Maryland Medical Malpractice Attorney Blog

This month's Metro Verdicts Monthly provides the median verdict/settlement in Maryland wrongful death cases for victims over the age of 65 is $600,000.

I always caution about misleading figures but this number is beyond misleading (through no fault of MVM). The data measures Maryland wrongful death settlements and verdicts in the last 23 years and ostensibly includes only cases of which Metro Verdicts Monthly is aware and, with respect to wrongful death settlements, it is not just medical malpractice cases and many wrongful death settlements in car accident cases are purely a function of the insurance policies available (sometimes in malpractice cases, too, but much less frequently).

Also, keep in mind this data includes settlements, which apparently reduce the numbers significantly. In another MVM study, juries have over the last 22 years awarded a median award of $1,337,824 involving victims over the age of 65 in Maryland wrongful death cases.

Still, you cannot ignore the fact that all things being equal, wrongful death cases in Maryland involving older plaintiffs are worth less - all things being equal - than younger victims. There is sometimes a small measure of logic to this: the economic damages awarded in a wrongful death lawsuit are going to be statistically less for an older victim than a younger victim.

Continue reading " Wrongful Death Settlements and Verdicts for Older Victims " »

The West Virginia Record has an article on a nursing home lawsuit against Manor Care.

Bedsores in nursing homes almost invariably result from the negligence of the nursing home in their failure to properly care for their residents. Usually, these injuries occur in residents who are partially or completely incapacitated. These patients need care and adjustment to avoid the formation of bedsores.

Obviously, we know the cost of bedsores to the neglected patient: awful pain that can be permanent and even fatal. According to a new study, bedsores are the most costly injury to society, resulting in medical costs of almost $3.9 billion. That's the lifetime income for your 2,000 best friends.

The Baltimore Sun has a short story on the $2.35 million malpractice verdict in Montgomery County against Shady Grove Adventist Hospital.

I wrote last week about the re-trial of a medical malpractice case in Illinois that discussed the issue of juror misconduct. You can find the article on the verdict here.

After that post, the jury reached a defense verdict after about two hours of deliberation.

It is hard to win a case you have already lost on juror misconduct because unless the lawyers dramatically alter their strategy, a pretty good "focus group" has already given their opinion on the case.