On October 31, 2014, the Virginia Supreme Court upheld the trial court finding police sovereign immunity for “exercised discretion” in McBride v. Bennett, No. 131301, a vehicle accident lawsuit for wrongful death of a victim bicyclist. Id. at *1-10. Two Justices concurred with the majority...
Trial is the monthly publication of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association (“ATLA”). Its issue for November, 2014, focuses on the special cases of product liability, and is entitled “Product Liability: What lurks behind the label?” Four lead articles in...
On October 31, 2014, the Virginia Supreme Court in the ATV-crash case of Lasley v. Hylton, No. 132048, found that “a host owes a child social guest a legal duty to exercise reasonable care for the child’s safety.” Id. at *13. “We also conclude that...
On October 31, 2014, a sharply divided Virginia Supreme Court decided in favor of Plaintiff on rehearing of a wrongful death appeal arising out of a truck-train collision, RGR, LLC v. Settle, No. 130633, upholding a $3,085,205.48 jury verdict. On August 1, 2014, the Court...
Washington Lawyer is the official journal of the District of Columbia Bar. A feature article in its issue for November, 2014, is “A FLAWED RECORD: THE FRAGILITY OF WITNESS MEMORY”. Id. at 22-29. Although the Washington Lawyer article focuses on the special case of fragile witness...
On October 27, 2014, Mr. Waterman was nominated for a Litigator Award by the Trial Lawyer Board of Regents based on his million-dollar settlements and multi-million dollar verdicts in medical malpractice and brain injury cases during the past 5 years. Less than 1% of litigators...
On October 31, 2014, the Virginia Supreme Court issued Fiorucci v. Chinn, No. 131869, affirming a jury verdict in favor of the patient against the doctor for medical malpractice. It held the circuit court did not err in “excluding evidence of the risk of surgery...
On October 24, 2014, the Virginia Supreme Court by Order in Clark v. Health Tech Resources, LLC, Record No. 132042, distinguished its holding in Kocher v. Campbell, 282 Va. 133 (2011) re the standing of a Bankruptcy petitioner to maintain a personal injury action after...
Mr. Waterman’s law firm, Patten, Wornom, Hatten & Diamonstein, L.C., has received a First Tier ranking among “Best Law Firms” in the 2015 Edition of U.S. News & World Report - Best Lawyers. This is a repeat recognition. “Firms included in the 2015 ‘Best Law Firms’...
On Halloween, October 31, 2014, Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Discovery of Riverside Defendants was heard by Newport News Circuit Court in the medical malpractice lawsuit of Joanne T. Rauchfuss, Administratrix v. Roger E. Schultz, M.D., Hampton Roads Urology, Riverside Physician Services, Inc., Riverside Medical Group,...
On October 20, 2014, Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly covered a medical malpractice case of Mr. Waterman under “The Week’s Opinions”. Its headline is “MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: Discovery Ordered in Nursing-Home Patient Fall”. Id. at 17. The case is Snovell v. Williamsburg Facility Operations, LLC d/b/a Consulate Health Care...
On October 15, 2014, Reuters Health headlined online “Malpractice laws that favor doctors fail to cut health costs: study,” https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/15/us-healthcare-costs-malpractice-law-idUSKCN0I42OR20141015;” and National Public Radio broadcast similarly last week. This exposes as baseless the decades-long propaganda of healthcare/insurance interests to the contrary that is designed to...
The Trial Lawyer is the quarterly publication of The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Its issue for Fall 2014 is entitled “The IMMIGRATION DEBACLE”. A feature article involves vehicle crashes: “SECRET DEFENSE TACTICS IN INTERSTATE TRUCKING LITIGATION; HOW DOES YOUR LAW FIRM STACK UP...
On October 17, 2014, Mr. Waterman settled a lawsuit arising out of a two-car crash on 25th Street in Newport News, Virginia. His client was treated by Newport News Emergency Medical Service, Riverside Regional Medical Center, Riverside Emergency Physicians, and Peninsula Radiological Associates for head,...
Trial is the monthly law journal of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association (“ATLA”). Its issue for October, 2014, is entitled “INSURANCE” and subtitled “Are your clients covered?”. Trial’s October lead articles are “The Future of Future Medical Damages,” id....
