Coreen A. Silverman

Overview

Coreen Silverman defends healthcare providers against malpractice claims, HIPAA violations, civil rights allegations, and regulatory actions with the conviction of someone who has stood in their shoes. She also defends actions involving premises liability. Over two decades, she has tried more than 50 cases to jury verdict and negotiated settlements that protect both her clients' practices and their professional reputations.

What physicians and nurses value most is Coreen’s grasp of clinical realities—she understands the split-second decisions, the incomplete information, and the chaos of litigation in ways that formal legal training cannot teach. Coreen’s practice also includes substantial experience defending correctional healthcare providers against Section 1983 civil rights claims, licensees before state regulatory boards, non-medical litigations including claims of police brutality and sexual assaults.

Prior to the law, Coreen worked as a critical care registered nurse in high-acuity settings where mistakes carry immediate consequences. That experience gives her credibility with medical expert witnesses, fluency with clinical records, and an ability to cross-examine opposing experts on the actual standard of care rather than theoretical ideals.

As a result, Coreen’s courtroom presence is often described as formidable but grounded. She defends healthcare providers with the same intensity she once brought to patient care—prepared for every contingency, unshaken under pressure, and absolutely committed to realizing the right outcome. Judges and juries respond to her authenticity; they recognize someone who genuinely understands what it means to practice medicine under myriad conditions.

Experience

• Defense verdict for a condominium association where a resident alleged failure of security leading to physical and sexual assault
• Defense jury verdict for a gynecologist in case where 37-year-old patient alleged battery after removal of her ovary without consent causing her to develop premature menopause and inability to procreate (Fredericksburg)
• Defense jury verdict for a general surgeon where the patient claimed the surgeon failed to diagnose and treat appendicitis leading to rupture, severe peritoneal infection, and bowel obstruction (Norfolk)
• Defense jury verdict for an anesthesiologist where the patient alleged the anesthesiologist performed radiofrequency ablation on the wrong side of her spine (Richmond)
• Defense jury verdict for a chiropractor where the patient alleged he negligently treated her causing her to suffer three strokes
• Defense jury verdict for an orthopedic surgeon where the parent of a 2-year-old alleged failure to perform surgical repair of a broken elbow leading to deformity, multiple surgeries, and loss of use (Prince William County)
• Defense jury verdict for a gynecologist where the patient alleged failure to use proper surgical techniques during laparoscopy hysterectomy causing ureteral burn and multiple corrective surgeries (Norfolk)
• Defense jury verdict for a plastic surgeon where the diabetic patient alleged failure to prescribe post-operative antibiotics leading to preventable severe infection in dominant hand, severe pain, and loss of use (Richmond)
• Defense jury verdict for a chiropractor where the patient alleged improper adjustment leading to a fractured rib (Chesterfield)
• Defense jury verdict for an orthopedic surgeon where the patient alleged negligent perforation of subclavian artery during surgical fixation of a fractured clavicle leading to air embolism, cardiac arrest, lengthy hospitalization, permanent deformity, loss of use, and disability (Stafford)
• Defense jury verdict for a spine surgeon where an 86-year old patient alleged failure to comply with the standard of care during thoracic spine surgery causing immediate paralysis from the waist down (Fredericksburg)
• Defense jury verdict for a hospitalist where the patient alleged failure to diagnose slipped gastric band leading to perforated stomach, severe peritoneal infections, multiple corrective surgeries, deformity, and disability (Salem)
• Defense jury verdict for a gynecologist where the patient alleged failure to refer the patient for psychiatric consultation and evaluation to rule out psychological-mediated pain before performing unnecessary surgery on a mentally ill patient leading to delayed bowel perforation, infection, multiple surgeries, and disability (Norfolk)
• Defended a police officer to federal jury verdict where an Army Lieutenant alleged the police officer used excessive force based on his race; jury awarded $2,685

Honors & Speeches

Honors

• AV Preeminent Peer Rated, Martindale-Hubbell, 2023
• Excellence in Achieving Top Defense Verdicts, Virginal Lawyers Weekly
• MPL Industry Defender Award, The Medical Professional Liability (MPL) Association, May 2022

Speeches

• Speaker, “Medical Litigation in Emergency Medicine,” Virginia Association of Emergency Physicians, Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Virginia 2026
• Panelist, “I Was Named in a Lawsuit: What Now?” Virginia Orthopedic Society 78^th Annual Meeting, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2025
• Speaker, “Managing Clinical Risks to Improve Patient Outcomes and Reduce Claims and Lawsuits,” Bayview Physician Services, P.C’s Provider Seminar for CME, Chesapeake, Virginia 2024
• Speaker, “Managing Clinical Risks to Improve Patient Outcomes and Reduce Claims and Lawsuits,” Riverside Health System, Risk Management Seminar, Newport News, Virginia 2024
• Speaker, “Weaponization of the EMR Against Physicians: The Audit Trail as a Sword,” Riverside Health System, Risk Management Seminar, Newport News, Virginia 2023
• Speaker, “Things the Emergency Physician Must Know to Minimize the Risk of Liability,” CURI Webinar, 2021
• Speaker, “State of Physician Professional Liability in the Commonwealth in 2019: A Defense Attorney’s Perspective,” Sentara Physicians Seminar for CME, Harrisonburg, Virginia 2019
• Speaker, “Medical Matters: An Overview of Malpractice Cases in Primary Care,” AFP Annual Meeting, Williamsburg, Virginia, 2018
• Speaker, “Defending the Bowel Perforation Case,” Medical Society of Virginia, Richmond, 2015
• Speaker, “Replacing Your Exhibit Boxes with an iPad: How to Seamlessly Try Your Case with Only an iPad,” VTLA Long Term Care Seminar, Henrico, 2015

Professional

• Member, Defense Research Institute (DRI), 2012 to Present
• Member, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, 2009 to Present