On August 2, 2019, Fairfax County Circuit Court held that the Sleepy Hollow nursing facility’s mandatory arbitration provision was unenforceable because it was not executed by the resident patient or his lawful power of attorney at the time. Therefore, the owner Defendant Beverly Enterprises –...
On August 7, 2019, Mr. Waterman was selected by Attorney and Practice Magazine as one of Virginia’s Top 10 Attorneys for 2019....
By Order entered August 13, 2019, a Federal Court in Virginia has reduced the unreasonable deposition fees of Dr. Donald G. “Don” Hope, Reston spine surgeon, from a whopping $2,500.00 for the first 75 minutes and plus $500.00 for each 15 minutes thereafter to “only”...
On August 15, 2019, the Virginia Supreme Court held that a victim stated legally viable claims for personal injury damages against church defendants for criminal sexual abuse perpetrated by church defendants’ deacon, youth leader and drill team coach. A.H. v. Church of God in Christ,...
My client’s medical malpractice case for wrongful death, Snovell v. Williamsburg Facility Operations, LLC, et al., No. CL17008550 in York County Circuit Court has been set for 7-day jury trial during April 13-21, 2020. The suit seeks $4,550,000.00 for the victim family members and estate...
On August 15, 2019, the Virginia Supreme Court opined that an underinsured car crash Defendant was not entitled to any statutory reduction/offset under Va. Code §8.01-35.1 for the settlement amount paid by the victim Plaintiff’s underinsured motorist insurer (“UIM”). The case is Llewellyn v. White,...
On August 15, 2019, Avery T. “Sandy” Waterman, Jr., Esq. again was voted “Lawyer of the Year” by his peers in The Best of America for 2020 for Medical Malpractice Litigation – Plaintiff in Southeast Virginia. This marks the 4th time in 7 years –...
Trial’s August 2019 issue is dedicated to “Medical Negligence”. It features 4 lead articles: “An Obligation to Vet,” which covers negligent credentialing in hospitals, id. at 20-24; “LOCKING IN STANDARDS OF CARE,” which covers deposition questioning of experts, id. at 26-30, and using clinical practice...
On August 1, 2019, Virginia Supreme Court opined on Pleas in Bar, reversing and remanding jury verdict for Plaintiff because of the judge denying Defendant jury trial on its Plea. First, “because [Defendant] had an outstanding plea in bar filed in response to the previous...
By letter opinion dated August 1, 2019, Circuit Court for Augusta County, Virginia denied the medical malpractice Defendant’s “anti-Reptile” motion for protective order, which baselessly and prematurely sought to limit deposition and other discovery about “(1) the applicable standard of care for Plaintiff’s treatment, (2)...
By 63-page Memorandum Opinion on July 23, 2019, a Virginia Federal Court gave its factual findings and legal conclusions supporting a $2,200,000.00 verdict in a medical malpractice suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”). The trial judge found inter alia that Defendant’s primary otolaryngologist...
By scholarly 12-page opinion letter on July 9, 2019, Fairfax County Circuit Court held that email exchanges between counsel constituted the entire settlement contract between the parties and pertained only to the pending lawsuit car wreck between them; and accordingly that the car crash Defendant’s...
On July 8, 2019, Mr. Waterman prevailed at hearing over defense objection on Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Amend in the car crash case of Aarsbergen v. Oliver, No. CL1801084P-11 in Newport News Circuit Court. Grant of the Motion increased the vehicle accident victim’s ad...
Effective July 1, 2019, two new Virginia vehicle laws aim to reduce the occurrence of and/or the personal injuries from car crashes. First, drivers now are prohibited from using hand-held cell phones in work zones, subject to mandatory $250.00 fine for violation. Second, rear-facing car...
The July 2019 issue of Trial highlights two vehicle accident cases in its “Verdicts & SETTLEMENTS”. Id. at 14. “Impaired driver rear-ends van killing child and severely injuring others” marquees a $128,810,000.00 Georgia jury award in 2018 for a family of 6, including a wrongful...
