Wayne M. Willoughby is a respected member of the legal community with the highest rating offered by Martindale-Hubbell (an “AV” rating) for professional competence and ethics. (Martindale-Hubbell ratings are derived from confidential surveys of bar members and the judiciary concerning the attorney being rated.)

With fifteen years of experience representing the victims of medical mistakes, Mr. Willoughby has contributed significantly to numerous multi-million dollar recoveries, including a $24 Million verdict for a child who suffered brain damage because her doctors failed to properly diagnose and respond to an airway obstruction, a $6 Million recovery for a child who suffered cerebral palsy because of a mismanaged labor and delivery, a $4.5 Million recovery for a child who suffered severe brain damage because of a medication overdose, and a $4 Million recovery for a member of the armed forces whose prior attorney mishandled his medical negligence case involving surgical negligence that rendered him quadriplegic.*

Moreover, through his appellate advocacy, Mr. Willoughby has participated in cases that have expanded the rights of the injured. One of his appellate cases established the right of medical malpractice victims in the District of Columbia to hold negligent physician-employees of the District of Columbia responsible for their negligence even when the deadline has expired for suing their employer. Another decision established the right of brain damaged babies to receive compensation for future life care expenses even when their parents’ claim for those expenses is barred by the statute of limitations.

Mr. Willoughby is also active in the legal community. He is the founder and immediate past Chair of the Medical Malpractice Section of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association (“MTLA”). At present, Mr. Willoughby is a Governor of the MTLA and chairs the MTLA’s Legislative Committee, which works to preserve the civil justice system against the attacks of the insurance industry and others who seek to deprive the victims of negligence justice in our courts.

In addition, Mr. Willoughby serves on the Professional Ethics Committee of the Baltimore City Bar Association and the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Baltimore County Bar Association. In 2001, Mr. Willoughby was appointed by the Governor of the State of Maryland to serve a term on the Maryland State Advisory Council on Medical Privacy and Confidentiality, which he completed in 2002. Mr. Willoughby has also lectured locally and nationally on medical malpractice and products liability issues and co-authored the book, “Medical Malpractice in Maryland – 2003” published by National Business Institute.

Prior to entering the legal profession, Mr. Willoughby practiced as a Certified Public Accountant. He employs the skills he learned as an accountant to helping his clients maximize their economic damage awards, which can total in the millions of dollars.

Mr. Willoughby is a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court, the Bar of the United States District Courts for the District of Maryland and the District of Columbia, the Bar of Maryland and the Bar of the District of Columbia.

Education:

• University of Baltimore School of Law, J.D - 1986 (cum laude)
• University of Maryland, B.S. - 1980

* Past results are not a guarantee of future results. Each case must be evaluated on the basis of its own facts and circumstances.

Case Details