Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C. Library

On the page below you can find links to documents, reports, publications and discussions provided by the elder abuse attorneys at Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C.

The documents below are available to the public so that they can gain a better understanding of the legal challenges facing them, and why an experienced attorney is so important for success.

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Library Categories

• Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
• Assisted Living Facilities Lawyers in Virginia
• Pressure Sores
• Restraints in Nursing Homes
• Malnutrition and Dehydration
• Nursing Home Slip and Fall Injuries
• About our Lawyers
• Our Lawyers in the News
• Court Opinions in Cases of our Lawyers
• Medical Malpractice
• Managed Care Abuse
• Nursing Home Liability and Elder Abuse
• Discovery
• General

Court Opinions in Cases of our Lawyers

• Centra Health Inc. t/a Lynchburg General Hospital v. Mullins [PDF]  
  Description: Josh Silverman and Carolyn Lavecchia filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief in this landmark case holding that a plaintiff may pursue alternative remedies in cases where it is disputed whether the defendant's negligence caused non-lethal injuries or if the defendant's negligence was a proximate cause of the patient's death.
• Riverside Hospital v. Johnson (2006) [PDF]  
  Description: Joshua Silverman co-authored an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief in this Virginia Supreme Court case holding that a hospital's incident report is not privileged. The case involved a patient who fell at Riverside Hospital and sustained a hip fracture. The jury returned a verdict of $1,000,000 for the plaintiff.
• Bates v. Commonwealth of Virginia [PDF]  
  Description: In a wrongful death action against the Commonwealth under the Virginia Tort Claims Act, a notice of claim naming a university medical center was sufficient to comply with the requirements of Code § 8.01-195.6 for identification of the "place" where the injury was alleged to have occurred. The trial court erred in sustaining a plea of sovereign immunity and dismissing the claim with prejudice. The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded for further proceedings.
• Chandler v. Graffeo [PDF]  
  Description: Josh Silverman filed a successful amicus curiae brief ("friend of the court") on behalf of the plaintiff in this important medical malpractice case.
• Johnson v. Raviotta (Virginia Supreme Court 2002) [PDF]  
  Description: Tom Williamson and Carolyn Lavecchia successfully argued to the Virginia Supreme Court that malpractice defendants cannot use habit evidence to destroy the protection afforded by the Deadman's Statute to the estate of deceased patients.
• Didato v. Strehler, Virginia Supreme Court (2001)   
  Description: Tom Williamson successfully argued that a pediatrician may owe parents the duty to inform the parents about a child's genetic information to assist the parents in making informed decisions about future child bearing.
• Brooks v. Loehman's Inc. (Virginia Supreme Court 2001) [PDF]  
  Description: Tom Williamson successfully argued to the Virginia Supreme Court that a business owner is liable for a customer's injury although the owner had no notice of a dangerous condition if owner's employee indirectly caused the condition.
• Vaughan, Adm'r v. Southside Cardiology Associates, P.C., Virginia Supreme Court [PDF]  
  Description: Carolyn Lavecchia successfully appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court a trial court's decision that permitted a doctor to rely on his past habits to prove that he was not negligent in treating a patient.
• Ayers v. Mosby, Virginia Supreme Court [PDF]  
  Description: A decision detailing what is necessary to prove a document was signed because of fraud or undue influence.
• Lee v. Bourgeois, Virginia Supreme Court [PDF]  
  Description: Physicians practicing at state operated medical schools are not immune from liability for the negligence of residents assisting in the care of the physicians' patients.
• U.S. v. Swank, U.S. District Court Eastern District of Va. [PDF]  
  Description: The far reaching power of the federal government to freeze the assets of an accused citizen before trial has been afforded the accused is demonstrated.
• Crone v. Richmond Newspapers, Inc. Virginia Supreme Court [PDF]  
  Description: Tom Williamson successfully argued that newspaper distributors were franchisees of the newspaper publisher entitled to protection under the Retail Franchise Act.
• McMunn v. Tatum, Virginia Supreme Court [PDF]  
  Description: Tom Williamson and Carolyn Lavecchia represented the plaintiff in this frequently cited case that determined what an expert witness can tell a jury about the data the expert has relied upon in forming his or her opinions.
• Gray v. Graham, Virginia Supreme Court [PDF]  
  Description: Tom Williamson won his brain injured client's case by convincing the court to admit into evidence statements made by a man who died before trial who was the only witness that could identify the defendant.
• VEPCO v. Winesett, Virginia Supreme Court [PDF]  
  Description: The Virginia Supreme Court affirms a verdict in favor of the estate of a man electrocuted because of the negligent failure of the utility to trim trees growing into its power lines.