On June 26, 2019, Chesterfield Circuit Court ruled that Michele Gonsman, R.N., was qualified as an expert to testify about electronic medical records for Plaintiff patient in a medical malpractice case. Defendant’s Motion to Exclude was denied....
On June 14, 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court struck down as an unconstitutional violation of the injured victim’s jury trial rights Kansas’ cap on non-economic damages in personal injury and wrongful death cases, which special-interest statute had been passed at the behest of healthcare providers...
On June 17, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States in Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, No. 18-281, upheld the 2018 finding by the Richmond Division of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that the Republican-controlled General Assembly...
At jury trial on June 19, 2018, Circuit Court for the City of Fairfax, Virginia, accepted Michele Gonsman, R.N., as an expert in the “analysis of medical records, the metadata and audit trails relating to those electronic medical records”. The medical malpractice case is Lee...
By Verdict Order entered June 6, 2019, Chesterfield Circuit Court awarded $7,566.65 for expert and other costs associated with appeal pursuant to Va. Code §16.1-113, plus $109.00 taxable costs, on a jury trial award of $45,000.00, in Elephant Insurance’s appeal of a $25,000.00 award at...
On June 4, 2019, Virginia Beach Circuit Court ordered over vigorous defense objections that an audio-recording device be present during defense medical examination of Plaintiff by Defendant’s retained neuropsychiatrist, pursuant to Va. S. Ct. Rule 4:10. Tellingly, defense counsel at hearing bemoaned that the ruling...
Trial’s July 2019 issue is titled “GOING AFTER GOLIATH” and subtitled “Nursing Homes and VICARIOUS LIABILITY”. Its feature article “Find the Missing Link” advocates pursuing nursing home parent corporations that control individual nursing facilities’ conduct. Id. at 18-24. July’s Trial also marquees a car crash case...
In 2016, Congress enacted the 21st Century Cures Act to remedy healthcare providers chronically “blocking” patient access to their own electronic health records (“EHR”) information to which patients are entitled under HIPAA/HITECH. Notably, on March 4, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services...
Mr. Waterman has been retained to represent the victim guest passenger for significant personal injuries arising out of a Middlesex two-car crash this month. The offending motorist was charged with failing to yield before entering a highway....
On May 13, 2019, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against Apple in Apple, Inc. v. Pepper, et al., No. 17-204, affirming that 4 iPhone users who were direct purchasers of iPhone apps from Apple had standing to sue Apple for allegedly unlawfully monopolizing...
Trial is the monthly legal journal of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association (“ATLA”). Its issue for May, 2019, is entitled “INSURANCE”. May’s Trial reports 5 motor vehicle accident cases implicating insurance coverage. “Negligent entrustment” marquees an 18-wheeler truck crash...
On May 9, 2019, a long-time paid campaign staffer of ex-Rep. Scott Taylor was indicted in Virginia Circuit Court by Special Prosecutor on 2 counts of felony election fraud for petition forgery committed while trying unsuccessfully to get Taylor re-elected. Taylor lost to Virginia’s current...
On April 30, 2019, Military Times headlined online: “New measure would allow troops to sue for military malpractice mistakes”. Bipartisan U.S. House of Representative legislation proposes an exception to the Feres Doctrine, 69 year-old precedent barring legal redress, for non-combat treatment/care at major military hospitals...
On April 29, 2019, Daily Press online headlined: “In Hampton Roads nursing homes, low staffing and resident injuries are the norm”. On May 2, 2019, The Virginian-Pilot at Pilot-Online.com headlined under HEALTH & MEDICINE WATCHDOG: “Frequent injuries, low staffing persist in Hampton Roads nursing homes”. The...
On March 28, 2019, by unpublished Order, the Virginia Supreme Court reversed as an “abuse of discretion” Prince William County Circuit Court imposing a $5,000.00 sanction against Plaintiff medical malpractice counsel for supposedly improper expert identification. Id. at 3. “[T]he question of whether an active...