Presenting 2023’s Million-Dollar Settlements

A maritime workplace injury settlement involving a worker who was burned in a flash fire while cleaning and engine leads Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s compilation of Million-Dollar Settlements of 2023.

The plaintiff, who suffered burn injuries after his coveralls, which were flammable, were ignited following use of a flammable brake-part cleaner. The plaintiff received a $23 million settlement.

A wrongful death and personal injury settlement involving a husband and wife who were struck while riding a motorcycle was the second-largest settlement.

The plaintiffs received a $16 million settlement for the husband, who died at the scene of the accident, and the wife, who sustained injuries to her left leg that resulted in amputation and a lower back injury.

The third-largest settlement was a premises liability matter involving a store merchandise display that fell on a 7-year-old child. The case settled for $9 million.

The fourth-largest settlement was for $7.75 million and stemmed from a motorcycle accident that resulted in the plaintiff sustaining severe orthopedic injuries and a moderate traumatic brain injury.

The annual compilation, which appears below, covers the largest settlements reported from across the commonwealth during 2023. To make the list:

• The settlement must be at least $1 million.
• The settlement had to have taken place in Virginia or had strong Virginia ties.
• The settlement must have been reached in 2023.

For this year’s edition, 78 settlements met the criteria. Most were related to issues of personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death.

If you have submitted a 2023 million-dollar settlement that is not listed here, please let us know. We will add it to the online version of the compilation so that it can be as complete as possible.

Don’t delay in reporting your 2024 million-dollar settlements for next year’s compilation. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 16. Reports submitted after that date may still be considered for inclusion.

EDIT: Four settlements have been added to the online version of this story, including the largest reported settlement, a $23 million maritime workplace injury case stemming from burn injuries suffered in a workplace accident, that Virginia Lawyers Weekly erroneously failed to include on the original list. The article above has been revised to reflect this additional information.

1)$23 million

Plaintiff burned in flash fire while cleaning engine

Type of action: Maritime workplace injury

Attorneys for plaintiff: Kevin Biniazan and Jeffrey Breit, Virginia Beach; Billie Leeth, Richmond

Case summary: The plaintiff suffered burn injuries that resulted from a flash fire while he was cleaning an engine with the use of a flammable brake-part cleaner. The flash fire caused the plaintiff’s coveralls, which were flammable, to ignite. Defendant asserted plaintiff’s knowledge of a prior similar flash fire evidenced his personal responsibility for the incident and his injuries.

Plaintiff contended the root-cause of the flashfire was defendant’s election to supply the crew with the highly flammable product without instruction or warning regarding the use of the product in confined spaces, and asserted that an equally effective and non-flammable alternative was available for purchase, had been purchased by the defendant in the past, and should have been purchased for this crew.

The legal claims brought by the plaintiff included claims of unseaworthiness of the vessel and its equipment, and general negligence under the Jones Act.

2)$16 million

Husband killed, wife injured in motorcycle crash

Type of action: Wrongful death, personal injury

Attorneys for plaintiff: Elliott Buckner, Scott Bucci and Jeff Stedman, Richmond

Case summary: Husband and wife were riding a motorcycle when defendant crossed the center line and struck the side of the motorcycle. Husband died at the scene, leaving wife and three adult daughters as beneficiaries. Wife sustained massive injuries to her lower left leg, resulting in a subsequent mid-shin amputation, along with injury to her lower back.

 

3) $9 million

Store’s heavy display fell on 7-year-old

Type of action: Premises liability

Name of mediator: Judge Thomas S. Shadrick (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: James McCauley, Edward Scher, Ryan Walker and Joel McClellan, Richmond

Case summary: The case arises out of an incident in which a heavy merchandise display fell on the plaintiff in a retail store. The plaintiff sustained skull fractures and a brain injury.

At the time of the incident, the plaintiff was 7 years old. The plaintiff had a significant pre-existing condition that is associated with life-long cognitive deficits.

The plaintiff attended elementary, middle and high schools in regular classes with an IEP and accommodations.

Post-incident neuropsychological testing showed impairments, but there was no pre-incident baseline to compare against those results. Plaintiff’s counsel delayed filing suit for several years so that the full scope of plaintiff’s injuries could be determined.

Plaintiff’s counsel discovered that the defendant had internal records showing that defendant knew that some of the displays were unstable or had sustained shipping damage, that several had fallen over before and that all of the displays were scheduled to be retrofitted by the manufacturer to make them less susceptible to damage.

 

4) $7.75 million

Motorcyclist forced off road by tanker truck

Type of action: Personal injury

Name of mediator: Judge Thomas B. Hoover (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Matthew W. Broughton, Michael J. Finney and Jared A. Tuck, Roanoke

Case summary: The plaintiff was operating his motorcycle on Interstate 81 and on his way to work. As he began to pass a tanker truck, the truck driver made a lane change which forced the plaintiff off the highway and into the grassy median. The plaintiff’s motorcycle fishtailed, causing the plaintiff to slam into the ground. The crash was captured by a rear-facing video camera mounted to the driver’s side mirror of the tanker truck. The truck driver was not cited for a traffic infraction, and defendants denied liability.

The plaintiff suffered severe orthopedic injuries along with a moderate TBI, which the defendants contested. Despite multiple treating radiologists finding that the plaintiff’s post-traumatic brain imaging was unremarkable, the plaintiff’s team of experts were able to locate objective evidence of intracranial bleeding on the plaintiff’s scans. The plaintiff’s experts opined that the plaintiff was unable to work due to his TBI and ongoing cognitive deficits, which supported plaintiff’s $3.9 million life care plan.

 

5) $7.5 million

Patient died following endometrial ablation

Type of action: Medical malpractice, wrongful death

Name of mediator: Judge Nan Shuker (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Scott M. Perry, Arlington; Jeffrey Breit, Virginia Beach; and Adam R. Leighton, Washington, D.C.

Case summary: Decedent was a 33-year-old single mother of six children. Decedent underwent a same-day procedure called endometrial ablation, which uses heat to burn the lining of the uterus. Decedent was discharged after the procedure and returned several hours later complaining of pain and vomiting. The decedent was discharged again after examination. The decedent returned the next day and was admitted, and a CT scan confirmed a surgical bowel. Emergency surgery was performed during which the surgeon found thermal burns causing a bowel perforation, bladder perforation and uterus perforation. The patient was hospitalized for 61 days in the ICU before dying.

Plaintiff alleged that the surgeons who performed the ablation, an attending and a resident, caused the injuries and failed to recognize them during the procedure. Plaintiff further alleged that when the decedent returned the same day, the defendant should have performed a CT scan and admitted her. Defendant denied negligence and causation and asserted that the perforation was a known and accepted risk of the ablation procedure.

 

T-6) $7 million

Man killed after vehicle T-boned by tractor trailer

Type of action: Wrongful death, tractor-trailer accident

Name of mediator: Judge Thomas S. Shadrick (Ret.)

Attorney for plaintiff: Craig B. Davis, Richmond

Case summary: Plaintiff’s decedent was stopped at a busy intersection in suburban Richmond. After his light turned green, he proceeded into the intersection where he was T-boned by a tractor-trailer. The light controlling the intersection for the tractor-trailer driver had been yellow and then red for almost eight seconds at time of impact. The driver failed to slow down or engage his brakes until less than one second before impact. An on-board camera in the tractor-trailer recorded the accident, including the light turning red as the tractor trailer approached the intersection.

Plaintiff’s decedent was transported from the scene before succumbing to his injuries that evening in the ICU. The decedent was survived by his wife and 10-year-old son who were present in the hospital at the time life saving measures were discontinued. The decedent’s wife qualified as his administrator. The decedent’s son was treated for severe PTSD, experienced episodes of suicidal ideation and developed behavioral tics following his father’s death.

 

T-6) $7 million

Motorcyclist’s foot amputated in collision

Type of action: Personal injury

Court: Hampton Circuit Court

Name of mediator: Judge Thomas S. Shadrick (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Griffin M. O’Hanlon and John G. Baker, Norfolk

Case summary: The plaintiff was riding his motorcycle through an intersection with the right of way. The defendant was traveling in the opposite direction when he made a left turn across the plaintiff’s lane of travel resulting in a collision. The defendant was driving between job sites within the scope of his employment. The impact caused the plaintiff’s left foot to become lodged in the rear wheel spoke of his motorcycle, traumatically amputating his left foot. Doctors surgically completed the amputation of plaintiff’s left foot and externally fixated the left femur fracture. Plaintiff subsequently underwent a below the knee amputation utilizing the ERTL technique and an internal fixation of his femur fracture. In the months following the collision, the plaintiff noted significant increases in right ankle pain. He was thereafter diagnosed with post-traumatic osteoarthritis of the right ankle that would require either a joint replacement or joint fusion at some point in the future.

 

8) $5.5 million

Couple got Hepatitis A at restaurant

Type of action: General tort liability

Name of mediator: Judge Diane Strickland (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Tony Russell, Roanoke; Les Bowers, Charlottesville

Case summary: A 68-year-old woman and her 69-year-old husband each contracted a foodborne illness after dining at a local restaurant. Both were eventually diagnosed with a Hepatitis A infection. The husband suffered relatively minor symptoms and his liver enzymes normalized with treatment in the emergency room. The wife experienced severe symptoms including cough, hematuria, malaise, weakness, altered mental status, jaundice and fatigue. She went into liver and kidney failure and ultimately required a kidney and liver transplant that will require extensive lifelong follow-up care. After litigation, the matter settled confidentially for approximately $5.5 million.

