 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Ashcraft & Gerel v. Shaw5/3/1999
This case is an appeal from an order (Order) issued by the Circuit Court for Prince George's County requiring the production of certain documents in the possession of appellant, Ashcraft & Gerel (A&G;, a law firm which represented appellee, Larry Shaw (Larry), and his mother, Elouise Witherspoon (Witherspoon), in medical malpractice litigation. The appeal involves three consolidated cases. The first case was a claim for medical malpractice against emergency room personnel at Prince George's County Hospital Center in which Witherspoon sued on her own behalf and on behalf of Larry (Maryland Malpractice Case). Both Witherspoon and Larry were represented by A&G; In the second case, the Prince George's County Department of Social Services (DSS) petitioned to have Larry, a severely disabled minor child, declared a Child in Need of Assistance (CINA), pursuant to Md. Code (1974, 1998 Repl. Vol.), ยง 3-812 of the Courts & Judicial Proceedings Article (hereinafter, CJ) because his mother was unable to care for him (CINA Case). After the court found Larry to be a CINA, Larry's court-appointed attorney, Kathaleen Brault, Esq. (Brault), petitioned for appointment of a guardian of Larry's property, alleging that Witherspoon failed to act in his best interests in: 1) negotiating the settlement of the Maryland Malpractice Case and a related case; 2) allocating the settlement between the separate claims of Larry and his mother; and 3) handling the settlement funds. Brault also alleged that A&G;had a conflict of interest relating to these matters and acted without attempting to resolve the conflict. The third case was an action brought by Witherspoon in the circuit court seeking the appointment of her mother, Ms. Padmore, and a bank as guardians of Larry's property (Guardianship Case). Although A&G;was not originally a party to any of the three suits, it moved to intervene in the CINA Case "for the limited purpose of explaining to the Court how the settlement in the [Maryland Malpractice Case] was achieved and how the proceeds of the settlement were disbursed."
ISSUES
The issues raised in this appeal are whether: 1) the Order requiring that A&G;disclose documents in its possession was a final order subject to immediate appeal; 2) the circuit court had sufficient jurisdiction over A&G;to order disclosure by A&G;of documents in its possession, including written communications between A&G;and Witherspoon pertaining to the Maryland Malpractice Case and the CINA Case; and 3) A&G;can rightfully claim an attorney-client privilege or work product privilege to keep communications between A&G;and Witherspoon confidential from Larry.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Larry was born in Liberia, Africa, in 1987 and lived there for the first four years of his life. Witherspoon, a Liberian citizen and permanent resident of the United States, resided in Maryland. During a 1991 airplane flight to New York with his mother, Larry became ill. Upon landing in New York, he was diagnosed by a JFK Airport physician with bronchitis. Two days later, when Witherspoon took Larry to the Prince George's County Hospital Center, a physician offered the same diagnosis. The next day, when Larry fell into a coma and suffered seizures, physicians at the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Washington, D.C. diagnosed him with cerebral malaria. By that time, Larry suffered cerebral damage causing severe retardation, seizure disorder, and other injuries, all of which required special care and medication.
After his release from the hospital, Witherspoon had much difficulty managing Larry's care even when provided with supportive services. She failed to dispense m
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Maryland Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|