Virginia Injury Law Blog

Virginia residents should be aware that a recent study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services covering the 15 percent of the U.S. population enrolled in Medicare found that each month one out of seven Medicare hospital patients is injured—and an estimated 15,000 are killed—by harmful medical practice. Moreover, treating the consequences of these medical errors cost Medicare approximately $324 million a month, which amounts to 3.5 percent of all Medicare expenditures for inpatient care. Another recent study looked at the incidence of avoidable medical errors across the entire U.S. population and concluded that they affected 1.5 million people and cost the economy $19.5 billion in 2008. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that almost 100,000 Americans now die from hospital-acquired infections alone, most of which are preventable.

These recent studies are in addition to the landmark study conducted over twelve years ago by the Institute of Medicine showing that medical errors in U.S. hospitals kill up to 98,000 Americans a year. In 2000, another estimate in the Journal of the American Medical Association put the total annual death toll at 250,000. It included fatalities resulting from unnecessary surgery, hospital-acquired infections, and other instances of harmful medical practice.

The law firm of Pierce & Thornton specializes in medical malpractice litigation throughout North Carolina and Virginia, including in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Suffolk, and the Eastern Shore. The attorneys at Pierce & Thornton have nearly 50 years of combined experience in litigating all types of medical malpractice cases. They have obtained some of the largest jury verdicts and mediation settlements in Virginia over the past several years. We encourage you to contact our firm if you question the medical care rendered to you, a family member, or friend. If we can help you, we will. Your consultation is free.

A jury in Charlottesville, Virginia recently awarded more than $10.5 million to the family of a woman who died after a concrete mixer truck fell on her car in 2007. The victims were a married couple from southwest Virginia who were travelling on State Route 53 when their car was crushed by a truck owned and operated by Allied Concrete Company. The wife, who was 25 years old at the time, died eight days after the accident. Her husband survived. The driver of the truck later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served 30 days in jail.

The attorneys at the law firm of Pierce & Thornton understand that tragic accidents are an unfortunate part of life. If you or a loved one has been involved in a serious truck, auto or motorcycle accident we can help. Pierce & Thornton has experience and expertise in representing families of those seriously injured or killed by the negligence of other drivers. The lawyers at Pierce & Thornton have obtained some of the largest jury verdicts and mediation settlements in Virginia over the past several years. We can put together a team of qualified investigators and gather the information and data necessary to reconstruct the accident and determine who was at fault. We will consult with all of your health care providers so that we have a complete understanding of the nature and extent of your injuries and how the accident has impacted your life. Call today for an immediate free consultation with one of our truck, auto or motorcycle accident attorneys. The attorneys at Pierce & Thornton handle cases throughout Virginia and North Carolina, including in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Suffolk, and the Eastern Shore. They also associate with other attorneys on significant injury cases throughout the United States.

According to a news reports, the federal government will pay $2.3 million to settle a medical malpractice lawsuit involving a Virginia child born with neurological damage at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center. The parents of the child alleged that inadequate care at the hospital caused their child to be born with developmental disabilities. Specifically, the lawsuit alleged that when the mother was admitted to Portsmouth Naval Hospital with severe cramping in her lower abdomen at 35 weeks pregnant, she was moved to a triage room and connected to a fetal heart monitor that showed abnormalities indicating the fetus was under stress. Instead of notifying a doctor, the staff left her for more than an hour without any intervention. Approximately 2-1/2 hours after she was admitted, doctors performed an emergency cesarean section that showed the placenta had detached from the uterine wall, causing a loss of oxygen to the fetus that led to neurological injuries that are extensive, severe. Unfortunately, the damage to the infant’s brain is permanent.

The law firm of Pierce & Thornton specializes in medical malpractice litigation throughout North Carolina and Virginia, including in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Suffolk, and the Eastern Shore. The attorneys at Pierce & Thornton have nearly 50 years of combined experience in litigating all types of medical malpractice cases, including those against physicians and nurses employed by the federal government. They have obtained some of the largest jury verdicts and mediation settlements in Virginia over the past several years. We encourage you to contact our firm if you question the medical care rendered to you, a family member, or friend. If we can help you, we will. Your consultation is free.

Virginia residents should be aware that a recent study has shown that patients in hospitals where nurses work long hours are much more likely to die of pneumonia and heart attack. In most U.S. hospitals, nurses work 12-hour shifts exclusively, a trend that began during the 1980’s due to nationwide nursing shortages, the authors of the new study explained. The study went on to state that although many nurses like these schedules because of the compressed nature of the work week, the long schedule, as well as shift work in general, leads to sleep deprivation. “Alertness and vigilance required for providing good nursing care depend upon having an adequate duration of quality sleep and rest, and long work hours can impact the quality of nursing care and can increase the potential for error,” an author of the study stated. “Nursing work hours may also be increasing to compensate for decreasing physician work hours in hospitals because the medical profession has taken steps to limit the hours a physician-in-training may work, whereas nursing has not taken similar steps,” the author added. Along with long work hours, the work schedule factor most frequently linked with patient deaths was lack of time off the job.