 

9) $5.24 million

High-speed chase results in crash, death

Type of action: Personal injury

Name of mediator: Justice Jane Marum Roush (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: William R. “Rob” Sievers and David M. Erwin, Charlottesville; Roger T. Creager and Tara A. Enix, Richmond; Mark S. Lindensmith, Staunton

Case summary: A local police officer attempted to stop an SUV which was displaying a license plate that was not registered to that vehicle.

The SUV began to flee. The officer responded by conducting a high-speed chase on a major highway, past dozens of driveways and intersections, on wet roads, under difficult visibility conditions. Both vehicles reached speeds of more than 90 mph. The chase ended when the SUV crashed head-on into the car in which the plaintiff was a front seat passenger.

The plaintiff was six months pregnant with her first child. At the hospital the plaintiff was required to undergo emergency surgery to remove the deceased fetus, and her uterus which was ruptured and bleeding dangerously. Any future attempt by the plaintiff and her husband to have a child will require surrogacy.

The plaintiff argued that the dangerous conditions created by an officer’s pursuit itself could not serve as the “emergency conditions” necessary to justify a pursuit. If that were the law, then every high-speed pursuit would be authorized and shielded by immunity.

 

10) $5 million

Settlement reached in burn injury action

Type of action: Premises liability

Name of mediator: Judge Thomas S. Shadrick (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: John M. Cooper, Griffin O’Hanlon and Bailey L. Gifford, Norfolk

Case summary: Contested premises liability case with burn injuries in the Hampton Roads area.

 

11) $4 million

Man injured in head-on crash with box truck

Type of action: Tractor-trailer crash

Name of mediator: Mike Harman

Attorneys for plaintiff: Robert E. Byrne Jr. and Jonathan T. Wren, Charlottesville

Case summary: Plaintiff was operating a fully loaded tractor trailer in a northbound direction on Interstate 81 in Southwest Virginia. A fully loaded box truck driving in a southbound direction lost control, entered the median, and collided with the front of plaintiff’s truck in plaintiff’s lane of travel.

Plaintiff suffered a mild traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and several orthopedic injuries.

The defense contested the existence of a mild traumatic brain injury, contending that plaintiff sustained only orthopedic injuries. The defense relied on the fact that plaintiff was reported to be alert and oriented at the scene, he expressed little to no complaints or symptoms related to a brain injury during his extensive hospital stay following the crash and his main neurocognitive complaints were not mentioned for several months after the crash. Plaintiff’s medical evidence, in contrast, explained that plaintiff, as a foreign refugee, had a poor command of English, and the nature of his polytraumatic injuries caused medical professionals to focus on plaintiff’s orthopedic injuries instead of his neurological injuries.

 

12) $3.94 million

Settlement reached in childcare abuse cases

Type of action: Childcare center physical/emotional abuse

Name of mediator: Judge Diane Strickland (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Kevin M. Leach and John R. Turbitt, Burke

Case summary: Two teachers at a childcare provider physically and emotionally abused 17 children whose parents made claims against the childcare company.

Plaintiffs planned to present evidence that, for at least a six-month period, two members of defendants’ staff subjected children in the classroom to ongoing physical, emotional and psychological abuse.

Defendants’ defenses included that they were not timely informed of the criminal acts, and that when it learned of it, took immediate corrective action against the teachers and the staff who failed to report them.

Teacher A was tried and found guilty of multiple counts of child cruelty, misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor and misdemeanor assault. Teacher B was tried and found guilty on multiple counts of felony child cruelty and misdemeanor counts of assault.

The plaintiffs alleged several legal claims and theories including duty to report suspected abuse, negligence of the childcare center to train and supervise staff, breach of contract, fraud, negligence per se and violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The teachers were not defendants in the civil matters.

 

13) $3.5 million

Woman struck by car, thrown into brick wall

Type of action: Motor vehicle crash

Attorney for plaintiff: Stephanie E. Grana, Richmond

Case summary: Plaintiff had parked her car and exited her vehicle to shop at a Whole Foods in Arlington. Defendant was making a turn onto that same street, improperly accelerated, lost control of his vehicle and crashed into plaintiff’s car. The impact was so forceful that plaintiff was thrown into a brick wall and sustained life-threatening injuries. Plaintiff had visible head injuries and was hospitalized in the trauma ICU. She remained unconscious, unresponsive and on a ventilator, though eventually awoke and was able to follow commands. She was transferred to a step-down unit and inpatient rehab – needing to relearn how to talk and walk. Plaintiff was discharged to her parents’ home for scheduled outpatient care with multiple medical specialists. Following medical follow-up care and perseverance, plaintiff was able to rent a new apartment, regained her driver’s license and returned to her job on a limited basis. Plaintiff describes herself as being more anxious, less independent, wanting to avoid crowds and social situations, more easily fatigued, requiring timelines and routines to not forget tasks and lacking in self-confidence.

 

T-14) $3.25 million

Trucker unable to return to work after crash

Type of action: Personal injury

Attorneys for plaintiff: Derrick L. Walker and Jason W. Konvicka, Richmond

Case summary: This case arose out of a tractor-trailer collision that occurred when a commercial driver lost control of his 18-wheeler while traveling southbound on Interstate 81. After losing control of his vehicle, he crossed the grassy median, entered the northbound travel lanes and struck the plaintiff’s vehicle essentially head on.

The plaintiff sustained significant physical injuries. The plaintiff’s brain injury medicine experts classified his head injury as mild to moderate with permanent cognitive deficits and other brain injury-related sequela. Those experts agreed that the plaintiff, also a commercial driver, would be unable to return to commercial driving or any other form of competitive employment.

Defense experts contested the plaintiff’s traumatic brain injury diagnosis. Specifically, they argued that because he did not lose consciousness following the crash and had essentially a normal Glascow Coma Score, his injury did not meet the diagnostic criteria for a traumatic brain injury.

The plaintiff incurred approximately $200,000 in past medical expenses and projected future medical expenses of approximately $786,000 which were vigorously contested.

 

T-14) $3.25 million

Teenage laborer killed at construction site

Type of action: Wrongful death

Court: Farifax Circuit Court

Name of mediator: Judge Robert Wooldridge (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiffs: Robert J. Stoney, Juli M. Porto, M. Barkley Horn, Matthew Tsun and Thomas P. McWeeny, Fairfax

Case summary: A 16-year-old boy had a part time summer job working as a laborer on a construction site in Northern Virginia. He was killed when a trench in which he was working collapsed and buried him alive. Unknown to him, the day before he was killed, a Fairfax County erosion inspector told the construction manager that the trench was too deep and dangerous and that no one should work in it until it was properly shored with a trench box. Despite that warning, and before a trench box arrived, the manager ordered the child into the trench.

The boy’s estate filed a wrongful death suit against the construction company and its manager for their negligence. The suit also sought recovery from the owner of the property for breaching its non-delegable duty to keep the property reasonably safe for invitees.

 

16) $3.1 million

Teens killed in T-bone collision with officer

Type of action: Wrongful death

Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division

Attorneys for plaintiff: Makiba A. Gaines, Chesapeake; Stephen C. Teague, Newport News; Olga Rollins (Pazilova), Virginia Beach

Case summary: A Richmond Police officer was responding to a code one burglary call when he t-boned the vehicle carrying a nineteen-year-old young woman. She was ejected from the vehicle and died on the scene of the collision. Evidence suggests the officer may have been using his lights, sirens, and air horn immediately before the collision.

The federal lawsuit, which alleged wrongful death and a substantive due process claim, was settled in four months.

 

17) $3 million

Couple killed after travel trailer impacted vehicle

Type of action: Wrongful death

Attorneys for plaintiff: Elliott Buckner, Scott Bucci, Joseph Cantor and Jeff Stedman, Richmond

Case summary: Husband was driving an SUV, towing a travel trailer, with wife as passenger, returning home from an extended trip. The rear of the travel trailer impacted a commercial vehicle at a lane reduction/merge point on the highway, causing the travel trailer to fishtail.

Husband was unable to control the vehicle, which ran off the side of the highway and crashed. Both husband and wife died at the scene, leaving two adult sons as beneficiaries.

Liability of the defendant driver and contributory negligence of husband were both vigorously contested by the defense. Plaintiffs’ counsel conducted multiple pre-suit focus groups to test venue and whether cases should be filed and tried together or separately.

 

18) $2,999,969.85

Truck driver injured after being struck on interstate

Type of action: Personal injury, commercial vehicle crash

Court: Henrico Circuit Court

Attorneys for plaintiff: Jason W. Konvicka and Jennifer G. Capocelli, Richmond

Case summary: Allen Davis was operating a trash truck on Interstate 295 North. As Davis merged onto I-295, the trash truck he was operating contacted a car traveling in the middle lane. Davis and the driver of the other vehicle subsequently pulled onto the left shoulder to exchange information. Roughly 10 minutes later, Joseph White, who was operating a dump truck for T.D. Harris Hauling, Inc., lost control of his vehicle and skidded off the highway, and onto the left shoulder, striking Davis. White claimed that he lost control when braking after an unidentified “white box truck” slowed suddenly in front of him.

Davis was diagnosed and treated for traumatic injuries. He remained hospitalized for almost two months and underwent surgeries and procedures.

Following discharge, Davis underwent six weeks of inpatient rehabilitation. Davis continues to recover from his injuries and will never work again as a trash truck driver. Although future medical care will be required, it was not claimed due to the amount of available liability/excess insurance coverage.

