Gowen Silva & Winograd PLLC

08/12/2021

GSW Partners Sean Farrelly and Chris Gowen recently filed a claim for Medical Malpractice against Greenbelt Endoscopy Center, LLC and Dr. Sushil Rattan. Our client was suffering from Nasopharyngeal Cancer and was referred to Dr. Rattan and Greenbelt Endoscopy Center in order to have a feeding tube placed due to complications from her cancer treatment. What should have been a routine procedure with little to no complications turned into a nightmare for our client. Dr. Rattan attempted to insert the tube ELEVEN times into her abdomen, resulting in eleven separate perforations. Despite his eleven attempts, he was unable to insert the feeding tube and terminated the procedure unsuccessfully.

As a result of these eleven wounds, our client developed a severe infection and required immediate emergency medical care. She required an extended stay at the hospital to treat her infection and her cancer treatment was derailed while she recovered. Prior to her discharge, the hospital staff were able to perform the feeding tube procedure successfully. They were able to insert the tube on the first attempt.

This case is an unfortunate cautionary tale. Just because a procedure is “routine” does not mean there is no risk involved, particularly when the procedure is performed by a negligent medical provider. At GSW we will always strive to help those harmed by negligent medical care, making every effort to seek justice and obtain compensation for physical, mental and emotional harm. Read about it here. https://www.gowensilva.com/gsw-files-claim-on-behalf-of-cancer-patient-against-negligent-gastrointestinal-medical-providers/

08/10/2021

The FAIR Act would eliminate forced arbitration for a number of sectors, allowing consumers and workers to file class-action lawsuits when companies violate the law. Currently, arbitration keeps the public in the dark. “It means that we don’t actually know how often corporations are breaking the law, or how often they’re cheating consumers, because the statistics and the data are confidential,” If arbitration was actually helping consumers, the Chamber of Commence would not need to attempt to bribe people to put their names on ghostwritten op-eds in support of it. If you want to be able to have you day in Court, contact your congress person (www.senate.gov/senators) and senators (www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative) to tell them to vote for the FAIR Act.
https://prospect.org/power/corporate-lobbyists-seek-grassroots-support-forced-arbitration/

Emails reveal a conservative tactic to promote forced arbitration in Arizona: offer $2,000 to sign a local newspaper op-ed.

07/13/2021

You may not know it, but the protections when you use your credit card are much stronger than when you use your debit card. If your debit card is compromised, you need to report the fraud within 2 days to be fully protected.

Read more here.

Scammers are everywhere, and debit cards leave your business exposed.

07/12/2021

With the explosive rise in housing prices in the DMV, the problem of unlicensed and unqualified contractors is as bad as ever and mistakes are even more costly. Unfortunately, our clients fell victim to such a contractor who caused substantial damage to their property, and they had to turn to us to seek justice. The contractor then tried to declare bankruptcy to avoid paying a judgment to our clients. At a trial in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, GSW’s Jesse Winograd secured a non-dischargeable judgment against the unqualified contractor in his personal capacity for $618,773.54 plus costs and attorney’s fees. This means that the judgment cannot be discharged in bankruptcy by the defendant.

Like most things in life, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The best way to avoid problems and eventual litigation is to do the work up front. Here are helpful hints to avoid problems.

1. Check that the Contractor is licensed
a. https://govservices.dcra.dc.gov/contractorratingsystem
b. https://www.dpor.virginia.gov/LicenseLookup/
c. https://www.dllr.state.md.us/cgi-bin/ElectronicLicensing/OP_search/OP_search.cgi?calling_app=HIC::HIC_qselect
2. Ask for references and go see the work. Make sure the work is for the specific type of job for which you are hiring them.
3. Sign a detailed contract that includes the specifics of the work including costs, completion dates, and an attorneys’ fee provision. Depending on the scope and cost of the project, you should consider having the contract reviewed by an attorney.
4. Ensure that the contractor is properly insured. There are two types of insurance that can be relevant for contracting: general liability and errors and omission. General liability provides coverage in case of an accident while errors and omissions provides cover if the work is performed incorrectly.
5. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

You can read the Judgement here. https://www.gowensilva.com/gsw-wins-618773-54-judgment-against-deceptive-contractor/.

06/14/2021

What if I told you that mortgage companies are systematically hiring unlicensed companies who break into homeowners’ houses and rob them while claiming the property is vacant? What if I told you the police refuse to do anything about it? Well it’s happening and GSW is helping a homeowner fight back in a Complaint recently filed in DC Superior Court.

You can read the Complaint here. https://www.gowensilva.com/complaint-filed-by-peter-silva-of-gowen-silva-winograd/

05/17/2021

On Thursday, Peter Silva secured a summary judgment victory against Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo is seeking to foreclose on Mr. and Mrs. Porter's home after selling them a predatory Pick-a-Pay loan. With the aid of GSW, the Porters are not only defending against the foreclosure but also counterclaimed for its misdeeds and won. In a rebuke of Wells Fargo, the Court stated: "This case arises from an unfortunate history of certain financial institutions selling predatory loans to customers who did not qualify for them and misrepresenting the key terms of the loans. As a result of these practices, many consumers defaulted on their loans, never really understanding the terms of their agreement." You can read the order here. https://www.gowensilva.com/motion-for-partial-summary-judgement/

05/13/2021

Gowen Silva & Winograd continues to protect employees' and students' right to a free and fair education in the District of Columbia. The complaint filed in the Superior Court alleges that a DC public charter school violated the DC Human Rights Act when it fired two vice principals in retaliation for their protest of the school's failure to comply with special education laws. You can read the complaint here.

https://www.gowensilva.com/complaint/

03/09/2019

Yesterday, Of Counsel Aaron Page argued in front of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for the second time in the DuBerry v. The District of Columbia to protect the the rights of retired law enforcement officers under LEOSA. Listen to the audio recording here.

02/13/2019

DC Court of Appeals to Hear Significant Same-Sex Common Law Marriage Case. Read the press release here:

01/18/2019

Partner Peter Silva will be on "Inside the Issues w/ Wilmer Leon" tomorrow (Saturday 1/19) from 11am-1pm discussing the forgotten ongoing foreclosure crisis. It is on SiriusXM Channel 126.

07/03/2018

Managing Partner Chris Gowen's press release regarding Imran Awan's plea agreement.http://gowensilva.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/20180703-Statement-on-Plea.pdf

The Plea Agreement States "the Government has found no evidence that your client illegally removed House data from the House network or from House Members’ offices, stole the House Democratic Caucus Server, stole or destroyed House information technology equipment, or improperly accessed or transferred government information, including classified or sensitive information."