Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer articles in category: Medical Malpractice

Authored by: James C. LewisA recent study, "What We Know About Malpractice Settlements," which appeared in the Iowa Law Review establishes that the likelihood of payment in a malpractice claim against a negligent physician and the amount paid to the injured patient by that negligent physician was "closely related to the merits of the underlying claim of medical negligence." "Tort reformers"...

As a personal injury lawyer at a law firm which handles plaintiff's side, medical malpractice cases, I find the following reported numbers startling: 1. The majority of medical malpractice claims close without payment to the injured person.2. Only 2% of medical malpractice victims make a claim.3. 80% of the time the doctor or the hospital wins in cases that go to jury verdict.How to reconcile...

One of the main kinds of medical malpractice cases are for injuries or wrongful death that occurs as a result of a doctor making a mistake in diagnosis of the patient. Our law firm handles medical malpractice lawsuits in Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC), and elsewhere. So, I bought a new book called How Doctors Think hoping it would help the attorneys I work with continue to be among the best...

Recently, a gastric bypass medical error/wrongful death case was settled for over $800,000.00 on the morning of jury trial in Norfolk, Virginia (VA). The case in the Norfolk Circuit Court involved a 28 year old single mother who had an 8 year old handicapped child. After trying to diet and exercise to lose weight, she agreed to undergo a laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. After the...

As a law firm handling medical malpractice cases in Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC) and in other states, we spend a lot of time on the phone talking to potential clients about their claims of medical error by doctors and hospitals. Many of these client calls are heartbreaking to hear about loved ones who were severely hurt by the mistakes of a health care provider. However, many of the...

There are some circumstances where the law limits your rights or will not allow you to sue a doctor or hospital worker who has committed medical malpractice on you no matter how bad the medical error is. For example, if you wanted to make a claim against the staff at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA), yourinjury attorney will need to look carefully at the question of...

In one of the largest medical malpractice verdicts in U.S. history, a Florida (FL) jury awarded over $200 million to a man who was left brain injured and disabled after emergency room personnel misdiagnosed a stroke as a headache. Ironically, shortly after this malpractice occurred, the Florida (FL) legislature changed their law to impose caps on medical malpractice cases, which would have...

If you can avoid it, do not be in the hospital over a weekend when the less trained and inexperienced staff are in charge. This warning to avoid medical errors by timing your visits to the hospital is particularly true over holiday weekends like July 4th. The reason is simple in my opinion . All medical staff with seniority get off on the weekends and holidays. This leaves fewer experienced...

In the recent past, the federal courts have changed their rules related to discovery to account for electronic information in civil cases such as wrongful death and personal injury files. Discovery is the process by which the injured person can get information and documents from the at fault party who hurt them. Lawyers representing injured people need to focus on these new rules and the...

It is amazing that something as simple as marking the body part to cut on can prevent surgeons and hospitals from harming patients.However, it works. Hospitals have long needed to modernize and standardize their practices to ensure patient safety. A landmark 2000 article and study showed that a hundred thousand patients die each year from medical mistakes in hospitals. This does not even...

A wise, old personal injury attorney once said "The injured person doesn't make any money on appeal."The reason that appeal is bad for the plaintiff is that the best an appellate court can ever do is to reaffirm something good that has already happened in the trial court. If an injured person or a family whose loved one has been killed due to someone else's fault gets a big verdict, the...

John M. Cooper has prepared written materials on the topic of powerful medical evidence presentation at trial to be used at a seminar for other lawyers in Norfolk, VA on October 26, 2006. I will also present live at the class to teach other lawyers about use of medical evidence as a continuing legal education class offered through National Business Institute.After 18 years of practicing...