Spring 2021
The Right Release is an Important Part of Settlement of a Tort Claim
By Steven J. Parrott
By Steven J. Parrott Choosing the right release is an important part of settling any tort claim asserted against the Insured. In a case where there is only one defendant, and it is unlikely that there will be other parties that will be alleged to have caused the injury, a…
Recent Developments - Maryland
Open and Obvious
In Six Flags America, LP v. Stephanie Gonzalez-Perdomo, a minor invitee was injured after falling on a pedestrian bridge at an amusement park. 2020 Md. App. LEXIS 1178 (2020). The bridge was openly and obviously wet and was near a water ride. The issue before the court of Special Appeals…
“Loss of Chance”
In this medical malpractice case the Plaintiffs argued that when the lower court granted Defendants’ Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict (JNOV) it erroneously applied the principals of “loss of chance,” which is a tort theory that permits recovery for avoiding some adverse result or of a achieving a more…
Recent Developments - Virginia
Mechanical or Structural Change Element of Worker’s Compensation Claims
For almost sixty-five years Virginia’s Supreme Court required workers’ compensation claimants to show, in part, a obvious sudden mechanical or structural change in a part of the body as a result of an occurrence. However, in a 2019 ruling the Court of Appeals (Virginia’s intermediate appellate court) held that a…
Cross-Examination of Expert’s Financial Relationship with Insurers
In Graves v. Shoemaker the Supreme Court potentially widened the scope of inquiry as to the relationship between experts and insurance carriers. The trial court in Graves permitted plaintiff’s counsel to cross-examine a medical expert as to his prior relationship with defense counsel (as defense counsel had retained him in…
Recent Developments - District of Columbia
D.C. Court of Appeals Set to Decide Whether Losses Caused by COVID 19 Lock-downs are Covered Losses Under Commercial Insurance Policies
In a case that is set to have far-reaching implications for businesses and insurers in the District of Columbia, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals is set to decide whether business losses caused by COVID-19 lock-downs are covered losses under business interruption insurance policies. The case comes to the…