On Nov. 3, 2017, the plaintiff was returning home on Route 254 in Augusta County. Plaintiff slowed after signaling to turn into her driveway when her 2005 Hyundai was struck in the rear by a 2006 Ford pickup driven by ...

Tagged with: Augusta County Circuit Court Judge Michael C. Allen Personal Injury Settlement

Virginia courts may not have felt the reptile’s strike, but judges are taking different approaches with the prospect of plaintiff’s lawyers armed with psychological jury appeals. At issue is the “reptile” litigation tactic: an appeal to jurors’ subconscious fears that ...

Tagged with: Augusta County Circuit Court Judge W. Chapman Goodwin Reptile Theory

A motion for a protective order to limit defendant doctor’s discovery deposition in this medical malpractice case is denied. Plaintiff claims that defendant’s alleged negligent treatment following a stroke left her with a permanent visual impairment. Plaintiff seeks to depose ...

Tagged with: Augusta County Circuit Court Civil Practice Judge W. Chapman Goodwin

Dr. Burgoyne, an oral surgeon, extracted the four developing wisdom teeth of a 12-year-old girl in August 2014. In the process of doing so, Dr. Burgoyne completely severed the child’s lingual nerve on one side (there are two nerves which ...

Tagged with: Augusta County Circuit Court Judge W. Chapman Goodwin Medical Malpractice Verdict

A jury in Augusta County recently handed down a $3.5 million verdict in a medical malpractice suit involving the family of a woman who suffered a fatal stroke that went misdiagnosed. The $3.5 million award is unusual for a normally ...

Tagged with: Augusta County Circuit Court Million-Dollar Verdicts

Two judges who vigorously advocated against a courthouse relocation referendum did not commit judicial misconduct, the Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled. The unanimous court dismissed judicial ethics charges against Senior Court of Appeals Judge Rudolph Bumgardner III and retired ...

Tagged with: Augusta County Circuit Court Judge Humes J. Franklin Jr. Judge Rudolph Bumgardner III Judicial Incident Review Council Supreme Court of Virginia

A group of 23 former presidents of the Virginia Bar Association, as well as two civil liberties organizations, have come to the defense of two Virginia  judges accused of improper political activity. The former VBA presidents filed a friend of ...

Tagged with: Augusta County Circuit Court Judge Humes J. Franklin Jr. Judge Rudolph Bumgardner III Virginia Bar Association

A Virginia elected official is com­plaining that two retired Virginia judges may have violated ethics rules by advocating against a pro­posed courthouse move. The judges – one a senior judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia – were named ...

Tagged with: Augusta County Circuit Court

An assertion that defendant is a “life-long opiate addict” who knew his withdrawal symptoms during the 48 hours prior to his traffic accident would include confusion, distractability and “overall impairment of driving ability,” does not state a common law claim ...

Tagged with: Augusta County Circuit Court Judge Victor V. Ludwig Negligence Virginia Circuit Courts

Alleging a driver knew he was impaired due to drug withdrawal is not enough to sue that driver for punitive damages for rear-ending a school bus, an Augusta County Circuit Court has ruled. The driver was driving on a license ...

Tagged with: Augusta County Circuit Court Judge Victor V. Ludwig Supreme Court of Virginia