 

19) $2.85 million

Collision delays chemo for stage-4 cancer patient

Type of action: Personal injury, auto accident

Name of mediator: Judge Thomas S. Shadrick (Ret.)

Attorney for plaintiff: Matthew R. Foster, Portsmouth

Case summary: Claimant, a disabled veteran with a highly decorated 25-year career in special warfare in the Navy followed by a 13-year career as a government civil servant, was undergoing chemotherapy for metastatic stage-4 colorectal cancer. He was broadsided by a commercial vehicle that ran a red light at 50 mph in Virginia Beach.

Claimant sustained multiple fractures and life-threatening conditions that required intubation and medical induction of coma for three days to promote healing post-collision, one month of in-patient hospitalization and several months of home health physical therapy and occupational therapy to graduate from non-weight bearing to cane ambulation. During the time of rehabilitation until requisite healing had taken place, claimant’s chemotherapy treatments were placed on hold for several months, leaving cancer untreated for several months and arguably allowing accelerated progression of his disease.

 

20) $2.8 million

Man injured after being struck in head by bed cover

Type of action: Workers’ compensation

Court: Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission

Attorney for plaintiff: Charles A. Stacy, Bluefield

Case summary: The claimant was injured when he was struck in the head by a retracting bed cover on a piece of equipment that had recently been repaired by the employer. The claimant was ultimately transferred to the Shepherds Center in Atlanta where he participated in clinical trials. The claimant had increased use of his upper torso while at the Shepherds Center and was able to use a wheelchair on his own. The claimant has achieved a level of independent living with the assistance of a family member trained in health care. The claimant was able to purchase a handicapped equipped vehicle which has allowed him some degree of mobility.

The employer defended the claim on a possible safety violation. The parties settled prior to hearing. The settlement included a Medicare set aside and annuity payments to the claimant for life and guaranteed for at least 15 years.

 

21) $2.325 million

Woman suffers permanent injury in broadside crash

Type of action: Personal injury

Court: Fairfax County Circuit Court

Attorneys for plaintiff: Peter S. Everett, Juli M. Porto, Amy L. Bradley and M. Barkley Horn, Fairfax

Case summary: The plaintiff was the passenger in a vehicle that was broadsided by defendant’s vehicle. The plaintiff’s vehicle was pushed across the street and into a utility pole. She suffered several fractures throughout her body, including her spine and right tibia and fibula.

The plaintiff underwent several surgeries and months of hospitalization and inpatient rehabilitation and suffered several complications in the hospital. She suffered infections at the surgical site and two subsequent falls complicated her case, requiring additional surgery on her tibia.

The plaintiff was previously independent and social. Her injuries severely curtailed her independence.

Her orthopedic surgeon opined that the injuries to her tibia and fibula were permanent, and the plaintiff submitted a significant life care plan. The defense initially significantly undervalued the case but was ultimately persuaded to double its offer after receiving the results of an in-house focus group.

 

T-22) $2 million

Deckhand slipped, fell on wheelhouse stairs

Type of action: Personal injury – maritime

Attorneys for plaintiff: Georgina D. Montgomery and Adam H. Lotkin, Norfolk

Case summary: The plaintiff was a deckhand aboard a local tugboat at the time of the incident. He slipped at the top of internal stairs from the wheelhouse, which were not equipped with a railing. There being nothing to grab onto as he fell, the plaintiff landed approximately 14 feet at the foot of the stairs. The plaintiff argued that the standard in the industry required the stairs to be equipped with a handrail. The defense denied that a handrail was necessary under the standard of care and asserted comparative negligence.

The plaintiff sustained serious injuries in the fall including head trauma, a shattered right heel and broken left fibula. He was initially admitted to the hospital for three days. He was treated conservatively for the broken bones for approximately one year but required multiple surgeries to the right ankle/foot thereafter. The plaintiff attempted to go back to work following his initial conservative treatment but was unableto carry out the required duties of his position.

 

T-22) $2 million

Nurse sustained concussion in rear-end collision

Type of action: Personal injury

Name of mediator: Justice Jane Marum Roush (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Kevin W. Mottley and Benjamin P. Kyber, Richmond

Case summary: Plaintiff, an orthopedic trauma nurse, was rear-ended while stopped at a stop light by a car being driven by an employee of the defendant limited liability company. Plaintiff’s car sustained minor damage. The defendant’s sedan suffered more extensive damage.

Plaintiff complained of a headache at the scene of the crash but declined emergency transport to the hospital. The next day, plaintiff visited a local Patient First complaining of headaches and was diagnosed as suffering from a concussion.

Plaintiff continued treatment with her primary care physician, who referred her to a concussion clinic. She received speech therapy and physical therapy. Unfortunately, the sequela of her concussion persisted.

Plaintiff had an extensive medical history including chronic migraines, a prior TBI when she was 17 years old, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, anxiety, depression and hypothyroidism. Her doctors believed that her TBI had exacerbated and/or aggravated these pre-existing issues, and that the pre-existing issues made the TBI more difficult to treat. Plaintiff’s difficulties following the TBI resulted in her losing her job as an orthopedic trauma nurse.

 

T-22) $2 million

Motorcyclist’s leg partially amputated in collision

Type of action: Personal injury, auto accident

Attorneys for plaintiff: Richard J. Tavss and John R. Fletcher, Norfolk

Case summary: The plaintiff was operating his motorcycle on a commercial roadway in Norfolk, approaching an intersection on a green light. The defendant did not see the approaching motorcycle and turned left into the side of the motorcycle, ejecting the plaintiff. The plaintiff suffered a traumatic partial amputation of his left leg just above the ankle, along with a comminuted and displaced femoral shaft fracture. The amputation of the plaintiff’s left leg was surgically completed at the hospital. He developed complications due to his poorly controlled diabetes, which led to taking his amputation up to just below his left knee.

At the time of the accident, the plaintiff had a diabetic ulcer on his right heel. Following the accident, the ulcer became infected, the infection spread, and he developed gangrene, resulting in a below knee amputation. Plaintiff contended that the diabetic ulcer was worsened by all his weight bearing was on that foot after the amputation of his left leg, rendering healing of the ulcer more difficult and resulting in the loss of that leg.

 

25) $1.95 million

Delayed diagnosis left patient ‘severely deformed’

Type of action: Medical malpractice

Attorneys for plaintiff: Amberley Gibbs Hammer, Currituck, North Carolina; Emily Mapp Brannon, Norfolk

Case summary: Plaintiff, a 38-year-old woman, presented to a breast specialist with complaints of a breast rash starting several weeks ago with an inverted nipple, swollen breast and pain under her arm. She reported that she was concerned she had Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC), a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Plaintiff was not tested for IBC and underwent a nipple sparing and skin sparing mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction. Once the surgical specimens came back from the surgery, the pathology confirmed a diagnosis of IBC. Plaintiff then required a radical mastectomy performed in stages with a complete chest wall reconstruction that left plaintiff severely deformed. Plaintiff alleged the breast surgeon failed to timely and properly diagnose IBC and performed a contraindicated surgery. Plaintiff alleged the surgeon’s negligence allowed the cancer to spread leading to additional and radical surgical treatment that would not have been required.

 

26) $1.85 million

Navy veteran killed in collision with box truck

Type of action: Wrongful death, auto accident

Court: Virginia Beach Circuit Court

Name of mediator: Judge Charles E. Poston (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: George Albiston and Chris Albiston, Norfolk

Case summary: Plaintiff’s decedent, Wyatt Mankins, was operating his motorcycle on Virginia Beach Blvd. The individual defendant was driving a 2021 Ford F550 owned by the corporate defendant. He was coming in the opposite direction of Mankins. The defendant negligently attempted to make a left-hand turn across the lanes in which Mankins was traveling. Mankins was forced to lay the motorcycle down and both he and the bike hit the truck. Mankins died at the scene. The defendant was charged and convicted of failure to yield.

As the accident occurred near multiple businesses, a few different camera angles captured the accident. The box truck also contained dash cameras, both forward looking and backwards facing the defendant driver. The cameras showed the defendant looking in other directions and eating a candy bar directly before and during the accident.

The defendant corporation’s insurance limits were $2 million. However, there ultimately ended up being a binding arbitration for the distribution of the wrongful death proceeds as there was no agreement regarding the distribution.

 

27) $1.8 million

Man died from cancer after delayed response

Type of action: Medical malpractice

Attorneys for plaintiff: Travis W. Markley, Richard L. Nagle, James N. Knaack, Benjamin M. Wengerd and Heather E. Zaug, Reston

Case summary: The patient presented to his physician in January 2018 and submitted to a battery of laboratory studies that included tumor marker testing.

The tumor marker testing performed in January 2018 returned an elevated CA 19-9 enzyme that was nearly seven times the upper limit of normal. The physician who ordered the testing did not take any steps to have the elevated tumor marker evaluated further.

The physician responsible for the patient’s care departed in March 2018.

In April 2019, the patient returned to the practice and the same panel of labs was ordered, including repetition of the tumor marker testing. The April 2019 results of the CA 19-9 enzyme testing were markedly more elevated than they were the year before, nearly 17 times higher than the normal limit.

The practice physician noted the elevated levels from both tests and referred the patient for imaging, then oncology evaluation and treatment. Despite aggressive oncology treatment the patient died in January 2020.

