Maddie came in first in our group, with Kris running and Jim jogging behind, and Chase, Mac and Patrick followed behind. Mallory and her mother also participated. It was a great day for everyone, enjoying the music and imaginative cheers from the Spirit Groups along the scenic, tree-lined medians. There were lots of great costumed runners and walkers mingled among the 40,000 participants, and an awesome post race party in Monroe Park!

The Nonprofit Center currently hosts several tenants and plans for the second phase of renovation are moving forward. The plans include more tenant space and a meeting facility that will incorporate the first green roof top in Leesburg. Loudoun Cares Executive Director Andy Johnston notes “The building and our vision for it has been made possible by Peter’s leadership and passion for community building. Fortunately his passion is contagious and filters out through everyone working in the firm of Burnett & Williams.” Burnett championed a downtown location that included parking and was accessible to public transportation. His unique combination of business and design skills fostered the idea that the building can serve the community and contribute to the revitalization of downtown Leesburg.

1. Regardless of whether a claimant has health insurance, the negligent driver and his insurance company are still obligated to pay the amount the health care provider charged. Many of my clients are routinely deceived in this manner prior to hiring me.

2. Likewise, even when the injured party has medical payments coverage and health insurance coverage, the defendant is fully liable for the amount charged by the health care provider.

3. The adjuster will not advise you with respect to the availability of additional uninsured or underinsured coverage from your own policy, should the defendant be inadequately insured. Yes, this means that under certain circumstances, there are four different sources of recovery available to an auto accident victim: health insurance, the negligent driver’s liability insurance, medical payments coverage, and in some cases, uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.

4. The adjuster will not offer legal advice on whether you will have to pay your health plan back from settlement proceeds. Some plans are entitled, some are not. And in some unfortunate cases, plans will assert a right to be repaid when no right exists at all.

5. You are entitled to the value of lost time from work even if you got sick leave or were otherwise compensated for the time away from work due to accident related injuries.

6. An adjuster will not encourage you to get verification of the partial permanency of your injury from your doctor so it can be factored into the value of your claim. This verification often accounts for a significant portion of a settlement.

Perhaps most important, the insurance adjuster will not tell you the real value of your pain and suffering. This information is uniformly withheld from the injured victim, because otherwise, the adjuster will be expected to include it in any settlement amount. What the insurance company will do is tell you they are ready to send a check immediately, upon your signing a complete release of liability. Once the release is signed, the insurance company is off the hook for any subsequent accident related treatment.

Particularly in these tough economic times, many claimants are vulnerable to the offer of a quick settlement. Adjusters tell me they are having a lot of success these days settling claims cheap with quick payments. As one of them said, “I don’t want these folks to call you, Peter.” Many of the insurance adjusters I know are very nice people, but unfortunately, their job description does not include looking out for your best interest.

My point in writing about these websites is that they all have a common thread: the information they contain is easily obtainable by the insurance company lawyers through a subpoena. I have been reading about cases in my legal journals where deserving plaintiffs have hurt their cases by sharing very personal thoughts about their case or their injuries on these OSN sites.

Although the typical way for insurance companies to obtain information is through the use of subpoenas after a lawsuit is started, from my perspective, the scary part of OSN sites is that with the click of a mouse just about any information can be uncovered. What this means is that you or your attorney may not necessarily know that posted information is being obtained by the insurance company.

The important point I’m trying to convey is this: Be careful with what you post in Cyberspace. Once it’s there, it’s almost impossible to retract. Avoid writing anything about your claim or lawsuit, or your injuries. If you do feel the need to write something, then always remember it can potentially become exhibit 1 against you at trial.

Here is a short list of my thoughts concerning social networking:

1. Anything that you have posted or will post on a OSN may end up in the hands of the opposition.
2. Check the privacy settings on your profile, and adjust them to prevent unwanted viewers from seeing it.
3. Do not post anything to your profile that discusses your law suit or related injuries.
4. Make every attempt to ensure your profile includes no photographs (posted by you or your friends) of you attempting to engage in any physical activities that you are now unable to do as a result of your injuries.
5. Do not accept “friends” invitations from people you do not know. It is possible that someone working for the defendant may attempt to pose as a “friend.” That person may try to view your page to obtain incriminating evidence that could harm your chances of a successful recovery in your lawsuit. Review your “friends” list. If you do not know someone on the list, remove them from it.

The important thing to remember here is that social networking sites have the potential to do great harm to a case. As the law is still evolving in this area with respect to privacy rights, the best approach is to assume that the insurance company will get its hands on anything you put in Cyberspace.

Jim Williams,  Lisa Kopecko, Leslie Haley, and Charles Batchelor present a check for $30,000 to the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors. The money raised by the Field of Dreams Foundation and Midlothian Volunteer Coalition goes toward a new multi-use playing field at the former Watkins Annex.

Peter Burnett was recently selected by the American Trial Lawyers Association as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in Virginia. Membership is obtained through special invitation and is extended only to those attorneys who exemplify superior qualifications of leadership,reputation, influence, stature, and profile as civil plaintiff or criminal defense trial lawyers. Visit Peter’s profile at the American Trial Lawyers Association website

Peter accepted the 2010 Signatures of Loudoun Design Excellence Award and wishes to thank every one involved with the restoration of his family home. A Washington Post article by Nancy McKeon quotes Peter emphasizing the fact that “Many, many of my clients have lost so much more. This loss was not a tragedy, only a bump in the road”  Read the article here  Barn Raising

Jim Williams and Peter Burnett are both members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the U.S. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. Fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members. Visit the Million Dollar Advocates Forum website here.

The dangers associated with texting while driving have been well documented over the last several years. Despite state legislation and widespread media attention, too many Virginians remain unyielding to the dangers it presents; not surprisingly, young drivers are increasingly among the offenders.

A recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project estimates that 26% of all American teens have texted while driving. Equally, if not more troubling is that nearly half of teens ages 12 to 17 have witnessed someone else texting while driving. These numbers reflect not only an alarming ambivalence among teen drivers, but also indicate that texting while driving may be an increasingly learned behavior.

“[My] dad drives like he’s drunk,” explains one teenaged survey participant, “his phone is just like sitting in front of his face, and he puts his knees on the bottom of the steering wheel and tries to text.” Based on my own experience, this teen’s account is, I am afraid, all too real. Our children clearly recognize and to some extent appreciate the folly we often exhibit as parents, but time has shown again and again, that teens are quite prone to mimicry. Take smoking for instance. Research suggests that children of parent’s who smoke, may have at least twice the risk of becoming habitual smokers by the time they graduate from high school. The same logic applies here, folks.

As each generation becomes increasingly connected through modern technology, this problem will grow exponentially if unchecked. Teenagers do not respond very well to statistics and too often shrug off threats to their own safety. They are, however, likely to imitate the actions of those closest to them. Make certain that you set a good example for the young drivers in your family, and maybe we can begin to curb this awful trend.