Friday, June 26th, 2015
Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff
A Virginia Court
In September of 2008, the Plaintiff’s father underwent multilevel fusion surgery. The surgery started around 8:00 in the morning and lasted until around 8:00 at night. At the start of the surgery, the Plaintiff contended that her father developed signs and symptoms consistent with renal failure, which would require that the surgery be stopped and additional treatment be administered to correct his condition. The surgery continued and, after it concluded, the Plaintiff’s father was transferred to the ICU.
Sadly, he remained at the hospital in October of 2008 for a total of 32 days, until his death. The Plaintiff contended the death resulted from malpractice on the part of the health care providers involved in the surgery in that they failed to recognize and treat renal failure. She settled the case with one of the physicians involved in the surgery for $700,000 and the remaining parties were dismissed. Attorney Randall J. Trost served as co-counsel in this matter.
Friday, June 12th, 2015
Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff
Roanoke County Court
Our client had foot pain and went to a podiatrist. A general rule of podiatry is that a podiatrist must never inject a broken foot because it can cause a permanent and severely debilitating condition known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (“RSD”), which is now known as complex regional pain syndrome (“CRPS”). The podiatrist assumed that our client’s foot was not broken, even though she had many signs and symptoms of a broken foot, and injected it. A couple of weeks later our client returned to the podiatrist with a foot that was even more painful. Again, the podiatrist assumed that our client’s foot was not broken, even though she had many signs and symptoms of a broken foot, and injected it. Shortly thereafter, our client went to another podiatrist who diagnosed her foot as being broken and discovered that she had developed RSD/CRPS as a result of the prior podiatrist’s injections.
The prior podiatrist’s insurance company refused to accept responsibility for his malpractice, even though the podiatrist wanted the case settled. As a result, our client was forced to go to Court. The Court found that our client’s case had merit to proceed to the jury. The jury of seven individuals from Roanoke County heard five days of evidence and unanimously decided in favor of our client awarding her compensation in the amount of $1.1 million.
Wednesday, June 10th, 2015
Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff
A Virginia Court
The Plaintiff filed suit against her health care providers for failing to timely diagnose her with cancer. The case began in October 2010 when the Plaintiff underwent a screening mammogram to follow up on an abnormality noted on a CT scan performed a month earlier. Because of the abnormality, the Plaintiff should have undergone a diagnostic mammogram, which is a more sensitive test than a screening mammogram and would have focused on the area of the breast where the abnormality was detected. As a result of undergoing the wrong test, the Plaintiff’s cancer went undetected for almost two years. During that time, the cancer grew and the Plaintiff’s prognosis worsened. After filing suit, all parties agreed that the wrong type of mammogram had been performed, which caused a delay in diagnosing her cancer. While the parties disputed the Plaintiff’s prognosis and who was responsible for the Plaintiff undergoing the wrong test, the Plaintiff reached a confidential settlement with two of the Defendants. The Plaintiff voluntarily released other Defendants from the suit after reaching the settlement.
Friday, May 29th, 2015
Gentry Locke for the Defense
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia – Harrisonburg Division
We successfully represented a university in Virginia in a lawsuit by a former department director who raised numerous claims, including discrimination on the basis of race and gender, violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Family Medical Leave Act, and a number of other state and federal laws. The judge termed the complaints a “machine gun spray” of allegations. Following lengthy motions to dismiss and oral argument, the magistrate judge has recommended dismissal of all claims with prejudice.
Thursday, April 23rd, 2015
Gentry Locke for the Defense.
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
Our client, a building industry manufacturer, has successfully persisted in its defense of hostile work environment/sexual harassment claims filed by a former employee. The case was originally dismissed on summary judgment in 2013. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the retaliation claim, but remanded the hostile work environment claim for trial. Following a three-day jury trial in federal court in Roanoke on April 21, 2015, a jury vindicated the employer and dismissed the claim. No appeal has been taken, so after more than two years, the company’s good name has been cleared.
