LAW 472 - Med Malpractice & Health Care

This class will examine the unique area of tort law that is commonly litigated in the U.S. The initial weeks of the course will cover the essential elements of a medical malpractice claim giving special attention to the specific statutes governing this kind of lawsuit illustrating the impact of these laws on the litigation of medical malpractice cases. Students will then be asked to apply trial advocacy skills to a hypothetical medical malpractice case. Using a fact pattern from a wrongful death action recently tried in Virginia, students will plan and participate in a range of discovery, pretrial and trial exercises. The trial advocacy activities will include undertaking pre-trial discovery, witness preparation, juror selection, and closing arguments. The class will have the students engaging in all aspects of taking a medical malpractice claim from the filing stage to the jury verdict.