 

28) $1.775 million

Woman killed in head-on collision

Type of action: Wrongful death

Court: King William County Circuit Court

Attorney for plaintiff: Scott D. Fitzgerald, Richmond

Case summary: Brittany Amerson was killed in a head-on collision when a teenaged driver ran off the road to the right and sideswiped a tree, which redirected his vehicle across the double yellow lines into the front of her car. Both vehicles flipped over and plaintiff’s decedent’s car caught on fire. Amerson was killed immediately.

At the time of the crash, defendant was driving his girlfriend’s parent’s vehicle, which had $500,000 in combined single limits. $75,000 of that policy was paid to the passenger in Amerson’s vehicle for his injuries and $425,000 was offered as part of the wrongful death settlement. That was all the insurance coverage plaintiff could initially identify.

Through discovery, plaintiff identified multiple other insurance policies. Defendant’s girlfriend’s parents had a $1 million umbrella policy, which was offered in full. Plaintiff’s counsel also learned that defendant’s parents were divorced and defendant lived in each household approximately 50% of the time. After a coverage dispute, all insurance carriers in both households tendered their coverage, for a total settlement of $1.775 million.

 

T-29) $1.75 million

Man rear-ended by landscaping vehicle

Type of action: Personal injury, auto accident

Attorneys for plaintiff: Kevin Biniazan and Jeffrey Breit, Virginia Beach; Don Scott, Portsmouth

Case summary: Plaintiff was rear-ended by a vehicle owned and operated by a landscaping company. Plaintiff, too, was a landscaper, but continued to work following the incident. Plaintiff was later diagnosed with a lumber disc protrusion and neurogenic bladder, which his treating physicians causally related to the collision. Plaintiff claimed $72,153.16 in past medical expenses, but did not include a claim for future medical expenses or lost wages.

 

T-29) $1.75 million

Man tased, shot during warrantless search

Type of action: Wrongful death

Court: Newport News Circuit Court

Name of mediator: Judge Thomas S. Shadrick (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: John R. Fletcher and Scott J. Flax, Norfolk; Michael T. AtLee and Richard Y. AtLee, Newport News

Case summary: Decedent called 911 to report physical abuse of his son which he observed while FaceTiming with his son earlier in the day. The two officers responded to the decedent’s home, viewed the video, and told the decedent that he knew the boy was unharmed and with his mother.

The decedent called 911 again, requesting that other officers respond to his residence. One of the responding officers assembled A group of four officers with the intent of arresting the decedent.

When the decedent opened the door, one officer asked him to step outside. When the decedent refused, the officers barged into his condominium. The officers had no search warrant permitting entry into decedent’s home.

While attempting to apprehend the decedent and restrain him, a Taser was deployed. While tasing the decedent, the officer failed to disable the decedent, and then deployed the second set of probes, inadvertently tasing two officers. After being tased, defendant officer pulled his revolver and fired one shot into the decedent’s back. The decedent died within minutes.

 

T-29) $1.75 million

Delivery driver sustained head injury in crash

Type of action: Personal injury

Court: Prince William County Circuit Court

Attorneys for plaintiff: James M. Kessel and Robert C.T. Reed, Richmond

Case summary: Plaintiff was a man originally from Jamaica who lived in Pennsylvania and worked as a delivery driver. His delivery route took him through Virginia each night. He was driving his delivery van through an intersection in Northern Virginia when the defendant disregarded a red light and crashed into the driver’s side of his vehicle.

Plaintiff lost consciousness and sustained a serious head injury because of the crash. Head CT scans at the ER revealed bilateral subarachnoid hemorrhages. He also sustained a left fourth rib fracture. He was admitted to the hospital for five days before being discharged to spend two weeks in an inpatient rehabilitation center near his home. After he returned home, physical therapy was going well and he was improving until he began having an unbearable headache. His son took him to the ER where a head CT scan showed that he had bilateral subdural hematomas compressing his brain. After ten days in the hospital, he was discharged to a rehabilitation hospital where he remained for another six days.

 

T-32) $1.7 million

Mail carrier injured while riding motorcycle

Type of action: Personal injury

Attorney for plaintiff: Adam H. Lotkin, Norfolk

Case summary: The plaintiff, a 21-year-old mailman, was operating his motorcycle going through a local intersection when the defendant pickup truck made a left turn in front of the motorcyclist. Initial pushback from the carrier on speed of the plaintiff to suggest contributory negligence and forfeiting his right of way was not strongly credible, the parties agreed to discuss resolution and quickly came to an agreement. Plaintiff had nearly 90% recovery though with metal and surgical implants remaining in his body he will suffer early onset of arthritis and other long-term pain. He returned to his USPS letter carrier position within seven months of the collision and is recovering well.

 

T-32) $1.7 million

Car crash caused death of healthy fetus

Type of action: Fetal death

Court: Albemarle County Circuit Court

Name of mediator: James W. Barkley

Attorneys for plaintiff: Richard Armstrong and David Irvine, Charlottesville

Case summary: Defendant lost control of his vehicle and T-boned Elle Zazakos’s vehicle. Two independent witnesses saw the crash and liability was not disputed in this matter.

Zazakos suffered her own personal injuries, but the most significant damage was the loss of her 7-month-old, healthy fetus. EMS workers found Zazakos in the driver’s seat, who reported pain in her abdomen, and right ankle pain. EMS workers noticed slight discoloration in her belly button area, with tenderness, but also noted the area was rigid.

The ambulance rushed Elle to U.Va. hospital. Zazakos was transferred for a CT scan and upon return, no fetal heart rate was noted, and her uterus was noted to be firm and tender. A bedside ultrasound revealed no fetal cardiac activity.

After the trauma team treated Zazakos’s injuries, she was moved to labor and delivery. Delivery was induced and the dead fetus was delivered. U.Va. allowed Zazakos to spend time with her dead baby and Elle named her Aaliyah.

The autopsy determined that Aaliyah died of “acute placental abruption due to motor vehicle collision.”

 

34) $1.65 million

Landscaper severely injured in on-the-job accident

Type of action: Workers’ compensation

Court: Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission

Attorney for plaintiff: Craig B. Davis, Richmond

Case summary: The claimant worked for approximately two years as a landscaper for the employer. The claimant was napping in the back seat of his employer’s extended cab pick-up truck while returning from a job site. His coworker operating the vehicle suddenly complained of chest pains and then fell unconscious, causing the truck to plunge down a ravine. The claimant sustained catastrophic injuries including an AKA amputation of his right leg, multiple other orthopedic injuries requiring surgical repair, a concussion and psychological impairments.

In addition to the settlement, the carrier had already paid $1.2 million in compensation and medical benefits. The claimant was an undocumented immigrant who had married a U.S. citizen shortly before the accident. With the help of an immigration attorney and intricate logistics, arrangements were made for the claimant to return home to Guatemala to apply for and receive the required Visa to allow him legally to re-enter the U.S. based on his marriage. Upon his return, the claimant obtained his permanent resident alien card and looks forward to becoming a citizen.

 

35) 1.55 million

Mom, child suffer TBI after semi-truck rear ends car

Type of action: Personal injury

Court: Roanoke County Circuit Court

Name of mediator: Judge Diane Strickland (Ret.)

Attorney for plaintiff: Michael L. Goodove

Case summary: On Feb. 7, 2021, a mother and daughter were stopped for traffic on Interstate 81 North in Roanoke County when they were struck in the rear by the defendant who was operating a tractor trailer. Plaintiff’s vehicle was knocked into the vehicle in front of them which resulted in the death of a passenger in that vehicle and the driver sustained quadriplegia. Plaintiff’s injuries were not as severe but they did suffer traumatic brain injuries and orthopedic injuries.

As a result of the collision, there were three personal injury cases and one wrongful death case. Coverage was limited to $5 million and the damages to the occupants of the vehicle in front of the plaintiff’s vehicle exceeded the available insurance coverage and the assets of the company and would have completely eliminated any recovery for the plaintiffs. A joint mediation was held which failed to resolve the cases. Plaintiffs settled the cases directly with the company after the cases were set for trial.

 

T-36) $1.5 million

Acute renal failure follows woman’s hysterectomy

Type of action: Medical malpractice

Court: Fredericksburg Circuit Court

Attorneys for plaintiff: Howard Bullock and William Kilduff, Richmond

Case summary: Plaintiff went to see the defendant gynecologist with complaints of chronic pelvic pain and was diagnosed with chronic pelvic pain and stage II endometriosis.

Thereafter, a laparoscopic hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was planned. During the procedure, the defendant gynecologist entered the bladder, failed to realize that they had entered the bladder, and continued with the procedure, causing injury to the trigone area of the bladder. The defendant gynecologist then clamped, transected and suture ligated one of the ureters, and obstructed the other. The defendant failed to realize any of these complications.

Plaintiff returned to the defendant’s office approximately five days post-operatively complaining of nausea, vomiting, high temperature and decreased voiding. Later that evening the plaintiff drove herself to the emergency room where a CT scan confirmed the presence of fluid in the plaintiff’s abdomen and hydronephrosis. It was ultimately determined that both ureters and the entire trigone area of the plaintiff’s bladder had been injured during the hysterectomy causing urine to leak into her abdomen and acute renal failure.

 

T-36) $1.5 million

Cancer diagnoses after treatment delays

Type of action: Medical malpractice

Name of mediator: Judge Thomas S. Shadrick (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Brewster Rawls and Glen Sturtevant, Richmond

Case summary: The patient had a medical history of ulcerative colitis and a family history of colon cancer. He received regular colonoscopies with documentation of pseudopolyps.

