Personal Injury

October 11, 2021

How confidential settlements serve justice

Why Confidential Settlements are a “Necessary Evil.”

by Gary Brooks Mims

Keeping a settlement agreement confidential is often a prerequisite for the defendant to agree to a settlement. We have settled many cases for millions of dollars, yet the defendant (or its insurer) will insist upon confidentiality and a release that denies liability. Really…you’re paying millions of dollars but deny you were negligent? Obviously, the defendant knows it is liable, but for several reasons, it does not want others to know. For example, a hospital that settles a wrongful death case may not want other potential plaintiffs to know what the hospital is willing to pay under similar circumstances.

August 19, 2021

Best Lawyers in America Honors Frei, Mims and Perushek

by Frei, Mims and Perushek, LLP

Partners Steve Frei and Gary Mims have once again been recognized and named to the peer-reviewed, 28th edition of Best Lawyers in America. Matt Perushek is once again recognized on the Best Lawyers’ “Ones to Watch” list, which premiered in 2021.

Both Frei and Mims have received the Best Lawyers distinction, continuously, since 2007. They are recognized in Personal Injury Litigation and Medical Malpractice Law for plaintiffs.

The Ones to Watch roster recognizes attorneys for outstanding professional excellence in private practice, who are earlier in their careers and typically in practice for five to nine years.

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.

May 13, 2020

“Most Trusted Personal Injury Law Firm – Virginia” Honor Awarded to Frei, Mims and Perushek

by Frei, Mims and Perushek, LLP

Frei, Mims and Perushek has been named “Most Trusted Personal Injury Law Firm – Virginia” by US Business Magazine, in their 2020 Legal Elite Awards program.

Winners for the awards are the result of months of research and analysis by US Business and are chosen on the basis of merit, according to the magazine, which is described as “the definitive magazine for CEOs, top tier management and key decision-makers across the U.S.

“We are proud to have earned the trust of Virginians for medical malpractice and personal injury representation and we are committed to maintaining that trust and achieving justice for our clients,” said Gary Brooks Mims, managing partner.

May 14, 2019

The “Standard of Care” isn’t Standard in Medical Malpractice. Why “Standard of Care” is so critical to your case.

by Gary Brooks Mims

Medicine is a science, yes, but it is also an “art” involving interpretation and analysis. In treating a patient, a physician has to make decisions; decision-making involves weighing available evidence, making a judgment, and choosing a course of action. The challenge for you, if you are a victim pursuing a medical malpractice case, is that your attorney will need to show that your treatment violated the “standard of care.”

The problem is that there is no “standard.”

Some instances of negligence so obviously violate proper care that defendants will stipulate or admit to the violation. An example is when a surgeon operates on the wrong limb, or in one of my cases, on the wrong side of the face. In a case like that, the lawsuit can move forward on the damages caused by the negligence and work toward winning fair compensation for the injured.

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.

August 4, 2015

Sickels, Frei & Mims’ Attorneys Succeed on FTCA Case

by Frei, Mims and Perushek, LLP

CASE RESULTS DEPEND ON A VARIETY FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY THE LAWYERS OR LAW FIRM.

Sickels, Frei & Mims is proud to announce that Chuck Sickels and Matt Perushek have secured a settlement of $495,000 for a Plaintiff in a Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) case.
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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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February 4, 2015

Sickels, Frei & Mims’ Verdict List Among Top of 2014

by Frei, Mims and Perushek, LLP

CASE RESULTS DEPEND ON A VARIETY FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY THE LAWYERS OR LAW FIRM.

Sickels, Frei & Mims is proud to announce that a case handled by Steve Frei and Matt Perushek has been listed as a top verdict of 2014 by two publications. The case involved a brain-injured Plaintiff that ended with a $1.5 million verdict in favor of the Plaintiff.
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January 28, 2015

“I am not the kind of person who sues someone.”

by Frei, Mims and Perushek, LLP

I have been a trial lawyer for 35 years, and over the past 5 years or so, it seems that every client says the same thing in the initial meeting: “I am not the kind of person who sues someone.” It doesn’t seem to matter whether the client suffered a back injury or lost a loved one–people don’t want to be identified as a plaintiff.
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