Top Rated Medical Malpractice Attorney in Washington, DC

Honors/Awards:

• Irish Legal 100 (Top Irish-American lawyers in United States), 2009
• Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2008
• Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Lawyers in America, 2007
• Frederick Abramson Award, D.C. Bar, (pro bono service), June, 1998
• Lawyer of the Year, Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, DC, 1995
• American Academy of Family Physicians, 2nd Prize, 1981
• Women in Communications, Clarion Award, 1980
• National Headliners Club Award, 1980
• Sigma Delta Chi, Distinguished Service Award, 1980
• Gavel Award, American Bar Association, 1980
• The Newspaper Guild, Heywood Broun Award, 1980
• Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, 2008
• Other Journalism Awards: Florida Medical Association, Best Newspaper Medical Writer in the State, 1980 and 1981
• Journalism Awards (Prior to Legal Career): Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for a Series of Articles Co-Authored on "Dangerous Doctors"
• C. LaRue Munson Prize for Legal Clinic Work, Yale Law School
• Harlan Fiske Stone Prize and Potter Stewart Prize for Best Moot Court Efforts, Yale Law School
• Martindale-Hubbell: "AV" Rated (Top Rating)
• The Best Lawyers in America, 2006 - Present

Special Licenses/Certifications:

• Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate, National Institute of Trial Advocacy, 1999 - Present

Bar/Professional Activity:

• Virginia, 1986
• District of Columbia, 1986
• Maryland, 1985
• American Association for Justice, Board of Governors, 2011 - 
• President, The Counsellors, 2002 - 2003
• Public Justice
• Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
• Maryland Association for Justice
• American Association for Justice
• Virginia State Bar
• The District of Columbia Bar
• Maryland State Bar Association
• Member, Inner Circle of Advocates, 2003 - Present
• Member, American Law Institute, 2000 - Present
• Member, Subcommittee on Education, Court-Appointed Scientific Experts (CASE) Project
• Co-Chair, Education Committee, Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., 1997 - 2001
• Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C, 1994 - 2006
• Sustaining Member, Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.
• Board of Governors, Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., 1990 - Present
• President, Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., 2005 - 2006
• Representative, Law and Science Academy, Einstein Institute for Science, Health and the Courts, D.C. Bar, 2001 - 2003
• Co-Chair, Steering Committee, D.C. Bar, Injury to Persons & Property Section, 1996 - 1997
• Member, Science, Technology and Law Panel, National Academy of Sciences, 2000 - 2006

Pro bono/Community Service:

• Board of Trustees, Monsignor Smyth Fund, Blessed Sacrament parish, Washington, D.C.
• Chair, Loyola Retreat House, Faulkner, Md., 1999 - 2001
• Board of Trustees, Loyola Retreat House, Faulkner, Md., 1996 - 2005
• Volunteer Lawyer, Legal Counsel for the Elderly
• Volunteer, Monthly Legal Clinic, Bread for the City, 1997 - Present
• Regularly participates in DC Bar pro bono clinic for homeless people

