This spring, Frei, Mims and Perushek partner Matt Perushek is contributing to online professional development events sponsored by the legal community. At the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association 2021 Tort Law Seminar, Matt is moderating a Q&A session on how bankruptcy might affect a case in the “Protecting Your Client’s Recovery” section. For the Virginia State Bar Association, Matt contributed advice on “tough questions” in a live, interactive continuing legal education course. Matt is active in both organizations, serving on the Board of Governors of the Virginia State Bar’s Young Lawyers Conference and as a member of the VTLA Amicus Committee.
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National Trial Lawyers Names Ben Charlton to Top 40 under 40 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in Virginia
Our firm is proud to announce that our associate attorney Ben Charlton has been selected for inclusion into The National Trial Lawyers’ Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in Virginia, an honor given to only a select group of lawyers for their superior skills and qualifications in the field. Membership in this exclusive organization is by invitation only and is limited to the top 40 attorneys in each state or region who have demonstrated excellence and have achieved outstanding results in their careers in either civil plaintiff or criminal defense law.
With the selection of Ben Charlton by The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40, Mr. Charlton has shown that he exemplifies superior qualifications, leadership skills, and trial results as a trial lawyer. The selection process for this elite honor is based on a multi-phase process which includes peer nominations combined with third party research. As The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40 is an essential source of networking and information for trial attorneys throughout the nation, the final result of the selection process is a credible and comprehensive list of the most outstanding trial lawyers chosen to represent their state or region
Best Lawyers® Honors Frei, Mims and Perushek: Frei Named Lawyer of the Year for Medical Malpractice Law, Washington, D.C.
Fairfax, VA, United States — August 20, 2021 – Frei, Mims and Perushek partner Steven M. Frei was recently voted by his peers as 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” for Medical Malpractice – Plaintiffs law in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region.
Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year,” making this accolade particularly significant. These lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer-review assessments.
Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism, and their integrity.
How COVID-19 Affects your Virginia Personal Injury Lawsuit
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.
The “Causation” Challenge in ED Malpractice Claims
The March 2020 issue of “ED Legal Letter” features a discussion by Gary Brooks Mims on the difficulties of establishing causation in malpractice claims against emergency medical providers. Mims cited as examples several of his cases where the emergency physicians failed to diagnose stroke, resulting in serious injuries. The failure to diagnose the stroke, Mims explained, was clearly negligent but what makes the case difficult is the issue of causation. In the article, he says, “If the ED defense can prove the injury would have happened regardless of the ED physician’s treatment, even if the treatment was negligent, the ED physician would get off because the negligence would not be a proximate cause of the injury.”
“ED Legal Letter” is a monthly publication for “emergency medicine malpractice prevention and risk management. Mims is quoted in the article “Causation Difficult for Plaintiff in ED Malpractice Claim.”
Charles Sickels Retires after 45 Years in Law
The personal injury law firm of Sickels, Frei and Mims today announced that partner Charles Sickels is retiring from the firm at the end of 2019. He has moved to Richmond where he will continue serving selected business clients. The firm also announced that Gary B. Mims will assume the role of managing partner.
In a career that has spanned 45 years, Sickels helped hundreds of people succeed in personal injury cases. Over the years, he also developed special expertise in business law. He has nurtured dozens of small and large business clients to plan and structure their organizations, as well as handle contracts, employment disputes, and commercial transactions. In addition, he served as the registered agent for many organizations doing business in Virginia.
Among Sickels’ many career achievements is a landmark case that ultimately redefined “not to compete” covenants in Virginia. His case, Home Paramount Pest Control v. Rector, is still recognized as a leading decision on post-employment restrictions in Virginia.
What happens if your jury verdict is appealed? A step-by-step look at the civil appeals process under Virginia law.
by Matthew Perushek
You and your attorneys have won! After nearly two years of pre-trial preparation, involving obtaining and reviewing medical records; depositions of witnesses, doctors. and experts; countless motions, meetings, and phone calls, your case was argued and won before a jury of your peers. Finally, it’s over and now, finally, you will receive your just compensation.
VA Supreme Court Affirms Trial Win in Botched Cosmetic Surgery Case
The Virginia Supreme Court has affirmed a trial win by attorneys Gary Brooks Mims and Matthew Perushek, leaving in place the $800,000 jury verdict for a woman who suffered partial blindness after a cosmetic eye procedure. Under Virginia law, plaintiffs are entitled to interest on the verdict amount until the appeal process is completed. In this case, that amounted to an additional $74,000 for the plaintiff.
“While it is unfortunate that my client had to wait more than a year to receive compensation for her serious injury, we are gratified that the high court affirmed the verdict and sent a message that our cross-examination of the expert witnesses was appropriate,” said Mims, a partner with the Fairfax firm of Sickels, Frei and Mims.
Mims’ client was left functionally blind in her right eye after undergoing blepharoplasty to remove excess skin from her upper eyelid. (For more information, see the Case Result.)
Sickels, Frei & Mims Attorneys Named 2020 Best Lawyers
We are proud to announce that Sickels, Frei & Mims partners have once again been named to the Best Lawyers in America list for 2020. Since first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.
The partners were named to this prestigious roster as:
Steven M. Frei: Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs, Medical Malpractice Law-Plaintiffs
Medical errors shouldn’t be hidden: What we can learn from Neil Armstrong’s $6 Million Wrongful Death Case
by Gary Mims
Medical errors can kill. It is only when we know the “how” and the “why” the error happened that the medical community — and the public — can learn from the mistakes. Confidential settlements protect the person or institution that caused the injury, or in astronaut Neil Armstrong’s case, death. Without disclosure, there is no scrutiny. That scrutiny can lead to a process to “fix” what went wrong and thereby prevent a similar error from occurring to someone else. The hospital where Armstrong was treated and then died sought confidentiality to spare itself what would have been widespread negative publicity.
I don’t like confidentiality agreements; they are not good for society as a whole. However, I have to look after the best interest of my client, so when a fair settlement is offered yet tied to confidentiality, I have to advise my clients to do what is in their best interest, which often means accepting the confidentiality terms.