Below is a sampling of some of the verdicts and settlements of medical malpractice, wrongful death, negligence, and personal injury cases we have achieved.  Please bear in mind that results may vary from case to case.

 

 

Practice Area: Negligence – Toxic Tort
Result: $23,000,000.00

 

This lawsuit alleged that several members of a Chicago area community were wrongfully exposed to toxic substances over a period of many years.  The suit, brought in federal district court, also alleged that the defendant company's failure to properly dispose of the toxic waste caused the various illnesses suffered by the plaintiffs.

 

 

Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Result: $8,500,000.00

 

A 19 year-old woman presented to a Chicago hospital 37 weeks pregnant and complaining of abdominal pain.  Though physicians and nurses noted signs that the woman was experiencing an abrupting placenta, they failed to take appropriate timely measures to address the situation.  The lawsuit alleged that the defendants' failure to follow established standards of medical care caused the child to be deprived of oxygen for a prolonged period, a condition that resulted in significant mental retardation.

 

 

Practice Area: Premises Liability/Medical Malpractice
Result: $7,090,000.00

 

A 31 year-old man fell from a second story porch due to an allegedly defective railing. At the hospital, doctors failed to diagnose a fracture of his spine, resulting in paralysis below the waist. Claims were made against the owner of the building as well as the hospital.

 

 

Practice Area: Motor Vehicles – Pedestrian
Result: $5,300,000.00

 

A 57 year-old woman was struck and killed by an SBC van while she was attempting to cross the street. The decedent was survived by her 63 year-old husband and adult children. The case settled just three days before trial was to begin.

 

 

Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Result: $4,700,000.00

 

This case was brought on behalf of a young girl who was born with severe cerebral palsy.  The lawsuit alleged that her condition was caused by the defendant physicians' failure to abide by the applicable medical standard of care which required them to immediately deliver the child when clinical testing revealed signs of fetal distress.

 

 

Practice Area: Negligence - Construction
Result: $2,500,000.00

 

A 23 year-old man died of injuries sustained while attempting to weld inside a portion of large piping.  The jury found that the defendants acted negligently by failing to flush the piping of ignitable gas before plaintiff entered to perform his welding tasks.

 

 

Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Result: $2,000,000.00

 

A woman with severe headaches was referred for a CT scan but the radiologist allegedly failed to diagnose a brain tumor. As a result, she was left with impaired vision.

 

 

Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Result: $1,750,000.00

 

Physicians failed to diagnose and treat a severe infection in the dominant arm of a 42 year-old, diabetic man. As a result, he was forced to undergo amputation of his arm. This was reportedly the largest arm-related settlement in Will County, Illinois history.

 

 

Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Result: $1,500,000.00

 

A 39 year-old woman died after the defendant physician misdiagnosed her pulmonary embolism as pneumonia. She was survived by two adult children who lived with her. A partial settlement was reached with the defendant hospital prior to trial. The physician settled at trial after the close of plaintiff’s case.

 

 

Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Result: $1,200,000.00

 

A 42 year-old woman died of breast cancer after the defendant radiologist misdiagnosed the results of a mammogram and breast ultrasound. The defendant asserted that the cancer was not noticeable at the time the studies were performed.

 

 

Practice Area: Product Liability
Result: $1,225,000.00

 

Passengers of a van traveling on Interstate 57 in Illinois suffered scarring and soft tissue injuries due to vehicle roll over caused when the driver took evasive action to avoid a roadway hazard. Plaintiffs alleged that the van was negligently designed in that its wheel base was not wide enough to support its high center of gravity. Contributing to the settlement were the van’s manufacturer and the company that rented the vehicle to the driver.

 

 

Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Result: $1,200,000.00

 

An expectant mother had a delivery complicated by shoulder dystocia which resulted in a brachial plexus injury to the baby. She alleged that her prenatal care was mismanaged, caesarean delivery was not considered, and excessive traction was applied during the delivery.

