The Library

Gentry Locke for the Plaintiff Roanoke City Circuit Court Our client had a broken arm in which she had a rod placed to allow the bone to heal. A medical rule is that a doctor must never manipulate a broken bone unless the broken bone has been fully healed for a good amount of time. Even though the rod was relatively recently placed and our client’s broken arm had only healed approximately 30%, the defendant orthopedist chose to remove the rod and then manipulate our client’s arm. As the defendant orthopedist did this, he heard a loud snap and later […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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.

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 […]

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.

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 […]

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 […]