Eight pathology specimens were collected during a colonoscopy in 2016. Seven were interpreted as clearly benign. The eighth was found to be “indefinite for dysplasia.” The gastroenterologist did not notice the troubling pathology nor do the records make any mention of it.

The patient was not seen again until two years later for a routine clinic visit where it is noted that the patient had “Ulcerative colitis, unspecified, without complications,” with recommendation for a colonoscopy one year from the date of that appointment. The patient was sent a form letter in August 2019 stating he was due for a colonoscopy, but it was never scheduled.

Over the ensuing years, the patient complained of increased symptoms.

He was hospitalized in 2021. A CT scan noted possible malignancy as well as metastasis.

While hospitalized, he underwent an open total colectomy with end ileostomy, resulting in the diagnosis of metastatic colon cancer.

 

T-36) $1.5 million

Motorcyclist ejected from bike in crash with SUV

Type of action: Personal injury

Court: Lynchburg Circuit Court

Attorney for plaintiff: David M. Williams Jr., Fredericksburg

Case summary: The plaintiff, a web developer, was injured in a motor vehicle collision in Lynchburg. The defendant, driving an SUV, failed to yield the right of way and made a left turn in front of the plaintiff’s motorcycle resulting in the collision. The plaintiff was ejected from his motorcycle and lost consciousness.

As a result of the collision, the plaintiff sustained multiple objective injuries. The most significant injuries included fractures to his pelvis, thoracic/lumbar spine, ankle/foot and tibial plateau. He also sustained an ACL rupture, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis and scrotal edema. He was admitted to U.Va. Hospital for approximately three weeks where he underwent multiple surgeries. He was then transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital for another month before being discharged to home.

The defendant was insured under an Erie liability policy with limits of $500,000 and a $1 million umbrella policy that was subsequently located. Those limits were tendered after filing suit.

 

T-36) $1.5 million

Driver killed in collision with tractor-trailer

Type of action: Wrongful death

Court: Henrico County Circuit Court

Attorneys for plaintiff: Benjamin R. Rand, W. Randolph Robins Jr. and Michael W. Lantz, Richmond

Case summary: Decedent’s vehicle was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer traveling at highway speed on Interstate 295, resulting in a fire and his passing. The truck driver claimed that the decedent’s vehicle was stopped in the roadway with no lights on and was impossible to see. There were no other witnesses that could describe the decedent’s vehicle before impact and the fire rendered a forensic reconstruction of the electrical systems impossible. Notice was provided to the defendant trucking companies that appeared to be related to the tractor at issue, and they denied liability. The court subsequently entered partial default judgment for the plaintiff; after financial discovery revealed that the companies were insolvent, a settlement was reached for the available insurance coverage of slightly less than $1 million. Nearly all the settlement proceeds were used to purchase a structured settlement with the assistance of Gary Blankenship. The decedent’s child will receive nearly $1.5 million in periodic payments for the next three decades.

 

T-36) $1.5 million

Teacher injured during morning commute

Type of action: Personal injury, auto accident

Court: Prince William Circuit Court

Attorney for plaintiff: Claire E. Keena, Woodbridge

Case summary: This collision occurred when the plaintiff, a Prince William County schoolteacher, was on his way to work. An eyewitness driving behind the defendant advised he saw the defendant driving erratically for about two miles, then crossed over the double lines and hit plaintiff’s vehicle head on. Defendant admitted to officer he was a diabetic and was not feeling well and that he had only taken 30 units of insulin instead of the prescribed 100 units.

Plaintiff suffered comminuted right mid-shaft femur fracture requiring open reduction and internal fixation with intramedullary nail and a right closed proximal tibial plateau fracture requiring external fixation to his knee. There were numerous complications, and plaintiff underwent several hospital admissions including to a rehab facility. The plaintiff’s concussive injury was not immediately addressed due to more pressing orthopedic injuries and he later had difficulty with headaches, light and sound sensitivity and word finding. Plaintiff ultimately sustained a loss of independence and had to move in with his parents.

 

T-36) $1.5 million

New mother of twins died after C-section

Type of action: Medical malpractice, wrongful death

Attorneys for plaintiff: Carlton Bennett, Virginia Beach; Glen Sturtevant and Brewster Rawls, Richmond

Case summary: The patient presented to the hospital following the premature rupture of her membranes. She was 35 weeks and six days pregnant with twins. The plan was to perform a repeat cesarean section and bilateral tubal ligation. The procedure lasted just over an hour, resulting in the successful delivery of healthy babies.

After the delivery, the OB/GYN left the hospital, presumably to attend to other patients.

Initially following the delivery, the mother appeared to be stable and doing well; however, she began exhibiting signs of hypovolemic shock, which did not resolve despite appropriate treatment and intervention by the nursing and hospital staff.

The attending OB/GYN remained off-site. Even once he arrived, he continued to delay the emergency surgical intervention.

The patient became unresponsive, so chest compressions were started, and she was intubated due to cardiac arrest but never achieved return of spontaneous circulation. CPR was then stopped, and she was pronounced dead. The autopsy report revealed hemoperitoneum due to suture dehiscence and listed the primary cause of death as exsanguination.

 

T-36) $1.5 million

Passenger, driver killed on impact with pole

Type of action: Wrongful death

Attorneys for plaintiff: Josh Coe, Anthony Gantous and Jared Birckholtz, Virginia Beach

Case summary: The victim was the front seat passenger in a vehicle involved in a horrible collision. The collision involved a single vehicle in which both the passenger and driver were killed upon impact with a pole. The deceased driver of the vehicle did not have insurance and the case was handled through the underinsured motorist coverage.

 

T-36) $1.5 million

Driver killed in industrial accident

Type of action: Wrongful death, industrial accident

Court: Richmond Circuit Court

Attorney for plaintiff: Jason W. Konvicka, Richmond

Case summary: This wrongful death case arose out of an industrial accident that occurred at a commercial construction site in May 2022. The decedent was killed instantly when the vehicle he was operating was crushed by a larger construction vehicle. The decedent was 24 years old, single and had no children. Beneficiaries included the decedent’s mother, father, and adult sister. The case was settled for $1.5 million.

 

44) $1.45 million

Clip, cancerous lymph nodes not removed

Type of action: Medical malpractice

Attorneys for plaintiff: Lee Livingston and Anthony Greene, Charlottesville

Case summary: The plaintiff is a woman who was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. A clip was placed at the site of each biopsy to monitor the response of the tumors during her treatment. The plaintiff underwent six months of successful neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Following her treatments, she was scheduled for a right modified radical mastectomy with an axillary dissection and a left total mastectomy. During the surgery, the surgeon identified a biopsy clip within the right axillary contents. However, this clip was absent in the specimen sent to surgical pathology. Additionally, no lymph nodes were found in the axillary contents either.

After three years of hormone therapy and consistent monitoring, a CT scan showed an enlarged nodule in plaintiff’s right axilla. This nodule was later found to be metastatic cancer. The cancer had also evolved into a more aggressive triple-negative pathology. A subsequent surgery to address this newly discovered cancerous nodule and surrounding tissue unveiled the original biopsy clip and several cancerous lymph nodes that should have been removed in the surgery three years prior.

 

T-45) $1.4 million

Worker electrocuted at job site

Type of action: Wrongful death/electrocution

Court: Accomack Circuit Court

Attorneys for plaintiff: Kevin Biniazan, Virginia Beach; Scott Perry, Arlington; Lauren Martin, Virginia Beach; and Michael Collett, Virginia Beach

Case summary: The lawsuit arose after the plaintiff’s decedent was electrocuted on a job site in Accomack. He was walking with a hoist cable connected to a digger derrick within a few feet of an energized overhead high voltage powerline owned and maintained by A&N Electric Cooperative. The hoist cable made contact with the overhead high voltage power line causing severe injuries to the decedent that ultimately led to his death.

 

T-45) $1.4 million

Pedestrian struck crossing Henrico County street

Type of action: Personal injury, pedestrian accident

Court: Henrico Circuit Court

Name of mediator: Judge J. Michael Gamble (Ret.)

Attorney for plaintiff: Richard Armstrong, Charlottesville

Case summary: Hongxia Chen was hit while crossing the westbound lanes of Broad Street at the intersection of Spring Oak Drive, just across from Short Pump.

After dinner, the family decided to walk to Short Pump Town Center located across Broad Street from their apartment.

When the family arrived at the median between eastbound and westbound Broad Street, they paused, checked the light for westbound traffic, saw it was red and then proceeded into the westbound lanes of Broad Street. Witnesses stated that the light for Broad Street traffic turned green as the family left the median.

As Chen reached the middle lane of through traffic, the defendant did not stop and hit her, causing her to fly into the air and land on the pavement.

Numerous witnesses gave varying accounts of the incident, but they consistently stated that the lights controlling traffic on Broad were red when the family started to cross.

Plaintiff emphasized Virginia law that the right of way granted to pedestrians when crossing roadways continues even when the traffic lights turn green.

 

T-45) $1.4 million

Man struck by pickup while riding bicycle

Type of action: Persona injury

Attorney for plaintiff: Adam H. Lotkin, Norfolk

Description of case: The injured plaintiff was riding his bicycle to cut lawns to earn money. He was riding on the proper side of the road with traffic as the sun rose ahead of him and traffic. The two-lane road was a frequent cut through for residents in between more urban and rural zones. The defendant was driving a larger pickup truck pulling a trailer for the local business on the job. The combination of rising sun, inattention and a single lane road caused the truck to strike the plaintiff with likely the side view mirror and causing plaintiff to get run over by the truck’s wheels or trailer, or both. Body cam stills and video were helpful in disabusing the defense of the “he came out of nowhere” and he was driving on the wrong side of the road stories. The plaintiff suffered catastrophic orthopedic injuries which required several surgeries to his pelvis and legs. He also suffered fractures to his spine that were non operable and stabilized over the next year.

