Medical Malpractice News

Maryland,Virgina And DC, Malpactice Tort Reform

The law governing malpractice varies from state to state, but among the goals of tort law are compensation for the victim and deterrence of malpractice. To prevail in court, the injured person must demonstrate that the injury was caused by a health care provider’s negligence. In the context of malpractice, negligence means proving that the provider failed to meet the same standard of care expected of a member of the profession in good standing in the same circumstances, and that the provider’s failure caused the injury that resulted in damage or loss.

To date, the District has not adopted any major changes to its tort law, while both Maryland and Virginia have adopted selected tort reforms with differing approaches. For example, Virginia has a $1.5-million cap on total damages, whereas Maryland caps nonmonetary damages at $575,000. For filing claims, Virginia provides 2 years from the date of the injury with some stated extensions, while Maryland provides 5 years from the date of injury or 3 years from discovery, whichever is earlier. Neither state has amended its collateral source rule. While the District does not have a specific arbitration program for malpractice cases, as do Maryland and Virginia, the courts can order nonbinding arbitration or the parties can agree to binding arbitration.

Please contact us if anyone you know has suffered from debilitating injuries due to medical malpractice in Virginia.

	Did You Know?
	Patients die in hospitals and in care from negligence Between 44,000 and 98,000 people die in hospitals annually each year due to preventable medical errors, the Institute of Medicine found.