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...
On April 23, 2019, the Oklahoma Supreme Court held unconstitutional Oklahoma’s statutory cap on noneconomic personal injury damages award “because it singles out for different treatment less than the entire class of similarly situated persons who may sue for bodily injury.” The case is Beason...
On April 11, 2019, the Virginia Supreme Court reaffirmed that since 1877 “Virginia has consistently recognized the collateral source rule in tort cases,” including as to insurance payments, “social security benefits, public and private person payments, unemployment and worker’s compensation benefits, vacation and sick leave...
Senate Bill 1106 passed in 2019 by Virginia’s General Assembly authorizes Virginia to be a signatory of the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact, but is not effective until July 1, 2020 – a 1-year delay. A medical malpractice consequence is Physical Therapists and Physical Therapy Assistants...
Trial is the monthly law journal of American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly American Trial Lawyers Association (“ATLA”). Its April 2019 issue is titled “The Hidden Truth: DRUGS & DEVICES”. This Trial features 5 articles on pharmaceutical litigation, which also may relate to medical malpractice of...
Virginia’s General Assembly in 2019 passed House Bill 1767 and companion Senate Bill 1543. They add to the primary list of statutory beneficiaries under Va. Code §8.01-53(A) in causes of action arising on or after July 1, 2019, parents who received support or services for...
By 9-page letter opinion on April 1, 2019, Loudoun Circuit Court addressed pre-trial issues of “safety rules” and contributing causation in the medical malpractice case of Mangum v. Inova, No. CL-107497. In Mangum, the surgical patient suffered brain injury and resulting wrongful death, for which...
The Trial Lawyer is the quarterly law journal of The National Trial Lawyers (“NTL”) Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Its Spring 2019 issue is emblazoned “BIG PHARMA’S REAL LEGACY.”. The Trial Lawyer’s feature articles expose the prescription drug industry: “BIG PHARMA’s PROFIT PARTY RAGES ON IN 2019,”...
On March 29, 2019, Mr. Waterman speaks at the Annual Convention of the Virginia Trial Lawyer’s Association (“VTLA”) at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia, which commences today. His presentation to the Long-Term Care Section at its luncheon is “Obtaining Ostensibly Privileged Materials – with...
On March 19, 2019, the Supreme Court for the United States held in maritime tort cases that product manufacturers have a duty to warn when their product require incorporation of a part, that the manufacturers know or have reason to know the integrated product likely...
In March, 2019, Kaiser Health News (“KHN”) and Virginia Mercury (“VM”) reported that Medicare reduced payments to 18 Virginia hospitals as a statutory penalty for them resulting in high numbers of “complications” to their patients, such as injuries and infections. The Virginia hospitals sanctioned include...
By unpublished Order on March 14, 2019, the Virginia Supreme Court reversed Fairfax County Circuit Court’s denial of a trial continuance, as an abuse of discretion and “plainly prejudicial” to the rights of the personal injury victim plaintiff in Seeraj-Montague v. Friendly Ride Access, LLC,...
Trial is the monthly legal journal of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly American Trial Lawyer’s Association (ATLA”). Its issue for March 2019 is emblazoned “RUNNING A SMALL [LAW] OFFICE”. March 2019 Trial features 7 vehicle accident cases in its “Verdicts & SETTLEMENTS”. Id. at...
On March 12, 2019, Mr. Waterman settled with USAA Casualty Insurance Company (“USAA”) for $155,000.00 the auto accident claim for personal injuries of a Toano resident victim against a Gloucester resident offending motorist. He filed suit, but ultimately did not have to litigate, against the...
On March 5, 2019, Mr. Waterman settled a Richmond victim’s auto accident claim for personal injuries for the full liability insurance policy coverage limits of the Richmond offending driver, without even filing suit. The 2-car crash occurred on West Broad Street (State Route 250) near...
On February 28, 2019, Riverside Health System provided Mr. Waterman three (3) incident reports – all titled rcare “Original Summary” for Event. Suit for medical malpractice against Riverside is imminent. Mr. Waterman’s law practice focuses on vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, and other cases of wrongful death...
By letter dated February 12, 2019, in response to the medical malpractice Plaintiff’s Subpoena Duces Tecum LeClair Ryan as counsel for third-party Sovah Health Martinsville voluntarily provided to the presiding Judge for in camera review and discretionary production its hospital credentialing materials for one of...
On February 14, 2019, Virginia Court of Appeals Judge Teresa M. Chafin of Lebanon, Virginia, was elected to fill the impending vacancy on the Virginia Supreme Court created by the retirement of by Justice McClanahan, effective September 1, 2019. Judge Chafin’s brother is a member...
By Order entered January 31, 2019, Circuit Court for the City of Richmond, Virginia, granted Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel over objection of Defendant hospital for production of policies and procedures and of training materials. Id. at 1. The medical malpractice case is Battle v. Chippenham...