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$3.4 million dollars on behalf of a young boy, who suffers from cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus, resulting from negligence on the part of obstetricians and resident obstetricians prior to his birth. The child suffered from profound lack of oxygen prior to his birth, prematurely, 28 weeks into the pregnancy. The attending obstetrician delayed getting to the hospital once notified that his patient was in labor, believing that the baby would not be born alive. It was also established that the attending neonatologist was negligent in failing to timely diagnose and treat the baby's hydrocephalus.
$3 million settlement, on behalf of a 47 year-old female, who experienced a delay in diagnosing her brain tumor. Two different primary care physicians, in the same medical group, diagnosed the patient as having anxiety and depression for three years, despite the patient's worsening neurological condition. By the time the tumor was finally diagnosed, the patient was unable to walk or speak. Had the tumor been diagnosed earlier, there would most likely have been a complete recovery due to the benign nature of the tumor. As a result of the delay in diagnosis, and the size of the tumor when finally removed, the patient cannot speak and requires around-the-clock nursing care.
$1.75 million settlement, on behalf of a young boy who sustained neurological injuries at birth from an obstetrician's negligence in treating his mother's premature rupture of membranes in the 35th week of pregnancy. Instead of determining whether the baby's lungs were sufficiently mature once the membranes ruptured, and then delivering the baby early, the obstetrician deferred delivery. As a result of the delay, the mother developed an amniotic infection, which was passed on to the baby. The child has spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, but normal intelligence.
$1.5 million settlement, on behalf of the widow of a 45 year-old male who died as a result of a delay in treating his aortic valve disease. The decedent's primary care physician chose to monitor the heart valve condition without the consultative input of a cardiologist, and as a result, the condition worsened to the point where an emergency repair was required. Had valve replacement surgery been done on an elective basis, the patient would, in all likelihood, have had a normal life expectancy.
$1.325 million settlement, on behalf of the surviving spouse and child of a 21 year-old female, who developed flu-like symptoms and back pain while 8 months pregnant. She was taken to the hospital after having become unresponsive following an episode of vomiting. The doctors considered eclampsia and sepsis, but waited several hours before doing a lumbar puncture, causing a delay in diagnosis of meningitis, which led to her death.
$1.2 million settlement, on behalf of the parents and siblings of a 2 ½ year-old child with a congenital facial nerve paralysis, who died from improper treatment of pneumonia and an overdose of anti-seizure medications. Prior to her hospitalization, the child was otherwise healthy, and her parents were investigating the possibility of surgical treatment of the nerve paralysis. A resident physician gave the medication overdose during a resuscitation, which was necessitated by a period of low oxygenation.
$1.2 million settlement on behalf of a young girl who developed cerebral palsy because the obstetrician did not perform delivery until two weeks after the expected due date. The child has normal intellectual ability and is in her regular class at school, but she can only communicate through the use of a computer.
$1.05 million settlement, death of a 57 year-old male medical technician with known sickle cell disease, who received a blood transfusion with autologous blood, which subsequently hemolyzed.
$1 million settlement, on behalf of the surviving spouse of a 69 year-old female, who died as a result of negligence by her internist, who failed to investigate the cause of a persistent anemia, accompanied by weight loss and fatigue. When the doctor finally sent the woman for a lower GI series, the x-rays were misread, resulting in a delay in diagnosing her colon cancer. By the time the cancer was detected, it had spread to her lungs and liver. Had the cancer been detected earlier, the woman would have had more than a 90% chance of a cure, due to the location of the cancer.
$850,000 settlement on behalf of a 40 year-old father of five, construction worker, who was injured while a passenger in a van leaving a work site. The accident occurred when the van, driven by a co-worker, crossed the median, was struck by another vehicle and flipped over. The passenger, one of two workers injured in the accident, sustained multiple fractures and suffered a stroke from an arterial rupture. As a result of the brain injury, he is blind and is severely compromised in his ability to speak and communicate.
$725,000 settlement, on behalf of a 50 year-old male who experienced a delay in diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer through negligence on the part of his primary care physician, and a consulting urologist. As a result of the delay, the patient's chance for cure was significantly reduced.
$700,000 settlement, on behalf of the surviving husband and five adult children of a 69 year-old owner and operator of a private pre-school, resulting from negligence by her primary care physician in failing to refer her for cardiological evaluation despite her long-standing history of hypertension and chest pain.
$600,000 settlement, following the death of a 59 year-old mother of seven, from a delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. The woman had two abnormal mammograms that were misread by two radiologists, resulting in a 14-month delay in diagnosing the cancer. By the time of diagnosis, the cancer had spread and was incurable.
$400,000 settlement obtained on behalf of a 63 year-old scientist, for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. After being cut off by a "phantom" driver on the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago, the driver crashed into guardrail and sustained serious leg injuries. There was no contact between the Plaintiff driver's car and the "phantom" driver, although the unidentified driver was the cause of the subsequent collision with the guardrail. The settlement was paid by the Plaintiff's uninsured motorist policy, which allowed for payment of the claim, even though there was no impact between the "phantom" and the plaintiff. It was established, through careful reading and interpretation of the insurance policy, that if the facts of the accident could be established, even if through testimony of the Plaintiff, coverage would apply.
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