 

 

Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Result: $1,200,000.00

 

During back surgery on a 44 year-old woman the defendant physician damaged several of the patient’s blood vessels. As a result, the woman was left with hampered blood flow to one of her legs causing pain and swelling in the extremity. The defendant asserted that the injury was not the result of surgical negligence, but was a recognized risk of the procedure.

 

Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Verdict: $1,200,000.00 (consortium only)

 

The jury determined that the defendant physician carelessly failed to diagnose and properly treat what turned out to be appendiceal cancer.  As a result, the decedent, a 73 year-old attorney, died leaving his wife and adult son.  Before he passed away, the decedent waived his claim for lost wages, and the verdict reflects damages for loss of consortium only.

 

 

Practice Area: Motor Vehicles – Boating
Result: $1,100,000.00

 

An 11 year-old girl was being towed in an inflatable inner tube behind a boat operated by a family friend on a lake near Antioch, Illinois.  As she traveled around the lake another boat motoring across the waterway collided with her body causing a serious shoulder injury.  The girl was left with scarring and a reduced ability to use the arm.  Plaintiff's complaint alleged that the drivers of both boats failed to maintain an adequate lookout for others using the waterway and passed too closely to one another, thereby causing the collision.

 

 

Practice Area: Negligence – Case against City of Chicago
Result: $900,000.00

 

A young girl was killed when a large limb fell from a tree and struck her in the head. The girl’s estate faulted the City of Chicago for failing to recognize the risk posed by the branch and for failing prune it. The City denied being on notice of the danger the limb posed and claimed that the true cause of the accident was a severe storm that blew the branch from the tree.

 

 

Practice Area: Negligence – Dog Attack
Result: $564,580.43 (structured payout)

 

A 22 month-old child was attacked by the defendants' dog while the child and his mother were visiting the defendants' home.  The attack caused significant scalp injuries.  Plaintiff's complaint alleged that defendants failed to take proper steps to protect the boy from the dog even though they knew that the dog had attacked the minor plaintiff, and at least one other child, on previous occasions.

 

 

Practice Area: Product Liability
Result: $500,000.00

 

A woman working in a meat packaging plant suffered an injury to her right arm when it was caught in a meat tumbler she was operating. Plaintiff alleged that the machine was designed without adequate safety features that should have shut the machine down when the plaintiff got too close. Defendant asserted that the machine’s safety features were adequate and that the injury was caused by the plaintiff wedging a nail into the machine’s on button which caused the machine to operate continuously. Plaintiff’s employer waved its $210,000.00 Workers’ Compensation lien bringing the total settlement value to $710,000.00.

 

 

Practice Area: Motor Vehicles – Trucking
Result: $310,000.00

 

An elderly woman was injured when her car went out of control and into a ditch. Investigation revealed that a tanker truck had leaked a substance onto the roadway thus causing the accident, and the trucking company was held accountable.

 

 

Practice Area: Motor Vehicles
Result: $300,000.00

 

The plaintiff, a 40 year old man, was traveling eastbound in Belmont Avenue in Chicago when the defendant abruptly attempted to perform a u-turn, swerving directly into the path of the plaintiff’s vehicle. As a result, the plaintiff suffered a neck injury resulting in significant pain that took several months to resolve.

 

 

Practice Area: Premises Liability – Slip and Fall
Result: $180,000.00

 

A 52 year-old woman slipped and fell on ice outside of a north-suburban shopping mall, breaking her left ankle. Plaintiff alleged that the mall’s outdoor canopy had not been adequately cleared of snow resulting in water run-off to the ground below during warmer daytime hours that would later freeze in the early evening. The case settled after reports were discovered documenting several earlier such incidents that were used to show a pattern of neglect by mall maintenance.

 

 

Practice Area: Premises Liability – Slip and Fall
Result: $100,000.00

 

A woman slipped and fell on ice that formed on a METRA platform, breaking her leg. Plaintiff claimed that the ice formed from a broken rain gutter that caused water to drip directly onto the platform which froze following a drop in outside temperature.