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Accidents are stressful. Insurance claims can feel overwhelming. Lawsuits often add time, expense, and uncertainty to an already difficult situation. In some cases, there is another way forward. Mediation offers an opportunity to resolve disputes without the delays and costs that often accompany litigation. Mediation is a voluntary process in which the parties meet with a neutral third party—the mediator—to try to reach a resolution. The mediator does not decide the case or determine who is right or wrong. Instead,… Read More

In 2025, the Virginia General Assembly passed House Bill 1725 (HB1725), known as the Medical Debt Protection Act (“the Act”), which was signed into law by Governor Glenn Younkin and codified as Chapter 59 of Title 59.1 in the Code of Virginia. This legislation aims to shield patients from aggressive and burdensome medical debt collection practices, particularly from large health care facilities and medical debt buyers. The Act takes effect on July 1, 2026. Key Provisions of the Act The… Read More

In trucking litigation, your safety manual can become your biggest adversary. Training manuals, standard operating procedures, and internal safety policies are routinely scrutinized by plaintiffs and used to frame the narrative of a case. When those documents are not followed in practice, they can create significant and often avoidable exposure. How Unfollowed Policies Become Litigation Exposure Motor carriers maintain training manuals, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and internal safety policies that govern day-to-day operations. These documents are central to how companies… Read More

Autopilot Verdicts and the Question of Control We have all seen the recent verdicts and settlements involving Tesla’s “Autopilot” feature. A natural question follows: how do those outcomes square with fully autonomous taxi services such as Waymo or Zoox (Amazon’s entry into the market)? The answer largely turns on how much assistance—or control—the vehicle’s systems exercise over the driving task. The most recent verdict out of Miami arose from a 2023 accident and resulted in total damages of $240 million,… Read More

The Verdict That Followed a Mass-Casualty Crash A 130-plus vehicle pileup in February 2021 that resulted in at least six fatalities became the ignition point for one of the most recent nuclear verdicts of 2025. On December 15, 2025, a Texas jury returned a $44.1 million verdict in a wrongful death action arising from the Fort Worth-area crash against New Prime, Inc. The verdict included $20 million in punitive damages and $24.1 million in compensatory damages, with 75% of fault… Read More

Environmental Protection Agency & Emissions The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") is re-evaluating its 2022 Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle nitrogen oxides rule, with a proposed rule in the pipeline for spring 2026. According to the EPA, the goal is to "make major changes to the program requirements while maintaining the model year 2027 start of the standards, which can significantly reduce the cost of new heavy-duty vehicles, while still protecting human health and the environment, and avoiding regulatory distortions of the… Read More

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The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act §65.2-603 states: “[A]s long as necessary after an accident, the employer shall furnish or cause to be furnished, free of charge to the injured employee, a physician chosen by the injured employee from a panel of at least three physicians selected by the employer and such other necessary medical attention.” Previously, we discussed how the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act requires employers to provide care and coverage for injuries that arise out of and in the… Read More