Virginia: Patient Fall – a Lawyer’s Appeal

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On January 29, 2013, Circuit Court for the City of Newport News, Virginia, entered Final Judgment Order in Shirley Frazier Burrell v. Riverside Hospital, Inc., et al., No. CL1101633F-15. On December 7, 2012, the jury unanimously awarded $3,500,000.00 in damages against Defendant, Riverside Hospital, Inc., in favor of its brain injury victim.

Defendant Riverside Hospital, Inc., filed Notice of Appeal in the Burrell case on January 30, 2013; and must post a $1,900,000.00 appeal bond within 21 days to suspend collection by Plaintiff against it. Its medical malpractice victim also intends to file Notice of Appeal this month, cross-appealing against Riverside Hospital, Inc. on multiple points.

In Burrell, the then 81 year-old intermittently-confused in-patient at Riverside Regional Medical Center suffered a patient fall and resulting broken femur, head injury, and permanent hemiplegia. Suit was filed against Riverside Hospital, Inc. for its failure properly to assess its in-patient as a high unto extreme fall risk and for its failure properly to intervene, including by simple activation of her built-in bed alarm, use of a sitter and/or use of soft restraint (like it did for 5 days straight after its in-patient already was seriously injured permanently).

Previously by Fax Memorandum on January 22, 2013, Mr. Waterman was notified that a Summary of the Burrell brain injury case would be published electronically on LEXIS-NEXIS, on www.verdictsearch.com, and possibly in Metro Verdicts Monthly.