On December 30, 2015, the Virginia Supreme Court issued an unpublished per curiam order in the alleged wrongful death case of Bailey v. Erdman, No. 150394. It reversed the Hampton Circuit Court’s grant of the defendant doctor’s motion to strike plaintiff’s evidence at jury trial...
By unpublished per curiam order on December 3, 2015, the Virginia Supreme Court reversed and remanded for trial the three car crash case of Martin v. Isbill, No. 141886. It opined that Portsmouth Circuit Court erred in finding that plaintiff was contributorily negligent as a...
On October 29, 2015, the Virginia Supreme Court issued In re Lakisha Woodley, No. 141706, an appeal from Circuit Court of Southampton County, Virginia. Therein the Court emphasized Va. Code §8.01–54(C) dictates that “a wrongful death award ‘shall be paid to the personal representative’ for...
In December, 2015, the United States Department of Justice reported that it obtained over $3,500,000,000.00 in judgments and settlements from civil cases of fraud and false claims against the federal government by contractors under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). Once again, health care fraud by...
On December 18, 2015, Mr. Waterman was chosen by the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorney (“NAOPIA”) to receive its “TOP 10 Attorney Award” for personal injury attorneys in Virginia for 2015. NAOPIA is headquartered in Washington, D.C....
Trial is the monthly journal of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association (“ATLA”). Its issue for December, 2015, is entitled “SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY”. A feature article of December 2015 Trial is “MEDICINE IN A VIRTUAL WORLD”. Id. at 38-45. It...
On September 17, 2015, the Virginia Supreme Court issued Allstate Prop. And Cas. Inc. Co. v. Ploutis, No, 141536, an appeal from Fairfax County Circuit Court. It agreed with Allstate “the circuit court erred in ruling that Code §8.01-229(E)(3), providing for tolling of the statute...
On December 21, 2015, Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel was heard in the brain injury lawsuit, Helen M. Eason, Administratrix of the Estate of Mary Francis Taylor, Deceased v. Sentara CarePlex Hospital, No. CL12-470 in Circuit Court of Hampton, Virginia. Sentara was ordered to answer and...
On December 15, 2015, Second Supplemental EMR & Protective Order was entered in the alleged wrongful death lawsuit of Joanne T. Rauchfuss, Administratrix of the Estate of George William Rauchfuss, Jr., Deceased v. Roger E. Schultz, M.D., Hampton Roads Urology, Riverside Physician Services, Inc., Riverside...
On December 15, 2015, the Court entered 10/13/15 Pilot Program Order on Motion to Reconsider Ruling on Pilot Programs of Defendants, Riverside Physician Services, Inc., Riverside Hospital, Inc., and Riverside Healthcare Association, Inc. in the alleged wrongful death case of Joanne T. Rauchfuss, Administratrix of...
On September 17, 2015, the Virginia Supreme Court addressed res judicata by claim preclusion and by issue preclusion (particularly collateral estoppel) in Lee v. Spoder, a Fairfax County appeal. Id. at 6-13. Notably, it delineated “unfairly prejudicial” evidence. Id. at 13-15. Lee emphasized: “The requirement under...
On November 23, 2015, Newport News Circuit Court drafted and entered its own hearing Order in the medical malpractice case of Nancy Peck v. Riverside Hospital, Inc., Riverside Healthcare Association, Inc., Sunny Freeman, R.N., Mallory Campbell, R.N., and Virginia Dilday, No. CL1400873V-04. It denied the...
On November 18, 2015, Mr. Waterman was selected to 2016 Virginia Super Lawyers. This marks the 8th consecutive time that he has been honored as a Virginia Super Lawyer since 2009. Mr. Waterman again is recognized for his primary practice area – Personal Injury Medical Malpractice:...
Trial is the monthly journal of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association (“ATLA”). It reports notable case outcomes nationwide in “Verdicts and Settlements”. Id. at 8-17. Trial for November, 2015, marquees 2 substantial California motor vehicle accident settlements. In “Unsafe...
The Trial Lawyer is the quarterly journal of the National Trial Lawyers (“NTL”) Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Its issue for Fall 2014 features two articles on motor vehicle accidents. The first is “Fatalities from Truck Accidents are Rise, Yet Industry Wants Congress to Relax Safety Standards”....
