Three business-friendly tort reform measures offered at the 2018 General Assembly triggered a trial-lawyer counter-attack this month with bills that would remove the cap on punitive damages, allow claims for loss of consortium, and open avenues of recovery for crime ...
Read More »Plaintiff wins access to nursing home training materials
Another judge has allowed a medical malpractice plaintiff to examine health care training materials over the objection of a defendant nursing home. Gloucester County Circuit Judge Designate William H. Shaw III – a retired Middle Neck judge – allowed discovery ...
Read More »Expungement bid fails for doctor who was cleared
A Virginia doctor arrested after triggering suspicions on a college campus 20 years ago and tried for having a toxic chemical in a storage unit has lost his bid to have records of the charges removed from court records. Although ...
Read More »A Second Opinion
The Supreme Court of Virginia says a Henry County judge was too quick to force a hospital to accept 25 cents on the dollar for a heart patient hit with a surprise medical bill. The justices said the judge was ...
Read More »Judge blocks arbitration in nursing home case
Plaintiffs have scored another win in the battle over nursing home arbitration contracts. In the most recent trial court ruling, a Norfolk judge denied a rehabilitation facility’s bid to arbitrate – not just the underlying medical claim – but also ...
Read More »Patient’s shooting at hospital brings odd lawsuits
The 2016 shooting of a psychiatric patient by a Lynchburg hospital security guard has produced two lawsuits based on unusual claims, neither one targeting the guard who actually fired the shots. One lawsuit – filed Oct. 13 – complains that ...
Read More »Million-dollar defense verdicts
In 2016, our sister publication, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, reported 16 medical malpractice defense wins in which the plaintiff sought a recovery of $1 million or more. For inclusion in the survey, the final demand or amount sued for must have ...
Read More »Defense expert testimony lacked foundation
The Supreme Court of Virginia has overturned a trial result based on a finding that an expert was allowed to testify without a proper foundation once again. While most such cases involve plaintiffs’ experts, here it was a defense expert ...
Tagged with: Medical Malpractice Supreme Court of Virginia
Read More »Dentist beats city hall in fight over relocation
A contentious condemnation case has produced a federal court ruling that the city of Virginia Beach is liable for violating the constitutional rights of a dentist and his practice. Among the judge’s findings is the conclusion that the city unlawfully ...
Tagged with: Condemnation Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District
Read More »MD with dual role claims immunity
An anesthesiologist at the University of Virginia Medical Center who allegedly mismanaged a patient’s intubation says he is immune from a medical malpractice suit filed by the patient’s estate. Relying on a Supreme Court of Virginia decision issued a year ...
Tagged with: Judge Glen E. Conrad Medical Malpractice Supreme Court of Virginia U.S. District Court - Western District
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