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

• "Unethical Secret Settlements: Just Say No,” (Co-Author), Trial, 2010
• Rules of the Road: A Plaintiff Lawyer's Guide to Proving Liability, (Co-Author), Trial Guides, Second Edition, 2010
• "What Aristotle Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion", Brain Injury Association of America, Executives Conference, 2010
• "Why Secret Settlements Are Unethical", American Association for Justice Teleseminar, 2010
• "New Techniques for Winning Cases with the 'Rules Of The Road' Method", Pennsylvania Association for Justice, Bedford Springs, PA, 2010
• "Why Secret Settlements Are Unethical", American Association For Justice Annual Convention, Vancouver, B.C., 2010
• "Proving Subtle Brain Damage In A Child", American Association for Justice Annual Convention, Vancouver, B.C., 2010
• The Life You Save: Nine Steps to Finding the Best Medical Care and Avoiding the Worst, De Capo Lifelong, 2009
• "Important Case Law You Must Know About", D.C. Trial Lawyers Association, 2009
• "Rules of the Road", Joint Meeting of Maryland and D.C. Trial Lawyers Associations, Washington, D.C., 2009
• "Rules of the Road in Brain Injury Cases", Brain Injury Association of America, Las Vegas, 2009
• "Rules of the Road: Advanced Techniques", Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, Indianapolis, 2009
• "Rules of the Road", Atlantic Provinces (Canada) Trial Lawyers Association, St. John's, Newfoundland, 2009
• "Rules of the Road in Railroad Crossing Cases", American Association for Justice, Annual Convention, San Francisco, 2009
• "Improving Our Image with Good Works," (Two Talks at Medical Negligence and Professional Liability Meetings), American Association for Justice, Annual Convention, San Francisco, 2009
• "Forgiveness: A New Frontier for Trial Lawyers", Inner Circle of Advocates, Philadelphia, 2009
• "Rules of the Road for Cross-Examining Expert Witnesses", Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Richmond, 2009
• "New Thoughts on 'Reptilian' Psychology", Etheridge Society, Charlottesville, VA, 2009
• "Mega-Seminar: Rules of the Road", American Association for Justice, Las Vegas, 2009
• "Appellate Case Review", District of Columbia Superior Court, Civil Trial Judges, 2009
• "Lessons for Trial Lawyers from Lincoln's Second Inaugural Speech", Litigation, 2008
• "Rules of the Road", AAJ-New Jersey Boardwalk Convention, Atlantic City, 2008
• "Rules Of The Road In Professional Negligence Cases", American Association for Justice, Annual Convention, Philadelphia, 2008
• "Rules of the Road", Ohio Association for Justice, Cleveland, 2008
• "Rules of the Road - Refining the Rules", American Association for Justice, Las Vegas, 2008
• "New Appellate Cases", District of Columbia Superior Court, Civil Trial Judges, 2008
• Litigation Magazine: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Speech: Lessons for Trial Lawyers, Summer, 2008
• "Rules of the Road", Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, Greenbrier Hotel, W.VA, 2007
• "Rules of the Road", North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers Annual Convention, Sunrise Beach, N.C., 2007
• "Lessons For Trial Lawyers From Lincoln's Greatest Speech", Inner Circle of Advocates, Boston, 2007
• Reversals - The Latest Case Law, District of Columbia Superior Court, Civil Trial Judges, 2007
• Maryland Tort Damages (Chapter on Admissibility of Expert Testimony), MICPEL, 2006
• Rules of the Road, D.C. Trial Lawyers Association Spring Seminar, Washington, D.C., 2006
• "Closing Argument on Wrongful Death Damages", Inner Circle of Advocates, Seattle, WA, 2006
• "Successful Wrongful Death Damages Arguments", Etheridge Society, Charlottesville, VA, 2006
• "Avoiding Reversal and Other Pitfalls", District of Columbia Superior Court, Civil Trial Judges, 2006
• "Rules of the Road", Kansas Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, Kansas City, 2006
• "Rules of the Road: A Plaintiff Lawyer's Guide to Proving Liability", America Association for Justice, "Weekend with the Stars," New York City, 2006
