Patrick A. Malone (born 1951) is a
trial lawyer
A lawyer is a person who Practice of law, practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different Jurisdiction, legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney at law, attorney, barrister, canonist, canon l ...
and author based in
Washington, D.C. Malone co-developed a
trial advocacy method called "Rules of the Road".
Advocacy Method
Malone co-authored ''Rules of the Road: A Plaintiff Lawyer's Guide to Proving Liability'', with Rick Friedman, which was published by Trial Guides in 2006.
Since then, the techniques described in the book have been the subject of national and regional seminars for trial lawyers, sponsored by the
American Association for Justice
The American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) is a nonprofit advocacy and lobbying organization for plaintiff's lawyers in the United States. Focused on opposing tort reform, the organiza ...
(AAJ) -- formerly known as the
Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) -- the largest organization for plaintiffs' attorneys in the United States. An expanded second edition of the book was published in 2010.
The publisher describes the book as "America's bestselling text on proving liability."
The phrase "Rules of the Road" has been
trademarked.
In their book, Friedman and Malone posit that civil defendants defeat meritorious lawsuits by three main techniques -- "complexity, confusion and ambiguity" - and that plaintiff advocates can prepare more persuasive cases by developing case-specific "rules" that clarify the core liability issues in the case.
In 2012, Malone was the lead author of a follow-up book, ''Winning Medical Malpractice Cases With the Rules of the Road Technique''. In the same year, the AAJ added a special annual two-day seminar on "rules of the road" as applied to medical malpractice cases.
In 2016, Malone's book ''The Fearless Cross-Examiner: Win the Witness, Win the Case'' was published. This book aimed to overturn standard advice on how trial lawyers should conduct cross-examination and instead advocated a more analytic and adaptable approach.
Notable cases
In ''Benedi v. McNeil-P.P.C., Inc.'' (
E.D. Va.), a
federal jury in
Alexandria, Virginia, found in 1994 that the manufacturer of
Tylenol should pay Malone's client $8 million for failing to warn on its label about
the drug's ability to destroy the liver in ordinary doses in alcohol drinkers. The verdict was affirmed by the
Fourth Circuit The ''Boston Globe'' called it one of the top ten lawsuit verdicts against
pharmaceutical companies.
In ''Semsker v. Lockshin'', a state court jury in
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...
, awarded the family of a deceased attorney $5.8 million against a
dermatology practice that had failed to timely diagnose the attorney's melanoma. The trial court agreed with Malone's argument that the state's limitation on malpractice damages should not apply to this case. However, the
state's highest court, the
Maryland Court of Appeals, reversed and ordered the verdict reduced to account for the statutory cap after hearing from ''
amici curiae'', including the state medical society and the American Medical Association.
Malone represented the plaintiff in ''Goldberg v. Boone'', a Maryland medical malpractice in which the plaintiff suffered
brain injury during a procedure to remove a
cholesteatoma from the ear. Reversing the
intermediate appellate court, the Maryland court of appeals agreed with Malone's position and established the right of Maryland patients to sue a surgeon for lack of
informed consent
Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics and medical law, that a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about their medical care. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatme ...
in not advising that other more experienced surgeons were available for a particular procedure.
Career
Before attending law school, Malone was a medical writer and investigative reporter for the ''
Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
''. He was a finalist for a
1980 Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prizes for 1980 were announced on April 14, 1980. A total of 1,550 entries were submitted for prizes in 19 categories of journalism and the arts. Winners were chosen by the 16-member Pulitzer Prize Board, presided over by Clayton Kirkp ...
for "Dangerous Doctors", a series of articles he co-authored. He earned a
J.D. from
Yale Law School in 1984.
Malone was a
law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...
to Judge
Gerhard Gesell of the
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of ...
from 1984 to 1985. Malone worked for 22 years for the law firm of Stein, Mitchell & Mezines (now Stein, Mitchell, Muse & Cipollone, LLP).
Malone also wrote ''The Life You Save: Nine Steps to Finding the Best Medical Care—and Avoiding the Worst'', which helps patients and their friends and family insure that they receive the best medical care in today's healthcare system.
List of Publications
*''Rules of the Road: A Plaintiff Lawyer's Guide to Proving Liability''
* ''The Life You Save: Nine Steps to Finding the Best Medical Care-and Avoiding the Worst''
* ''Winning Medical Malpractice Cases With the Rules of the Road Technique''
* ''The Fearless Cross-Examiner: Win the Witness, Win the Case''
Legal Articles
* "Paying It Forward by Pressing for Safety Changes"
''Trial,'' June 2014
* "Unethical Secret Settlements: Just Say No", (by Patrick Malone & Jon Bauer), ''Trial'', September 2010.
"Medical Malpractice in Managing Diabetes" ''Trial'', March 2004
* "Working with Experts in the ''
Daubert
In United States federal law, the ''Daubert'' standard is a rule of evidence regarding the admissibility of expert witness testimony. A party may raise a ''Daubert'' motion, a special motion ''in limine'' raised before or during trial, to exclude ...
'' Era," ''Trial'', September 2003
* "The Role of FDA Approval in Drug Cases," ''Trial'', November 1998
* "Medical Authority and Infanticide," ''
Journal of Law and Health'', Vol. 1, No. 1, 1985.
''American Scholar'' (1986), pp. 55, 367-80.
References
External links
Patient Safety Blog Child Safety Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, Patrick A.
Yale Law School alumni
Lawyers from Washington, D.C.
1951 births
Living people
Trial lawyers
Writers from Wichita, Kansas