In medical malpractice cases, hospitals are resisting patient requests for the audit trails and underlying metadata of their electronic medical record. However, Virginia’s Health Records Privacy Act is some good patient authority. It requires: “Health care entitles shall disclose health records to the individual who is...
The Virginia Supreme Court opined in Kohn v. Marquis, No. 131162, on September 12, 2014. It affirmed summary judgment on plea in bar, finding that the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act barred third-party lawsuit for alleged wrongful death. Id. at 9. In Kohn, it was undisputed that...
AAJ’s September 2014 issue of Trial also featured two medical malpractice writings. A lead article is “ETHICAL PITFALLS IN NURSING HOME LITIGATION,” Id. at 16-21; a “Verdicts & Settlements” report is “Failure to Timely Reposition Leg During Surgery,” which touts a $630,000.00 mediated settlement. Id....
Trial is the monthly journal of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association (“ATLA”). Its issue for September 2014 is entitled “Protecting the Vulnerable”. Lead Trial articles are “FIGHTING HAZING IN COURT,” id. at 22-26; “CHANGING THE CULTURE OF BULLYING ONE...
At discovery hearing on September 17, 2014, Mr. Waterman prevailed in the patient fall lawsuit for wrongful death of Snovell v. Williamsburg Facility Operations, LLC D/B/A Consulate Health Care of Williamsburg, No. CL12-4966 in Circuit Court for York County, Virginia; for which an Order was...
On September 19, 2014, the Virginia Supreme Court denied the Petition for Rehearing of Appellee, Honeywell International, Inc., in the double wrongful death case, Harman v. Honeywell Int’l, Inc., No. 130627. Mr. Waterman authored the Brief Amicus Curiae and the Reply Brief Amicus Curiae of...
On September 12, 2014, the Virginia Supreme Court issued Temple v. Mary Washington Hosp., Inc., No. 131754. It did not reach the merits of that medical malpractice appeal re the discoverability of policies and procedures and of metadata. In underlying Temple medical malpractice case, the “trial...
Virginia mandates that in-patient hospitals promulgate, maintain, use, review, and revise policies and procedures. The Virginia Department of Health regulates through the Virginia Administrative Code (“VAC”), which should be admissible in medical malpractice cases. 12 VAC 5-410-200(C)(2)(a), entitled “Organization” requires: “Each hospital department and service shall...
All Virginia nursing facilities are regulated extensively by the Virginia Department of Health through the Virginia Administrative Code [“VAC”], including particularly re policies and procedures. Such Virginia law explicitly requires all nursing facilities to provide residents its policies and procedures merely “upon request”: “Policies shall...
Commonwealth v. Amos, No. 130757, and Maxwell v. Commonwealth, No. 130810, consolidated with Rowe v. Commonwealth, No. 130881, were published by the Virginia Supreme Court on February 27, 2014. All three involve Va. Code §8.01-384(A), the contemporaneous objection exception, as it relates to Va. Sup....
On February 27, 2014, the charitable immunity case of The Byrd Theatre Foundation v. Barnett, No. 130691, was decided by the Virginia Supreme Court. It affirmed the trial court’s holding that defendant Foundation was not entitled charitable immunity. Id. at 1. Byrd Theatre held the dispositive...
On August 25, 2014, Virginia Lawyers Weekly headlined “Judges allow disclosure of medical ‘metadata’,” covering favorable rulings that Mr. Waterman received in a pair of Peninsula patient fall cases, Eason v. Sentara CarePlex Hosp., No. CL12000470, Letter Op. (Hampton May 29, 2014) and Peck v....
On August 21, 2014, the Supreme Court of Kentucky issued Tibbs v. Bunnell, No. 2012-SC-000603-MR, which wrongful death appeal resolved a first impression question on discovery dispute re the proper scope of federal privilege under the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (“PSQIA”)....
On July 30, 2014, Riverside Hospital, Inc. voluntarily agreed to honor a HIPAA Authorization for metadata underlying “text edits” of its electronic medical record shown in its Activity by Medical Record (a/k/a “audit trails”) provided for a deceased patient, a potential wrongful death victim. This...
On August 18, 2014, Mr. Waterman’s peers selected him for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for 2015. His legal recognition is in 2 different practice areas: Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiff and Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiff. Notably, this legal recognition is the 9th...