The law firm of Pierce & Thornton specializes in medical malpractice litigation throughout North Carolina and Virginia, including in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Suffolk, and the Eastern Shore. The attorneys at Pierce & Thornton have nearly 50 years of combined experience in litigating all types of medical malpractice cases, including those involving nursing malpractice. They have obtained some of the largest jury verdicts and mediation settlements in Virginia over the past several years. We encourage you to contact our firm if you question the medical care rendered to you, a family member, or friend. If we can help you, we will. Your consultation is free.

Virginia residents should be aware that according to recently released study, as many as 75 percent of hospital tests are not followed up on and this failure can have serious consequences for patients, including delayed or missed diagnoses and even death. Researchers analyzed 12 international studies and found that between 20 percent and 61 percent of inpatient test results, and between 1 percent and 75 percent of tests on emergency care patients, were not followed up on after patients were discharged. Follow-up was least likely for critical test results and results for patients moving between health care settings, such as from inpatient to outpatient care or to general practice. Rates of missed results were equally high for paper-based records systems, fully electronic systems and those that used a combination of paper and electronic records.

The law firm of Pierce & Thornton specializes in medical malpractice litigation throughout North Carolina and Virginia, including in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Suffolk, and the Eastern Shore. The attorneys at Pierce & Thornton have nearly 50 years of combined experience in litigating all types of medical malpractice cases, including those involving injury or death stemming from a failure to follow up on critical tests. They have obtained some of the largest jury verdicts and mediation settlements in Virginia over the past several years. We encourage you to contact our firm if you question the medical care rendered to you, a family member, or friend. If we can help you, we will. Your consultation is free.

A jury in Norfolk, Virginia recently awarded a doctor beaten by a patient in a Virginia Beach psychiatric clinic a $5.35 million judgment. The award was against Psychiatric Solutions Inc. and First Hospital Corp. of Virginia Beach, the companies that own and operate the Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center, a 100-bed facility on First Colonial Road where the beating happened.

According to court records, the doctor was injured by the patient after the patient accused him of stealing. During trial, the doctor’s lawyer argued that the facility staff members should have known the patient was dangerous and prevented the injury to his client because of the patient’s previous behavior. The patient had earlier confronted the doctor on two separate occasions threatening personal injury before he actually attacked the doctor, fracturing his skull and eye socket and causing a concussion.

The doctor is still only able to work part time, and is not fully recovered. A spokesman for the defendants said that although the companies continue to dispute liability in the matter and might appeal, they are “sorry for [the doctor’s] injuries from the incident.” The judgment includes $5 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages.

Pierce & Thornton has handled numerous personal injury cases throughout North Carolina and Virginia, including cases in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Suffolk, and the Eastern Shore. The attorneys at Pierce & Thornton have nearly 50 years of experience in litigating all types of personal injury cases. They have obtained some of the largest jury verdicts and mediation settlements in Virginia over the past several years. We encourage you to contact our firm if you, a family member, or friend has been injured as a result of someone else’s negligent conduct or behavior. If we can help you, we will. Your consultation is free.

According to a recently released report by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, there are substantially more motorcyclists traveling Virginia’s roads, which has in turn contributed to an increase in fatal accidents involving motorcycles. Since 2001, DMV spokeswoman Melanie Stokes says motorcycle registration in Virginia has jumped by 105 percent. According to the DMV, 38 motorcyclists were killed during the first six months of 2010, which is a 19 percent increase from the same six-month period in 2009. Virginia recorded 71 motorcycle deaths and 1,506 injuries for all of 2009. In order to combat the rise in motorcycle deaths, the DMV is taking steps to better educate new riders to ensure that they are properly trained and licensed.

The attorneys at the law firm of Pierce & Thornton understand that tragic accidents are an unfortunate part of life. If you or a loved one has been involved in a serious motorcycle, auto or truck accident we can help. Pierce & Thornton has experience and expertise in representing families of those seriously injured or killed by the negligence of other drivers. The lawyers at Pierce & Thornton have obtained some of the largest jury verdicts and mediation settlements in Virginia over the past several years. We can put together a team of qualified investigators and gather the information and data necessary to reconstruct the accident and determine who was at fault. We will consult with all of your health care providers so that we have a complete understanding of the nature and extent of your injuries and how the accident has impacted your life. Call today for an immediate free consultation with one of our motorcycle, auto or truck accident attorneys. The attorneys at Pierce & Thornton handle cases throughout Virginia, including in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Suffolk, and the Eastern Shore. They also associate with other attorneys on significant injury cases throughout the United States.

