Courts

August 2, 2021

VA Supreme Court denies writ, ending years of legal wrangling in $600k MedMal default judgment case

Ending more than two years of motions and appeals, the Virginia Supreme Court has denied writ for defendant appeals in the firm’s medical malpractice default judgment case.

In December 2018, partner Gary Brooks Mims won a default judgment of $468,000, when Emergency Medical Associates (EMA) failed to respond to the medical malpractice lawsuit. The complaint alleged negligence in the treatment of a woman who had broken her shoulder.

EMA claimed it never received service of the complaint and launched a legal barrage of motions and appeals, delaying resolution of the case and compensation to the victim. Arlington County Circuit Court denied EMA’s motion to set aside the verdict and grant a new trial, which EMA then appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court.

May 26, 2020

How COVID-19 Affects your Virginia Personal Injury Lawsuit

by Frei, Mims and Perushek, LLP

COVID-19 UPDATE: As of Wednesday, June 3, our office is open, staffed, and operational. Phones will be answered. You may also contact us through the Contact page on the website or by email at info@frei.mims.com email or email attorneys directly (addresses found on the attorney profile pages.)

COVID-19 Notice: Our law firm is open and we are working. Due to the pandemic, our lawyers and staff are generally working remotely. Everyone has access to firm email and voice mail. When calling the office, use the firm directory to leave a voice mail message for attorneys or staff. Email addresses are found on the attorney profile pages.

Courthouses are usually packed with people — potential jurors, judges, clerks, attorneys, plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses, sheriffs, bailiffs, court reporters, and many more people who help keep the judicial system operating. In March 2020, the global pandemic forced nearly all judicial processes to come to a halt.

November 7, 2017

VA MedMal Plaintiffs Face Unfair Playing Field due to State Laws

by Frei, Mims and Perushek, LLP

by Gary Brooks Mims

When you think of the law, most of us tend to think in terms like “justice,” “equality,” or “fairness.” Unfortunately, the law is not always fair, nor does everyone receive equal treatment, and often, it does not succeed in meting out “justice.” Virginia medical malpractice law offers at least two examples of this.

The first involves the statute of limitations. Recently, an 18-year old woman came in to the office for a consult. As an infant, she was injured by the negligence of her doctor in a surgery that left her without most of her intestine. She asked me about the statute of limitations.

April 9, 2015

Should Collectibility Matter?

by Frei, Mims and Perushek, LLP

The Supreme Court of Virginia recently issued its opinion in the case Shevlin Smith v. McLaughlin, 769 S.E. 2d 7 (2015). A copy of the opinion can be found here. The Shevlin Smith decision addressed an interesting issue: is the ability to collect a judgment relevant?
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March 16, 2015

What Happens When I Make a Personal Injury Claim?

by Frei, Mims and Perushek, LLP

When I meet with potential clients for the first time, I am frequently asked about the process of making a personal injury claim. This is not surprising. You hire a personal injury attorney to handle the process for you because you do not know how it works. With that said, I think it is important for clients to have a basic understanding of what happens throughout the process, especially since clients often wonder about their involvement once they hire an attorney. In this post, I will give you just that – a summary of what happens when you make a personal injury claim using our firm.
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March 10, 2015

What Are My Options – Courts for Personal Injury Cases in Virginia

by Frei, Mims and Perushek, LLP

Most people do not realize that there are different types of courts in which you can file personal injury cases. Each of these courts has different rules and procedures, and each has advantages and disadvantages for personal injury cases. In this entry, I’ll explain these differences and help you understand which court is best for your case.
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