• Rules of the Road: A Plaintiff Lawyer's Guide to Proving Liability, by Rick Friedman and Patrick Malone, Trial Guides, 2006
• Panel Discussion on Voir Dire and the Batson Rule, D.C. Judicial Conference, 2005
• Seminar Moderator, Daubert Litigation Group, AAJ, Toronto, 2005
• "Confessions of a Recovering Power Point-Aholic", American Association for Justice, Toronto, 2005
• "Motions Practice in Big Cases", Inner Circle of Advocates, New York City, 2005
• "Peril and Promise: Expert Witnesses in Medical Malpractice Cases Face the Daubert/Frye Admissibility Tests", American Association for Justice, Arlington, Virginia, 2005
• "Reversed! Avoiding Trouble with the D.C. Court of Appeals", District of Columbia Superior Court, Civil Calendar Trial Judges, 2005
• "Medical Malpractice in Managing Diabetes", Trial, 2004
• Program Chair, "Non-Verbal Communication Skills", Trial Lawyers Assn of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., 2004
• "Key Visual Technology for the Courtroom", Trial Lawyers Assn of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., 2004
• "Do-It-Yourself Demonstrative Evidence with Your Own Computer", Inner Circle of Advocates, Dana Point, California, 2004
• "Reversed! A Tour through D.C. Case Law for Trial Judges", District of Columbia Civil Calendar Trial Judges, 2004
• "Working with Experts in the Daubert Era", Trial, 2003
• "Saving Your Expert from Death by Daubert", Delaware Trial Lawyers Association, February 21, 2003
• "Power Point for Litigators, Basic and Advanced Techniques", National Organization of Lawyers for Education Associations, Boston, May 29, 2003
• "Choosing and Working with Expert Witnesses", ALI-ABA Medical Malpractice Seminar, Philadelphia, June 6, 2003
• "Advanced Techniques with Power Point", American Association for Justice Annual Convention, San Francisco, July 19, 2003
• Seminar, "Winning with Technology: Creating Persuasive Courtroom Presentations", District of Columbia Judicial and Bar Conference, April 19, 2002
• "Power Point for Plaintiffs' Lawyers", Etheridge Society, Richmond, VA, October 11, 2002
• "Visualizing Your Case at Trial: Openings, Closings and Everything In Between", D.C. Bar Seminar on "Winning with Technology", November 1, 2002
• "Power Point", District of Columbia Judicial Conference, 2001
• Injuries Caused By Drugs, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, 2001
• "Powerful Opening and Closing Statements with Power Point", Delaware Trial Lawyers Association, June 9, 2001
• "Power Point for Trial Lawyers", D.C. Bar, October 22, 2001
• Maryland Tort Damages (Chapter on Admissibility of Expert Testimony), MICPEL, 2000
• "Love-Hate Relationship: Expert Witnesses and the D.C. Court of Appeals", The Washington Lawyer, 1998
• "The Role of FDA Approval in Drug Cases", Trial, 1998
• "A Trial Lawyer Sings Psalms", Litigation, 1997
• "Discovery in Pharmaceutical Products Liability Cases", Trial, 1996
• "Anesthesia: How Safe Is It?", 1992
• "Granting Informed Consent", 1990
• "Is It Malpractice?", 1988
• "Your Medical Records: How to Get Them, How to Read Them", 1988
• "Negligent Failure to Diagnose Impending Heart Attack", American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts, 1 POF 3d 691, 1988
• "Undiagnosed Heart Attack", Trial, 1988
• "You Have the Right to Remain Silent, Miranda After 20 Years", The American Scholar, 1986
• "Medical Authority and Infanticide", Journal of Law, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1985
• "Anesthesia and the Law", District of Columbia General Hospital, Anesthesiology Department Grand Rounds, September 28, 1992
• "The Pathologist in the Courtroom", Yale-New Haven Medical Center, Pathology Department Grand Rounds, December 14, 1995
• "Effective Courtroom Techniques", American Association of Women Emergency Physicians, Leadership Conference, Alexandria, VA, June 8, 1996
• Medical Staff, "Medical Malpractice Prevention", Loudoun Hospital Center, Leesburg, VA
• "Using Experts at Trial: Selected Problems", Georgetown University Law Center, December 14, 1990
