Decedent was a 49 year-old executive who ran a successful industrial equipment company located in the Kansas City area. He and his wife built a luxury vacation home in Stuart, Florida. Three months aft...er moving in, the decedent got out of the spa to adjust a landscape light that was shining in his face. He was electrocuted and killed when he touched the fixture. The lighting had been installed in such a way that the ground wires were not connected and no ground fault interrupter was in place. Suit was brought against the general contractor, electrical contractor, architect and landscape architect. The decedent is survived by his wife of 26 years and three sons. The case was settled prior to trial.
Personal injury
Tim Jeffery v. Publix SuperMarkets
Jan 01, 1994
OUTCOME: $1,510,000 verdict
Tim Jeffery was repairing some irrigation for landscaping at a small shopping center. He saw a thug rob an elderly woman of her purse in the parking lot of a supermarket. The man jumped into a waiting ...car. Tim ran after him and chased th ecar down in the parking lot, which was slowed because of traffic. He pounded on the window and demanded the return of the purse. The robber fired a shot from inside the vehicle, shattering the window and striking Tim in the chest. Tim was rushed to surgery and made a miraculous recovery, but was left with a substantial scar on his chest and some swelling of his arm where veins had been damaged. The case was brought for negligent security and based on the rescue doctrine, which holds that a party who places another in peril is liable for reasonably foreseeable rescue.
Defective and dangerous products
J.W. v. Major American Auto Manufacturer (confidential settlement)
N/A
OUTCOME: $800,000 settlement
J.W. was a passenger in a full size van manufactured by an American auto manufacturer. The van was only equippped with lap belts in the rear instead of shoulder restraints. The vehicle struck a fixed o...bject. J.W. suffered serious internal injuries because of the lap belt. The case was settled for a confidential amount prior to trial.
Trucking accident
Estate of W.O. v. Regional Trucking Co.
N/A
OUTCOME: $2,000,000 settlement
W.A., a 12 year old boy, was struck by a truck as he crossed the street on his way home from school. He was not crossing in the crosswalk or at a corner, but in the middle of a street. The truck was a ...large dump truck. The case was settled for the policy limits available.
Medical malpractice
Estate of L.A. v. Dr. Doe and Hospital
N/A
OUTCOME: $1,125,000 settlement
L.A. delivered her third, healthy child in a major hospital. During th ecourse of her vaginal delivery, she developed a laceration in her uterus. The physician departed while she was bleeding. The nurs...es recgnized the bleeding and sought th edoctor's assistance. He refused and told them to continue to perform fundal massage. The bleeding worsened and became a hemorrhage. The nurses again requested that the obstetrician return to the hospital. He refused, and the patient continued to bleed. She developed disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC), which is where a patient bleeds out all of their clottingfactor. L.A. bled to death in the hospital recovery room. She left a husband and three young children, one of which will never know her mother. The case was settled for the policy limits of the insurance.
Brain injury
Joe Doe, as guardian of Jane Doe, an incompetent vs ABC Hospital (confidential settlement)
N/A
OUTCOME: $2,575,000 settlement
Plaintiff entered hospital to undergo spinal surgery as a result of an injury in a previous motor vehicle crash. After successful disk surgery, plaintiff went to a room on a medical floor, where she wa...s on a morphine drip for pain. After complaining of continued pain, patient was given demerol. The combination of the demerol and morphine resulted in respiratory arrest and myocardial infarction. The plaintiff, 61, sustained catastrophic brain damage as a result of anoxia, leaving her in a comatose state. Her medical expenses ($195,000) were paid by workers compensation. Plaintiff was a disabled home health care assistant who is unmarried. She will continue to receive workers compensation benefits for medical care and lost income for life. The case was settled subject to a confidentiality agreement.
Wrongful death
Estate of S.H. v. John Doe Corp. (confidential settlement)
N/A
OUTCOME: $1,325,000 settlement
S.H., a wonderful, athletic 20-year-old young woman, was a passenger in a speedboat that crashed into a dock on a lake in the middle of the night. The evidence showed that the operator of the boat had ...been drinking and was impaired when he took several passengers for a ride on his boat. The operator was charged with maritime homicide for operating th evessel while drunk. The limits of liability insurance were exhausted.
Medical malpractice
Estate of Cheryl Wiedenbeck v. University of Chicago Hospital
N/A
OUTCOME: $4,300,000 settlement
Cheryl Wiedenbeck, a 39-year-old mother, is survived by her husband and two children. The case arose from the failure to treat a brain cyst resulting in a brain herniation, cardiac arrest and brain dam...age. Cheryl lived for several years substantially disabled and with severe mental and emotional deficits, requiring 24 hour care. She subsequently died from her injuries. The case continues against a remaining hospital and two doctors.
Car accident
C.J. v. Commercial Trucking Company (confidential settlement)
N/A
OUTCOME: $5,000,000 settlement prior to trial
C.J. was a passenger in a car. The Defendant truck violated th eright of way of the car in which C.J. was riding, causing a high speed crash. C.J. suffered substantial orthopedic and neurologic injurie...s to her legs. C.J., 17 years old, was a student. Her education was put on hold during her hospitalization and rehabilitation. She also sustained substantial psychological effects from the injuries.
Personal injury
Joe Doe v. Financial Institution (confidential settlement)
N/A
OUTCOME: $3,000,000 settlement
Plaintiff, 26, worked two jobs as a juvenile counselor and psych tech. He planned to become a teacher shortly. One night he stopped at an ATM to deposit his paycheck while on the way from one job to th...e other. While at the ATM a man came up behind him, stuck a gun in his back, and told him to take out all the money. The man tried but he was unable to get any money out. Then the criminal told the Plaintiff to get into the car and they were going to go to other ATMs and clean out the account. Realizing that this was now becoming an abduction, the Plaintiff refused, and pushed the man away and tried to flee. He was shot in the neck and rendered a paraplegic. The criminal was apprehended in another state after committing other crimes. A case against the financial institution was brought for negligence, including its failure to utilize a drive through ATM. Deposition testimony demonstrated that the Defendant had considered a drive through ATM for almost 10 years but chose not to because of cost and property size reasons. The Defendant claimed the drive through was considered only as a convenience and not for safety purposes, and that there is no evidence that drive through ATMs are any safer than walk up ATMs. The ATM in question had been the site of another prior attempted armed robbery. The ATM was located on a major street and provided ample visibility and lighting. The criminal perpetrator testified that he was desperate for money because a gang had threatened his life if he did not pay them money they said he owed. He claimed he was under the influence of numerous drugs at the time, including paxil, xanax, marijuana and alcohol, and claimed he did not know what he was doing and did not know why he chose this site. The Defendant alleged that the Plaintiff was the cause for failing to cooperate and for actually initiating the scuffle with the criminal, which was caught on tape on the surveillance camera. The Court ruled that pursuant to Indiana law the criminal would be placed on the verdict form and the jury would be permitted to allocate fault to him. The Plaintiff's medical expenses were $360,000.
The case settled prior to trial at the second mediation for $3 million.
