...

Virginia Medical Malpractice Attorney

If you are searching for an experienced attorney to pursue a medical malpractice case, call or email our office for a free initial consultation, jdowney@jeffdowney.com, or 703-564-7318.  You will speak to an experienced malpractice attorney with over 30 years of experience handling such claims. In fact, Mr. Downey started his career defending such claims for insurance companies.  Now he uses that experience to help victims of medical malpractice pursue claims against healthcare providers for negligence.

Hiring an attorney is probably the most important decision you make in your case, so choose wisely.  You need to distinguish between a good marketer and an attorney with actual trial experience.  When making that decision, consider the following:

  • You pay no attorney’s fees unless we win the case.
  • Our practice is focused on handling medical malpractice and related cases like nursing home abuse and neglect. We have tried numerous cases to verdict, obtaining verdicts of $58 million, $5 million and $1.5 million.
  • Jeffrey Downey started his career as a defense attorney representing insurance companies. Now he uses that experience to benefit his clients.  He handles every case personally and when you call for information on your case, you will always speak to an attorney.
  • Downey is AV rated, was chosen as Washington’s top lawyer and is a published author. He also presents continuing legal education programs where he educates other attorneys about how to pursue negligence and other claim.
  • The Law Office of Jeffrey J. Downey aggressively prosecutes medical malpractice cases to maximize recovery for the clients and also establishes important case precedents that benefit other plaintiffs. Review the case precedents set by the firm here.
  • With extensive experience in the field of medical malpractice, the firm retains highly qualified experts to review and pursue your case. It’s not always easy to find well-qualified medical experts to testify against their peers, but Mr. Downey has been developing a stable of experts for decades.
  • The firm pursues a limited number of cases each year, so Mr. Downey can focus on every case personally, giving his clients the best chance of success. Downey screens cases carefully to assure the best chances of success.
  • Downey is an advocate for improved care. His clients have even testified before the United States Congress regarding substandard care in the industry.

Common Types of Medical and Nursing Malpractice

  1. Failure to diagnose cancer and other conditions. Cancer is a leading cause of death in developing countries, but sometimes healthcare providers fail to diagnose the condition timely or accurately. Many times, cancers are easily treatable if diagnosed early, but delays in such diagnosis can result in unnecessary death. According to the Journal of Clinical Oncology, errors in diagnosing cancer are the most harmful and expensive types of errors. For more information on failing to diagnose cancer, click here. (https://www.jeffdowney.com/failure-to-diagnose-prostate-cancer/)
  2. Pressure wounds or bed sores are a common indication of neglect in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. In fact, assisted living facilities in Virginia should not even be treating patients with significant pressure wounds. Pressure wounds, also known as decubitus ulcers, are caused by unrelieved pressure, usually on the sacrum or heels.   Once the wound is open (a Stage II pressure wound), infections and sepsis can follow.  Sometimes these infections go to the bone (osteomyelitis) and can cause death.  Downey has written extensively about pressure wounds and legal liability for such injuries.
  3. Surgical and Anesthesia Errors – Such cases can include unnecessary surgery or avoidable damage to organs, nerves, or other tissues. Anesthesia errors can cause serious and life-long injuries, including brain damage and anoxic injuries.
  4. Falls causing injury or death. Falls among the elderly are a leading cause of death in the United States.  In the hospital setting, facilities are obligated to assess the fall risk and put in place a fall prevention plan to meet the patient’s needs.  During post-op, when patients are still suffering the effects of anesthesia, vigilant fall prevention is an essential component of the standard of care.  The standard of care is a legal term defining what a reasonably prudent provider would do under the same or similar circumstances.

While not every fall is preventable, with proper care and resident supervision, many falls can be prevented with adequate staffing and care planning.  Unfortunately, facilities are sometimes understaffed, which can contribute to medical malpractice and avoidable outcomes. Falls causing hip and other serious fractures are also associated with high mortality.   For more information on falls in nursing facilities, click here.

