As a Virginia Beach, VA, medical malpraactice and personal injury lawyer, I know that doctor mistakes can have life-altering consequences for patients. Recently, improper care by a Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital doctor in Virginia left Jeffrey R. Shield, 57, living in pain 24 hours a day.
Shield went to the Riverside emergency room seeking treatment of “neurological symptoms” on December 26, 2006. Dr. Elizabeth J. Rogers told him he had a migraine and sent him home with instructions to take aspirin. Only two days later, Shield suffered a stroke that left him with a permanent pain syndrome. He is literally in pain for 24 hours a day.
Last week, a Northampton County, Virginia (VA), jury agreed that Rogers failed to properly care for, test, and treat Shield. The patient was awarded $2.3 million. Congratulations to Shield’s attorney, William L. Perkins III, for a job well done.
While the jury award will cover Shield’s resultant medical expenses and ease some of his pain and suffering, it will not undo the grave medical mistake that cost Shield his previous quality of life. Having seen countless medical errors by doctors in my career as a medical malpractice attorney, my deepest sympathy goes out to Shield. I commend the Eastern Shore of Virginia jury on making the right call and helping to do justice. Such verdicts make us all more safe when we get medical care, as they require all doctors to follow the known patient safety rules at all times.
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About the Editors: The Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm, which has offices in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC), edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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