Teen Killed by Overdose of Fentanyl in Seattle
Michael Blankenship was 15 years old when he went to Seattle Children’s Hospital in March for routine dental surgery. Michael was autistic and could not speak. The next morning, Michael’s family found him dead in his bed at home. What happened?
After the dental procedure, Michael had been given a fentanyl patch for pain. Two problems with that: [...]
Virginia Certificate of Merit Statute
Here’s the Virginia statute that requires a Certificate of Merit before serving a defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-20.1
Every motion for judgment, counter claim, or third party claim in a medical malpractice action, at the time the plaintiff requests service of process upon a defendant, or requests a defendant to accept [...]
Does This Medical Malpractice Law Need to be Changed in Virginia?
Before you can serve a medical malpractice lawsuit in Virginia, you must first have a health care provider give you a “certificate of merit,” an opinion that the case has merit. The Supreme Court of State of Washington just struck down its certificate of merit law. I posted the opinion on my firm’s website and also wote [...]