  1. Premature Discharge. Medicaid patients and patients without insurance can often face premature discharge because of their insurance status. Premature discharge from an emergency room, without a proper work-up, can result in the failure to diagnose a treatable condition.  Uninsured patients with an evolving heart attack or mini-stroke may not be triaged properly, whereas patients with good insurance could be given every test known to man.  Premature discharges from emergency rooms can result in the failure to diagnose serious and sometimes fatal conditions.
  2. Medication failures or errors.  Sometimes medication errors or other failures to monitor medical conditions (i.e., blood sugar levels for a diabetic) can cause serious injury or death.   However, unless a medication error caused harm, it may not support a lawsuit.    Every medical malpractice claim must establish both negligence and an injury resulting from such negligence.  Without an expert medical review, it may not be clear if a patient was injured from medication errors.  Some the over prescription of opioids, without addressing the potential for addiction, may also support a medical malpractice claim.
  1. Failure to treat or prevent infections, including sepsis. Hospitals can be a breeding ground for certain infectious agents, like MRSA. If there are unsanitary conditions or if certain equipment is not properly sterilized, patients can develop serious infections leading to sepsis or death. If certain conditions like UTIs or wound infections are not timely diagnosed at treated, they can lead to systemic infections and death.
  2. Physical abuse and Neglect. Physical abuse can take the form of hitting or rough handling of residents. It can be committed by staff or other residents.  A hospital must evaluate residents for their potential to harm other residents and prevent resident on resident assaults where such encounters are foreseeable or preventable.

Medical Malpractice Caps

Many states, including Virginia, have caps or limits on what can be recovered in a medical malpractice case.   Under Va. Code section 8.01-581.15, the following apply to all medical malpractice cases involving healthcare providers:

Beware of Mandatory Arbitration Provisions waiving your right to go to Court

In the last decade Virginia and other states have seen a rise in the use of mandatory arbitration provisions buried in long admission agreements.  These provisions typically waive a victim’s ability to file a claim in court, resulting in a loss of your legal rights.  Often the admissions process is confusing for residents, who are often demented and faced with signing numerous documents as part of the admissions process.

Jeff Downey has aggressively challenged the use of these agreements.   Virginia law allows a person to opt out of such agreements, but such an opt out must be done within 60 days of the termination of treatment, or in a wrongful death case, within 60 days of one’s qualification as administrator of the estate. For more information about these mandatory arbitration provisions, click this link.

Statute of Limitations

Every legal claim is subject to a statute of limitations or period in which you must file a lawsuit.

In Virginia that period is two years, but there are various exceptions that might apply, especially where a patient is mentally incapacitated. Also, the continuing treatment rule may also allow a claim to be filed within 2 years of the termination of treatment.

However, if you or a loved one wants to pursue a claim, you should do so quickly to allow your attorney to obtain evidence and information before it is potentially lost.  In most cases the Law Office of Jeffrey Downey will file an evidence preservation letter, requiring the facility to secure evidence that might be routinely destroyed after a period of time, like video and certain types of records which are not maintained in the patient record, i.e., 24 hour nursing reports, a tool used to communicate between shifts.  In addition, before any malpractice case can be filed in Virginia, a Plaintiff must obtain expert certifications supporting the claim.  As it can take months to get records and have them reviewed by qualified experts, it is never a good idea to put off contacting an attorney to investigate and pursue your case.

Contact the Law Office of Jeffrey J. Downey today for a free consultation.  You pay no attorney’s fees unless there is a successful recovery.

We handle medical malpractice cases in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C.

Contact Information:

The Law Office of Jeffrey J. Downey, P.C.

8300 Greensboro Drive,

Suite 500

McLean, VA 22102

Telephone: 703-564-7318

Fax: 703-556-7700

Website: https://www.jeffdowney.com/

Email: Jdowney@jeffdowney.com