Legal Books, Articles & Publications

Brien Roche Law > About Us > Brien Roche Publications-Personal Injury

Brien Roche’s legal publications cover a variety of topics designed to assist the lawyer and layperson in understanding pertinent legal principles. They include a book on Virginia tort law and a variety of articles all of which have been published in legal magazines or periodicals that are read by Virginia lawyers. The articles cover topics such as carbon monoxide exposure, the standard for expert testimony at trial, jury instructions in personal injury cases, deck collapses and other topics.

Brien Roche Publications

Three of Mr. Roche’s books have been published by national publishing houses and one of them was published by the Virginia Law Foundation which sponsors continuing legal education throughout the state of Virginia.

2023 Virginia Torts Case Finder Supplement, 5th Edition

Download the 2023 Virginia Torts Case Finder Supplement (Word Format)

Books Authored:

  • Virginia Torts Case Finder (out of print)

    Virginia Torts Case Finder published by Lexis Nexis is now out of print.  The last edition was the 5th edition. The supplement to that edition is referenced above. This 914 page book written by Brien Roche is a compendium of Virginia tort cases since 1940. The book was published by the premier legal publisher in the nation, Lexis Nexis and is a well recognized authority by lawyers and judges throughout the state of Virginia.

  • Virginia Domestic Relations Case Finder (available from Lexis Nexis)

    This 380 page book authored by Brien Roche is a compendium of domestic relations cases in Virginia reported by the Virginia Supreme Court and the Virginia Court of Appeals and is a handy reference not only for practitioners of domestic relations law but other practitioners in that it involves many equitable concepts that apply to a full range of cases.

  • Stuff We All Should Know

    643 page book that is a type of book of knowledge that gives an overview of many different subject areas such as sciences, history, philosophy and literature all of which is based on courses offered by the Teaching Company as part of its Great Courses.

  • Objections: Interrogatories, Depositions and Trial (available from Virginia Continuing Legal Education)

    is a book co-authored by Brien Roche, 120 pages in length and published by The Virginia Law Foundation. It is a well recognized book on how to make and meet objections during the course of trial and in pre-trial discovery. It is written primarily for attorneys and is used state wide as a resource in that regard.

  • Law 101 (available on Amazon.com)

    is a 229 page book published by Sphinx Publications written by Brien Roche as a handy reference for the lay person.

Articles Authored:

Time-barred in Virginia? Look to the North

This article appeared in the journal of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Asociation in the Spring of 2006 and was authored by Brien Roche and Eric Kessel


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Claims that may be time-barred in Virginia because of the two year statute of limitations could still be filed in Maryland or the District of Columbia assuming that jurisdiction can be obtained over the Defendant.

The Standard of Expert Testimony is Not Reasonable Degree of Certainty

Virginia Bar News, Vol. 36, No. 4, October, 1987; reprinted by Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Virginia State Department of Health, Medico-Legal Bulletin, Vol. 36, No. 6, November-December, 1987.


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I have noticed over the years that insurance company lawyers frequently are able to frustrate attorneys representing injured persons by making an objection to any proposed expert testimony on the grounds that it is not phrased to the legal standard of reasonable degree of medical certainty. That, in fact, is not the standard for the admissibility of expert testimony at trial. Rather expert testimony must simply be based upon a probability not upon a certainty. This article promotes that idea.

The Need for Jury Instruction or Argument on Collateral Source, A Proposal for Change

Special Feature in the Journal of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Vol. 10, No. 3, Summer 1998.


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This article addresses an issue pertaining to a concept called Collateral Source. Collateral source is a source of payment of money that is literally collateral to the claim. For instance, monies that you may receive as an injured person through your heath insurance policy or through the medical payments provision of your auto policy are technically a collateral source and as a general rule your receipt of those payments is inadmissible at trial. I have noted over the years in arguing injury cases to local juries that frequently it is assumed that the injured party is insured and therefore whatever medical expenses or loss of income that person has incurred does not have to be considered in terms of any monetary award. Some courts in the United States expressly tell the jury that they are not to engage in any such speculation but rather are to compensate the injured person for all of the items claimed including medical expenses and loss of income. Courts in the State of Virginia and the District of Columbia do not do that and this Article suggests that this is a problem that needs to be cured either in closing argument by the attorney representing the injured person or through a written instruction presented to the jury.

Investigating Deck Collapses

This article appeared in the journal of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association in 2008, Volume 20, No. 2


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The article deals with deck collapses and the investigation of those types of claims with some attention to the “Typical Deck Detail” as published by local governments.

Handling Carbon Monoxide Cases

co-authored by Brien Roche and Eric Kessel. Published in the Journal of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association in the Summer of 2004, Vol. 16, No. 3.


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This article consists of an analysis of how carbon monoxide affects the human body and how persons who have been affected by carbon monoxide poisoning may be better represented by an attorney.

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Brien Roche Publications-Personal Injury

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