Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury Resources and Information
- About Josh Silverman
- Auto Accidents
- Court Opinions in Cases Briefed by Joshua Silverman
- Defective Products
- Discovery
- Medical Malpractice
- Nursing Home Liability and Elder Abuse
Our library contains articles, briefs, and other documents and references with think will be interesting and useful to our visitors.
About Josh Silverman:
Curriculum Vitae of Joshua Silverman
- A description of Joshua Silverman's educational background, court opinions, legal publications, and pro-bono activities.
Auto Accidents:
Brief in Seeking Sanctions Against a Defendant for Destroying Evidence.
- Joshua Silverman filed this brief seeking sanctions against a defendant for destroying evidence in a catastrophic automobile accident in Virginia. Under Virginia law, a person or company that fails to preserve evidence can be sanctioned under a doctrine called spoliation. It applies to both the potential plaintiff and defendant that anticipates or should anticipate litigation. It hits at the importance of contacting a lawyer as soon as you anticipate filing a claim. Your lawyer should take steps to ensure that the evidence is preserved for use in a future case. We regularly send letters to potential defendants advising them to that they must preserve all evidence particularly physical evidence, photographs, surveillance videos, and electronic data such as emails.
Court Opinions in Cases Briefed By Joshua Silverman
Central Health Inc. t/a Lynchburg General Hospital v. Mullins
- Joshua Silverman and Carolyn Lavecchia filed an amicus curiae brief in the Virginia Supreme Court in this landmark medical malpractice case. The Virginia Supreme Court held that a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case can pursue damages for both personal injuries that did not cause the patient's death (survivorship) and sue for wrongful death damages in the same case. Previously the plaintiff would have to choose one theory or the other at the peril that the jury may find that the plaintiff chose the wrong path.
Riverside Hospital v. Johnson (2006)
- Joshua Silverman co-authored an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief in this Virginia Supreme Court case holding that a hospital's incident report is not privileged. The case involved a patient at Riverside Hospital who fell and sustained a hip fracture. The jury returned a verdict of $1,000,000 for the plaintiff. This decision let the way for plaintiffs to obtain critical evidence of a patient's injuries in Virginia hospitals and nursing homes.
Chandler v. Graffeo (Virginia Supreme Court 2004)
- Josh Silverman filed a successful amicus curiae brief ("friend of the court") on behalf of the plaintiff in this important medical malpractice case.
Bates v. Commonwealth of Virginia
- In a wrongful death action against the Commonwealth of Virginia under the Virginia Tort Claims Act, a notice of claim naming a university medical center was sufficient to comply with the requirements of Code �§ 8.01-195.6 for identification of the "place" where the injury was alleged to have occurred. The trial court erred in sustaining a plea of sovereign immunity and dismissing the claim with prejudice. The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded for further proceedings.
Defective Products
Consumer Product Safety Commission
- The CPSC is the go to resource for getting background information about defective products. The CPSC website provides recent press releases on product recalls, it contains lists of recall lawsuits, laws and regulations on safety standards, and injury statistics. This is an exception website to learn more about whether a consumer product has a known safety defect. You can also report an injury to the CPSC from this website.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
- The NHTSA website contains information about airbag recalls, distracted driving, automobile recalls, child safety seats, and 5 star crash ratings. It is one of the first places we go when investigating a products liability case due to a defective automobile.
Products Liability - Legal Information Institute
- For an overview of products liability law, Cornell University sponsors the Legal Information Institute. It contains a general overview of products liability law. Products liability law varies from state to state so this website should only be used for background information. You should always consult an experienced lawyer for advice regarding your situation.
Discovery
- In this medical malpractice case, the patient suffered a severe head injury after falling in the hospital. She died approximately one month later. The trial court ruled that the plaintiffs are permitted to pursue both personal injury and wrongful death claims.
Order Compelling a Podiatrist to Pay Attorneys Fees for Failing to Produce Medical Records
- In Virginia, patients have a right to access their medical records within 15 days of a written request pursuant to Va. Code Ann. Sec. 8.01-413. In this matter, attorney Josh Silverman obtained a Court Order for payment of attorneys fees and costs against a podiatrist who failed to produce our client's complete medical records after numerous requests and a Court issued subpoena.
Medical Malpractice
Centra Health v. Mullins - amicus curiae brief
- When an elderly person is the victim of medical malpractice it is often disputed whether he or she died as a result of medical malpractice or whether the victim suffered personal injuries yet died of natural causes. Attorneys Josh Silverman and Carolyn Lavecchia filed this brief in the Virginia Supreme Court arguing the plaintiff can present both personal injury and wrongful death claims to the jury.
- Josh Silverman co-authored this successful amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief to persuade the Virginia Supreme Court that hospital incident reports must be provided to the plaintiff. In this case, the Virginia Supreme Court held that incident reports that contain medical information are not protected from discovery. The opinion by the Virginia Supreme Court can be found in this library under "Court Opinions in Cases of our Lawyers."
Medical Malpractice Legislation Update
- In 2005, the Virginia General Assembly enacted the most sweeping procedural changes to medical malpractice litigation in years. For injured persons, the most significant change is a new requirement that the plaintiff obtain a certificate from a qualified expert that the defendant breached the standard of care and that the breach of the standard of care caused the plaintiff's injury or death. The linked article describing theses sweeping changes to Virginia law was authored by attorney Joshua Silverman and published in the VTLA Journal.
Nursing Home Liability and Elder Abuse
Pressure Sores and the Law by Joshua Silverman, Esq.
- This article, originally published in the Journal of Legal Nurse Consultants, provides an overview of how an attorney with the assistance of a legal nurse consultant can investigate and prove a pressure sore case against a nursing home. In the article I discuss the federal nursing home regulations, the use of expert witnesses, and compensatory and punitive damages that can be recovered against a nursing home. I also discuss how to recognize when a case against a nursing home is unlikely to be successful.
Revised Guidelines for Nursing Home Inspections
- Virginia nursing homes are subject to random inspections and unannounced inspections in response to a complaint. The Virginia Department of Health is charged with conducting nursing home inspections to ensure compliance with federal regulations. This link takes you to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines for nursing home inspections.
Order Compelling Disclosure of Nursing Home Policies and Procedures
- Nursing homes often refuse to disclose their policies and procedures voluntarily. In most cases we will file a Motion to Compel the defendant to produce the policies and procedures. This link will lead you to a Richmond Circuit Court Order compelling a nursing home to provide the plaintiff with copies of its policies and procedures.
Elder Abuse and Neglect Library
- Silverman Law Firm LC has an online library of resources for victims of elder abuse and neglect at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Our library includes photographs and descriptions of bedsores, our paper on "Pressure Sores and the Law" which was presented to the Mid-Atlantic Wound Care Conference, and an update on changes in medical malpractice law in Virginia published in the Journal of the Virginia Trial Lawyer's Association.
