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Nursing Home Abuse
- How You Can Help Prevent Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
- Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Risks
- Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 Protects the Elderly
- Understaffing is a Significant Cause of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
- What to do if you’re concerned about nursing home abuse and neglect
- Is nursing home abuse really an issue in Virginia?
Personal Injury and Automobile Accidents
- Trying to save money on gas? Don’t neglect your safety
- Virginia Seatbelts
- Nursing Home Cases
- Personal Injury Cases where the injured party has died
- Dog Bite Cases II
- Looking out for your teen driver
- Dog Bites
- Hosting a Graduation Party in Virginia? Read This First!
- Virginia Beach Sheriffs Immune
- Chesapeake to Install Countdown Crosswalks
Medical Malpractice
- More heparin deaths? Yes, its true.
- Joint Commission Targeting Children Medication Mix-Ups
- Finding The Best ER For Your Child
- Why Free Drug Samples Are a Bad Idea
- Knee and Hip Replacements Expected to Spike
- Supreme Court Grants Immunity for FDA Approved Medical Devices
- FDA Warns Doctors to Retrieve Device Fragments
DUI, Traffic and Criminal Law Defense
- Eight Year Old Arizona Boy Charged With Killing Father And One Other
- Allan Zaleski in New Book
- Marijuana Cases
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- Look into my eyes… have you been drinking?
- DUI Cases II
- Can walking in a straight line really reveal that I’m unfit to drive?
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General Observations
- Gas Prices X
- Three Judges for Norfolk Circuit Court
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Firm News
Three High School Students Killed in a Car Crash in Virginia Beach
Young Volunteer Firefighter Killed in Crash
Former Virginia Tech Quarterback Found Guilty of DUI
Four Deaths on Virginia 151 Prompted Change
Fossella Found Guilty of Misdemeanor Charges of DUI in Virginia
Study Reveals 13% of Seniors Report Mistreatment
Grant Helps the Elderly Avoid Nursing Homes
Driver Convicted of DUI Death Arrested Again on DUI Charge
Nursing home patient's death cause 'undetermined'
Drive Safe Hampton Roads to provide free child safety seat checks
Firm Library
Nursing Home Abuse
- Virginia Adult and Elder Abuse and Neglect Statistics
- Suspect Elder Abuse? Learn About Mandated Reporting
- Signs of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation
- Understaffed Nursing Homes can Lead to Elder Abuse
- Rights of Nursing Home Residents
Personal Injury and Automobile Accidents
- Is Your Car Spying On You?
- What can be done about teen car deaths?
- Common Questions about Virginia’s Seat Belt Laws
- What the Injured Worker Gets
- Saving Money with a Small Truck? Consider Safety Ratings
Medical Malpractice
- Website Allows Consumers to Compare Hospitals
- New Technology may Reduce Physician Mistakes
- Shortage of On-Call Specialists at Hospitals is Costing Patients
- Transient Ischemic Attacks & Strokes
- How Medical Mistakes are Costing U.S. Healthcare $8.8 Billion
DUI, Traffic and Criminal Law Defense
- Having one more for the road may skew breath tests
- The Federal Government’s Answer to Hard Core Drinking and Driving
- All about the Walk and Turn Field Sobriety Test
- Requesting a Restricted License in Virginia
- Ignition Interlock Devices & DUI Law
Divorce
General
Weisberg Law Blog
Weisberg Law BlogPersonal Injury and Automobile Accidents
Virginia Seatbelts
I heard that you were interested in Virginia’s laws regarding seatbelts, also referred to as safety lap belts and shoulder harnesses. Here in the Old Dominion, we do have some rather unusual seatbelt laws. While Virginia law requires that drivers and front seat occupants wear the belts, notice that back seat occupants are not required; however, anyone under 16 years of age is required no matter where the child sits, front of back. Section 46.2-1094 makes it an offense not to wear a seatbelt, but subsection F does not allow a police officer to stop you just for not wearing the belt. Accordingly, you have to be stopped for some other reason before you can be ticketed for no belt. It is my experience that a police officer will not stop you just for not wearing a belt. It’s good to know that the police are obeying this law, but if you are stopped for speeding while not wearing a belt, you will get ticketed. The same law also provides that failure to wear a belt is not negligence if you get hurt in an auto accident. As a matter of fact, it can not be introduced into evidence at the trial of your personal injury case, nor can it be commented on by counsel for the parties. Subsection D. in workers’ compensation cases says that it can come into play; I guess this is a function of the influence that industry has in Virginia with our legislature. If a worker is injured in a work place accident, they would be denied benefits if they did not use a safety device, you know, steel toes shoes, and the like. For a truck driver, the belt is a safety device. The employer must show that the not wearing of the belt was "willful" and not just negligent; the employer must also show that if a belt had been worn, it would have prevented the injury.
Getting kind of esoteric. I guess the bottom line is: wear a seatbelt; it may be beneficial to your health, both physical and financial.
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