Rawls Law Group

06/23/2026

Norfolk's First Civilian Hospital: Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center

In 1855, Norfolk had no civilian public hospital. When Yellow Fever swept through the city that year, the community was left desperately ill-equipped. Into that void stepped the Sisters of Bon Secours, a Catholic religious order whose mission — "good help to those in need" — found urgent expression in Virginia's largest port city. They established the Hospital of St. Vincent de Paul in the home of the late Miss Ann Plume Behan Herron on Church and Wood Streets in downtown Norfolk, creating what would become the city's first civilian and public hospital, and the oldest Catholic public hospital in the state.

For over a century and a half, the institution served Norfolk through epidemics, wars, urban growth, and medical transformation. A devastating fire in 1899 nearly destroyed the hospital, which had by then grown to 150 rooms; it was rebuilt and enlarged by 1901. In 1944 the hospital was renamed DePaul Hospital and moved to a new location at Kingsley Lane and Granby Street. The old downtown facility did not sit idle — its basement and annexes housed classes for Norfolk State University's predecessor institution until 1958.

DePaul's founding during the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1855 exemplified the Bon Secours mission: to provide care precisely when and where the need was greatest, regardless of a patient's ability to pay.

By the late 20th century, DePaul had become part of the national Bon Secours Health System. With 238 beds, it remained a vital community anchor in Norfolk's healthcare landscape. But after 166 years of continuous service, the hospital closed its doors on March 31, 2021 — a loss deeply felt in the community it had served since the Civil War era. Its legacy endures, however, in the broader Bon Secours network that continues to operate throughout Hampton Roads.

Image 1: 1905 photograph published by the Detroit Publishing Co.

Image 2: March 10, 1937 photograph of St. Vincent's Hospital at Wood Street between Church Street and Chapel Street in Norfolk, Virginia. Virginian-Pilot.

06/19/2026

On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with 2,000 federal troops. General Granger and his troops plastered copies of General Order No. 3 throughout Galveston, Texas, announcing the immediate release of slaves. General Order No. 3 read as "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” General Graner’s arrival in Galveston, and the announcement of General Order No. 3, came two and a half years after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and more than two months after Lee's surrender at Appomattox. During the Civil War, Texas saw relatively little fighting and, for the most part, was removed from Civil War-related conflicts and politics. Following the Civil War, leadership in Texas knew of the Emancipation Proclamation and, thence, the federal release of slaves. However, due to limited enforcement mechanisms of the Emancipation Proclamation and Texas’ remoteness, news of the federal release of slaves did not spread swiftly or willingly to slaveholders. The arrival of General Granger in Galveston, Texas, provided a much-needed enforcement mechanism and vocalization of the Emancipation Proclamation. The reactions among the formerly enslaved in Texas were varied. Some celebrated their new freedom immediately; some waited several days or weeks before claiming their freedom. General Granger’s announcement on June 19, 1865, became known as Juneteenth among Black communities, a celebration commemorating the end of slavery. In 2021, Juneteenth was designated a federal holiday, the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. It stands as a powerful reminder that freedom required not just a presidential proclamation but military force to make it real.

Image 1: Juneteenth Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900, Texas.

Image 2: Juneteenth Celebration at Emancipation Park 1880 touched up. A group photograph of thirty-one people at a Juneteenth Celebration in Emancipation Park in Houston's Fourth Ward. Reverend Jack Yates is pictured on the left and Sallie Yates is pictured in the center toward the front in a black outfit

06/16/2026

$725,000 Settlement: Ignored Stomach Discomfort Leads to Delayed Cancer Diagnosis

Rawls Law Group recently reached a $725,000 settlement for the family of 71-year-old woman in Virginia who died tragically from metastatic colon cancer.

The mother of RLG’s client had visited the same primary care doctor for years when she began experiencing stomach discomfort. The primary care doctor dismissed the symptoms as being related to irritable bowel syndrome, even when the woman’s stomach discomfort worsened and began interrupting her sleep.

