Practice Areas

• Car & Motorcycle Accidents
• Crashes Caused by Trucks
• Medical Malpractice/ Doctor Mistakes
• Railroad Injury/ FELA
• Brain Damage/ Head Injuries
• Wrongful Death
• Slips, Trips & Falls
• Mass Transit (Airline, Train, Bus)
• Dangerous Drugs/ Product Recalls
• All Serious Injuries

HSInjury Blog

Medical Malpractice/Doctor Mistakes

• Malpractice Reform Would Save Little Money, Harm Patients Already Injured
• Surgical Mistake Reportedly Led to Rep. Murtha’s Death
• Prescription Drug Dispensing Error Costs Rite Aid $2.5 Million

view all

Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer

• Wheelchair-Bound Suffolk Woman Hit, Killed While Crossing Street

Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer

• Johnson & Johnson Internal Documents Reveal Unsavory and Potentially Illegal Marketing of Risperdal

Northeast NC Personal Injury Lawyer

• Are You a Victim of a Slip, Trip and Fall Accident?

Firm News

• New Hospital Plans to Decrease Number of Beds, Will Quality Improve?
  Posted on 3/6/2010
• Use of "safe-surgery checklist" could reduce medical mistakes
  Posted on 2/4/2010
• Virginia (VA) Jury Awards $7.5 Million in Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer Case
  Posted on 6/5/2009
• West Virginia Family Files Medical Malpractice Suit For Woman’s High Blood Pressure Death
  Posted on 4/17/2009
• Virginia Pilot Demands That Dangerous Doctors Be Disciplined
  Posted on 4/1/2009

View all

Library

Medical Malpractice/Doctor Mistakes

• Surgical Instruments Left Inside Patients Can Cause Serious Injuries
• Here are some results from our medical malpractice and medical negligence cases. After you've reviewed them, give our firm a call at 1-800-752-0042.
• Medical Mistake in Rehabilitation Center Causes Death in Elderly Woman

View all

print

Va. Medical Malpractice remains ignored. Dangerous doctors still practicing

As a lawyer in a busy personal injury firm which handles many cases involving malpractice I was not surprised to read an article in The Virginian Pilot about Virginia doctors and medical malpractice and the state's failure to discipline them. The article focuses on the fact that Virginia ranks very low among states that are likely to discipline their physicians for malpractice. In case you haven't heard there has been a great deal of publicity lately surrounding a local rheumatologist, Dr. Plotnick, who recently surrendered his license for two years. According to reports, 10 of his patients have died since 2004, 7 from pain killer overdoses.

The lesson here is easy to learn. Our state medical board needs to be more aggressive in disciplining doctors who repeatedly have problems with patients. It is not coincidence that multiple complaints are made against the same doctor. Someone needs to pay more attention to those complaints to make sure patients are not in danger. Like many states, Virginia uses a complaint-based system to discipline doctors. The state Board of Medicine receives thousands of complaints every year, and it can be difficult to ferret out the relatively few cases in which patients are being gravely harmed. This is uncacceptable. The potential for severe injuries warrants a more thorough review of these complaints.

Most doctors will tell you that is unlikely for a doctor to report another doctor's misconduct. Therefore, most of the complaints come from patients. Many health care entities - doctors, hospitals, malpractice insurers - are required by law to report suspected malpractice. But pharmacists who are asked to fill questionable prescriptions are not required

As a patient you must look out for your best interest. We put a lot of trust into our health care providers and sometimes they lose that trust. If you have been injured as a result of a doctor's malpractice, contact our firm for a free consultation.

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the Northeast North Carolina (NC) border, practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. The firm's website is: hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

How should you locate the best, top injury lawyer for your case?

Our Injury Lawyers Have Been Selected For Many Achievements Outlined Below:

Several  Injury Attorneys With Our Firm have been Named As Virginia "Super Lawyers" For Personal Injury Law  (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009 Ed.)(Less than 5% of Outstanding Lawyers are Chosen); also selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009); named among the Top 100 Lawyers in Virginia by ATLA (Shapiro - 2009), and our law firm was the first Injury Law Firm in Virginia Invited to Join Primerus, a select group of Highly Ethical, Respected Law Firms .

In October, 2000 our law firm and co-counsel obtained, what was then, the largest record verdict in Virginia's history for an injured person (46 Million Dollar Verdict, with Interest, 60 Million Dollars, Settled confidentially during appeal).  Click on any icon for more details.

 

Geographical Areas:

Our personal injury lawyers handle personal injury cases throughout the eastern USA, and work closely with lawyers in other states on signficant injury cases.

As to Virginia (VA), this includes: Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Richmond (entire area), Petersburg, Roanoke/Salem, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, all areas of the Eastern Shore, including Accomack, Onancock, Chincoteauge, Wachapreague, and Cape Charles, Bloxom, Eastville, Exmore, Greenbackville, Machipongo, Mappsville, Melfa, Nassawadox, Onley, Tangier, Temperanceville, Wachapreague, and Wallops Island, Ashland, Big Stone Gap and any other city/ounty.

As to West Virginia (WV) personal injury claims: Bluefield, Beckley, Bridgeport, Charles Town, Charleston, Fairmont, Huntington, Lewisburg, Madison, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville, Parkersburg, Ripley, Sutton, Weirton, Wheeling, and any other town or county.

Injury Lawyers licensed in VA, WV, NC, SC, KY & Wash., DC.

Quick Contact

We Welcome
Lawyer Referrals
click here

Case Results

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE NOTE THAT EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT, AND THE VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS MENTIONED ON THIS WEBSITE, WHILE ACCURATE, DO NOT REPRESENT WHAT WE MAY OBTAIN FOR YOU IN YOUR CASE.

Medical Malpractice/Doctor Mistakes

• Retained Surgical Sponge and Subsequent Complications

Awarded: $425,000.00 Settlement

• Failed Back Surgery

Awarded: The case was settled before the trial for 1.25 million dollars.

• Failure to Diagnose/ER Doctor/vascular incident (aortic aneurysim)

Awarded: $700,000.00

• Gastric Bypass (stomach stapling) Surgery complications

Awarded: $550,000.00 settlement during mediation.

• Gallbladder Surgery Error

Awarded: $425,000

More

FAQs

Medical Malpractice/Doctor Mistakes

• A family member died in a nursing home, and after talking with members of the staff, it sounds like they died due to nursing home neglect. Should I get a lawyer?
  
  
• I have a feeling something is wrong at my family member's nursing home. What should I do if I suspect nursing home abuse or neglect?
  
  
• A family member died in a nursing home, and after talking with members of the staff, it sounds like they died due to nursing home neglect. Should I get a lawyer?
  
  

• What is the Virginia (VA) statute of limitations for personal injury in a medical malpractice case?

• What is the Virginia Medical Malpractice Cap and What Does It Mean to a Patient Injured by a Medical Mistake?

more

InjuryBoard Resources

• Our Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
• Our Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
• Nationwide Personal Injury Lawyer Blog Network
• All About Tort Reform
• Our Northeast North Carolina (NC) Personal Injury Lawyer Blog