Practice Areas
- Medical Malpractice
- Car / Truck Accidents
- Birth Injuries
- Brain Injuries
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Catastrophic Personal Injuries
Blog 
Car / Truck Accidents
News
- "Best Lawyers in America" recognizes all three Shevlin Smith attorneys
- Federal Court Strikes Down Dangerous Trucking Law
- Lives Saved in 2007 by Restraint Use and Minimum Drinking Age Laws
- World Health Organization Issues a Checklist to Make Operations Safer
- Experts Worry About Rise in C-Section Births
- FDA Believes That Heparin Contamination Was Likely Intentional
- Safety Alert Issued for Heparin
- FDA Identifies Potential Problem Drugs
- Virginia Super Lawyers recognize Thomas G. Smith and Michael J. Shevlin
- Virginia Supreme Court Denies Charitable Immunity For Doctors
Library
Old Firm News
- Virginia's Largest Verdicts of 2006
- Virginia's Largest Verdicts of 2005
- Tom Smith Named Super Lawyer
- Shevlin Smith Moves Office
Medical Articles
Significant Court Decisions
- Virginia Supreme Court clarifies the foundational requirements for the admissibility of medical literature
- Virginia Supreme Court addresses damages issue in truck accident wrongful death case
- Massachusetts Supreme Court Holds That A Doctor's Responsibility Goes Beyond Patients
- Virginia Supreme Court reaffirms mother's right to recover for her own emotional distress suffered as a result of an in utero injury to her fetus
- Virginia Supreme Court agrees with trial court's decision to fine defense attorney who raised groundless legal defenses
Car / Truck Accidents
- Speeding Triples The Chances of an Auto Accident
- Large-Truck Crash Causation Study: An Initial Overview
Tort Reform News
- The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America
- Financial Statements From 15 Largest Medical Malpractice Insurers Show Increase In Doctor's Insurance Premiums Not The Result Of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
- "To Err Is Human: Building A Safer Health System"
- Harvard School of Public Health study: "Claims, Errors, and Compensation Payments in Medical Malpractice Litigation"
- "The Fairness of Malpractice Settlements"
Car / Truck Accidents
If you have lived in, or ever visited, Northern Virginia, you are well aware of the ever worsening traffic conditions we face. No matter the time of day, there always seems to be congestion on our roads. All too often, the source of that congestion is an accident.
Sadly, many of the car accidents that we encounter are avoidable. For example, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute examined accidents in the Northern Virginia region. Its findings were remarkable. Nearly 80% of all crashes and 65% of all near-crashes involved driver inattention (due to distraction, fatigue, or just looking away) within 3 seconds of the accident. Similarly, visual inattention was a contributing factor for 93% of all rear-end striking crashes. As for drunk drivers, nearly 15,000 drunk drivers were arrested in the Washington area in 2007 - that's an arrest rate of about 41 people per day. Many of the accidents involving trucks or tractor trailers are likewise avoidable. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has estimated that driver fatigue was a contributing factor in 30-40% of all accidents involving trucks.
Hopefully, neither you or a loved one have been injured in car or truck accident. If you have, and if you are looking for an attorney, look no farther than Shevlin Smith. At Shevlin Smith, we have vast experience handling cases involving injuries from car and trucks accidents. Our experience comes from multiple perspectives. As a former prosecutor, Michael Shevlin has intimate knowledge of the traffic laws in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As former insurance defense attorneys, Brian Shevlin and Thomas Smith are familiar with the tactics used by insurance companies to defend cases. We have read hundreds of insurance policies. As trial lawyers with decades of experience, all of us stand ready to take our client's case to trial if that will help ensure full and fair compensation for our client's injuries.
We promise you direct contact with our attorneys; we promise you a thorough investigation of your case; we promise you a candid evaluation; and we promise you aggressive representation.
So if you think you might have a automobile or truck accident case, call or email us for a free consultation. We handle cases in all parts of Virginia.
