Wayne M. Willoughby, Esq. Of Counsel

Wayne M. Willoughby, Of Counsel, is a highly experienced medical malpractice attorney and  respected member of the legal community who has earned the highest rating (“AV-Preeminent”) offered by Martindale-Hubbell™  for professional competence and ethics based on a confidential survey of bar members and the judiciary (1996).  He has also been recognized as a SuperLawyer (2009) and achieved a superior rating of 10 by Avvo.

A 2009 recipient of the Maryland Daily Record’s “Leadership in Law Award” and  recognized ten times as among the “Top Lawyers in Maryland” by “Super Lawyer” Magazine, over his 30 years of practice representing the victims of medical mistakes, Mr. Willoughby has contributed significantly to numerous multi-million dollar recoveries.*

These include:

• $24 Million verdict for a child who suffered brain damage because her doctors failed to properly diagnose and respond to an airway obstruction;
• $6 Million recovery for a child who suffered cerebral palsy because of a mismanaged labor and delivery;
• $4.5 Million recovery for a child who suffered severe brain damage because of a medication overdose;
• $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.

Through his appellate advocacy, Mr. Willoughby has participated in cases that have expanded the rights of the injured.

These include:

• An appellate case establishing 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.
• A decision establishing the right of brain damaged infants to receive compensation for future life-care expenses even when their parents’ claim for those expenses is barred by the statute of limitations.

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In addition to having lectured locally and nationally on medical malpractice and products liability, and being a prolific writer on legal subjects (having co-authored a book on medical malpractice and numerous published journal and newspaper articles and op-ed pieces), Mr. Willoughby is exceptionally active in the legal community.

Among his activities on the national level, Mr. Willoughby is a Governor of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ” –the national advocacy organization for lawyers who represent people injured by negligence), a member of the AAJ Leaders Forum and an Eagle Contributor to the AAJ Political Action Committee.  He is also a past member of the AAJ Executive Committee and past Chair of the AAJ Council of State Delegates. Furthermore, he is a member of several AAJ committees and the organization’s Birth Trauma Litigation Group.

On the state level, Mr. Willoughby is a Past President of the Maryland Association for Justice (“MAJ”) and past President of the MAJ Political Action Committee, which works to elect public officials who support the rights of injured people to obtain justice in our courts. Mr. Willoughby founded MAJ’s Medical Negligence Section and has served as MAJ Legislative Chair and as MAJ Public Information Officer for the organization many times.

In recognition of his experience, fairness and competence, the Circuit Court for Carroll County Maryland asked Mr. Willoughby to serve as a court appointed settlement officer for medical malpractice actions. In this position, Mr. Willoughby tries to help injured parties and allegedly negligent health care providers find common ground that will resolve their legal dispute short of going to trial.

Mr. Willoughby is also involved with other bar associations, including the Maryland State Bar Association, where he serves as Chairman of the State Bar’s Ethics Committee, the Bar Association of Baltimore City, where he is a member of the city bar’s Professional Ethics Committee and Personal Injury Committee, and the Baltimore County Bar Association, where he serves on the Continuing Legal Education Committee, which which he chaired in 2011-2012.
Mr. Willoughby is also honored to be President of the James C. Cawood, Jr.  American Inn of Court and a Fellow of the Pound Civil Justice Institute.

The charitable activities of Mr. Willoughby include establishing and chairing for several years the Maryland Association for Justice Charitable Foundation.  He is also a Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation.  Moreover, Mr. Willoughby is active in his church (including five terms as its president), and the Boy Scouts of America (where he has served as an Assistant Scout Master, Committee Chair, Advancement Chair at various times over the past 25 years).

Prior to entering the legal profession, Mr. Willoughby was a practicing Certified Public Accountant. He employs his skills as an accountant to help clients maximize their damage awards, which can be in excess of millions of dollars.

Mr. Willoughby is a graduate of the University of Maryland (B.S. – 1980) and University of Baltimore School of Law (J.D. -1986 cum laude).

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.

* Because the facts of each case are unique, past results are not a guarantee as to the outcome in any future case.