Blog

 Posted on September 13, 2018 in General

Everyone at Shevlin Smith is pleased to congratulate attorney Thomas G. Smith for being selected as the 2019 Lawyer of the Year for the Metropolitan DC Area. Attorney Smith received this prestigious award for his work in the field of plaintiff's medical malpractice.

The award for Lawyer of the Year for the Metropolitan DC Area is given out by Best Lawyers, a company that asks reputable and experienced lawyers to rate their peers. This marks the third time attorney Smith has been selected as lawyer of the year in the past seven years.

In addition to being recognized as the 2019 Lawyer of the Year for the Metropolitan DC Area, attorney Thomas G. Smith has once again been named as a Super Lawyer in Virginia. Mr. Smith was recognized by Super Lawyers for his accomplishments in the field of medical malpractice. Only the top 5% of lawyers in the state of Virginia are given this honor.

We would also like to congratulate attorney Michael Shevlin, who was selected as a Super Lawyer in Virginia and Washington D.C. Attorney Shevlin was also recognized by Best Lawyers in America.

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 Posted on September 05, 2018 in Firm News

As a Fairfax personal injury firm, we work hard to fight for our clients. We've always sought to provide outstanding representation and counsel that's recognized by both our clients and our peers. So it means a lot to everyone when we're recognized for the excellence we're constantly in pursuit of. And in that spirit, we're extremely proud to announce that attorney Michael J. Shevlin was recently named to the 2018 Super Lawyers list for Washington D.C. and Virginia!

This prestigious honor is awarded to only a small percentage of attorneys in each geographic region for each practice area each year. Super Lawyers is a peer-review award, which means it's given based on feedback collected from other attorneys as well as a thorough and patented research process. This speaks to Attorney Shevlin's outstanding reputation with not only his clients, but also with his peers.

Selection to Super Lawyers

Attorneys are nominated by their peers, a managing partner at their firm, third party feedback, or by the Super Lawyers research team after careful consideration. Eligible attorneys may not nominate themselves and are prohibited from campaigning for nominations. All nominated attorneys are thoroughly researched and evaluated by an independent research team based on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement, including significant verdicts or settlements, professional activity, community service, and even other awards and honors. This research awards each attorney a score

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 Posted on August 29, 2018 in News

Attorney Michael J. Shevlin has prided himself on fighting for his clients, and has earned numerous victories in the form of settlements and verdicts that have recovered millions on their behalf. This has led to a number of awards and accolades that he has accumulated throughout his career. It is with great pleasure we announce yet another accomplishment, as Michael Shevlin has been selected to the Best Lawyers in America® for 2018!

This honor is particularly special in that it is entirely based on peer review, which means his selection demonstrates his outstanding reputation with fellow personal injury attorneys. Specifically, he has been recognized for his work in Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs and Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs. This honor shows just how trusted and respected Michael Shevlin's work has been, particularly amongst other attorneys in the area with whom he regularly works.

This is not the first time that Attorney Michael J. Shevlin has received this honor; in fact, he has been named in this list each year since 2008.

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 Posted on December 11, 2017 in Brain Injuries

When someone suffers a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of a motor vehicle accident, fall, or from an act of medical malpractice, the effects can range from physical trauma to behavioral and emotional changes. Although every brain injury survivor will experience different outcomes due to the location and severity of the brain injury, one common effect of brain injuries is depression.

Defining Depression

Depression is often misunderstood; it is more than experiencing short periods of sadness. Instead, depression doesn't generally pass with time. It is a real medical condition whose symptoms can be debilitating - even affecting a person for life. According to the American Psychiatric Association, depression is "a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act." It is a mood disorder that affects the way a person functions and even handles daily activities.

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 Posted on December 09, 2017 in Birth Injuries

No one ever wants to think about a baby suffering a birth injury, let alone a brain injury that can affect her for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, there are times during labor and delivery when a baby could be deprived of oxygen, which can lead to a birth brain injury like hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).

What Is HIE?

Hypoxic means a lack of oxygen. Ischemic means a low blood flow to vital organs, and encephalopathy means affecting the brain. Thus, HIE is a birth brain injury that is caused by a lack of oxygen. It is sometimes referred to as birth asphyxia (or oxygen deprivation). Sadly, birth asphyxia is the cause of hundreds of thousands of infant deaths around the world and the cause of many disabilities in children. In fact, HIE sometimes leads to cerebral palsy.

