Medical Malpractice « Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Md. Hospital Can’t Be Sued in Va.

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 1, 2012
Tags: Judge Henry E. Hudson, Medical Malpractice, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The estate of a man who allegedly contracted a MRSA infection because of the negligence of defendant, a hospital in Maryland, cannot sue the hospital under the Maryland Health Care Claims Act in a Virginia federal court; the Richmond U.S. District Court transfers the case to a Maryland federal court.
Plaintiff fails to identify any Virginia [...]

Man died after surgery, doctors prevail in death suit – Defense Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 16, 2012
Tags: Judge Mary Grace O'Brien, Medical Malpractice, Prince William County Circuit Court, Wrongful Death

At 10:30 a.m. on May 1, 2008, the decedent, age 80, was brought to the Prince William Hospital Emergency Department by ambulance with complaints of severe back and right hip pain, nausea and vomiting, which had started that morning. Awake, alert and screaming for morphine, decedent provided the triage nurse and ER physician, a defendant, [...]

Plaintiffs seek $2.5M in shoulder dystocia case – Defense Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 16, 2012
Tags: Henrico County Circuit Court, Judge Daniel T. Balfour, Medical Malpractice, Million-Dollar Defense Verdicts

During the plaintiff mother’s delivery on June 27, 2004, the defendant obstetrician encountered a shoulder dystocia. In response, the defendant obstetrician performed various delivery maneuvers in an effort to safely deliver the infant plaintiff including gentle downward traction, the McRobert’s position, supra pubic pressure and the Wood’s screw.
Although the defendant obstetrician successfully delivered the infant [...]

Diabetic developed frostbite from using cryotherapy device – $675,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 2, 2012
Tags: Medical Malpractice

The plaintiff was a 66-year-old retired Fairfax County police officer. He was a diabetic. The treatment involved in the case was fusion surgery to address arthritic degeneration of the ankle joint. The fusion procedure included the placement of hardware in the ankle. The defendants prescribed a cryotherapy device to be placed within the plaintiff’s surgical [...]

Uterus lost due to complications from diagnostic procedure – $650,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 2, 2012
Tags: Medical Malpractice

The plaintiff alleged that the defendant gynecologist put a hole in her rectum with a hysteroscope during a diagnostic hysteroscopy and also negligently failed to timely diagnose the injury. A hysteroscopy is a procedure in which a rigid scope is inserted through the patient’s cervix into the uterus to enable the doctor to determine if [...]

Two-year-old died after trachea surgery – $1,375,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 26, 2011
Tags: Medical Malpractice, Million-Dollar Settlements

Plaintiff’s decedent was a 2-year-old child who at the time of his death was the only child of his parents. He was born with a congenital problem known as Pierre Robin Syndrome, which produced some breathing difficulties necessitating a tracheostomy tube to assist with breathing. After corrective surgery, including cleft palate repair, and the child’s [...]

Baby born with breathing problems due to meconium – Settlements of $1,800,000 and $1,000,000

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 19, 2011
Tags: Medical Malpractice, Million-Dollar Settlements, Rockingham County Circuit Court

At approximately 20 weeks’ gestation, mother’s obstetrician referred her for an ultrasound of a suspected omphacele or gastroschisis. The ultrasound revealed gastrochisis with a moderate amount of exposed bowel.
On April 19, mother presented to the hospital in labor at 38 weeks gestation. From the outset, the electronic monitor tracing of the fetal heart rate exhibited [...]

Plaintiff claimed no warning of medicine’s side effects – Defense Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 19, 2011
Tags: Judge Robert M.D. Turk, Medical Malpractice, Montgomery County Circuit Court

Plaintiff alleged that on Aug. 20, 2008, he was prescribed the drug Trazedone for insomnia and anxiety. He was also prescribed Celexa for depression and given Lisinopril, an anti-hypertensive drug. One of the known potential side effects of Trazedone is priapism (an erection lasting longer than four hours) and there was no dispute in the [...]

OB-GYN Expert Works Against Va. Nurse

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 14, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge James A. Wynn Jr., Medical Malpractice

Although an OB-GYN did not have an active practice in nursing, he performed postpartum monitoring of high-risk patients with preeclampsia and could testify as an expert in a med-mal suit alleging a nurse’s failure to monitor plaintiff led to her stroke and permanent brain damage, and the 4th Circuit upholds the $900,000 judgment for plaintiff.
On [...]

Doc defends failure to diagnose case on causation, but loses – $2,650,000 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 12, 2011
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jonathan C. Thacher, Medical Malpractice, Million-Dollar Verdicts

The plaintiff alleged that defendant radiologist missed a left breast abnormality on a screening mammogram performed on Sept. 15, 2008. The plaintiff further alleged that the defendant failed to order follow-up imaging studies and/or a referral to a surgeon for biopsy, which would have revealed the breast cancer in time for curative treatment.
On Oct. 23, [...]

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