Due to the misdiagnosis, the primary care doctor failed to order imaging or refer the woman to a gastroenterologist. As a result, the decedent’s cancer was allowed to spread untreated for years.

Ultimately, the decedent’s daughter noticed a large lump in her mother’s abdomen and brought it to the primary care doctor’s attention. Finally, the primary care doctor ordered abdominal imaging, which revealed the woman had cancer in her colon that had spread to her entire body. By then, it was too late to treat.

The case was not without difficulties. There was a factual dispute about whether the doctor told the decedent to seek additional diagnostic tests or help from a specialist. The defense also argued that the decedent’s symptoms were atypical and inconsistent; therefore, her cancer could not have been diagnosed earlier.

Despite the difficulties in the case, RLG was able to resolve the case for $725,000, which is a significant award, considering Virginia’s cap on damages in medical malpractice cases.

06/16/2026

Oldest Continual Medical School in the South: VCU Health and the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond

In 1838, the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College opened in Richmond, planting a seed that would grow into the oldest continuously operating medical school in the American South. By 1845, classes had moved into the newly constructed Egyptian Building — an extraordinary structure in the Egyptian Revival architectural style that still stands on the VCU campus today, one of the oldest examples of that style anywhere in the country. In 1854, the department broke away from Hampden-Sydney and received an independent charter from the Virginia General Assembly, becoming the Medical College of Virginia (MCV).

When Virginia voted to secede from the Union in 1861, MCV was immediately pressed into service. The state's first publicly funded hospital was erected across the street from the Egyptian Building, and together with thirteen other Richmond facilities it became a Confederate medical hub. MCV's Dr. Hunter McGuire served as General Stonewall Jackson's personal physician — and performed the amputation of Jackson's arm after the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, followed by Jackson's death from pneumonia days later. Meanwhile, MCV alumnus Dr. James McCaw organized Chimborazo Hospital just east of campus — reportedly the largest hospital in the Western world at the time, with as many as 7,000 beds.

In 1918, Innis Steinmetz became the first woman to enter the medical school. Thirty years later, Jean Harris became the first Black student admitted — she later became Virginia's Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

The 20th century brought steady growth and landmark firsts. New Deal funding under President Roosevelt helped construct West Hospital in 1941. In 1967, MCV merged with the Richmond Professional Institute to form Virginia Commonwealth University, embedding the hospital within a major public research university. Today, VCU Health is Virginia's top safety-net hospital — a nationally recognized academic health system committed to ensuring that every patient, regardless of means, has access to excellent care. The legacy of a small medical school founded nearly two centuries ago now anchors healthcare for the entire Commonwealth.

Image 1: West Hospital from Broad Street

Image 2: Nurses' Station at West Hospital

Image 3: VCU Medical Center bus rapid transit station in Richmond, Virginia.

06/09/2026

First and Finest: Naval Medical Center Portsmouth

Situated on a peninsula jutting into the Elizabeth River across from Norfolk, the land now occupied by Naval Medical Center Portsmouth has witnessed nearly every chapter of American military history. The site was originally Fort Nelson; a Revolutionary War fortification built in 1776 — and captured by British forces before being abandoned. For decades the peninsula sat idle until 1827, when the Commissioners of the Naval Hospital Fund saw an opportunity. To cut costs, builders incorporated bricks salvaged from the old fort into the new hospital's walls, giving the institution a literal foundation in the nation's earliest conflicts.

Designed by the prominent architect John Haviland, the original Building Number One was a striking three-story granite and freestone structure arranged as a hollow rectangle, measuring 172 feet wide and rising from a 12-foot basement. It opened to its first patients in the early 1830s, and its motto — "First and Finest" — was no idle boast. It is the oldest continuously operating hospital in the entire United States Navy.