How Does HIE Occur?

When the brain is deprived of any amount of oxygen, brain cells can get injured and die off. This can occur during labor and delivery for many reasons such as:

• Prolonged late stages of labor

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 Posted on December 03, 2017 in General

Most of us communicate with many different people throughout the day, never even giving it a second thought. This is because the ability to speak is often taken for granted; however, communicating involves different parts of our brain and is actually rather complex. So it's no wonder that a brain injury can cause communication problems.

During communication, the brain engages in a complicated process to decode what others are saying, determine an appropriate response, and select the words to express the response. Unfortunately, many of the functions that help people communicate properly are damaged during a brain injury.

The severity of the brain injury and the part of the brain affected will determine the extent of the communication challenges a brain injury survivor will experience. For example, here are some ways communication can be negatively affected following a brain injury:

• Spelling, writing and reading. If a certain area of the parietal lobe in the brain is injured, the victim will have difficulty decoding written text or producing words on paper.

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 Posted on December 02, 2017 in Birth Injuries

For some women, labor progresses naturally; however, many women need some form of assistance to move things along. This is why obstetricians are very familiar with labor-inducing drugs and birthing assistance tools. Unfortunately, obstetricians sometimes make bad decisions or fail to monitor the situation carefully and birth injuries can occur, as well as potentially life-threatening problems for the mother.

One situation that can be harmful to the baby and to the mother is uterine rupture. This occurs when a tear goes through all the uterine layers causing the uterus to rupture. Although rare, uterine rupture is real and is a very dangerous labor and delivery complication.

Causes of Uterine Rupture

Women who have previously undergone a cesarean section (C-section) and attempt to have a vaginal birth after a C-section (referred to as a VBAC) are at risk for a uterine rupture. Also, women who have had any type of uterine surgery or removal of fibroids are also at risk. However, there are some cases where there are no risk factors present, but uterine rupture occurs because of a medical mistake, including the following:

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 Posted on December 01, 2017 in Library

After suffering harm at the hands of a negligent doctor or medical professional, you are ready to seek justice, but you might not know who you should turn to or how to find the right attorney for your case. One of the main factors in choosing a lawyer is finding out if that attorney has experience in the field of law you need. There are many attorneys to choose from, but not all of them will have experience practicing medical malpractice law.

Because the laws associated with medical malpractice can be complex, your case outcome will hinge on the experience your attorney can bring to the table. An experienced medical malpractice attorney should have a thorough understanding of the laws and be equipped with the right theories and techniques to use in order to build a strong case. We suggest some questions you can ask of an attorney to verify whether or not that lawyer has the appropriate experience you need. Attend your first meeting with the following questions:

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 Posted on December 01, 2017 in Library

Box trucks are a common site on our roadways and are used to haul goods from one location to another. Whether the products are delivered to consumers or these commercial vehicles are used to move goods between warehouses, box trucks are often traveling on congested roadways-increasing the potential for being involved in traffic accidents.

More About Box Trucks

Box trucks, also known as cube trucks or box vans, are trucks constructed with the cab and bed on the same frame. Although they aren't as big as 18-wheelers, they can still weigh somewhere between 10,000 and 33,000 pounds and range in size from 10 feet to 26 feet in length.

Some of the different types of box trucks we share the roads with include:

• Refrigerated box trucks. These trucks have a refrigeration unit installed for the purpose of hauling perishable goods. Typically, they are used for transporting fruit and other perishable foods between warehouses or they are used when delivering groceries to customers.

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 Posted on November 30, 2017 in Birth Injuries

Giving birth to your baby is one of the most exciting days of your life filled with hope, joy, and love; however, sometimes, things go wrong and the most wonderful experience a parent will have is also marked by trauma. Complications can arise during labor and delivery that require doctors to act quickly and precisely in order to guide the baby out of the birth canal safely. Unfortunately, a doctor can make a critical mistake that can lead to birth injuries and affect the health of a baby for life.

One type of birth injury that is caused by doctor negligence is Klumpke's palsy. Although obstetricians use their hands to help guide babies out of the birthing canal during labor and delivery, they are supposed to know where to place their hands and just how much pressure to use when touching a newborn-just as they are supposed to know how to pull babies out of the womb during a cesarean section delivery. When doctors fail to pull the baby out of the birth canal correctly, a baby can suffer an injury such as Klumpke's palsy. Although this type of birth injury is rare, it does occur.

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