According to the Virginia State Police, five motorists were killed in Virginia over the long July 4th holiday weekend. Troopers also reported responding to 743 traffic crashes over the four-day counting period. Of the fatalities, one occurred in the Hampton Roads area (which is comprised of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Suffolk, and the Eastern Shore), while the other four happened in the counties of Accomack, Fairfax, Nottoway and Rockingham. Three of the victims were not wearing seat belts, and one of the deaths involved a motorcycle. With increased traffic and everyone anxious to get to their vacation destinations, it is extremely important to be careful and take an extra dose of patience while in your vehicle. The beach will be waiting for you when you arrive. And remember, under a new Virginia law that went into effect on July 1, 2010, no texting while driving.

We hope you never need our services. But if you or someone you know does, please know that the attorneys at Pierce & Thornton have experience and expertise in representing Virginia and North Carolina families of those seriously injured or killed by the negligence of car or truck drivers. We can put together a team of qualified investigators and gather the information and data necessary to reconstruct the accident and determine who was at fault. We will consult with all of your health care providers so that we have a complete understanding of the nature and extent of your injuries and how the accident has impacted your life. Call today for an immediate consultation with one of our auto or truck accident attorneys.

According to a recent report, Hampton Roads (which is comprised of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Suffolk, and the Eastern Shore) had the highest number of car accidents that resulted in injury or death in Virginia from 2006 to 2008. On average, there was a traffic accident in the Tidewater region every 19 minutes, and every 2.5 days someone died from one of those auto wrecks. Nearly 8 percent of all crashes in Hampton Roads involved alcohol, with 41 percent of fatal crashes involving alcohol. The leading causes of non-fatal accidents were following too closely, distracted driving and failure to yield; while the leading causes of fatal accidents were distracted driving and speeding. Nationally, Hampton Roads ranked 17th among 26 similar-sized U.S. metropolitan areas in traffic fatality rates.

Tragic accidents are an unfortunate part of life. If you or a loved one has been involved in a serious auto or truck accident we can help. The attorneys at Pierce & Thornton have experience and expertise in representing families of those seriously injured or killed by the negligence of car or truck drivers. We can put together a team of qualified investigators and gather the information and data necessary to reconstruct the accident and determine who was at fault. We will consult with all of your health care providers so that we have a complete understanding of the nature and extent of your injuries and how the accident has impacted your life. Call today for an immediate consultation with one of our auto or truck accident attorneys.

A medical malpractice lawsuit filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), which allows people to sue the federal government for medical malpractice committed at federally funded clinics, was recently decided in favor of the family of a 6-year-old boy who suffered brain damage at birth. As a result of the brain damage injury, the child was rendered a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. The lawsuit was brought in federal court against the U.S. Government because the negligent doctor worked for a federally funded clinic. The $29.1 million verdict will be off-set by a $6.5 million settlement previously reached with the hospital.

Other claims allowed under the FTCA include those brought by dependents of active duty military members (active duty military personnel cannot sue the government for medical negligence at this time) who are injured or die as a result of medical malpractice by military medical personnel. The attorneys at Pierce & Thornton have successfully handled medical negligence cases against the federal government and have experience in federal court, which is where FTCA cases must be filed. If you have questions regarding potential malpractice committed at a VA facility or other federally funded clinics, call one of our attorneys at Pierce & Thornton for a free consultation.

It has been estimated that approximately 1.5 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury every year. Brain injuries often occur in the setting of car or tractor-trailer crashes, but they also can occur in bicycle and motorcycle accidents, slip and falls and medical negligence cases where surgical error or birth injury has occurred. At Pierce & Thornton, we have experience in representing brain injury clients, and we will work to maximize the recovery for our brain injured clients and their families, because the money is often necessary to support the patient and pay for rehabilitation.

The Brain Injury Association of America reports that at least 50,000 of those people die annually from their brain injury while another 80,000 have long-term disabilities with which to contend. The medical cause, diagnosis and treatment of brain injury is a specialized area of medicine, and it is important for the patient to receive necessary neuropsychological testing and training to minimize, if possible, the effects of the brain injury.

Common symptoms of a traumatic brain injury include loss of memory, change in personality, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, severe headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. Often times, these symptoms are misdiagnosed as post-concussion syndrome, when, in fact, the injury is much more significant and long-lasting.