Case Results for Car / Truck Accidents:
- Dump Truck Accident Case Settlement - Confidential
- Automobile Accident Case Settled for $500,000 - $500,000.00
- Automobile Accident Case Settles for $500,000 after the Discovery of a Second Insurance Policy - $500,000.00
- Head-on collision case settles for $425,000 - 425,000
- Jury Verdict in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Case - $145,000
- Car Accident Case Settles for Policy Limits - $100,000.00
- Case Settlement For Pedestrian Hit By Car In Shopping Center Parking Lot - $100,000.00
Web Resources for Car / Truck Accidents:
- 2006 Statistics for Virginia Motor Vehicle Accidents
Description: In 2006, there were 42,642 fatalities in the United States resulting from motor vehicle accidents. In Virginia, there were 963. This site shows all of the statistics relating to Virginia motor vehicle accidents involving a fatality.
- Child Passenger Safety Tips from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Description: NHTSA seeks to ensure that all children ages 0-16 are properly restrained in the correct restraint system for their age and size every time they travel in a motor vehicle. This site is a wonderful educational tool for ensuring child passenger safety.
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Description: The FMCSA develops and enforces data-driven regulations that balance motor carrier (truck and bus companies) safety with industry efficiency; harnesses safety information systems to focus on higher risk carriers in enforcing the safety regulations; targets educational messages to carriers, commercial drivers, and the public; and partners with stakeholders including Federal, State, and local enforcement agencies, the motor carrier industry, safety groups, and organized labor on efforts to reduce bus and truck-related crashes. Its website is a wonderful resource for rules, regulations, facts and research relating to large truck and bus safety issues.
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Description: The mission of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is to "save lives, prevent injuries and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes, through education, research, safety standards and enforcement activity." Its website is a wonderful resource for information directed to advancing this mission.
- National Transportation Safety Board
Description: The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in the other modes of transportation -- railroad, highway, marine and pipeline -- and issuing safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents.
- NHTSA Crash Avoidance Research Technical Publications
Description: The Research and Development department of the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminsitration engages in extensive research, development, testing, crash investigation, and data collection and analysis activities. This website lists many of its publications.
- Truck Accident Legal Center
Description: Truck Accident Legal Center provides in-depth information to truck accident victims including immediate steps after a truck accident. We are helping you reassemble your life by being aware of your rights and by assisting you in getting the best possible compensation.
- Truck Safety Coalition
Description: The Truck Safety Coalition is a partnership between The Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH) Foundation, and Parents Against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T). The Truck Safety Coalition is dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes, providing compassionate support to truck crash survivors and families of truck crash victims, and educating the public, policy-makers and media about truck safety issues.
Let Us Help You
Shevlin Smith
3975 University Drive, Suite 405
Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone: (703) 591-0067
Fax: (703) 591-1877
FAQs
General Questions
- What are the expenses for bringing a medical malpractice or personal injury case?
- What is the likelihood of my case settling without having to go to trial?
- What should I do if I believe that I have been injured due to medical malpractice or the negligence of another person?
- What fee does an attorney charge for representing a client in a medical malpractice or personal injury claim?
Car / Truck Accidents
I have been injured in a car or truck accident and I am now receiving calls or letters from the insurance company of the person who caused the accident. What should I do?
What information can I provide to an attorney to assist the attorney in the review process of my case?
Birth Injuries
- What if I suspect that my child’s injury was caused by medical negligence at birth?
- What are the main types of birth injury cases?
- How is negligence proved in cases of birth injuries?
Medical Malpractice
- How does one know if he or she is a victim of medical malpractice or negligence?
- What experience should I look for in a medical malpractice attorney?
- Is a misdiagnosis or the failure to make a diagnosis always medical malpractice?
- When does a health care provider's failure to treat an infection become medical malpractice?
- Will my health care providers tell me if a mistake has been made?
Brain Injuries
- What are the symptoms of a subtle or mild brain injury?
- How is a brain injury diagnosed?
- What is the frequency of traumatic brain injuries in the United States?
- What is the prognosis for a person who has suffered a traumatic brain injury?