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Karl J. Protil, Jr.

Karl J. Protil, Jr.

301-230-6571

301-230-2891

PROFILE

Personal injury and medical malpractice victims, and those who have been injured by the federal government, turn to Karl Protil when they need a lawyer who has a 20 year record of winning such cases.

Clients depend on Karl when the stakes are high, and when their situations call for a lawyer who is not afraid to take chances when it comes to bringing the much needed emotional and financial closure they deserve. Victims benefit from his unique technical skill-set which includes both deep knowledge of personal injury law and an unusually strong understanding of how those laws intersect with the practice of medicine. Karl frequently represents clients suffering from misdiagnosis, medical malpractice or negligence in cases involving:

  • Birth Trauma
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Infant Shoulder Dystocia
  • Infant Abnormal Laboratory Cases
  • Meningitis and Other Childhood Infections
  • Emergency Room Misdiagnosis
  • Heart Attack
  • Stroke
  • Infections
  • Cancer Misdiagnosis
  • Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Amputation Cases
  • Blood Clots

Other lawyers, who may not be equipped to handle complicated personal injury matters, often refer such cases to Karl as they know him to have the skills, experience and deep resources required to handle and win such complex cases.

Over the course of his 20+ year career, Karl has secured many multi-million dollar recoveries in numerous state and federal courts in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, California, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Mississippi. He has represented clients in Federal Tort Claims Act cases against the United States in 13 states and the District of Columbia, and he has fought for injured parties in Military Claims Act cases against the United States that arose in multiple countries around the world. Some of the more recent victories Karl has achieved can be found below.

In addition to his victories in the courtroom, Karl is also highly respected for his contributions to the legal profession and his volunteer work focusing on social, justice and civil rights. Karl has been a mediator for medical malpractice cases in Maryland and D.C. Superior Courts. Both the court system itself and other lawyers often call upon him for his insight on Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) issues. In addition to having taught many CLE classes on the FTCA and writing articles on the subject, he also provides his fellow peers with ad-hoc FTCA guidance.

Karl routinely speaks at conferences and publishes articles on a variety of litigation-related topics. Through his volunteer efforts with the Maryland Association of Justice Public Outreach Committee, he frequently speaks at local high schools, educating students on the civil justice system.  Karl chairs the Board of Directors for the Menare Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Underground Railroad history. 

Karl is currently involves with the Montgomery County Sister City program between Montgomery County and Gondar, Ethiopia. He received an award from former Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett for his efforts in collecting over 500 books for the University of Gondar School of Law in Gondar, Ethiopia.

PRACTICE AREAS

  • Claims Against the Government (Federal Tort Claims Act- FTCA)
  • Medical Malpractice Claims
  • Personal Injury
  • Product Liability

EDUCATION

  • George Mason University School of Law, Arlington, Virginia, 1986, J.D.
  • Virginia Military Institute, 1983, B.A.

BAR & COURT ADMISSIONS

  • District of Columbia
  • Maryland
  • U.S. Federal Courts
  • Virginia

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS – MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

