Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130089
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RICHMOND - A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a $5 million malpractice judgment against Arlington Hospital exceeded a limit imposed by Virginia legislators.
A 1976 state law caps malpractice awards at $1 million.
A divided three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the $5 million verdict won by Susan Power and returned the case to U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III with orders to impose the cap.
Power, who lives in England, came to the Arlington Hospital emergency room on Feb. 24, 1990, complaining of pain in her hip, abdomen, back and leg. She was given a prescription for pain medication and was discharged.
She returned the next day in shock. She was admitted and remained in intensive care for four months. Both legs had to be amputated below the knee, she went blind in one eye and suffered permanent lung damage.
Eventually, Power's illness was diagnosed as a blood infection. Testimony showed that tests that would have led to that diagnosis were not conducted on her first visit to the emergency room.
- Associated Press\ Baby sitter to stand trial in shaken baby case
FAIRFAX - A young Dutch woman has waived indictment in the death of an infant left in her care last summer and is scheduled to stand trial in March.
Anna-Corina Peeze, 19, avoided a grand jury appearance by signing a waiver of indictment on Dec. 2. She is scheduled for a March 23 jury trial in Loudoun County Circuit Court on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Prosecutors allege Peeze violently shook 2-month-old Brenton Scott Devonshire on Aug. 2 to stop him from crying, causing brain injuries that left him comatose and resulted in his death four days later.
Peeze faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
- Associated Press
Family rapists get lighter punishment, study shows
RICHMOND - Rapists who attack strangers spend nearly twice as much time in prison as those who prey on family members or acquaintances, a state study shows.
Virginia judges gave people convicted of raping a stranger an average of 25.8 years in prison, said the report by the Criminal Justice Research Center.
When the victim was a family member, sentences averaged 16.2 years, the report said. In cases in which the attacker was acquainted with the victim, sentences averaged 13.8 years.
Juries gave slightly longer sentences in all three circumstances, but the trend remained the same. The report also said sexual offenders often are offered plea bargains
- Associated Press
by CNB