 

48) $1.375 million

Passenger suffered compound fracture

Type of action: Auto accident

Name of mediator: Justice Jane Marum Roush (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: W. Randolph Robins Jr. and Michael W. Lantz, Richmond

Case summary: Plaintiff was a passenger in a speeding car that may have been racing another vehicle not involved in the wreck. Another vehicle pulled into the path of the host vehicle, causing a violent collision. Plaintiff suffered an ankle injury that almost resulted in amputation. Counsel began investigation immediately upon receiving a referral of the case and discovered video footage of the crash. Plaintiff sued the host vehicle driver and the driver of the other vehicle, as well as his employer/vehicle owner, claiming their collective failure to maintain control and keep a lookout was a proximate result of her injuries. Defendants blamed one another. After mediation did not result in settlement, the parties conducted additional discovery including the deposition of a key eyewitness who passed away in another auto collision approximately three weeks later and prior to trial. With discovery closed, all parties re-evaluated their risks and settled the case with direct negotiation.

 

49) $1.325 million

Golfer on fairway struck by golf cart

Type of action: Personal injury

Attorney for plaintiff: Andrew K. Thomas, Warrenton

Case summary: Plaintiff, a 47-year-old male golfer, was run over by a golf cart while walking down the fairway. The cart operator was distracted by cell phone usage. There was no alcohol involvement, and contrib was not an issue – plaintiff was struck from behind by the nearly silent battery powered cart. The case settled with the cart operator’s homeowner’s carrier, with strength of the evidence simply being the nature of the ankle fracture expected to require total ankle fusion within the next 5-10 years.

 

T-50) $1.3 million

Woodshop incident leads to finger amputation

Type of action: Premises liability

Name of mediator: Judge Thomas S. Shadrick (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Jay Tronfeld and Joseph Z. Robertson, Richmond

Case summary: The 17-year-old plaintiff was operating a jointer machine during a woodshop class. Wood got stuck in the jointer. When the plaintiff tried to dislodge it, his hand slipped, causing his middle two fingers on his right dominant hand to be amputated. The plaintiff alleged that he was insufficiently and improperly trained to use the machine, and that he was left unsupervised at the time of the accident. He claimed damages in the form of present and future medical bills, which included a life care plan to account for prosthetic fingers, pain and suffering, and emotional damages. The defendant disputed liability. The parties agreed to mediation and came to a confidential settlement. The plaintiff’s basis for recovery was premised on simple negligence, gross negligence, negligent hiring, negligent retention, negligence per se and the existence of a special relationship. The defendant relied on the defenses of contributory negligence, assumption of risk and charitable immunity.

 

T-50) $1.3 million

Motorcyclist severely injured in collision

Type of action: Motorcycle injury case

Attorney for plaintiff: Jim Hurley, Norfolk

Case summary: The defendant swerved into plaintiff’s lane of travel and struck his motorcycle, severely injuring him. Liability was not contested and the focus on the case was trying to settle the case for all available insurance coverage as quickly as possible considering his injuries.

The settlement package included day in the life videos that showed how these injuries changed plaintiff’s life, medical illustrations of the major injuries, as well as a life care plan along with the medicals, photos and other standard attachments. The extra expense of some the above proved to be hugely beneficially in convincing the defendant’s insurance company to tender the entire coverage without the time and expense of mediation or a lawsuit.

The key to settling this matter quickly consisted of doing the above work while plaintiff was still treating so that when plaintiff reached MMI, the settlement package was ready to send off to begin the negotiations. The case settled approximately one year from the day of the accident.

 

T-50) $1.3 million

Tow truck operator struck on I-95

Type of action: Personal injury, declaratory judgment

Attorneys for plaintiff: Courtney A. Van Winkle and Scott D. Fitzgerald, Richmond

Case summary: A tow truck operator who was standing next to a disabled RV on the shoulder of Interstate 95 was struck by the defendant’s car. Defendant fled the scene and was later identified. The settlement was for all available insurance coverage: $100,000 from the defendant’s carrier, $920,000 from plaintiff’s employer’s underinsured motorist policy, $50,000 from plaintiff’s personal UIM policy, and $230,000 from the UIM policy on the disabled RV (Progressive). Progressive denied coverage on the basis that plaintiff was not occupying or using the RV, since he was there to tow it. Plaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action against Progressive, which was litigated in the Eastern District of Virginia. The court ruled that plaintiff was both “using” and “occupying” the RV at the time of the incident and granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment. Progressive and the carrier for plaintiff’s employer split the “credit” for the $100,000 liability policy, but the settlement was for the total amount of available insurance coverage.

 

T-53) $1.25 million

Worker fell off roof, rendering him paraplegic

Type of action: Workers’ compensation

Court: Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission

Attorney for plaintiff: Stephen T. Harper, Richmond

Case summary: Client was working in Richmond when he fell off a roof. He was wearing a safety harness at the time, but the restraining gear on the safety harness failed, and the client was injured and rendered a paraplegic. He was originally from Mexico with three small children who were residing with his wife in Mexico at the time of his accident. Following his accident, he was transferred to a rehab center in Philadelphia. Counsel was able to get the carrier to pay for a hotel room for several months for him when he was discharged from the rehab facility and a weekly compensation that allowed his wife to travel from Mexico to be with him and help with his care. The settlement paid the client over $500,000 up front and an annuity that would pay him monthly benefits for the rest of his life with a guarantee of 25 years of benefits for his family if he were to pass within the first 25 years.

 

T-53) $1.25 million

Injuries required spinal cord stimulator

Type of action: Personal injury

Court: Prince William County Circuit Court

Attorneys for plaintiff: Brian P. Coleman and Kevin L. Locklin, Manassas

Case summary: Plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 66. Defendant initially denied liability and claimed that he was pushed into the plaintiff by a vehicle who fled the scene. The investigating trooper confirmed there was no damage to the rear of the defendant’s vehicle that would indicate he was pushed into the plaintiff. The plaintiff complained of debilitating neck and right shoulder pain and underwent significant physical therapy, acupuncture and injections with little relief. Diagnostic studies were negative for any obvious sign of an acute injury. The plaintiff came under the care of a new doctor who used the prior treatment to rule out causes of pain and kept searching for the source. A diagnostic suprascapular nerve block provided significant improvement in the shoulder pain and a radiofrequency ablation provided significant improvement in the neck pain. The decision was made to permanently implant a spinal cord stimulator. The results were excellent, and the plaintiff was able to return to a significantly improved quality of life.

 

T-53) $1.25 million

Retired hairdresser killed in head-on collision

Type of action: Wrongful death, motor vehicle collision

Court: Prince William Circuit Court

Attorney for plaintiff: John D. Whittington, Manassas

Case summary: Plaintiff was lawfully operating her 2005 Nissan Sentra east bound on Georgetown Pike in Fairfax County, Virginia at or near the Difficult Run River Bridge. At the same time and place, the defendant was operating a 2020 Audi A5 west bound on Georgetown Pike in Fairfax County, Virginia when the defendant suddenly crossed over the double yellow lines of Georgetown Pike passing two vehicles in front of him at a high rate of speed on a curve failing to return to his lane of travel, striking plaintiff’s vehicle head on.

Plaintiff was a 61-year-old retired hairdresser with three adult children as statutory beneficiaries.

 

T-53) $1.25 million

Adoption at issue in estate

Type of action: Adoption

Court: Tazewell County Circuit Court

Attorneys for plaintiff: Charles A. Stacy and Bill Davis, Bluefield

Case summary: The petitioner was a teenager when her biological mother initiated an adoption proceeding in Tazewell County Circuit Court. An order of adoption was entered by the court in 1985. Petitioner’s biological father died in April 2021, leaving a multi-million-dollar estate in West Virginia. DNA was a conclusive match that the deceased was her biological father. The decedent died without a will. Virginia counsel was brought on to evaluate the validity of the Virginia adoption and took over a paternity action in West Virginia. The West Virginia Family Court entered an order determining the petitioner was the biological child of the deceased.

The issue of paternity was important because the petition for adoption done in the 1980’s named a different putative father in the adoption case. The intestate heirs from West Virginia filed a petition to intervene in the Tazewell County case to set aside the adoption. The court granted partial summary judgment to the petitioner on the issue of fraud in the adoption.

 

T-53) $1.25 million

Driver killed after being struck in traffic

Type of action: Wrongful death

Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

Attorneys for plaintiff: Keith Marcus and Russell Bowles, Richmond

Case summary: The decedent was travelling to visit her younger sister at JMU on Parent’s Weekend and was stuck in traffic. The defendant had his cruise control set at 76 mph and smashed into the rear of the vehicle without applying the brakes. Her car struck the truck in front of her, causing her to spin and burst into flames. The defendant was charged with reckless driving, found guilty in the general district court but acquitted in the circuit court by a jury. A demand was made for policy limits. American Family declined to pay, and suit was immediately filed in Richmond. The case was removed to federal court. Plaintiff’s counsel advised the judge at the initial pretrial conference that there was no need to attend mediation as the plaintiff would not settle for anything less than policy limits. The judge ordered counsel to attend mediation. The matter settled later that day for policy limits.