• "Heart Attack and Emergency Medicine", Georgetown University Law Center, December 13, 1991
• "Anesthesiology", Georgetown University Law Center, December 13, 1991
• "Creative Use of Videotaped Depositions", Georgetown University Law Center, December 11, 1992
• "Neglected Discovery Techniques: Subpoenas of Non-Parties, Requests for Admissions, Informal Discovery", Georgetown University Law Center, December 11, 1992
• "False Arrest/Imprisonment and Malicious Prosecution", Maryland Trial Lawyers Association, March 12, 1993
• "How to Use Requests for Admissions", Maryland Trial Lawyers Association, March 12, 1993
• "Fees and Expenses in Personal Injury Cases", Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., October 5, 1993
• Faculty Member, Annual Trial Advocacy Course, National Institute of Trial Advocacy, Georgetown University Law Center, 1994
• "Winning Discovery and Trial Techniques from Winning Lawyers" Chairperson of One-Day CLE Conference, Georgetown University Law Center and Trial Lawyers of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., October 20, 1995
• "David v. Goliath: Litigating for Plaintiffs in a Tort Reform Era" Chairperson of One-Day CLE Conference, Georgetown University Law Center and Trial Lawyers of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., March 21, 1997
• Program Chair, "Disqualifying Opposing Experts in the Daubert Era", D.C. Bar/George Washington Univ. Law School CLE Program, September 11, 1997
• "Judging Science", Cato Institute, Washington, D.C., January 7, 1998
• "'The FDA Is All-Wise and All-Knowing,' or Meeting the FDA Compliance Defense Before the Jury", American Association for Justice Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., July 13, 1998
• "Medical Malpractice: Learning from the Experts" (Co-Chair of One-Day CLE Program), Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and American University, Washington College of Law, October 23, 1998
• Program Chair, "Forum Shopping: What Every Litigator Must Know", D.C. Bar/George Washington Univ. Law School CLE Program, November 2, 1988 - November 2, 1998
• "A Conversation Between a Hypothetical Judge and an Expert", University of Kansas Second Annual Appellate Judges and Lawyers Symposium: Scientific Methodology and the Admissibility of Expert Testimony, Lawrence, Kansas, May 13, 1999
• "Special Problems in Suits Against Generic Drug Manufacturers", American Association for Justice Annual Meeting, San Francisco, July 19, 1999
• "Injuries Caused by Drugs", The Etheridge Society, Richmond, VA, October 1, 1999
• "Expert Witnesses in Federal Court: Kumho Tire and the Next Millenium", D.C. Bar/George Washington Univ. Law School CLE Program, October 4, 1999
• "How to Choose, Use and Not Lose Expert Witnesses", Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and American University, Washington College of Law, October 29, 1999
• "Better Depositions: The Key to Effective Discovery", Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., November 4, 1999
• Expert Witnesses in the Courts, National Academy of Sciences, Law Science & Technology Panel, 2000
• Program Chair, "The Amended Federal Rules of Evidence: A New Era for Expert Witnesses", D.C. Bar, November 28, 2000
• "Effective Demonstrative Evidence", Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, December 1, 2000
• Program Chair, "Do-It-Yourself Demonstrative Evidence: Inexpensive and Powerful Ways to Create the Picture Worth 1,000 Words", Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and American University, Washington College of Law
• "Ten Key Principles for Winning Money Damages Commensurate With Your Client's Injury", Maryland Trial Lawyers Association, Baltimore, June 2005. Same Topic, Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., March 2005
• "Cross-Examination of a Defense Medical Examiner: Model Demonstration", American Association for Justice Annual Convention, Chicago, 2007 - Present
• Lecturer, Yale-New Haven Hospital
• Editor, Yale Law Journal, Yale Law School
• Maryland Tort Damages (Chapter on Admissibility of Expert Testimony) (MICPEL: 2000 and 2006 Editions)

