Personal Injury News: Pick Of Last Month: May-2020

A jury awarded $4 million verdict to the family of a 72-year-old man who died after his doctor tried to insert a catheter 14 times.

According to the lawsuit, the victim was suffering from mitral valve regurgitation, a heart problem that can cause a backflow of blood. He also had 80% to 90% blockage in one of his arteries.

Palm Beach Gardens' doctor justifying surgery to unclog, inserted a catheter that ran from the victim's leg to his heart. While inserting the catheter, the doctor did it for a total of 14 times, which basically was the cause of death of the victim.

The plaintiffs' attorneys argued that Sanford should have been referred to a cardiac surgeon and put on medication as he was not experiencing any symptoms like chest pain or shortness of breath and did not need the surgery.

The lawsuit was filed by the victim's wife and daughter in 2016, alleging that the doctor advanced negligently for unnecessary surgery.

The Jurors awarded $586,000 for medical expenses, $1 million for pain and suffering to the victim's wife, and $2.5 million to his daughter.

A former Virginia inmate won more than $1 million for improper treatment of his broken finger by a prison medical staff.

 According to the court papers, the plaintiff's finger bone got fractured in the prison recreation yard and the medical staff gave him only an ice pack, ignoring the X-rays that revealed he could need surgery. Following the incident, the plaintiff sued Armor Correctional Health Services Inc. after his release from Lunenburg Correctional Center in 2017.

The plaintiff also stated that he had to wait for over 100 days before being taken to a specialist, who confirmed his hand had healed wrong. The plaintiff has even accused the three nurses of ignoring his medical condition.

A total settlement of $1,058,761, with $700,000 of that amount in compensatory damages and over $300,000 in punitive damages was awarded to the plaintiff.

A plaintiff received a $30 million verdict in a medical malpractice case, involving his wife against Baptist Health Medical Group Orthopedics, and its doctors.

According to the lawsuit filed, the plaintiff's wife, who was in her 70s initially suffered an ankle injury for which she consulted a doctor at Baptist Health Medical Group Orthopedics. There was swelling, which had to decrease before the doctors could perform surgery, and she also had a risk factor for developing deep venous thrombosis.

The doctor directed blood pressure and blood-thinning medication and asked to put pressure on the leg at regular intervals to stimulate blood movement and avoid a clot. The plaintiff's wife was referred to St. Anne’s Rehab, where another doctor was treating her. 

The attorney representing the plaintiffs alleged that the rehab's doctor neglected the worsening condition of the lady, following which she died under his care, from blood clots on February 7, 2016.

The jury held Baptist Health Medical Group Orthopedics' doctor 5% and rehab's doctor 95% liable. $1.5 million as the final judgment was entered for the plaintiff, and a confidential settlement was entered with the rehab's doctor for the remaining balance.

A wrongful death lawsuit for about $1 million has been settled in a case involving a UConn student who was run over and killed by a campus fire department truck in 2016.

Authorities said that the 19-year-old sophomore from West Hartford fell asleep in front of a fire department garage door after drinking alcohol in an off-campus party when a fire truck drove over her.

A footage surveillance camera at the campus shows that the victim fell on the ground due to the overconsumption of alcohol when the fire truck driver drove the truck over her. The truck driver was rushing to answer the emergency call of dormitory fire when he bumped the victim. Initially, the driver stopped at the first contact of the truck with the victim but thought that he might have driven upon a piece of equipment.

The victim's parents filed a lawsuit against the state, the fire department driver, and the Kappa Sigma fraternity for the accident. The jury dismissed the civil allegations against the driver of the truck.

The truck driver is not held responsible for the accident any more as he did not commit the accident intentionally and was focused on responding to a reported dormitory fire.

A Wayne County jury awarded over $8 million to the family of a victim against the Northville Moose Lodge and Leonard's Syrups for a wrongful death lawsuit.

As per the court documents, the victim was a Moose Lodge volunteer. He went to the basement of the Moose Lodge to change soda pop syrup cartons, which were connected to the malfunctioning pump. The pump discharged an entire tank of carbon dioxide into the basement. This resulted in severe brain damage for the victim and he died five days later from lack of oxygen.

The investigation report of the police and MOISHA stated that the pump was negligently installed without venting C02 outside of the building by a hose and was responsible for this preventable tragedy.

A jury awarded a settlement of $3 million to a girl child who suffered third-degree burns when hot water spilled over her at a Wawa store in New Jersey.

According to the lawsuit filed, the girl, along with her mother, was at the Wawa store in Neptune near Jersey Shore, buying items when the incident occurred in April 2018. 

The shopping included two cups of hot water for tea, and the clerk at the register knocked over a bottle of water while he was bagging the items causing the cups of hot water to burst open and spill. The hot water spilled over the upper body, arms, and torso of the girl child who was three years old then. The girl was immediately rushed to the hospital.

The lawsuit states that Wawa was aware of the higher temperatures and the consequences of the spill, but neglected the necessary measure to prevent the hazards, which resulted in third-degree burns to the girl.

$2.55 million is awarded to the child which will split into a trust and an annuity plan. The girl's mother will also get $450,000 for emotional distress.

A federal judge declined to reduce a $29.9 million verdict awarded earlier to an Illinois man who was forced to undergo a kidney transplant by a health clinic.

The federal appeals court upheld U.S. District Court Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel's verdict in November, stating that she should understand the negligence of plaintiff towards his condition.

The defense lawyers argued that the plaintiff was more than 50% negligent as he skipped medical appointments and failed to take medications.

Rosenstengel informed the court that although the plaintiff was minimally at fault, the nurse was inefficient and didn’t follow up on lab results, consult a doctor, or fully explain the condition.

The plaintiff was diagnosed with Stage V chronic kidney disease, post which he received a new kidney, after spending two years in the transplant waiting list while on dialysis. Due to medical negligence, he may need more transplants.

The family of a man, who was killed by a drunk pickup truck driver, received a $2.25 million award.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was riding his vintage 1970s bicycle on Sunday morning on April 6, 2014, when a pickup truck driver, driving under the influence, crashed on him, resulting in the plaintiff's death just eight days before his 66th birthday. The truck left the scene, post the accident but returned after the passenger and driver switched places.

The attorney, representing the plaintiffs, claimed that both of the acquitters appeared heavily intoxicated during the scene, but the investigators focused only on who they thought was the driver, and the actual driver wasn’t tested.

The driver after confessing guilty jurors acquitted him of DUI manslaughter, and convicted him of reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, and leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death.

The lawsuit filed by the plaintiff against the truck driver for negligence in 2016, led to a verdict of $608,000 in economic damages and $1.65 million for loss of companionship.

In December 2017, an Idaho company paid a $5 million settlement to the daughters of a woman who got killed in a drunk-driving crash.

According to the court papers, the truck driver was an employee of a truck driving company owned by Advanced Heating and Cooling, a business name assumed by BSR Ventures. He crossed the centerline of the U.S. Highway 93 and collided with the lady's car, resulting in her death at the scene of the accident.

The investigation report stated that the driver was driving under influence of alcohol. The driver was drinking at a bar in Shoshone before the crash. He even pleaded for violating the law. The woman's family informed the jury that the company was aware of the truck driver's previous DUI convictions. The convict was eventually sentenced to 15 years of prison and the jury even suspended his driving license.