The hospital's history reads like a tour of American conflict. During the Civil War it fell under Confederate control from spring 1861 to spring 1862; following the famous Battle of Hampton Roads in March 1862, survivors from the sunk USS Congress and USS Cumberland were brought here for treatment, as was Franklin Buchanan — the commanding officer of the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia. During the Spanish-American War in 1898, captured Spanish prisoners received care within its walls. Through two World Wars and every major American military engagement since, the hospital has stood its post.

Today, the historic Building Number One — rededicated in 2002 as administrative space rather than a treatment ward — stands as a National Historic Landmark and a symbol of the institution's deep roots. The broader medical center now employs over 4,300 sailors and civilians, caring for more than 420,000 active duty personnel, family members, and retirees across Hampton Roads, one of the largest concentrations of military force in the world.

Image 1: Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Virginia in 2016

Image 2: The portico of the Portsmouth Naval Asylum (Naval Hospital), designed by John Haviland (1827)

Image 3: Aerial vertical US Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, VA. Camera-K-17-12", Alt 6,000'. 28 Feb 1951

06/04/2026

The Military Medical Malpractice Claims Crisis: A System Designed to Deny

Since 2020, less than 10% of claims filed under landmark military malpractice legislation have been approved — leaving hundreds of service members and their families without recourse.

In 2019, Congress passed the SFC Richard Stayskal Military Medical Accountability Act — a watershed moment for service members who, under federal law, cannot sue the military even in cases of medical malpractice. The Stayskal law established a claims review system and set aside $400 million over a decade to compensate troops and families harmed by Defense Department health care providers.

More than five years later, the numbers tell a damning story. Of the 764 claims filed under the Stayskal law, just 73 have been approved. More than half have been outright denied. And of the $400 million Congress allocated, only $15 million has actually been paid out.

Families and advocates describe the process as engineered specifically to wear claimants down, rather than deliver justice. When denials arrive, families say there is little transparency about who reviewed the case, what qualifications reviewers held, or how conclusions were reached. With how long the process is drawn out, denial is almost expected. Appeals are available, but rejections often mirror the original denial almost word for word.

If you or a loved one was seriously injured by medical negligence in Virginia, at a VA facility, at a military medical facility, or at another federally supported healthcare provider, the Rawls Law Group team can evaluate your potential claim and help you understand your options.

Click Here to View the Full Article and to Learn More:

Since 2020, the military has received 764 claims under a 2019 law intended to provide malpractice compensation. Just 10% have been approved.

06/03/2026

In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Hencely v. Fluor Corp. that state law tort claims against a military contractor are not preempted where the federal government neither ordered nor authorized the contractor’s alleged misconduct. The Court's ruling rejected the Fourth Circuit’s categorical “battlefield preemption” doctrine, thereby restricting military contractor immunity. When asked about the recent ruling, Glen Sturtevant, attorney and chairman of AAJ’s Federal Tort Liability and Military Advocacy Section, said the following on the matter,

“For injured servicemembers and their families, this decision is important. The Court made clear that military contractors do not receive a blanket preemption shield for conduct the government never ordered or approved. The ruling reaffirms that accountability and access to justice still have a place, even in cases arising from military operations.”

If you or a loved one was seriously injured by medical negligence in Virginia, at a VA facility, at a military medical facility, or at another federally supported healthcare provider, Glen and the Rawls Law Group team can evaluate your potential claim and help you understand your options.

Click Here to View Rawls Law Group Article: https://www.rawlslawgroup.com/post/supreme-court-restricts-contractor-immunity-defenses-in-hencely-v-fluor-corp

Click Here to View AAJ Article: https://www.justice.org/resources/publications/trial-news/2026-may-14-scotus-rules

06/02/2026

America's First: Eastern State Hospital, Williamsburg

Long before the United States existed as a nation, Virginia was grappling with a question that most societies preferred to ignore: what do you do with the mentally ill?

