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Avery T. "Sandy" Waterman, Jr.

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Avery T. “Sandy” Waterman, Jr. continues to distinguish himself as a trial lawyer and as an appellate lawyer. Among other things, Mr. Waterman has been named “The Best Lawyers in America,” Virginia Business’ “Legal Elite,” the “Million Dollar Advocates Forum,” Lawdragon’s “3000 Leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in America” and “Who’s Who in American Law”. He has tried, appealed and won the most nursing home and other medical malpractice cases in the law firm.

THE VIRGINIA STATE BAR RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT REQUIRE ALL ATTORNEYS TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT AND DISCLAIMER TO THEIR CASE RESULTS. SETTLEMENT AND VERDICT IN ALL CASES DEPEND ON VARIOUS FACTORS AND CIRCUMSTANCES, WHICH ARE UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. THEREFORE, PAST RESULTS IN CASES ARE NOT A GUARANTEE OR PREDICTION OF SIMILAR RESULTS IN FUTURE CASES WHICH PATTEN, WORNOM, HATTEN & DIAMONSTEIN AND ITS LAWYERS MAY UNDERTAKE.

Mr. Waterman has been recording substantial victories in multiple areas for a decade. Beginning in 1998, he notched a $1,250,000.00 medical malpractice verdict and a million dollar product liability settlement with a national vehicle manufacturer. More recently, his 2004 verdict for $850,000.00 in Williamsburg is the highest ever in the city and immediately surrounding counties. His 2005 jury award of $1,680,000.00 in Newport News received prestigious front-page coverage in Virginia Lawyers Weekly and was one of the largest verdicts in the Commonwealth. In 2006, that jury verdict was upheld by the Virginia Supreme Court in a landmark medical malpractice opinion, and he also was granted certification of class employment action in United States District Court.

His varied practice includes most types of personal injury (all vehicle accidents, nursing home neglect, other medical malpractice, admiralty and seaman claims, police brutality, wrongful death, paralysis, amputations and brain injuries); employment matters (wage and hour violations, sexual harassment, racial discrimination, officer contracts and non-competition agreements); government fraud, tortious interference and RICO claims; and high-stakes domestic suits. Large complex litigation is his forte: his cases feature “first impression” and other sophisticated issues, class and collective actions in federal court and multi-party suits in state court. Also, he successfully has handled a dozen appeals before state and federal courts.

Mr. Waterman handles cases throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia and in other states, including North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Louisiana, and the District of Columbia. He is licensed to practice in Virginia, Louisiana and the District of Columbia, and is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in Virginia and Louisiana, the United States Tax and Bankruptcy Courts, the United States Fourth and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court.

Numerous of his cases are published. Kane v. Hargis, 987 F.2d 1005 (4th Cir. 1993); Alley v. Chrysler Credit Corp., 767 F.2d 138 (5th Cir. 1985); Choimbol v. Fairfield Resorts, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. Lexis 19340 (E.D. Va. 2006); Zhu v. Rocco Farms, Inc., 1998 U.S. Dist. Lexis 21781 (W.D.Va. 1998); Williamson v. Patterson, 150 B.R. 367 (E.D.Va. 1993); Verosol, B.V. v. Hunter Douglas, Inc., 806 F.Supp. 582 (E.D.Va. 1992); Riverside Hosp., Inc. v. Johnson, 272 Va. 518 (2006); Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Newport News Circuit Court Asbestos Cases Plaintiffs, 264 Va. 89 (2002); Waterman v. Halverson, 261 Va. 203 (2001); Pais v. Automation Prods., Inc., 36 Va. Cir. 230 (Newport News 1995); Treitler v. American Druggists’ Ins. Co., 474 So.2d 475 (La. App. 1985); Evans v. Detweiler, 466 So.2d 800 (La. App. 1984); Duckworth v. GEICO, 464 So.2d 907 (La. App. 1984); Landaiche v. Lou-Con, 461 So.2d 1107 (La. App. 1984); In re Tutorship of Werling, 459 So.2d 758 (La. App. 1984); and Mayeur v. American Cyanamid Co., 459 So.2d 292 (La. App. 1984). Articles of his are published too. “Charitable Immunity: A Limited Doctrine,” 9 The Journal of VTLA 2, Spring, 1997; “Negligent Retention: Alive and Well in Virginia,” 11 V.L.W. 253, Aug. 19, 1996.

Mr. Waterman is a member of the Williamsburg Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the exclusive Southern Trial Lawyers Association. The University of Virginia School of Law conferred its Juris Doctorate degree on him in 1982.

Mr. Waterman earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1979 from the College of William and Mary, which he attended on scholarship. As an undergraduate, he was selected as President’s Aide; admitted to Omicron Delta Kappa and Mortar Board, the national leadership honoraries, and to Omicron Delta Epsilon, the national economics honor society; and listed in the College Register and Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.

He resides in Kingsmill with his four children and is involved in numerous school, athletic, charitable and social activities. His past-times are travel, movies, music, biking, running and working out.