The 2016 Edition of “Best Law Firms” by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers again has recognized Mr. Waterman’s law firm. Patten, Wornom, Hatten & Diamonstein, L.C. has been named a “Tier 1” law firm for 2016 too....
Va. Code §8.01-6.1 provides “relation back” and thereby timeliness of a Complaint amendment filed after the statute of limitation has run if: (i) the claim or defense asserted in the amended pleading arose out of the conduct, transaction or occurrence set forth in the original pleading;...
By letter opinion on October 30, 2015, more than 7 years after the underlying medical malpractice alleged, Hampton Circuit Court granted Mr. Waterman’s second Motion for Leave to Amend in the brain injury case of Eason v. Sentara CarePlex Hospital, et al., No. CL12-470, 2015...
During November 6-7, 2015, Mr. Waterman attended the Brain Injury Retreat of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (“VTLA”) in Richmond. The limited-opening program featured lawyers, judges, doctor, and executive experienced in traumatic brain injury cases. In 2010, Mr. Waterman obtained a $6,000,000.00 jury award for a...
On October 23, 2015, Mr. Waterman’s law firm (Patten, Wornom, Hatten & Diamonstein, L.C.) was nominated by the Trial Lawyers Board of Regents for its 2015 Litigator Award for his multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements over the past 5 years. The TLB Regents note that...
On October 30, 2015, Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly online headlined “Med-mal plaintiffs press for complete hospital records,” publicizing companion EMR Orders in Mr. Waterman’s medical malpractice case, No. CL1302754V-04(DP) in Newport News Circuit Court, “Joanne T. Rauchfuss, Administratrix of the Estate of George William Rauchfuss, Jr.,...
The October 2015 issue of Trial, the monthly magazine of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly American Trial lawyers Association (“ATLA”), reports 2 substantial jury awards for vehicle accidents in its “Verdicts & Settlements”. They are “Service of Intoxicated Patron Leads to Fatal DUI...
Trial is the monthly journal of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association (“ATLA”). Its issue for October 2015 is “Professional Negligence”. A lead article in October 2015 Trial is “GETTING TO THE HEART OF WRONGFUL DEATHS IN CATHERIZATIONS LABS.” Id....
On October 5, 2015, the Court handed down its Letter Opinion in the medical malpractice suit Peck v. Riverside Hosp., Inc. No. CL1400873V-04 in Newport News, Virginia. It granted in part and deferred ruling in part on Riverside Defendants’ Motion for Determination of Applicability of...
Newport News Circuit Court entered an Order on October 2, 2015, and issued a Letter Opinion on October 7, 2015, in the medical malpractice lawsuit, Peck v. Riverside Hops. Inc., No. CL1400873V-04. Those rulings granted Mr. Waterman’s Motion to Compel Depositions of Riverside Defendants’ Instructor...
On October 13, 2015, and August 7, 2015, Newport News Circuit Court entered companion EMR Orders sought by Mr. Waterman, which are believed to be the most progressive and the most comprehensive ones for patient electronic medical records in Virginia. Both are in the wrongful...
On October 13, 2015, Newport News Circuit Court denied Riverside Defendants’ Motion to Reconsider Ruling on Pilot Programs in the wrongful death lawsuit of Joanne T. Rauchfuss, Administratrix of the Estate of George William Rauchfuss, Jr., Deceased v. Roger E. Schultz, M.D., Hampton Roads Urology,...
On October 9, 2015, Mr. Waterman was a speaker at the annual conference of Virginia medical malpractice lawyers, which was held in Charlottesville, Virginia. His topic was the discovery of electronic medical records, pilot programs, policies/procedures/protocols, and other ostensibly “privileged” issues. This marks the fourth...
In Federal Court on August 14, 2015, Dr. Okon Umana was sentenced to 2 years in prison and ordered to repay the United States almost $6,500,000.00 in restitution and to forfeit an additional $6,500,000.00 for his role in a $13,000,000.00+ health care fraud scheme against...
On August 17, 2015, Mr. Waterman was named “Lawyer of the Year” for 2016 Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs in southeast Virginia by The Best Lawyers in America. He also was voted “Lawyer of the Year” by his Best Lawyers peers in 2014. Additionally, Mr. Waterman’s...