Jump to Navigation

Norfolk Personal Injury Law Blog

Child's sex surgery prompts lawsuit

Virginia residents who need sex assignment surgery are often given extensive pre-operative counseling in order to be sure that they understand the implications of this type of operation. Sex assignment surgery is often painful and can result in complications, including psychological harm. A couple in South Carolina is struggling with the reality of their adopted child's sex assignment surgery and have filed a lawsuit for medical malpracticeagainst the doctors and hospital, as well as the state of South Carolina, for what they contend was negligence in performing the procedure.

The child was born with both types of sex organs and was taken from the parents for various reasons. The state of South Carolina became the guardian for the child during the time a doctor began to broach the subject of sex assignment surgery. According to this doctor, the child should be operated on immediately and should be assigned a gender. The decision was made to make the child female, and the surgery was carried out with the collaboration of two of the doctor's colleagues when the child was 16 months old.

Virginia Physician Charged with Involuntary Manslaughter

A Stafford County physician was arrested May 10 for allegedly misusing pain medication prescriptions. The physician is also accused of illegally distributing drugs, obtaining money through false pretenses and one count of involuntary manslaughter. The manslaughter count involves a 41-year-old patient in the doctor's care who died from a drug overdose. According to prosecutors, the physician repeatedly prescribed the patient pain medication despite warning signs of drug abuse.

The state also accuses the physician of negligence in the involuntary manslaughter indictment. This fact could give the patient's immediate family members cause to sue in civil court for medical malpractice. Negligence is an element of personal injury law that proves a medical professional breached the required duty of care to her patient. Currently, there is no civil lawsuit pending against the physician.

Cell phone use and driving can cause accidents

Winter accidents are nothing new in east coast states such as Virginia. However, in the case of one teen driver who hit a snow bank and then drove into oncoming traffic, followed by an SUV slamming into the side of her car, law enforcement officials believed that distracted driving caused the accident. Police found her cell phone after the wreck after she had been taken to a medical facility where she eventually died.

Statistics that include driving and cell phone use are not routinely reported as a cause of car accidents according to the National Safety Council. The underreporting of distracted driving means that advocates who want to improve safety struggle when they try to support laws that will help save lives. In a review of 180 deaths in wrecks between 2009 and 2011, distracted driving was under documented, although all the accidents have strong evidence of cell phone use. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, it was noted in 8 percent, 35 percent and about 50 percent of the cases, respectively. In some of the cases, drivers even confessed to cell phone use during a wreck.

Patient safety at risk when doctors are bullies

Residents of Virginia may not be surprised to learn that while workplace bullies can be found everywhere, when the bully is a surgeon or a nurse, the safety of patients may be at risk. Disruptive behavior can lead to negligent medical care.

In 2008, the Indiana Supreme Court upheld a ruling in the case of a $325,000 settlement awarded to a perfusionist who was traumatized by a cardiac surgeon. A perfusionist is a person who operates heart/lung machines during open-heart surgeries. In this case, a surgeon became so angry at the perfusionist that he screamed and swore at him. The perfusionist was convinced that the surgeon was going to hit him. 

Zombies blamed for multi-vehicle accident

Virginia drivers are sometimes victims of truck collisions, but few have been the victims of an accident as bizarre as the one seen by California Highway Patrol officers in which the truck driver blamed zombies for the crash. The multiple truck accidents took place on a freeway in southern California and sent five people to area hospitals, two with serious injuries.

The truck was stolen at a checkpoint when the driver left a hitchhiker in his cab as he stepped out to fill out forms required by the police. The young rider quickly took over the wheel and raced off down the highway. Police later found that he was taking hallucinogenic drugs and believed zombies were chasing him and clinging to the back of the semi, which was filled with strawberries. 

Settlement for family in medical malpractice case

On March 28, 2011, a 17-year old Virginia girl who was a junior attending Marriotts Ridge High School died from a brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation during oral surgery to remove her wisdom teeth. The teen was in a coma for 10 days before succumbing to her injuries.

Two years later, a civil medical malpractice suit, which was filed in November 2011 by the young girl's parents against the surgeon, anesthesiologist and the medical practitioners who were involved in her surgery, has resulted in a confidential out-of-court settlement.

More adults texting and driving than teens

According to a survey done by AT&T of over 1,000 adult cell phone users and 1,200 drivers between the ages of 15 and 19, 49 percent of adults admit to texting and driving while only 43 percent of teens say they do. This is in spite of the fact that 98 percent of those surveyed admit that doing so is dangerous. Drivers who are texting are 23 times more likely to end up in car accidents than those who don't, but individuals continue to text and drive anyway according to research done by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

The problem only seems to be getting worse. Just three years ago, six out of every 10 people said that they did not text and drive. Today, nearly half of those surveyed said that it was habitual and not just an occasional slip-up. 

Truck driver faces reckless driving charges after I-81 collision

A Saturday afternoon collision involving two tractor-trailers caused injuries to both drivers, serious damage to one of the big rigs and delays on Interstate 81. According to officers investigating the truck accident outside of Groseclose, Virginia, the collision occurred when a 67-year-old New Jersey resident driving one tractor-trailer smashed into the front of another truck, driven by a 30-year-old man from Chicago.

Witnesses reported that the driver of the truck that was hit was attempting to merge back onto the northbound lanes of the Interstate after being pulled over on the shoulder when his cab was struck by the other rig. The driver of that truck was apparently making a sudden lane change, which caused the impact.

Charges pending in car wreck that injured 4, killed 1

Authorities say charges are pending in connection with a single-car wreck that occurred earlier this week in Nelson County, Virginia. Officials say the crash resulted in all five people in the vehicle being taken to the hospital with injuries. Sadly, for a 5-year-old boy, the injuries were too significant. He died.

What likely has investigators most busy right now is trying to determine all the elements that resulted in this horrible tragedy. They know that an 18-year-old female was driving the car at the time the wreck occurred. Information regarding the other three people in the car wasn't readily available at the time this post was written.

New rules on moped safety await Virginia governor's signature

Gas prices continue to rise and with them comes new motivation for people to drive motor vehicles that use less fuel. The use of cars, trucks and motorcycles are already regulated under Virginia state law, but machines such as mopeds, three-wheeled motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles have not been held to the same level of licensing and safety requirements.

That is expected to change when the governor signs Senate Bill 1038. It's not clear when the measure will get inked, but it reportedly is supposed to happen soon. The hope of supporters is that the move will help reduce motor vehicle accidents involving the machines.

Ask Michael A Question

Bold labels are required.

Contact Information
disclaimer.

The use of the Internet or this form for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.

close

Privacy Policy

Free Book Offer:

What You Need To Know About Getting a Fair and Reasonable Settlement

Settle

Follow Us Online:

  • Facebook Logo
  • Twitter Logo
  • Google Plus Logo

Privacy Policy | Business Development Solutions by FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business.