Before 1773, people suffering from mental illness in colonial Virginia were judged not by doctors but by juries and classified as criminals or lunatics. Many were locked in the Public Gaol (colonial name for jail) alongside common criminals. That changed on October 12, 1773, when the doors of the Publick Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds swung open in Williamsburg — the first institution in America built exclusively for the care of the mentally ill.

"It is expedient I should recommend to your consideration a poor unhappy set of people who are deprived of their senses and wander about the country, terrifying the rest of their fellow creatures." — Governor Francis Fauquier, 1766

The hospital's founding was driven by Enlightenment thinking. Virginia's Royal Governor Francis Fauquier, appointed by the British, had made impassioned appeals to the House of Burgesses beginning in 1766, arguing that every civilized country should provide for its mentally ill, the colonies being no exception. While an uncommon ideology at the time, Governor Francis Fauquier's philosophy on the mentally ill had been formulated by years of experience in charity and enlightened research. Four years of debate followed before legislators finally heard Governor Franics Fauquier's pleads and authorized construction on an eight-acre site near the College of William and Mary. Two patients — Zachariah Mallory and Catherine Whaley — were among the first admitted.

The hospital's most transformative era came under Dr. John Minson Galt II, who took over as superintendent in 1841. Decades before such ideas were mainstream, Galt promoted human dignity for patients, introduced therapeutic activities, talk therapy, and calming medications — approaches that would not be widely adopted elsewhere for another century. His work made Eastern State a genuine pioneer in psychiatric care, not merely a warehouse for the unwanted.

The institution survived the Revolutionary War, the Civil War (during which Union troops occupied Williamsburg and seized the asylum), and a devastating fire in 1885 that burned the original structure to the ground. It was rebuilt, relocated to a larger campus in the 1930s, and the original 1773 building was reconstructed by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 1985 and now serves as a museum. Eastern State Hospital continues to operate today as an active 300-bed psychiatric facility — more than 250 years after welcoming its first patients.

Image 1: Rebuilt 1773 Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds in Colonial Williamsburg; north elevation

Image 2: Portrait of Francis Fauquier, (c.1704-68) Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in the American Colonies, c.1757

05/29/2026

Did you know that Virginia holds more data center capacity than any other state in the country?

On Thursday, June 4, AI Ready RVA's Women and AI Cohort is hosting "What's in My Backyard? Data Centers and AI" at ECPI University in Glen Allen.

And guess what...

Rawls Law Group is presenting the event!

The event will feature Stuart Chambers, VP of AI HPC Strategy at MCIM, and Margaret C. Rockwell, Vice President at McGuireWoods Consulting. The event runs 5:30 to 7:30 PM and includes networking, expert remarks, a moderated panel, and live audience Q&A.

Register for the event here: https://www.aireadyrva.com/events/women-ai-summer-event-save-the-date-2026-06

View AI Ready RVA LinkedIn Post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ai-ready-rva_aireadyrva-richmondva-ailiteracy-activity-7465028802344112128-wbIA?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAADh06TMBQ7-tHBBpNKMyU0cmDdsnQM42IiI

Join Virginia's leading AI community. AI Ready RVA empowers businesses and individuals with AI literacy, events, cohorts, and resources.

05/28/2026

Yesterday was a very heartwarming day for our firm.

For clients, we are asked to do a job, represent them. In theory, it shouldn't matter if our clients are appreciative of our work. Yet, a thankful client is always a wonderful reward and a delightful pause for reflection in the crazy world of business.

In recent memory, we have received several assortments of gifts from clients. However, as we thought about it, we do not recall a time when a client sent flowers. Yesterday, one of our clients sent flowers to our office as a token of appreciation for a positive resolution last week. The flowers were undoubtedly a delightful and greatly appreciated gift. We are beyond blessed to work with such wonderful and mindful clients.

Check out Brewster's LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brewster-rawls_yesterday-a-happy-client-sent-flowers-to-share-7465489439075794944-2OvH/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAADh06TMBQ7-tHBBpNKMyU0cmDdsnQM42IiI