Wednesday, January 28th, 2015
Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff
A Virginia Circuit Court
Our client’s husband was admitted to a rehabilitation facility for treatment following a stroke. He required feeding through a tube in his stomach. While at the rehabilitation facility, the feeding tube became dislodged and was improperly replaced. This resulted in the tube feedings entering the stomach, ultimately causing the death of our client’s husband.
Saturday, November 15th, 2014
Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff
City of Martinsville Court
Our client needed her gallbladder out and went to a general surgeon. A rule with respect to general surgery is that a surgeon cannot clip and cut any anatomy unless the surgeon is positive about the anatomy that he/she is clipping and cutting. There is a procedure known as the “critical view of safety” that, if used appropriately, positively identifies the anatomy that should be clipped and cut while removing a gallbladder. While the general surgeon was removing our client’s gallbladder, she was unsure of the anatomy and did not utilize the “critical view of safety”. As a result of the surgeon’s choices, she clipped and cut the wrong anatomy causing our client to suffer a bile leak in her abdomen. In addition, the general surgeon did not timely diagnose or treat the bile leak so our client had bile leaking into her belly for several days. Eventually, the general surgeon diagnosed our client’s bile leak and our client had to be transported to a level one trauma center due to her critical condition.
The general surgeon’s insurance company, the Doctors’ Company, refused to accept responsibility for the general surgeon’s malpractice. Therefore, our client was forced to proceed to Court. The Court decided that our client’s case had merit to proceed to a jury. A jury of seven persons in the City of Martinsville heard four days of evidence and unanimously found in favor of our client, awarding compensation of $1 million.
Wednesday, May 21st, 2014
Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff.
Tazewell County Circuit Court
Our client underwent a hysterectomy performed by an OB/GYN in July 2008 which resulted in a vesico-vaginal fistula. This caused her to continuously leak urine. The same OB/GYN who performed the hysterectomy tried to correct the fistula surgically, but the surgery failed due to improper technique and not having the appropriate specialist assist with the surgery. Our client leaked urine constantly for the next 6 months until a urologist repaired the fistula. Our client filed suit against the OB/GYN and her professional corporation. The jury deliberated for approximately one hour before returning a verdict for our client in the amount of $387,000 plus prejudgment interest from July 31, 2008 on $300,000 of the verdict.
Friday, May 16th, 2014
Gentry Locke for the Company/Defendant.
Federal Court in Roanoke, followed by Arbitration
Team Carriers, a company based in Covington, Virginia, has prevailed in a labor arbitration case filed against it by the United Steelworkers Union (USW). The litigation began with the USW filing a Complaint in Federal Court in Roanoke. The Court issued a partial preliminary injunction that enjoined the Company from taking certain action until an arbitrator ruled on a grievance filed by the USW against the Company. After the Court announced its preliminary ruling, the USW issued a national press release accusing the Company of “failing to live up to its contractual obligation.”
The parties thereafter selected a labor arbitrator. The Union appeared at the arbitration hearing with two lawyers and five fact witnesses, including a USW International officer based in Pittsburgh. Following the hearing, the parties submitted briefs to the arbitrator. In an Opinion and Award dated April 17, 2014, the arbitrator ruled in the Company’s favor. In so doing, the arbitrator held that the so-called “successorship” clause in the parties’ collective bargaining agreement did not prevent the Company from selling its equipment to a willing buyer. The Union has decided not to appeal the arbitrator’s decision and the lawsuit has now been dismissed.
Read the Dismissal Order
Todd Leeson, a partner with Gentry Locke, served as lead counsel for the Company. Gentry Locke lawyers Mike Finney, Pete Irot, and John Thomas also assisted with various aspects of the case for Team Carriers.
For further information about this case, contact Todd Leeson.
Wednesday, March 19th, 2014
Gentry Locke for the Defense.
Appomattox Circuit Court
The plaintiffs (home owners) filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the defendant mortgage company’s interest in their house. They argued that the lien was obtained by fraud due to a national home mortgaging online system. Represented by Gentry Locke, the defendant, a mortgage company, asked the court to dismiss the case. After briefing and oral argument, the Court dismissed the case permanently, judging that the plaintiffs had failed to state a claim, and that the plaintiffs lacked standing.
