. Why? Because we know that we might not be the best fit for a particular person or another lawyer may have some special experience or skill that would be a better fit for the caller.

Jim Parrish in Manassas, Virginia, is one such lawyer. I have known Jim for some time, and would highly recommend him to anyone who needs a good lawyer to help them with charges stemming from traffic violations, including serious charges such as DWI and reckless driving, driving on a suspended license and other traffic violations.

But, that's not all Jim does. He also represents people who have suffered personal injury. That is, part of his practice is very similar to ours. (Jim also handles some personal injury cases that we do not do, such as defective products.) Maybe you are thinking, "Are you nuts? Why in the world would you recommend a lawyer who handles the very same kind of personal injury case that you handle? I mean, isn't Jim your competition?"

Well, maybe he does the same kind of personal injury case that we do and in that way is our competition. However, we believe that there are plenty of people for both our firms to represent. You see, the relationship an injured person has with her lawyer is very special - kind of like the relationship you have with your doctor - and not every lawyer is the best lawyer for every client. So, there are some clients who will fit better with Jim and some who will fit better with us.

We're not afraid to lose our best client to Jim or to suggest that you visit his blog to learn more about him. If Jim is the best lawyer for you, we are happy to recommend him to you.

Labels: DWI lawyer Manassas Parrish suspended traffic