Case Results

In an effort to educate potential clients about the work that we do, we have summarized just a few of our cases. The following cases have been generalized in order to maintain confidentiality for all parties involved. Each case has its own set of distinguishable facts, and the following settlements and verdicts have been obtained based on the facts and merits of each individual circumstance. Therefore, you should not generalize the results in this section to be accurate with respect to similar claims. Please check back often, as we will continue to update this section.

$3.6 million recovery. Product Liability. Unsafe drug causing death. Our client took a prescribed drug and died. Manufacturer of the drug knew that the drug had dangerous side effects and failed to advise doctors and warn patients of risks associated with use. Settlement was reached prior to trial.

$3.5 million recovery. Industrial accident. Wrongful death. Our client was assisting in the tear-down and transportation of a crane when he became trapped in the “pinch point” between the bottom of the counterweight and the crane’s truck frame. The decedent’s widow made claims against her husband’s employer, the selling agent of the modified crane, and the company who originally purchased the crane and modified the counterweight that created the “pinch point hazard.” A settlement was reached during trial.

$2.4 million jury verdict. D.U.I. accident involving police officer: Our client was employed as a police officer for a city police department. While directing traffic, our client was struck by a drunk driver whose blood alcohol level was .18. Our client suffered trauma to his back, neck, and lower extremities. He also suffered from headaches, memory loss, and concentration difficulties. In addition, our client required more than 2 years of medical treatment and missed 2 months of work. Case settled post-verdict.

$1.6 million recovery. Job site accident. Wrongful death. Our client was working with a demolition crew that was preparing to bring down a building. A fellow crew member had just finished cutting the steel support rods that were supporting the main roof, and our client was instructed to attach a line to the roof so it could be pulled down. Unfortunately, the building collapsed onto our client in the process of tying the line to the roof. The lawsuit stated the contractor was negligent for failing to provide adequate supervision, and unsafe working conditions. Settlement was reached prior to trial.

$1.5 million recovery. Automobile accident. While driving on the interstate, our client encountered heavy fog and pulled off the side of the highway leaving the lights on. While pulled off the side of the road, our client was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer, which resulted in a 11-car pile-up. Our client suffered blindness in her right eye, multiple fractures, tendon and nerve damage to her right arm, multiple facial injuries with scarring, multiple rib fractures, and bilateral pneumothorax. Case settled prior to trial.

$1.4 million settlement. Automobile accident & Insurance bad faith. Our client was injured in an automobile accident by an unknown driver who fled the scene of the accident. A lawsuit was filed against the unknown driver and a claim was made against her own insurance under the terms of her uninsured motorist coverage. Our client repeatedly made requests that her own insurance company adjust her claim, but all requests went unacknowledged. After a trial, the Court entered a judgment against the unknown driver and awarded more than $1,000,000 to our client. Judgment was also entered against our client’s insurance carrier for the uninsured policy limit. Because the client’s insurance carrier was on the verge of filing for bankruptcy, our client agreed to resolve all the elements of her claims for $1.4 million.

$1.36 million settlement. Automobile Accident & Insurance Bad Faith. Our client was injured in a motor vehicle accident when the driver of another vehicle failed to yield and hit our client, causing our client’s vehicle to spin 360 degrees and strike a telephone pole. Our client suffered a closed-head injury and injuries to his right shoulder, arm, and wrist, and required multiple surgeries. Our client filed claims against his own insurance carrier to collect underinsured motorist coverage and medical payments coverage, which the insurance company denied. Our office then filed a bad faith claim on behalf of our client and proved that our client was entitled to receive these benefits. Our client was awarded the underinsured motorists policy limits and medical payments coverage. Our office also proved that the insurance company misrepresented the insurance policy provisions when initially denying coverage to our client and failed to promptly investigate our client’s claims, both of which violated the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. This case settled without trial.

$1.25 million recovery. Product Liability. Unsafe drug causing death. Our client took a prescribed drug and died. Manufacturer of the drug knew that the drug had dangerous side effects and failed to advise doctors and warn patients of risks associated with use. Settlement was reached prior to trial.

$950,000 recovery. Medical Malpractice. Surgery leading to sepsis. Our client had a bowel resection. A segment of bowel was negligently left in the abdomen causing sepsis and renal failure. Our client lost more bowel and suffered failure to thrive syndrome. Settlement was reached prior to trial.

$900,000 recovery. Automobile accident. We represented a husband and wife that were hit head on by a tandem truck. The husband underwent multiple surgeries to repair fractures to his femur, hip, and mandible. Although the wife’s injuries were not as severe, she was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder caused from the emotional stress and anxiety of the accident, and having to care for her husband and manage their business by herself.

$885,000 recovery. Death case involving firefighter. Our client, a volunteer firefighter, was a passenger in a tanker fire truck driven by another volunteer firefighter who failed to control the vehicle. The decedent’s estate alleged that the driver of the fire truck failed to maintain control of the fire truck, was driving at an excessive rate of speed, and failed to use ordinary care in the operation of the vehicle. The decedent’s estate further contended that the defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol as several hours prior to the accident the defendant was seen drinking at a local bar. Settlement was obtained during mediation.

