Wicomico County (Salisbury)

• S. James Sarbanes
• Kathleen Leonard Beckstead
• Leah Jane Seaton
• Matthew A. Maciarello

Wicomico County District Court Judges:

• Melvin James Jews
• Daniel R. Mumford
• Paula A. Price
• Gerald V. Purnell
• John P. Rue, II

• 2014, Maryland: $2,512,179 Verdict. A 22-year-old girl is diagnosed with stage IV rectal cancer. She passes away two years later, after undergoing surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Her parents file suit in Wicomico County against her physician and his practice for medical malpractice and wrongful death. Three years before this diagnosis, Plaintiff had presented to her doctor with a history of bloody stools a few months earlier. The doctor, not ordering specific tests, diagnosed her with a healing anal fissure. Her parents contend that had he ordered the appropriate procedures, their daughter’s cancer could have been cured, and she would need no further treatment. Defendants contend that nothing they did or failed to do caused and contributed to the patient’s death. The Wicomico County jury disagreed and ordered the parents and the decedent’s estate a combined $2,512,179 award.

• 2014, Maryland $110,000 Verdict: Plaintiff, a 69-year old part-time horse trainer, was hit on the side by the defendant at a rural intersection in Wicomico County.  Plaintiff alleged back injuries with $13k in past medical expenses with a 25% impairment rating.  Defendant claimed that the back problems were degenerative and not the result of the accident. A jury in Wicomico County awarded $110,000 in damages. 

• October 2013, Truck Crash Verdict for $1,026,786.46 Verdict: A man is driving on Norris Twilley Road with his wife riding in the passenger seat. A large semi-tractor towing a bulky seeder is coming from the opposite direction. This particular portion of Norris Twilley Road does not have a shoulder, causing the seeder to protrude about three to five feet into the opposite lane. The man does not see the seeder in tow in his lane and consequently loses control of his vehicle while narrowly trying to avoid it. He attempts to avoid a collision and veers off the road only to slam into a tree. The impact on the tree is so substantial that emergency crews have to cut him from the vehicle. He is treated for multiple injuries and u
  nfortunately loses his right eye. His wife suffers from a broken hip along with other injuries. They sue the driver of the semi-tractor, his employer and the owner of the seeder for negligence and negligent entrustment. The defendants file a counterclaim, stating that the seeder was only 18 to 24 inches over the center line plaintiff’s are at fault for not avoiding the seeder in tow. A Wicomico County jury finds for the plaintiffs and awards them $1,026,786.46
• 2012: Medical Negligence Verdict for $1,228,160. Plaintiff is in the middle of a cardiac procedure when a guide wire used penetrates her aortic valve. Emergency surgery is performed to remove the wire, and Plaintiff suffers a blood clot that subsequently causes neuropathic pain syndrome. Plaintiff alleges the Defendant doctor who performed the procedure did so with excessive force, negligently, and without reasonable care and attention to avoid the injury to the aorta. Defendant doctor denies liability, but a jury returns a verdict for the Plaintiff for $1,228,160. The judge reduces the award amount to $1,000,854 because of Maryland’s cap on noneconomic damages.
• 2009: Medical Malpractice Settlement of $850,000. Doctor cut Plaintiff’s iliac vein and artery, during surgery, causing her additional surgeries and a great deal of pain and suffering. The Law Offices of Miller & Zois handled this case.
• 2008: Medical Negligence Verdict for $2,000,000. Plaintiffs, parents of a 19-day old infant, allege that their pediatrician failed to adequately diagnose their child’s condition that led to the infant’s untimely death. Plaintiffs contact their pediatrician, the Defendant, and inform him that their son has lost weigh since birth. The Defendant doctor relays to the Plaintiffs that their son may be allergic to his formula and suggests changing the formula. Plaintiffs comply, but three days later, they contact the Defendant doctor again to relay that their son has continued to lose weight. The parties converse for 30-45 minutes.  It is determined an additional formula should be tried. The next day, Plaintiffs take their infant son to the ER, and he is airlifted to Johns Hopkins where he dies the next day of sepsis. Plaintiffs allege the Defendant doctor failed to suggest appropriate testing for their son and that if such testing had been done, their son would not have passed. Defendants contend the infant’s death was not a foreseeable event, and that it was the parent’s decision to try a third formula instead of taking the baby to the hospital. A jury deliberated for two and a half hours before awarding the Plaintiffs $2,000,000.