Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

The estate of a nursing-home patient who fell and broke her hip, allegedly due to inadequate care, was entitled to broad discovery of the facility’s patient care records, personnel files, and financial information. Background This is a negligence case brought ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Evidence Judge Douglas L. Fleming Jr. Loudoun County Circuit Court Negligence Personal Injury Tort Virginia Circuit Courts

Tenants alleging black mold in their walls and mushrooms growing in their carpet weren’t confined to the rights in Code § 8.01-226.12 Background Tenants sued their landlord and a real estate management company, alleging that the apartment they rented exposed them ...

Tagged with: Justice Stephen R. McCullough Landlord/Tenant Negligence Personal Injury Supreme Court of Virginia Tort

A defendant driver said in his deposition that he couldn’t remember key details of a car crash, but his pre-suit description of the crash to his insurance company was not entitled to work-product privilege. Background Plaintiff Angel Monterrozo was injured ...

Tagged with: Evidence Insurance Judge Joseph J. Ellis Personal Injury Tort Virginia Circuit Courts

In a negligence action following the plaintiff’s collision with an ambulance, the volunteer driver’s company was an instrumentality of the state and, thus, exempt from liability arising from its contract with Frederick County. Background Defendant Gore Volunteer Fire Company provides ...

Tagged with: Judge Michael F. Urbanski Negligence Personal Injury Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

After tripping and injuring herself on her way out of a commercial building, a plaintiff won a $60,000 verdict against the building’s owner. The jury found that the step was in an unsafe condition that the owner should have known ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Clarence N. Jenkins Jr. Negligence Personal Injury Richmond Circuit Court Tort Virginia Circuit Courts

Private boat maintenance workers, who were injured while aboard a Norfolk vessel when an allegedly incompetent Norfolk police officer caused it to capsize during a sea trial, sufficiently stated maritime tort and negligence claims against the City and the officer ...

Tagged with: Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr. Municipal Personal Injury U.S. District Court - Eastern District

After an underinsured motorist caused death and injury to two of the insured’s contractors, limitations in the UIM policy’s declarations page were dispositive in determining whether the contractors’ vehicle was covered. Background Carlos Castillo and Marco Gabarette were independent contractors ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Contract Insurance Judge G. Steven Agee Personal Injury

The defendants were not entitled to reconsideration of the court’s decision to grant summary judgment to the plaintiff on the issue of his contributory negligence, as their proposed grounds amounted to mere disagreement with the court’s earlier conclusions. Background In ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Judge Robert E. Payne Negligence Personal Injury Products Liability U.S. District Court - Eastern District

After unsuccessfully requesting a foreseeability instruction to the jury, the plaintiff – attempting to avoid numerous objections during the defense’s closing argument – obtained permission to enter a continuing objection, but failed to object with sufficient specificity as to any ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Medical Malpractice Negligence Per Curiam Opinion Personal Injury Supreme Court of Virginia Tort

Although the estate of a plant worker crushed by a lift truck offered a truck redesign that could have prevented that particular worker’s death, there was no evidence that the redesign would lead to fewer total deaths. Thus, the jury’s ...

Tagged with: Justice Stephen R. McCullough Negligence Personal Injury Products Liability Supreme Court of Virginia Tort