Tim DiPiero, a personal injury, medical malpractice, and criminal law lawyer at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, was honored last May with the FCA Impact Award for his involvement and support with the organization for the past 25 years.
The FCA, or Fellowship of Christian Athletes, is an organization with the goal of helping students grow and strengthen their faith.
For years now, the personal injury attorneys at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC have ranked high among their peers. Since 2003, they have appeared on multiple “Best Lawyers” lists for the state of West Virginia. Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected attorney ranking service in the legal industry. The organization aims to help those in need of legal services find the best attorneys in the business. We’re honored to be included in the organization’s prestigious lists year after year.
This year, we’re proud to announce that DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC has been ranked on the organization’s “Best Law Firms” list for 2018. The “Best Law Firms” list, published by U.S. News & World Report, recognizes law firms with attorneys who appear on The Best Lawyers of America list which names the top 4% of practicing attorneys in the United States. Over 1,000,000 law firm assessments were provided by attorneys to create this year’s peer-reviewed list.
On Sunday, October 29th, Pete Cuffaro, a prior client of DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s West Virginia Chapter and presented with the Medal of Courage for his dedication to the sport and overcoming adversity.
Cuffaro of Wheeling, West Virginia had wrestled since he was in middle school, and continued to wrestle throughout his life. But this changed soon after he graduated from West Virginia University.
On June 25, 1983, Cuffaro dove into a pool that didn’t have the depth clearly marked. The hospital misdiagnosed his injuries and sent him home. By the next day, the 24-year-old Cuffaro was paralyzed.
When you send your loved one to a nursing home, you want them to have a life where they’ll receive good care that promotes a better well-being. Good homes have attentive and skilled staff, a clean environment, and plenty of activities to keep your loved one engaged mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Sometimes, a nursing home isn’t the place it’s supposed to be. When nursing homes are understaffed, there might not be enough people to care for your loved one. This can lead to abuse because your loved one might try to do something without assistance.
Car accidents can be jarring and terrifying experiences, and leave everyone shaken up. If they don’t result in dangerous injuries, the people can usually exchange information and start working toward moving past the accident.
But this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, one party flees the scene to try and get away from the responsibility and repercussions.
When you see the car speeding away, you might wonder how you could ever resolve this issue. Leaving the scene of an accident is a crime. You did the right thing by staying put.
You’re supposed to pull over if you can and give the other person your insurance information. What are you supposed to do when the other person leaves?
The country is facing a serious opioid epidemic, and West Virginia is suffering the most. These drugs include heroin, oxycodone, codeine and morphine. West Virginia had the highest overdose death rate in the nation at 880 people. Anyone can get addicted to opioids, but West Virginia is losing a disproportionate amount of people, especially young ones.
Funeral directors report normally seeing two to three bodies a day, or usually about seven bodies in one week. They’re saddened at the amount of young people coming through their doors.
As opioid addiction is on the rise, so is the amount of people driving under the influence. Car accidents are sudden and take a huge emotional and physical toll on everyone involved. If you’ve lost a loved one in a car accident where opioids were involved, you have a right to seek legal action.
In September 2017, Judge James Stucky of the Kanawha County Circuit Court ruled that people cannot carry firearms in municipal recreation centers in Charleston. The judge came to this conclusion because legally, the centers are school facilities.
Sean McGinley, a lawyer at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, argued that the municipal centers are school facilities because they hold school events, such as athletics.
Judge Stucky said that guns are permanently banned from the municipal centers, not just during the times when the school is using the centers.
If a school doesn’t have a lease for a specific municipal recreation center, then people who have a license to conceal and carry can bring their weapon to the center. The weapon must be secure and inaccessible to others. The court also deliberated about the parameters that make a firearm secure.
In an effort to attract well qualified, disciplined, and hardworking employees, the Legislature offers to veterans of the United States military up to five years of military service credit toward their retirement as an incentive for them to work for the State. Unfortunately, for many years, the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board denied such worthy veterans the military service credits mandated by statute. In particular, veterans who are State employees and who honorably served in the United States military between July 1, 1973, and September 10, 2001, were routinely denied military service credits for service provided during this time period.
The law firm of DiTrapano, Barrett, DiPiero, McGinley & Simmons, PLLC was approached by six different veterans who were wrongfully denied these well-earned military service credits. After several years of litigation, our law firm was able to persuade the West Virginia Supreme Court that the Board was wrong and had failed to follow the clear language of the statute. West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board v. Wood, 233 W.Va. 222, 757 S.E.2d 752 (2014). As a result, all of the veterans represented by our law firm received the military service credits to which they were entitled.
Best Lawyers® is the longest-standing organization that rates, reviews, and recognizes people in legal careers, such as attorneys, paralegals, associates, and so on. It is with much pride and excitement that our team at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC is able to announce that several of our attorneys have been included to the Best Lawyers in America list.
The following lawyers have been selected to be Best Lawyers® in Charleston:
Fayette County school bus driver Rick Malay and the Fayette County Board of Education are being sued by a high school student. Lisa (name has been altered for her privacy) alleges that she was repeatedly sexually harassed by Mr. Malay while riding the bus to and from school. The incidents began with inappropriate comments and ogling.
When Lisa reported the problem to her principal, she was actually forced to apologize to Malay, who claimed she began making disrespectful comments first. The situation only got worse from there, and eventually Lisa felt pressured to meet with Malay in private, where the alleged sexual conduct took place. Fearful of repercussions and humiliation, Lisa kept to herself while the harassment continued.
