Once a year, the West Virginia Supreme Court visits the West Virginia University of Law in Morgantown. During its most recent visit on April 5, 2022, law students were given the opportunity to witness real cases as they were presented to the Supreme Court of Appeals. This annual tradition is an invaluable opportunity for law students to gain a fuller and more rounded insight into the importance of their chosen profession.

As a driver, you never expect the motorist in front of you to suddenly slam on the brakes while driving on the highway. But the simple fact is that you never know what the driver in front of you is going to do. Part of good defensive driving is making sure that you put adequate distance between yourself and the vehicle in front of you. This leaves sufficient room for you to react if an emergency arises.

So, what’s a safe driving distance on the highway? Read on to learn more about how to measure a safe distance between yourself and the car in front of you. If you have further questions about legal options following a car accident in West Virginia, reach out to the personal injury law firm of DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC.

Most West Virginia motorists know that they can hold the motorist who struck them liable for their injuries if they get hurt in a motor vehicle accident. Sometimes no one gets hurt in the crash, yet their car is seriously damaged. For example, such an incident may occur in a parking accident.

In the United States, motor vehicle collisions are the second leading cause of death for teens 13-19 years of age. Over 2,000 teenagers lose their lives in car accidents every year, and over 250,000 are treated in emergency rooms for crash injuries.

We can change these numbers. At DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, our experience as car accident lawyers has taught us that most accidents are preventable. By practicing safe, attentive, and defensive driving—and teaching the next generation of drivers to do the same—we can work together to make our roads safer for all of us. 

Each year in the United States, roughly 300 people lose their lives in stopped vehicle accidents, according to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS). Every driver must do their part to ensure those who have already been in a car accident are not further injured or killed by passing traffic.

You and your lawyer have worked together to reach a settlement after your car accident or other type of personal injury case. But after your personal injury case has been settled, you may be asking: How long does it take to get a settlement payment? The answer to how long it takes to get money after a case is settled will depend on several factors. While rough estimates usually put the amount of time to receive settlement money around four to six weeks after a case it settled, the amount of time leading up to settlement will also vary. There are multiple factors to consider when asking how long it takes to get a settlement check.

No motorist wants to get in the way of a tractor-trailer truck. They’re much bigger than anything that most people will ever drive. Consequently, a collision with a tractor-trailer truck can cause a lot of damage. Typically, drivers of tractor-trailer trucks are the safest drivers on the road. A lot of hard work goes into becoming certified to drive a tractor-trailer truck, and the majority of companies make their drivers take drug tests.

Insurance policyholders in West Virginia enter into insurance contracts with their insurance companies with the expectation that the companies will pay for property damage and personal injuries under certain circumstances as long as the policyholders keep up with their premiums. Insurance companies have a duty to uphold their contractual obligations when their insureds fulfill their end of the bargain by making timely premium payments. Unfortunately, however, some insurance companies aggressively try to avoid paying claims by exercising bad faith to unfairly deny or delay valid claims. When this occurs, a policyholder has the right to pursue a bad faith insurance claim against the insurance company to recover damages.

Between 2011-2016, more than 3,300 people died when driving in construction zones. Most of these crashes occur on roads with speed limits that are higher than 50. It’s common for drivers to maintain a high speed while driving in a construction zone, which can be dangerous and increase the risk of an accident. If you want to lessen your risk of being involved in a construction zone accident, the following offers helpful safety tips and guidelines that should bolster your safety while on the road.

Truck underride accidents occur when a small vehicle crashes into the back or sides of the cargo area of a large truck, typically an 18-wheeler. Underride accidents remain one of the most dangerous types of collisions you can possibly have. According to the latest data from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, an organization that collects data on automobile accidents, 3,436 deaths were linked to underride accidents in 2019.