Verdicts/Settlements:

• Benedi v. McNeil-PPC Inc., 66 F.3d 1378 (4th Cir. 1995). Antonio Benedi lost his liver and required an emergency transplant after taking ordinary doses of Tylenol for several days. He regularly drank wine before this. The suit was brought against McNeil, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, alleging that the company had known since the 1970s that Tylenol (acetaminophen) taken by regular drinkers can poison the liver. The jury awarded $7,855,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. The award was affirmed on appeal in the first reported decision in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit approved punitive damages in a product liability case. A review of cases done by The Boston Globe in August 2005 confirms that this is still one of the largest collected judgments against a pharmaceutical manufacturer
• Cooper v. First Government Mortgage & Lenders Corp.: $4.5 million jury verdict in federal court in Washington, D.C., for six consumers cheated in home loans by a mortgage lender. * Greisman v. Zygler and Wister: $2 million verdict in Baltimore City Circuit Court for wrongful death of a middle-aged man from delayed diagnosis of kidney cancer
• Boone v. Goldberg: $943,000 verdict in Montgomery County, Maryland, for a 62-year-old man whose brain was punctured by an instrument during ear surgery. The surgeon denied anything had happened, and the case was proved by post-operative CT scans. After a three-year battle through two appellate courts, the verdict was affirmed in its entirety by the Maryland Court of Appeals
• Garver v. Mathews: $650,000 verdict for our client, a 60-year-old spine surgeon from Connecticut, who suffered a permanent nerve injury with chronic pain syndrome as a result of improper insertion of an artificial disc in his lower spine by a surgeon in Richmond, Virginia. The defendant was an internationally famous surgeon who pioneered the development of artificial discs. According to the judge who ruled after a non-jury trial, the defendant failed to follow his own recommendations for clearing out the disc space before insertion of the artificial disc
• Burke v. Goodman and Groover, Christie & Merritt. $5,774,000 award for a 40-year-old woman who suffered a series of small strokes that went undiagnosed until she suffered a major stroke that left her with permanent cognitive deficits, inability to work, and difficulty communicating. The verdict in the Superior Court of Washington, D.C., was against a neurologist and a major group of radiologists. The verdict was reduced by $1.4 million on appeal to account for Maryland's "cap" on damages for loss of quality of life, but the verdict was otherwise affirmed
• Jones v. Prince George's County, Maryland: $3.7 million verdict for the wrongful death of Prince Jones Jr., a 25-year-old college student who was shot to death by a Prince George's County, Maryland undercover police officer. A jury in Prince George's County Circuit Court awarded $2.5 million to the young daughter of the deceased, Nina Jones, and $200,000 to Prince Jones's father, both of whom were represented by Mr. Malone and his co-counsel, Terrell N. Roberts III. The jury awarded $1 million to Mabel Jones, the mother of the deceased, who had separate lawyers
• Burton v. United States: Samuel Burton was a retired Coast Guard captain who sought treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after he ruptured an achilles tendon playing basketball. Five weeks later, he died at home of a massive blood clot that traveled from his legs to his heart, blocking the passage to the lungs (a pulmonary embolism). His widow was shocked to learn from the medical examiner who performed the autopsy that two episodes of chest pain and shortness of breath, which Captain Burton had experienced in the weeks before his death, were signs of a potential pulmonary embolism. None of the doctors at Walter Reed had ever warned Captain Burton or his wife of this possible deadly complication and what to watch out for. She sued the government for medical malpractice under the Federal Tort Claims Act. After a trial in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Chief Judge Royce Lamberth issued a verdict in favor of the widow, and he ordered the government to pay her $2,080,000
• Semsker v. Lockshin: $5,805,000 verdict against a prominent dermatology practice in Silver Spring, Maryland for the death of Richard Semsker, a 47-year-old attorney who was treated at the office of Norman Lockshin, M.D., P.A., on five occasions in the fall of 2004 for growths on his back, but the dermatologist left on the back a large mole that turned into a malignant melanoma two years later

Representative Clients:

• Nina Jones v. Prince George’s County, Maryland Circuit Court, 2006
• Burke v. Groover Christie, Superior Court, 2004
• Berg v. Footer, 673 A. 2d 1244, D.C., 1996
• Aguehounde v. District of Columbia, 666 A. 2d 443, D.C., 1995
• Aguehounde v. District of Columbia, Superior Court, 1993
• Grinder v. Chemlawn, Circuit Court, 1989

Videos:

• Here is a short interview with Patrick Malone, a leading patient safety advocate and plaintiff's personal injury attorney in Washington, DC. , Introducing attorney Patrick Malone

Educational Background:

• University of Kansas, B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, Departmental Honors, Summerfield Scholar, Student Senator, 1972