Judge to rule in Virginia Tech cases by Jan. 15

Va. Tech verdict likely not the last legal word

By The Associated Press
Published: March 14, 2012
Tags: Judge William N. Alexander II, Montgomery County Circuit Court, Virginia Tech Shootings

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) — After a jury concluded Wednesday that Virginia Tech officials were negligent in their actions leading up to the 2007 deadly mass shooting, the state was giving strong signals of appealing the case while the plaintiff’s lawyer highlighted the significance of the case for future claims against state schools. The verdict in [...]

University President Out as Defendant

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 22, 2012
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge William N. Alexander II, Montgomery County Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

A Montgomery County Circuit Court dismisses, on res judicata grounds, Virginia Tech’s university president as a defendant in this negligence suit filed by the estates of two students who were fatally shot on April 16, 2007, but says plaintiffs’ claims against the commonwealth for gross negligence may go to a jury. On April 16, 2009, [...]

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 [...]

Hall: AG should quit Tech shootings case

By Peter Vieth
Published: May 5, 2011
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Judge William N. Alexander II, Montgomery County Circuit Court, Virginia Tech Shootings

The lawyer for the families suing Virginia Tech over the April 16 shootings says Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli should step aside from representing the school because of his public comments about the lawsuits. Accusing Cuccinelli of jeopardizing a fair trial, Robert T. Hall is asking Judge William Alexander to disqualify the attorney general’s office [...]

Patient dies from complications from shoulder surgery – Defense Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 3, 2011
Tags: Judge J. Hal Brown, Medical Malpractice, Montgomery County Circuit Court

On Jan. 9, 2003, the plaintiff’s decedent, a 49-year-old park ranger with a history of neck and shoulder pain went to the office of the defendant, Dr. Prud’homme, with complaints of pain in his left shoulder and upper back. Based on X-rays, he was diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the cervical spine and he was treated [...]

12-year-old suffers complications from rollerblading fracture – $613,312 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: October 4, 2010
Tags: Judge Robert M.D. Turk, Medical Malpractice, Montgomery County Circuit Court

Plaintiff, a 12-year-old boy, suffered a comminuted left femur fracture while rollerblading on Nov. 25, 2006. The defendant applied external fixation (a kind of mobile traction device) and set the fracture in varus (outward bowing) somewhere between 12 degrees and 15 degrees according to defense experts, and at 17 or18 degrees, according to measurements taken [...]

Negligence – Sovereign Immunity – Gross Negligence – VT Shooting

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 18, 2010
Tags: Judge William N. Alexander II, Montgomery County Circuit Court, Negligence, Virginia Tech Shootings

The administrators of the estates of two Virginia Tech students killed in the mass shooting in April 2007 have stated claims for gross negligence against the commonwealth and against President Charles Steger and former vice president James Hyatt, the only two members of the VT Emergency Policy Group with authority to issue an alert or [...]