David L. Parker, P.C., lawyers in Harrisonburg, VA, Virginia

Liability for a Person's Suicide

Traditionally, courts refused to hold a person or entity liable for a person's suicide. Suicide was considered an illegal, deliberate and intentional act that broke the chain of causation between any negligent or intentional conduct and the suicide.More...

Federal Volunteer Protection Act -- Overview

The Volunteer Protection Act (VPA) is a federal law that was designed to promote volunteerism by granting civil immunity to volunteers under certain circumstances. The VPA was signed into law by President Clinton in 1997.More...

Rights and Duties of Pedestrians

A pedestrian generally has a right-of-way in a crosswalk. A motor vehicle driver is required to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, even if the driver has a green light. If a pedestrian control signal is working and is in the "walk" position, the pedestrian has the right-of-way. If the pedestrian control signal is not working, a motor vehicle driver is required to yield the right-of-way when the pedestrian is on the driver's side of the road or if the pedestrian would be in danger.More...

Governmental Immunity from Suit

If a party is injured by some act of a governmental unit, official, or agency, he may or may not be permitted to sue. The reason that he may be barred from suing is because of "sovereign immunity." Traditionally, this doctrine protected governmental units, officials, and agencies from liability based on their tortious acts unless they had consented to being sued. Now, this immunity has been waived in large part and only applies in certain circumstances.More...

Tort Law--Deterrence and Avoiding Self-Help

Apart from legislation granting a right to sue for a specific harm, personal injury law generally consists of tort law and the civil procedure for enforcing it. Most scholars agree that tort law has four purposes: (1) compensation for damages; (2) financial responsibility; (3) deterrence; and (4) avoiding self-help. This article discusses the purposes of deterrence and avoiding self-help.More...