Taylor D. Brewer
(804) 864-4805
(804) 421-6251 (fax)
tbrewer@moranreevesconn.com
Areas of Practice:
- Medical Malpractice Defense
- Healthcare Licensing
- Transportation Defense
Taylor Brewer concentrates her practice in complex litigation, including the defense of medical malpractice actions, hospital liability, risk management issues, and constitutional officer claims.
Taylor represents physicians, nurses, and other licensed health care providers, as well as corporate entities such as hospitals and private companies and practice groups. Her practice includes healthcare and hospital risk management and administrative matters, including representation before the Commonwealth of Virginia’s health regulatory boards. She routinely advises clients on risk management and quality assurance matters. She has authored and is a national speaker on legal issues in correctional health care.
Prior to focusing her practice on the defense of health care providers, Taylor defended automobile liability cases for GEICO in Hampton Roads and Richmond. In her capacity as defense counsel for the company and its insured drivers, Taylor tried more than 100 bench trials and 13 jury trials in Virginia.
Taylor enjoys being involved in her local community. She serves on the Board of the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation, through which she represents pro bono victims of domestic and spousal abuse in obtaining protective orders. Taylor is on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, currently acting as the Regional Director for greater Richmond. As well, she and her family are active members of Reveille United Methodist Church. Outside the office, Taylor enjoys running and spending time with her husband and three young children.
Education
J.D., cum laude, University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, South Carolina, 2011
South Carolina Law Review, Editorial Board
CALI Award for the highest grade in: Health Law & Policy, Torts II, Criminal Procedure
National Trial Advocacy College, Charlottesville, Virginia
B.S., Psychology and Spanish, Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina, 2008
University of Virginia in Valencia, Spain, Fall Semester 2007
Norfolk Academy, 2004
Bar Admissions
- Virginia, 2011
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth District
Professional Associations
- Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys
- Executive Committee, 2024-present
- Secretary, 2024-present
- Regional Director, Board of Directors, 2021-2024
- Member at Large, Board of Directors, 2019-2021
- Chair, Medical Malpractice Section, 2018-2019
- Vice Chair, Medical Malpractice Section, 2017-2018
- Richmond Bar Association
- Board of Directors, 2024-present
- Membership Committee, 2023-2024
- Communications Committee, 2021-2023
- Chair, 2022-2023
- Pro Bono Committee, 2016-18
- Greater Richmond Bar Foundation
- Chair, 2024-present
- Vice Chair, 2023-2024
- Board of Directors, Director at Large, 2020-2023
- Virginia State Bar
- Chair, Young Lawyers Council Pro Bono Committee, 2022-2023
- Norfolk Portsmouth Bar Association, 2011-2015
Honors and Awards
- Associate Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
- Virginia Lawyers Weekly “Influential Women in Law”, 2024
- Virginia Lawyers Weekly “Go to Lawyer” for Medical Malpractice, 2023
- The Best Lawyers in America “Ones to Watch”, 2021 – 2025
- Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2016 – 2024
- Virginia Lawyers Weekly “Up and Coming Lawyers”, 2011
- Virginia Business Legal Elite, Health Law, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Presentations
The Evolving Test for Deliberate Indifference, National Commission on Correctional Health Care Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada (October, 2024)
Clinical and Legal Considerations for Managing Withdrawal, National Commission on Correctional Health Care Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada (October, 2024)
Empowering Ambition: Navigating Flexible Hybrid Work Models for Women’s Success, USLAW Network Women’s Connection, Asheville, North Carolina, (May, 2024)
How to Ace Your Deposition: Tips from Both Sides of the V, National Commission on Correctional Health Care Spring Conference, St. Louis, MO (April, 2024)
Clinical and Legal Lessons Learned while Implementing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Programs, Virginia Association of Regional Jails Annual Meeting (April, 2024)
Engaging Younger Attorneys in Your Bar Association: Tips, Tactics, and Success Stories, Virginia State Bar, Bar Leaders Institute, Richmond, Virginia (March, 2024)
Deliberate Indifference to a Serious Medical Need: From Both Sides of the V, Federal Bar Association, Health Law Section (February, 2024)
Written Discovery, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys Young Lawyers Boot Camp, Richmond, Virginia (December, 2023)
Summary Judgment, Guest Lecture at the University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, Virginia (November, 2023)
How to Ace the Meeting with Defense Counsel, Virginia Chapter of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management Fall Conference, Staunton, Virginia (November, 2023)
Remote Work is Here to Stay: Maintaining Data Scurity, Ethics, and Your Wellbeing in the New Era of Practicing Law, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys Annual Meeting, Virginia Beach, Virginia (October, 2023)
Medical and Legal Lessons Learned in the Implementation of Medications for Opioid Use Disorders, National Commission on Correctional Health Care Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada (October, 2023)
CLE: Taking and Defending Depositions, Richmond Bar Association (September, 2023)
Trials 101: A Paralegal’s Role in Trial Prep and Trial, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys Paralegal Seminar (2022, 2023, 2024)
Immunize Yourself and Your Facility from Lawsuits: Never Say Never, National Commission on Correctional Health Care Mental Health Conference, Washington, DC (July, 2023)
Keynote Speaker, Pro Bono Service and the Legal Community, University of Richmond School of Law Harry L. Carrico Center Pro Bono Certificate and Recognition Ceremony (May, 2023)