 

T-58) $1.2 million

Driver crossed center line, struck vehicle

Type of action: Wrongful death

Attorney for plaintiff: Daniel M. Szieber, Bethesda, Maryland

Case summary: The decedent was an 89-year-old male, traveling eastbound on Matthew Mill Road, in Greene County. The vehicle driven by the defendant was traveling westbound and crossed the center line, striking the decedent’s vehicle. The 89-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

His statutory beneficiaries included four children.

 

T-58) $1.2 million

Cancer misdiagnosed after misread test

Type of action: Medical malpractice

Attorneys for plaintiff: Lee Livingston and Anthony Greene, Charlottesville

Case summary: Plaintiff presented to a Central Virginia-based family practice with complaints of erectile dysfunction. The defendant, a family practitioner, ordered standard labs and a prostate-specific androgen (PSA) test. The plaintiff’s lab results revealed a high PSA level of 20.0, well above the reference range of 0.0-4.0. The defendant misread this score, believing it to be a “2.0” rather than a “20.0” and opted to administer testosterone therapy to treat plaintiff’s erectile dysfunction.

After nine months, plaintiff still experienced persistent erectile dysfunction, and was referred to a urologist for treatment of erectile dysfunction. The urologist ordered a second PSA test, which returned a critically high score of 69.7. A subsequent biopsy confirmed the presence of prostate cancer.

The defendant initiated the correct protocol during the plaintiff’s visit by ordering a PSA test but failed to appreciate and act on the elevated PSA levels. In addition to his failure to notice the elevated PSA score, defendant ordered and performed testosterone injections, which are contraindicated for patients with prostate cancer.

 

T-60) $1.15 million

Man sustained subdural hematoma in crash

Type of action: Negligence, auto accident

Court: Prince William Circuit Court

Attorney for plaintiff: Daniel M. Szieber, Bethesda, Maryland

Case summary: The plaintiff was traveling eastbound on Minnieville Lane attempting to proceed straight through the intersection with Canton Hill Road. The plaintiff was stopped at a red traffic signal and, as the light turned green, started to move and was rear-ended by a Mack waste collection truck. Plaintiff was extricated from his vehicle and flown by helicopter to INOVA Fairfax Hospital.

Initially, he was diagnosed with a concussion and left arm fracture. CT head scans appeared normal. Several weeks later, plaintiff began experiencing extreme dizziness and confusion. He presented to Virginia Hospital Center and a subsequent head CT scan was performed which revealed a subdural hematoma. He then was transported to Georgetown University Hospital for an emergency craniotomy.

 

T-60) $1.15 million

Driver injured in collision with panel truck

Type of action: Personal injury

Attorneys for plaintiff: Gary Brooks Mims and Matthew Perushek, Fairfax

Case summary: Seventy-six-year-old plaintiff was driving on a two-lane road in McLean, when defendant, operating a large panel truck, made a left turn across plaintiff’s path resulting in a head-on collision. Police arrived at the scene and failed to write a report or charge defendant. After counsel for plaintiff met with the officer a report was filed–but the officer could not charge the defendant. Defendant denied liability alleging that plaintiff was driving at an excessive speed and that his history of Parkinson’s diminished his reaction time contributing to the collision. There were no witnesses. Before the collision plaintiff had significant kyphosis of the cervical spine and mobility issues associated with his Parkinson’s disease.

 

T-62) $1.1 million

Physician killed in head-on collision

Type of action: Wrongful death, motor vehicle collision

Name of mediator: Justice Jane Marum Roush (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Anthony “Tony” M. Russell, Roanoke; Les S. Bowers, Charlottesville

Case summary: Decedent, a 37-year-old male physician, was killed on his way to work when he was hit head-on in his lane of travel by a truck. The truck had earlier collided with a pickup, which was in front of the decedent’s vehicle. The truck blamed the collision on the pickup. The pickup blamed the collision on the truck. Decedent stated that both truck and pickup were at fault, although by far the strongest case was against the truck. The decedent passed away at the scene of the collision. The decedent was not married and did not have any children. The decedent’s statutory beneficiaries were his elderly parents and two adult siblings. The truck offered its full liability coverage. The pickup paid part of its liability coverage.

 

T-62) $1.1 million

Premature birth, death after delayed procedure

Type of action: Medical malpractice

Attorneys for plaintiff: Travis W. Markley, Richard L. Nagle, Heather E. Zaug and Benjamin M. Wengerd, Reston

Case summary: Plaintiff was referred to a maternal-fetal medicine practice for management of her fourth pregnancy because her second and third pregnancies required cervical cerclage placement.

Plaintiff presented to the first defendant physician at the maternal-fetal medicine practice when she was approximately 12 weeks pregnant.

When plaintiff returned to the maternal-fetal medicine physician at approximately 16 weeks gestation, plaintiff’s cervix measured 23 millimeters on ultrasound. Plaintiff requested a cervical cerclage.

Plaintiff later returned to the maternal-fetal medicine practice and was evaluated by a second defendant physician. On this date, plaintiff’s cervix measured 20.1 millimeters. Notwithstanding plaintiff’s history of cerclage placement, her advancing pregnancy and her cervical length measurement, the second defendant physician scheduled the procedure to place the cerclage for a later date.

While plaintiff was on the way to the hospital for the cerclage procedure, her cervix failed. Plaintiff went into labor as a result, and her infant son was born at 18 weeks, four days gestation. The infant died approximately 54 minutes after his birth.

 

T-62) $1.1 million

Veteran suffers brain hemorrhage

Type of action: Personal injury, Federal Tort Claims Act

Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Roanoke Division

Attorneys for plaintiff: Anthony “Tony” M. Russell, Roanoke; Les S. Bowers, Charlottesville; and Paul R. Thomson III, Roanoke

Case summary: Veteran presented to the Salem VAMC Emergency Department with the worst headache of his life and no neurological deficits. The emergency room physician diagnosed him with migraine and neck pain, did not perform any head imaging and discharged him home.

Veteran presented the next day to the Salem VAMC Emergency Department with the worst headache of his life in a hypertensive crisis and some new neurologic deficits. The emergency room physician diagnosed him with migraine and neck pain and discharged him home.

The next day, veteran was transported to LewisGale Medical Center with progressive neurologic deficits, and a head CT scan was performed showing a 7.5 cm brain hemorrhage with mass effect and midline shift. Thereafter, he was admitted and treated for his brain hemorrhage. Veteran suffered permanent cognitive and physical deficits.

Veteran pursued a malpractice claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The United States of America denied his notice of claim, so he thereafter filed suit.

 

T-62) $1.1 million

Unrecognized pressure injury caused sepsis

Type of action: Wrongful death

Name of mediator: Judge Thomas B. Hoover (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Michael W. Lantz and W. Randolph Robins Jr., Richmond

Case summary: Plaintiff’s decedent was hospitalized following a cardiac procedure and sustained a sacral pressure injury that went unrecognized until it reached stage 4. Plaintiff’s experts contended that defendant’s employees failed to turn and reposition the decedent, who was at a high risk of developing a pressure injury, for several weeks. Defendant’s experts contended that the decedent had been turned and repositioned during occupational and physical therapy sessions. Plaintiff’s counsel used billing records to effectively cross-examine these experts. Plaintiff’s decedent was survived by a spouse of 54 years and two adult children.

 

T-62) $1.1 million

Truck driver struck rollerblading child

Type of action: Motor vehicle liability

Attorneys for plaintiff: Peter S. Everett and Juli M. Porto, Fairfax; Libbey Van Pelt, Arlington

Case summary: Eight-year-old Jimmy and two of his friends were playing on their quiet street. Jimmy skated on roller blades. A package delivery driver entered the street and saw the other two children.

To avoid them, the delivery driver moved to the wrong side of the street. He failed to notice Jimmy and struck Jimmy in his leg.

The hospital found that the medial collateral ligament and soft tissue over the ligament were gone, the meniscus was exposed and the knee joint was disrupted.

Orthopedic and plastic surgeons scheduled him for additional trauma surgery, which revealed the presence of the MCL stump, but no MCL; valgus laxity; and no obvious meniscus tear.

Upon returning to school, Jimmy faced emotional and physical difficulties. Jimmy was not allowed to be out of his wheelchair at school and had to be pushed from place to place by an employee.

Jimmy has recovered substantially. Nonetheless, the collision “obliterated” his MCL, thus leaving him permanently injured. Jimmy knows he must be careful and that he will never high contact sports.

 

T-62) $1.1 million

Patient sustained pressure injury in hospital

Type of action: Negligence

Name of mediator: Judge Thomas B. Hoover (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Michael W. Lantz and W. Randolph Robins Jr., Richmond

Case summary: Plaintiff’s decedent developed a complication of a cardiac procedure that required intensive care for several weeks. Plaintiff contended that hospital staff failed to reposition and turn the decedent during his recovery there, resulting in the development of a stage 4 pressure injury. This injury was difficult to treat and caused plaintiff to undergo painful surgeries. He finally expired after tremendous suffering. The beneficiaries included a spouse of 54 years, a daughter and an estranged son. Defendants claimed that they routinely turned and repositioned the decedent but there was no documentation of it because documentation was not required by the standard of care and the nursing staff was busy with other interventions and monitoring. They also raised a causation defense.

