Health

Good health and safety often depend on accountability. Our health coverage explores how legal issues intersect with medical care, hospital safety, and patient rights in Virginia. We examine medical malpractice, misdiagnosis, unsafe facilities, and healthcare policy changes that affect patients. We also cover public health and community wellness topics.

What Are the Emotional Consequences of a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury is a serious injury that could have long-lasting or permanent effects that influence numerous areas of your life. Victims who sustain a traumatic brain injury usually require intense and ongoing medical care in order to recover. What kinds of mental trauma…

By Eric Washburn

/ 7 May 2023

What Are the Emotional Consequences of a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Waiting to Seek Medical Treatment Can Ruin Your Personal Injury Case

Nearly every one of the arguments insurance adjusters use to deny or minimize settlements for personal injury claims boil down to the schoolyard bully’s taunt of “Aw, ya ain’t hurt all that bad!” Waiting to receive medical care after a traffic accident, slip and fall,…

By Eric Washburn

/ 25 Sep 2019

When a Passerby Is Injured at a Construction Site

National statistics show that the construction industry is considered one of the most dangerous industries to work in because of the high number of workers who sustain injuries and killed each year. But the public needs to also be aware that construction sites also pose…

By Randy Appleton

/ 1 Oct 2018

What Makes Brain Injury Cases Different, and Why That Matters

Brain injuries have many causes, and you should never shrug off any incident that may have damaged your brain. The effects of a fall, car crash, or medication or anesthesia error can be difficult to detect at first but may end up permanently disabling you.…

By Randy Appleton

/ 15 Aug 2018

Recent Court Rulings Open Door for Innovator Liability Lawsuits

There are hundreds of prescription medicines available that greatly improve patients’ quality of life. These drugs are supposed to go through extensive testing before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants approval to the manufacturer to market the drug. Unfortunately, too many of these medic

By Randy Appleton

/ 28 Apr 2018

Deaths of Tom Petty, Prince Connected by Dangerous Opioid Medication

Fentanyl robbed the word of two irreplaceable musical geniuses in less than 18 months. Prince unintentionally overdosed on a combination of fentanyl and the similar, though less-powerful opioid, U-47700 on April 16, 2016. Then, on October 22, 2017, Tom Petty experienced fatal cardiopulmonary arrest

By Richard Shapiro

/ 24 Jan 2018

Deaths of Tom Petty, Prince Connected by Dangerous Opioid Medication

Dangerous Drugs and the Injuries Victims Suffer

Despite the required testing and approval process put in place by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), dangerous drugs still end up on the market and drug recalls take place. Even though clinical trials are supposed to find any safety issues with a drug, consumers…

By Eric Washburn

/ 18 Dec 2017

Safest and Worst Hospitals List Released for North Carolina

In North Carolina, 34 of 78 hospitals earned an A grade for hospital safety, but there were a few that earned Cs and Ds, according to a new survey released by The Leapfrog Group last month. The grades for hospital safety are released every six…

By Randy Appleton

/ 16 Nov 2017

SC Jury Awards Victim’s Family $10 Million in Malpractice Lawsuit

When a medical malpractice claim is filed, it is not uncommon for the physician’s insurance company to offer a settlement to the victim – or the victim’s family if the malpractice killed the victim – in order to avoid litigating the claim in court and…

By Randy Appleton

/ 11 Nov 2017

Elephant Tranquilizer Carfentanil Worsens Opioid Overdose Crisis

As a Virginia dangerous drug attorney, I have tracked the tragic consequences of the overprescribing and illegal sale of powerful prescription painkillers for more than two decades. Doctors, dentists and pharmacists who did too little to limit access to medications like OxyContin (oxycodone) and Vic

By Richard Shapiro

/ 27 Aug 2017

Is Asbestos in Talcum Baby Powder the ‘Crime of the Century’?

Recent health and safety information has arisen with regard to asbestos contamination of common talc baby powder products, including talc products sold by Johnson & Johnson, and other talcum powder products still for sale throughout the United States. During 2016 and 2017, defective product personal

By Richard Shapiro

/ 12 Jun 2017

Federal Efforts to Cap Medical Malpractice Awards Stall

A rare win appears within reach for the “forgotten people” who stand to lose so much if Republicans in Congress succeed in completely repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). H.R. 1215, introduced as companion legislation to the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and…

By Richard Shapiro

/ 8 Jun 2017