CLE: Pro Bono Protective Orders, Virginia State Bar’s Young Lawyers Conference, Professional Development Conference (May, 2023)
Lessons Learned in the Implementation of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder from Medical and Legal Perspectives, Virginia Association of Regional Jails Annual Meeting (April, 2023)
Summary Judgment, Guest Lecture at the University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, Virginia (November, 2022)
Protecting Yourself and Your Facility from Litigation, National Commission on Correctional Health Care Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada (October, 2022)
CLE: Pro Bono Protective Orders, The Lewis F. Powell, Jr. American Inn of Court Meeting, Richmond, Virginia (October, 2022)
CLE: Pro Bono Protective Orders, The Greater Richmond Bar Foundation Annual Pro Bono Celebration, Richmond, Virginia (October, 2022)
Trials 101: A Paralegal’s Role in Trial Prep and Trial, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys Paralegal Seminar (August, 2022)
Intake Screening: How to Avoid Liability, National Commission on Correctional Health Care Annual Meeting (April, 2022)
Preventing Liability in the Correctional Setting, Virginia Association of Regional Jails Annual Meeting (March, 2022)
Written Discovery, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys Young Lawyers Boot Camp, Richmond, Virginia (December, 2021)
Defensive Documentation and Litigation for Healthcare Providers, Sentara Healthcare, Virginia (November, 2020)
Written Discovery, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys Young Lawyers Boot Camp, Richmond, Virginia (December, 2019)
Avoiding the “Reptile” Theory in Written Discovery and Depositions, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys Annual Meeting, Norfolk, Virginia (October, 2019)
Trials 101: A Paralegal’s Role in Trial Prep and Trial, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys Paralegal Seminar, Richmond, Virginia (August, 2019)
Publications
Pro Bono: All the Cool Kids are Doing It, The Richmond Lawyer, Richmond Bar Association Magazine, October 2024
The Evolving Test for Deliberate Indifference in Correctional Healthcare, USLAW Magazine, Summer Issue (June, 2024) https://issuu.com/uslawnetwork/docs/uslaw_magazine_summer_2024/18
To Avoid the Risk of Lawsuits … Never Say Never, CorrectCare, National Commission on Correctional Health Care, Volume 37, Issue 1 (Spring 2023)
Pro Bono Protective Orders: Benefitting You, Virginia Lawyer, Vol. 71, No. 3 (October 2022)
Providing Health Care for the Incarcerated, Medical Law Report, Vol. 18, No. 4 (July, 2021)
Confronting the Reptile in Virginia, 30 J. Civ. Litig. 187 (2018)
Representative Experience
Won summary judgment and final dismissal of a case in the Western District of Virginia against a nurse practitioner and nurse where allegations involved failure to properly treat MRSA
Won summary judgment and final dismissal of a case in Henrico, Virginia against a primary care physician where allegations involved failure to interpret EKG results and failure to diagnose impending myocardial infarction
Dismissal of a complaint against a licensed practical nurse following a formal hearing with the Board of Nursing. Allegations involved failure to respond to and report two patient falls at a rehabilitation center.
Forced non-suit in Chesapeake, Virginia in a case against two family physicians involving allegations of failure to identify abnormal EKG results and failure to diagnose acute cardiac condition
Dismissal of a case against a pediatric intensivist in Norfolk where allegations involved failure to diagnose worsening pulmonary status, failure to properly supervise resident physicians, and failure to diagnose misplacement of enteric tube
Defense verdict in Newport News, Virginia for a general surgeon where plaintiff alleged the surgeon caused enterotomies during hernia surgery and failed to return the patient to the operating room for exploration and removal of ischemic portions of bowel
Won summary judgment and final dismissal of a case against a nurse practitioner in Abingdon where plaintiff alleged negligence and deliberate indifference during treatment of Hepatitis C
Dismissal of a case against a hospitalist and nurse practitioner in Petersburg where allegations involved failure to diagnose liver failure and failure to transfer to a liver transplant center
Won summary judgment and final dismissal of a case against a physician in Lynchburg where plaintiff alleged negligence and deliberate indifference during treatment of a broken bone
Successfully petitioned court in Norfolk, Virginia on behalf of pediatric geneticist to order life-saving stem cell transplant for infant patient with Hurler Syndrome
Won summary judgment and final dismissal of a case against several correctional health care providers where plaintiff alleged negligence and deliberate indifference during treatment of diabetes, hypertension, and periodontitis
Defense verdict in Salem, Virginia for hospital nurses where plaintiff with myoclonus alleged that a breach of the nursing standard of care caused him to spill hot coffee and injure himself
Won a motion to set aside the verdict in Norfolk Circuit Court by arguing that the jury incorrectly ignored contributory negligence by the plaintiff
Dismissal of a complaint against a physical therapist assistant following an informal hearing with the Board of Physical Therapy. Allegations involved improper documentation of physical therapy assessments.
Defense verdict in Richmond, Virginia for a general surgeon in a case involving allegations of misdiagnosed infection following surgical correction of diverticula and a fistula track between the cecum and bladder
Community Service
- Firms in Service, 2018-present
- Norfolk Court Appointed Special Advocates, Board of Directors, 2012-2015
- Cantabile Project, Board of Directors, 2012-2017
- Norfolk Academy Young Alumni Committee, 2011-2017
Prior Employment
- Goodman Allen Donnelly, Associate Attorney, 2015-2018
- GEICO, Counsel, 2013 – 2015
- Inman & Strickler, P.L.C, Associate Attorney, 2013
- Kaufman & Canoles, P.C., Associate Attorney, 2011 – 2012
