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Law Office of Nicholas H. Walsh, P.A.
Law Office of Nicholas H. Walsh, P.A.
Nicholas H. Walsh P.A.
Telephone 207/772-2191 (Cell: 207/838-0690)
111 Commercial Street
Portland, ME 04101
Maritime Accidents, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury
"One of Portland's most experienced maritime lawyers." Portland Press Herald
Summary
| Years of Experience | 22 | |
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| Education |
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| Websites | ||
Overview
Nicholas H. Walsh, P.A.
A former Coast Guard Officer, since 1988 Nicholas H. Walsh has brought his practical knowledge to the legal table, providing service to New England.
Persons who beleive they or a relative may have a claim for medical negligence should call us first. Mr. Walsh has comprehensive knowledge of this practice area and of the plaintiff's and defense bar. For commercial fisherman and merchant mariners, the firm offers plaintiff's assistance in injury claims (including Jones Act and Unseaworthiness claims), fishery permit transfers and appeals, vessel sales and mortages, salvage representation and all other areas of admiralty and maritime law. Injured cruise ship and ferry passengers benefit from the same level of practical knowledge and legal expertise.
In many cases Mr. Walsh works on a sliding scale fee arrangement, collecting 25% (not 1/3) of the recovery if the case settles prior to suit. Walsh practices before the federal and state courts of Maine, and has an active practice before the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Maine Department of Marine Resources. He is skilled at handling problematic Coast Guard vessel documentation issues. He recognizes that each client works within a budget, and takes pride in offering legal services for a fraction of that which a big firm would charge, with work of equal or better quality. Phone calls are returned the same day and pressing problems handled immediately.
What our clients say...
Thank
you for referring me to Mr. Walsh. He has been extremely helpful in
assisting me. His legal expertise has provided a great deal of comfort
and assurance for me during this difficult time in my life. I would
recommend him without reservation.
- Please Contact us for help with your legal issues
Case History
A New Injury?
Practice Area: Personal Injury
Description: Client slipped and fell in a basement puddle while delivering kegs of beer, suffering a herniated disk. Plaintiff underwent emergency diskectomy, with excision (cutting out) of the herniated disk. Plaintiff delayed in bringing suit, and defendant claimed injury was recent, unrelated to fall. But Mr. Walsh's review of the pathology report of the excised disk material showed "areas of neovascularization", or new blood vessel growth. Knowing it takes many months for damaged intervetebral disk material to grow new blood vessels, Mr. Walsh, on cross-examination, was able to force defendant's expert doctor to admit that the "neovascularization" was proof the injury was not new, and in fact dated to about the time of the slip and fall.
Outcome: Large settlement for plaintiff.
Dead Man Walking
Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Description: Client suffered from treatable chronic leukemia, and underwent a course of oral chemotherapy. The chemotherapy acted on the blood marrow, where various blood cells are produced, and if the treatment was prolonged the drug could irreversibly damage the marrow. For that reason the treatment required weekly blood work so the doctor could see when the therapy must stop. In this case, the doctor failed to order the correct blood tests, the treatment went on and on, and while what was tested for showed the treatment to be succeeding, the prolonged course of treatment destroyed the client's marrow. The doctor's first indication came when an alert lab technician ran the correct series of tests for this drug. Upon reviewing the results the doctor called his patient in, knowing from the test results that the patient was doomed. The case settled shortly after the client's tragic death - thus allowing the insurer to take advantage of the state's statutory cap on wrongful death damages . . .
Outcome: A big chunk of money for client's heirs - big deal.
It Never Should Have happened
Practice Area: Nursing Home
Description: Client was an elderly woman with no use of her left arm. She entered an assisted living facilty and was placed in a room at the end of a long hall on the second floor, far from the desk. Her only signalling device was a little china bell. The bedside lamp, rather than being bolted down, could tip over and the shade was flammable paper. Worse, it was placed on the client's left side, so the client could switch it off only with great difficulty, owing to her functionless left arm. A bed fire broke out and, with the bed pushed against the wall, the woman could not escape and was gravely burned. The facility's reaction to the fire was chaotic and panicky and contributed to the severity of the injuries. Our investigation showed not only that the lamp had been pulled into the bed and ignited bedclothes, but a seeming disdain by the facility for fire drills.
Outcome: Large settlement for family.
A Jones Act Case
Practice Area: Maritime
Description: Client was a salvage diver, working underwater on an overturned wreck in an Asian harbor. He was cutting piping off the wreck, bundling it with cable, and, once he was clear of the bundle, signalling the crane operator to pull the bundle free of the ship. Communications with the surface were very poor, with client's communications to the crane being relayed through several persons, not all of whom spoke much English. Having strapped one bundle, client got clear and signalled to crane operator to take a strain. As the bundle was being hauled clear, it hung up. Client told the crane to ease off, and, having made sure the strain was off and would stay off, client approached the bundle to clear the snag. Then the strain came on and the bundle of steel pipes dragged over the diver, nearly killing him and almost tearing his arm off. Our investigation, not surprisingly, showed a long list of departures from regulation and standard practice, beginning with the communications arrangement.
Outcome: Large pre-litigation settlement for client, who used some of the money to retrain as a salvage diving consultant.
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Lawyers
Location: Portland, ME
Practice Areas: Personal Injury, Aviation, Auto Accident, Product Liability, Medical Malpractice, Nursing Home, Wrongful Death