Virginia Injury Attorney Blog

The Trial Lawyer is the quarterly magazine of The National Trial Lawyers, an organization of premier vehicle accident, medical malpractice, and other wrongful death and personal injury lawyers of which Mr. Waterman is a member. Its Winter 2012 issued is titled “Occupy the Courts,” harkening the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Feature articles include “The Commercial Motor Vehicle Equipment Lease Agreement and Defense: You Need to be Aware,” “Medical Spas Acting Beyond Their Expertise: Adverse Complications Resulting in Potential Litigation,” “Hernia Repair Mesh Litigation Ongoing in Spite of Large-Scale Settlements,” and “Yaz – Blockbuster Drug, Blockbuster Lies”. Another article spotlights child abuse.

On March 20, 2012, Circuit Court for the City of Newport News, Virginia, entered a Scheduling Order in the medical malpractice suit of Shirley Frazier Burrell v. Riverside Hospital, Inc., et al., No. CL1101633F-15. Two-week jury trial on the merits is scheduled for November 26-December 7, 2012.

In the Burrell patient fall case, Riverside and its nurse allegedly failed to assess and to intervene properly for the patient being a high fall risk. Riverside already has lost in a similar medical malpractice suit, in which another Newport News jury awarded approximately $1,600,000.00 to a patient fall victim and the Virginia Supreme Court upheld that plaintiff verdict in a precedent-setting decision. Riverside Hosp., Inc. v. Johnson, 272 Va. 518 (2006).

Trial is the monthly magazine for the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly the American Trial Lawyer’s Association (“ATLA”), of which Mr. Waterman has been a member for decades. Its March 2012 issue titled “Countdown to Trial” includes Verdicts & Settlements about crime victims.

One case report is entitled “School Fails to Protect Student from Sexual Abuse”. Another is “Sexual Abuse of Minor”.

In the vehicle accident case of Kocher v. Campbell, 282 Va. 113 (2011), the Virginia Supreme Court addressed the standing of plaintiff to maintain his personal injury suit.

The car collision victim had filed Bankruptcy prior to filing his lawsuit. Kocher held that the action was time-barred because at the time of filing, Trustee had not abandoned the underlying claim from the Bankruptcy estate and the Bankruptcy Court had not exempted the claim from it either.

On March 14, 2012, a jury in Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Virginia, found that Virginia Tech officials were liable for the 2007 fatal mass shooting of 32 on its campus. The jury in Christiansburg awarded $4,000,000.00 to surviving family members for the wrongful deaths of students, Julia Pryde and Erin Peterson.

The Virginia Tech case raises some of the same legal issues pending before the Virginia Supreme Court in Richmond in Mr. Waterman’s brain injury appeal, Burns v. Gagnon, No. 110754 c/w Gagnon v. Burns, No. CL08-572. Common legal points of both crime victim lawsuits include sovereign immunity, gross negligence, special relationship, and legal duty.

Dabney v. Augusta Mutual Ins. Co., 282 Va. 78 (2011) addressed the timeliness of notice to defendant’s insurer. Augusta Mutual asserted that the insured not sending notice until 254 days after being served with the personal injury lawsuit was untimely.

“Given the extenuating circumstances presented in this case, whether Jackson’s notice was timely under the Augusta policy was a question of fact upon which reasonable minds could disagree,” wrote Justice Millette. Id. at 89. Hence Dabney reversed the trial court’s dismissal of the lawsuit and remanded. Id.

In Conger v. Barrett, 280 Va. 627 (2010), the Virginia Supreme Court vindicated Plaintiff’s right to reinstate her wrongful death suit within 1 year of its dismissal under Va. Code Ann. §8.01-335(B). The court rejected the defense assertion that Va. Code Ann. §8.01-244(B) two-year limitation for filing a new action barred reinstatement.

“Conger’s motion to reinstate her earlier case did not create ‘another action’ and therefore is not subject to the limitation period in Code §8.01-244(B),” wrote Justice Mims. Id. at 633. Accordingly, Conger reversed the trial Court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s medical malpractice case. Id.

In Johnson v. Hart, 279 Va. 617, 624 (2010), the Virginia Supreme Court held that counsel did not waive objection to the adverse portion of the judge’s letter opinion by endorsing the Court’s Order “seen and consented to”. Lionizing Va. Code Ann. §8.01-384, the Court explained that there was no “express waiver” as required thereunder, as counsel “clearly stated his opposition to [the adverse] ruling in memoranda” before the Order was entered. Id.
Waiver is claimed by the defense in the brain injury appeal of Mr. Waterman’s $6,100,000.00 Gloucester jury verdict, Burns v. Gagnon, No. 110754 in the Virginia Supreme Court. Oral Argument on the merits of that crime victim case is Wednesday, February 29, 2012.

In the medical malpractice case of Mahone v. Sentara Hospitals, et al., No. CL10-1122 in Circuit Court for the City of Suffolk, Virginia, certain defendants filed Demurrer and Motion for Bill or Particulars while refusing to submit to discovery deposition. On March 6, 2012, Mr. Waterman filed Memoranda in Opposition.

Mahone alleges inter alia that the patient suffered wrongful death because of defendants failing to test, monitor, diagnose, consult, refer, transfer, treat and/or care for TTP. The aforesaid Motions are scheduled for hearing in Court on March 13, 2012.

Mr. Waterman is a proud Co-Sponsor of Jamestown High School’s 11th Annual Swamp Run 5k Run/Walk on March 10, 2012. Please register now through the JHS Athletic Booster Club or Colonial Road Runners to support the school children – first 200 get free commemorative t-shirts!

It features the 5k run, a 5k walk, a 1-mile fun run, and a ¼-mile run for youngsters. The course is the Greensprings Trail at Jamestown High School used for cross-country meets.