  • A Prince George’s County, Maryland case filed against a hospital resulted in a $9.5 million settlement.  The case involved an infant who sustained a brain injury at 6 days of life.  The settlement involved a structured settlement which paid almost $10 million over the infant’s lifetime, as well as additional money for the infant and parents.
  • A contested trial in Prince George’s County, Maryland resulted in an $860,000 verdict following a 2 week jury trial. The case involved the death of a patient in a local hospital whose spinal cord was injured following a procedure for the cardiac catheterization. The patient lived for almost 3 months following the injury and died of complications related to the spinal cord injury. Because the deceased was not married and had no children, suit was brought by his brother as the Personal Representative of the estate. The deceased was not working at the time of his death and had a number of serious medical issues. Prior to trial, the defense offer was zero. The verdict was reduced to $760,000 pursuant to Maryland’s cap on noneconomic damages.
  • In a wrongful death case of a 62 year-old resident of Baltimore City, a settlement of $650,000 was reached.  The case involved a neurosurgeon who was attempting to remove a pituitary tumor and injured part of the patient’s brain stem leading to a massive hemorrhage and her death several months later.
  • A case in Montgomery County, Maryland involving the wrongful death of a 52 year-old husband and father of two resulted in the payment of policy limits of $1 million after four days of trial.  The patient suffered a fatal heart attack minutes after walking out of his physician’s office and died en route to the hospital.  Prior to trial, there was an offer of $325,000 and multiple attempts on the part of the defendant to reach a high-low agreement.  All of those offers were rejected.  Trial was initially scheduled for six days, but after four days of trial, the defendant made an offer of their policy limits.
  • A Montgomery County Maryland case resulted in a settlement of $50,000.  A patient was given the wrong prescription for blood thinners by a physician’s assistant.  The improper prescription resulted in excessive bleeding in his surgical site and a hematoma which had to be removed in the hospital.  The patient made a full recovery after the surgical procedure and a four day hospitalization.
  • In a wrongful death case in the District of Columbia involving a 15 month old child, a $7.5 million settlement was reached.  The case involved a child who was born with a congenital heart condition who underwent complicated cardiothoracic surgery.  Unfortunately, the child had an underlying anomaly of one of his coronary arteries.  While preoperative tests diagnosed this, it was not recognized by the physicians.  When the heart surgery took place, it resulted in oxygenated blood being cut off from the child’s left ventricle.  Because the left ventricle was not receiving oxygenated blood it suffered massive injury and death of the heart muscle.  The child was unfortunately left with a significant cardiac injury which later resulted in additional circulatory problems, leading to the amputation of both of his legs, blindness, and some brain damage.  The child lived for a little over a year before tragically dying of complications related to the preventable injuries.  Medical expenses in the case were in excess of $2 million.A $750,000 settlement was reached with a hospital in Virginia.  The case involved the unfortunate wrongful death of a retired physician who went in for a knee replacement surgery.  During the post-hospitalization care, the patient was overmedicated with a heavy narcotic which caused a suppression of his central nervous system, anoxic brain injury, and his death.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS – PERSONAL INJURY

  • A Washington D.C. case was settled for $115,000 after a fence fell on a pedestrian as he was walking back to his building after lunch.  The fence was not properly secured and was blown over by a strong gust of wind.  The client suffered a fracture of his tibia and fibula which did not require surgery.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS – FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT (FTCA)

  • A Federal Tort Claims Act case filed in Norfolk, Virginia resulted in a $1 million settlement.  The settlement was paid by the United States Attorney’s Office in Norfolk, Virginia after the completion of discovery.  The case involved a crush injury to the client’s femoral nerve during a hysterectomy.  The physician performing the surgery for the Navy improperly placed a retractor on the patient’s nerve and crushed it during surgery.  The patient was left with a significant motor nerve injury to her leg and a pain syndrome.

NEWS

PUBLICATIONS

  • Karl Protil quoted in Stars and Stripes: Debate over veteran deaths could affect VA claims
  • Federal Tort Claims Act: What Every Service Member and Their Attorney Need to Know, MTLA Trial Reporter, Winter, 2013
  • Filing of Claims Against the United States Pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act: An Overview, MTLA Trial Reporter, Spring, 2006
  • A Strategy for Excluding Evidence of Informed Consent in Medical Negligence Cases in Which Lack of Informed Consent is Not Asserted, MTLA Trial Reporter, Summer, 2006
  • Circuit Court v. Federal Court:  Expert Selection, Preparation and Care, Trial Reporter, Summer 2009

SEMINARS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

  • The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA): A “How To” Guide, Webinar 2012, April 2013
  • Speaker, Advanced Medical Malpractice Issues, NBI
  • Handling Medical Negligence Claims, NBI
  • Punitive Damages, MWELA Annual Conference
  • Federal Tort Claims Act Procedures, MAJ Annual Medical Negligence Section’s Conference
  • Federal Tort Claims Act – Basic Webinar

CASE STUDIES

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Super Lawyers Maryland, 2014-2019

PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS

  • Maryland Association for Justice, Past Member, Board of Governors
  • Maryland Association for Justice, Past Chair, Medical Negligence Section
  • Maryland Association for Justice, Public Awareness and Outreach Vice-Chair
  • D.C. Trial Lawyers Association, Member
  • Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Member
  • American Association for Justice, Member
  • Multi-Door Mediator – District of Columbia Superior Court
  • President – St. Luke’s Lutheran Church (Derwood)
  • Board of Directors – Menare Foundation

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