 

T-62) $1.1 million

Confidential settlement reached for $1.1 million

Type of action: Auto accident

Attorney for plaintiff: Tara Tighe Umbrino, Arlington

 

T-69) $1 million

Plaintiff slipped on wet floor in restaurant

Type of action: Personal injury

Court: Lynchburg Circuit Court

Attorneys for plaintiff: Stephen M. Smith, C. Stewart Gill Jr. and C. Darden Barrett Jr., Hampton

Case summary: Plaintiff slipped and fell on a wet floor in a fast-food restaurant. An employee of the restaurant had been mopping the floor and failed to put up any sort of warning before plaintiff entered the restaurant. Plaintiff fell backwards, striking her head on the tile floor. The incident was captured on surveillance footage from the restaurant, which was turned over in discovery. Plaintiff suffered a traumatic brain injury with permanent post-concussive symptoms. She had positive loss of consciousness at the scene. CT and MRI scans of the head were negative for acute pathology. The case settled for the $1 million single limits policy insuring the restaurant without mediation.

 

T-69) $1 million

Low potassium led to cardiac arrest, death

Type of action: Medical malpractice

Attorneys for plaintiff: Brewster S. Rawls and Harrison W. Long, Richmond

Case summary: A married woman and mother of adult children was brought to the hospital by ambulance. A Tyle 2 diabetic, she was diagnosed with ketoacidosis, or DKA, and hypokalemia, or low potassium. The patient was subsequently admitted to the hospital where she first came under the care of the nocturnalist, and then the day hospitalist.

At the time of the patient’s admission, her potassium level was 1.9. This level was critically low.

The standard of care, both as shown by experts and extensive medical literature, mandates that potassium be replenished aggressively before giving insulin.

Both hospitalists, however, failed to appreciate the patient’s life-threatening hypokalemia. Instead, they treated her as if she were an ordinary diabetic patient who presented in DKA. Both hospitalists administered insulin but provided inadequate potassium resuscitation.

The patient’s potassium level dropped throughout the day. Shortly before she coded in the early evening, her potassium level was 1.0 — a level incompatible with life. The patient died less than 12 hours after she was admitted to the hospital.

 

T-69) $1 million

Pathologist misinterpreted biopsy specimen

Type of action: Medical malpractice

Attorneys for plaintiff: Travis W. Markley, Richard L. Nagle, Heather E. Zaug and Benjamin M. Wengerd, Reston

Case summary: The plaintiff underwent a transurethral resection of a bladder lesion after experiencing hematuria. The resected lesion was sent for pathological evaluation and analysis. The following day, the defendant pathologist issued a final report of “low grade urothelial carcinoma.” After clarification was requested by the plaintiff’s urologist, the pathologist staged the lesion as carcinoma in situ.

As a result of this diagnosis, the plaintiff’s urologist offered a course of treatment with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy. From January 2020 to January 2021, the plaintiff was subjected to 12 BCG treatments.

After three cytology and pathology analyses of the plaintiff’s bladder were negative for malignancy from September 2020 through February 2021, the plaintiff was subjected to three more half-strength BCG treatments. The plaintiff subsequently sought a second opinion from a pathologist who concluded the initial pathology from December 2019 was negative for carcinoma. Johns Hopkins provided another evaluation of the December 2019 pathology specimen and concluded it was benign. Shortly thereafter, the defendant pathologist added an addendum to his initial report incorporating the findings of the Johns Hopkins pathologist.

 

T-69)$1 million

Driver fell asleep, causing significant accident

Type of action: Personal injury

Court: Fauquier County Circuit Court

Attorneys for plaintiff: Kevin L. Locklin and Brian P. Coleman, Manassas

Case summary: The defendant fell asleep and drifted into the plaintiff’s lane of travel, causing a significant motor vehicle accident. The plaintiff suffered injuries to the cervical and lumbar spine. The plaintiff underwent an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion at C4-5 along with a lumbar fusion from L3-5. Due to continuing symptoms, the plaintiff’s treating neurosurgeon opted for a spinal cord stimulator and implantable pulse generator almost two and a half years after the accident. The defendant only had $25,000 in liability coverage, but the plaintiff had a significant applicable underinsured motorist policy. The underinsured motorist carrier offered the full $975,000 in coverage available immediately after service was requested.

 

T-69)$1 million

Tractor-trailer crashed into disabled vehicle

Type of action: Auto accident

Attorney for plaintiff: Mark T. Hurt, Abingdon

Case summary: Defendant driver rear-ended a car in which plaintiff was a passenger, disabling both cars on Interstate 81. Shortly after, a tractor-trailer traveling on the interstate crashed into the two cars severely injuring plaintiff.

Although the official Virginia State Police crash report placed no blame on the tractor-trailer driver, plaintiff’s accident reconstruction expert conclusively established that driver bore some blame for his collision with the vehicle plaintiff was riding in and plaintiff’s resulting injuries.

Plaintiff counsel’s immediate issuance of an evidence preservation letter to opposing counsel was crucial to preserving the tractor-trailer’s dashboard camera video footage, which was on the verge of being erased and contained strong evidence of driver’s liability.

 

T-69) $1 million

Singer/songwriter injured in motorcycle crash

Type of action: Personal injury

Attorneys for plaintiff: Jonathan T. Wren and Robert E. Byrne Jr., Charlottesville

Case summary: Plaintiff was driving a motorcycle at a low speed on Raphine Road, which intersects the southbound exit 205 ramp off Interstate 81 in Rockbridge County. Defendant, who had driven his tractor and trailer off I-81 on his way to a service station, did not see the plaintiff approaching and turned left at slow speed directly in front of plaintiff. The road was wet and when plaintiff applied the bike’s brakes to avoid a collision, the bike went down on plaintiff’s left side, and he slid into the truck’s front bumper. The crash was captured by the truck’s video recorder and defendants immediately accepted responsibility for the crash.

The plaintiff was a singer/songwriter on his way from Massachusetts to Texas. He was airlifted to U.Va., where he spent the next seven days while undergoing multiple surgeries to repair his numerous fractures. While he continued to suffer some pain and mobility issues, as well as anxiety, the plaintiff had made an excellent recovery prior to demand.

 

T-69) $1 million

Man took own life after discharge from psych unit

Type of action: Psychiatric malpractice

Attorneys for plaintiff: Alexandra Humphreys and Charles “Frank” Hilton, Harrisonburg

Case summary: A man with a history of well-controlled anxiety and depression began to experience an increase in his anxiety due to COVID-19 pandemic-related job and financial fears. His mental health declined over the course of a month, with his passive suicidal ideations progressing to suicidal gestures and attempts. After expressing to his wife that he would shoot himself if he returned home, the man was admitted to a local hospital’s inpatient psychiatric unit. He made minimal improvements over the first four days of treatment. On the fifth day of his hospitalization, the psychiatric nurse practitioner overseeing his care charted that while the man expressed a desire to return home, he could not be safely discharged. That night, a nurse charted further decline in his condition. Despite this, the next morning, the decision was made to discharge the man home. Less than 48 hours after returning home, the man took his own life.

 

T-69) $1 million

Man injured while working on stalled vehicle

Type of action: Personal injury

Attorney for plaintiff: Adam H. Lotkin, Norfolk

Case summary: Plaintiff was stalled on the side of a Virginia country road with an overheated pickup truck on way home from a jobsite. As he was on the phone, outside of the vehicle looking at the engine, a speeding vehicle impacted the rear of his work truck catapulting it into plaintiff. He was found unconscious nearby and taken to the trauma hospital. He suffered a brain injury but after a year of in and outpatient treatment was recovering well. The limits of coverage were only $1 million through his work commercial policy.

 

T-69) $1 million

Patient sustained nerve injury after oral surgery

Type of action: Medical malpractice

Name of mediator: Judge Johanna Fitzpatrick (Ret.)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Michele Bartoli Cain, Charley Rothermel and Wallace B. Wason Jr, Alexandria

Case summary: Plaintiff, a 59-year-old woman, suffered injury to her right inferior alveolar nerve when an oral surgeon drilled too deep during an immediate implant surgery following the extraction of lower first molar tooth number 30. Post-operative imaging showed clear radiographic evidence that the surgeon’s drill penetrated the inferior alveolar nerve canal and extended to the inferior border of the mandible. The patient suffered an iatrogenic transection injury of the inferior alveolar nerve, causing numbness immediately after the injury and then she developed significant dysesthesia/nerve pain. She thereafter underwent trigeminal nerve repair surgery with a specialist. Unfortunately, she continues to have persistent debilitating nerve pain: anesthesia, paresthesia and dysesthesia, both centralized and throughout the right inferior alveolar nerve distribution. The pain significantly impairs her quality of life. The condition is permanent and will likely require complex pain management for the rest of her life.

 

T-69) $1 million

Tractor-trailer blocked road, causing collision

Type of action: Personal injury

Court: Amelia County Circuit Court

Attorney for plaintiff: James Mick Kessel, Richmond

Case summary: Plaintiff was traveling westbound approaching an intersection in Amelia County. At the same time a tractor-trailer operated by defendant stopped at a stop sign controlling his direction of travel at the intersection. Defendant failed to yield the right of way to plaintiff and pulled across the westbound lanes of the highway, completely blocking plaintiff’s direction of travel. Plaintiff didn’t have time to react and struck the left rear of the trailer.

Plaintiff was transported from the scene to Chippenham Hospital’s Trauma Center where it was determined that she had sustained multiple serious injuries to her spine and pelvis. Plaintiff was admitted to Chippenham Hospital for two weeks during which time she underwent multiple surgeries to repair her damaged pelvis and spine. Plaintiff was then transferred to Sheltering Arms for inpatient care and rehabilitation before being discharged to at home care.