$765,000 recovery. Job site accident. Our client was working for his employer building a new home. As the defendant attempted to boom drywall through an opening in the upstairs of the house, the unsecured drywall shifted causing it to fall on the plank where our client was standing. As a result of his fall, our client sustained a serious head injury and 2 herniated discs.

$750,000 recovery. Automobile accident resulting in severe disability. Our client was forced into the median strip by a tractor-trailer that was changing lanes. Injuries included intracerebral hematoma resulting in severe disability which requires 24-hour care. This case went to trial twice before settling on the first day of the third trial.

$750,000 recovery. Medical Malpractice. Negligence following childbirth. Our client’s newborn was delivered by emergency c-section. Staff failed to monitor and treat the premature infant’s low blood sugar in the hours following birth which resulted in the child being severely retarded and legally blind. Settlement was reached prior to trial.

$625,000 recovery. Swimming Pool death. We represented a family on behalf of their young child who drowned in a swimming pool despite having numerous swimming lessons and two lifeguards on duty. Negligence included failure to adequately supervise individuals using the pool, failure to adequately staff the facility, failure to have adequate first aid equipment available, and failure to adequately train personnel. Case settled prior to trial.

$600,000 recovery. Optometric Malpractice. Failure to diagnose brain tumor. Our client reported visual disturbances to optometrist who failed to recognize the significance of the problem and to refer our client to an ophthalmologist. One year later an MRI revealed a brain tumor. Emergency surgery was performed, but it was too late. Our client has permanent total loss of vision in right eye, and limited vision in left eye. Settlement was reached prior to trial.

$540,000 recovery. Medical Malpractice. Failure to diagnose lung cancer causing premature death. Our client’s c-scan revealed a cancerous tumor. The physicians failed to review the reports and diagnosis was not made for 10 months. Failure to diagnosis lung cancer resulted in our client’s premature death. Settlement was reached prior t trial.

$500,000 settlement. Medical Malpractice During Hysterectomy. During a routine hysterectomy, our client's ureters, the tubes that extend from the bladder to the kidneys, were negligently sewn shut, causing urine to flow backwards into the kidneys. Our client required emergency surgery to relieve the obstruction. The same surgeon who caused the initial harm negligently shredded three-fourths of our client's bladder during the surgery to relieve the obstruction. Our client required bladder reconstruction in which bowel was used to replace her bladder. Settlement was reached prior to trial.

$475,000 recovery. Wrongful Death. Suicide while admitted to facility. We represented the estate of an individual who was admitted to a mental health facility for suicide attempts and severe depression. The facility failed to follow suicide protocol and remove items that were of danger to our client, which included shoestrings. Our client hanged himself with his shoestrings. Settlement was reached prior to trial.

$350,000 recovery. Pedestrian accident resulting in death. Our client was walking on the sidewalk when a box truck backed onto the sidewalk striking him, causing severe multiple fractures of the pelvis as well as disruption of his urethra. He remained in the intensive care unit until his death three weeks later. Case settled prior to trial.

$305,000 recovery. Medical Malpractice. Failure to screen and diagnose colon cancer leading to premature death. The physician failed to screen patient for colorectal cancer. Colon cancer was diagnosed in a late stage with very low rate of survival. Our client died within months of the diagnosis. Settlement was reached prior to trial.

$275,000 settlement. College Student Injured in Automobile Accident. Our client was returning to college after spending the weekend with her family when she was struck by a recreational vehicle, causing our client's vehicle to spin violently out of control. Our client suffered a herniated disc as a result of the collision. Although surgery helped to lessen the pain, our client still suffered from back pain and was told that the injuries were permanent. At the time of the accident, our client was enrolled as a veterinary student and had plans to take over her family's veterinarian practice. Our client discovered that the injuries from the accident would affect her job opportunities as a veterinarian, and that her job performance would be compromised when placed in certain situations. Settlement was reached prior to trial.

$260,000 recovery. Medical Malpractice. Surgery results in nerve and vocal cord damage. After carotid artery surgery, our client exhibited signs of one-sided laryngeal nerve damage. Surgeon negligently proceeded with surgery on opposite side also causing damage to the nerve on the opposite side which required a tracheostomy. Client suffered permanent vocal cord damage. Settlement was reached prior to trial.

$237,500.00 recovery. Barge accident. Admiralty Claim. Our client was injured while working as a deck hand on a tow boat for his employer. When our client attempted to descend a ladder into the hopper of the barge to assist with the cleaning, the wooden ladder was not secured at the top and did not have rubber cleats on the bottom causing the ladder to slide out from underneath him and fall into the hole of the barge. Our client suffered from retrograde amnesia and sustained a closed head injury. He developed headaches, dizziness, tremors, cognitive problems, severe anxiety, mood swings, fatigue, TMJ and sleeplessness. Our client filed a lawsuit alleging negligence under the Jones Act, unseaworthiness of defendant’s vessels, and a claim for maintenance and cure. This claim settled prior to trial, in addition to workers’ compensation benefits.

$125,000 recovery. D.U.I. automobile accident. Our client was struck head-on by a drunk driver who entered the wrong side of the highway via an exit ramp. Injuries included right arm fracture and dislocation, and a permanent left eye injury. The case settled for policy limits without going to trial.