Articles & Insights
Articles
Guides from Peter Anderson on the questions patients and families actually ask. Written for non-lawyers, drawn from 15+ years of trial experience.
SF-95 Mistakes: The Filing Errors That End Federal Tort Claims
The Standard Form 95 is where most Federal Tort Claims Act cases are won or lost, long before a lawsuit is filed. Here are the filing mistakes that quietly kill claims: the missing sum certain, the claim sent to the wrong agency, the form that was mailed but never received in time, and the signature that carried no legal authority.
Dr. Sasa Espino Lawsuits: What Richmond Breast Center Patients Need to Know
Dozens of women have sued Richmond breast surgeon Dr. Sasa Grae Espino, alleging she performed complex breast reconstruction she was not qualified to do. On July 1, 2026, she permanently surrendered her Virginia medical license under a consent order. She denies all negligence. Here is what the public record shows.
AirSculpt Lawsuits: What Patients of Elite Body Sculpture Need to Know
Elite Body Sculpture markets its AirSculpt procedure as gentle and low risk. Since 2023, lawsuits have told a different story: a patient death that ended in a $2.1 million settlement, at least seven suits over the advertising itself, and injury cases from Pennsylvania to Virginia. Here is what the public record shows.
VA Disability Under Section 1151 vs. an FTCA Lawsuit: Two Routes for Veterans Harmed by VA Care
A veteran injured by VA medical care has two separate ways to be compensated: a Section 1151 disability benefits claim inside the VA, and a Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit for money damages. They pay differently, run on different deadlines, and interact through a specific offset rule. Here is how the two compare and how they fit together.
Dr. Dare Ajibade Lawsuits: What Patients Need to Know About the Cosmetic Surgeon's Legal and Regulatory History
Cosmetic surgeon Dr. Dare Ajibade faces multiple lawsuits and Texas Medical Board action, now the subject of a published ABC13 Houston investigation profiling four patients, including two who died. He operated in Houston and in Vienna, Virginia, where a patient died four days after a 2024 liposuction procedure. What the public record shows, and what former patients in the D.C. area and Texas should know.
Sono Bello Lawsuits: What Patients Should Know About the Body Contouring Chain's Litigation Record
Sono Bello has faced more than 60 medical malpractice lawsuits since 2013, including cases involving patient deaths, according to a KFF Health News and NBC News investigation. A $1.8 million wrongful death settlement, sepsis cases in several states, and recurring allegations about post-operative care. What the public record shows, and what former patients should know.
The Philips CPAP Recall: Degraded Foam, 15 Million Devices, and a $1.1 Billion Settlement
Philips recalled roughly 15 million CPAP, BiPAP, and ventilator machines in 2021 because the foam inside them was breaking down into particles and chemicals patients were breathing in every night. Here is what the FDA record actually shows, how the litigation resolved, and how device-defect claims like this one work.
The Medtronic HVAD Recall: What Patients and Families Need to Know
Medtronic pulled the HeartWare HVAD heart pump from the market in June 2021 after years of Class I recalls tied to injuries and deaths. Thousands of patients still carry the device. What the recall record shows, the failure patterns families should look for, and the legal options in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
The Feres Doctrine: Why Active-Duty Servicemembers Cannot Sue for Military Medical Malpractice
A misdiagnosis at a base hospital and the same misdiagnosis at a VA hospital are legally worlds apart. Active-duty servicemembers are barred from suing at all by a 1950 Supreme Court decision. Here is what the Feres doctrine actually blocks, the administrative remedy the Stayskal Act created in its place, and why military dependents and veterans have completely different options.
Mazor X Surgical Robot Malfunctions: What Spine Patients Need to Know
Medtronic's Mazor X robotic guidance system has been recalled four times, most recently in December 2025 for software errors that can misplace surgical instruments during spine surgery. What the FDA record shows, what the injuries look like, and who is liable when the navigation is wrong.
Understanding Medical Malpractice: Your Rights as a Patient
What medical malpractice actually is, the four elements you have to prove, how the standard of care works, and how to tell whether what happened to you might be a viable claim.
FTCA Claims: Suing the Government for Medical Negligence
How Federal Tort Claims Act cases work, why most personal injury firms won't take them, and the procedural traps that end most claims before they reach a courtroom.
Birth Injuries: What the Fetal Monitor Strip Actually Shows
Most birth injury cases turn on the electronic fetal monitor strip. Here is what the strip actually shows, how the three-tier NICHD categorization works, what the new 2025 ACOG guideline changed, and why a child's lifetime needs drive the value of these cases.
Nursing Home Abuse and the Understaffing Problem
Most nursing home injuries are not the work of bad individuals. They are the predictable result of facilities that operate with too few staff for too many residents. Here is what to look for, what federal regulations require, and why the staffing data has become the most important evidence in these cases.
Surgical Errors: Wrong-Site Surgery, Retained Objects, and Post-Op Failures
Surgical errors fall into two broad categories: the dramatic "never events" that should be impossible with proper systems, and the quieter post-operative failures that account for most of the actual harm. Here is what each looks like in the chart.
Diagnostic Errors: When Hours Decide Whether You Live
Diagnostic mistakes cluster around the conditions where they cause the most harm: cancer, stroke, heart attack, and sepsis. Sepsis is the clearest example. Here is what the evidence actually says about how fast antibiotics need to start and what the medical record has to show.
EMR Audit Trails: What Electronic Records Actually Reveal
Modern EHRs log every click. In medical malpractice litigation, audit trails routinely catch backdated entries, copy-forwarded notes, and the time a critical lab result was viewed without anyone acting on it. Here is what hospitals record, what you can get in discovery, and what it shows.
Expert Witnesses: Who They Are, What They Cost, and Why They Decide Cases
Medical malpractice cases live or die on expert testimony. The right expert at $1,200 per hour can win a case the defense thought was unbeatable. The wrong expert can lose a case the chart appeared to win. Here is how the system actually works.
Statute of Limitations: Time Limits for Medical Malpractice Claims
Medical malpractice deadlines are among the strictest in civil law. Here's how the discovery rule works, how statutes of repose can override it, and what the current rules look like in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and FTCA cases.
Medication Errors: Where They Happen and Who Is Responsible
A medication error can happen at any of five steps: prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administering, and monitoring. Liability often involves multiple defendants: the prescribing physician, the dispensing pharmacy, the administering nurse. Here is how the chain breaks down.
Emergency Room Negligence: Triage Failures, Missed Diagnoses, and EMTALA
Emergency rooms operate at the intersection of high acuity, time pressure, and incomplete information. Most ER malpractice cases trace to one of three patterns: triage that misclassified the patient, atypical presentations missed by the workup, or premature discharge of a patient who was not stable.
Hospital-Acquired Infections: The Prevention Bundles That Matter
CLABSI, CAUTI, surgical site infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia each have well-established prevention bundles. When a hospital-acquired infection causes serious harm, the litigation question is whether the bundle was followed and whether the nursing record proves it.
Choosing a Medical Malpractice Attorney: What Actually Matters
Most legal advertising looks the same. Behind it, malpractice firms vary enormously in experience, expert network, financial capacity, and willingness to try cases. Here is what to ask and what to look for.
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