RECENT JURY VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS BY O’CONNOR, PARSONS & LANE
$28M for Wrongful Birth: A baby was born with a genetic defect, myotubular myopathy (MTM). He requires 24-hour care, a feeding tube and respirator, can barely sit up, and will never walk, though he is mentally normal and has a life expectancy of about 30 years. After becoming pregnant, the mother sought genetic testing because she and family members were MTM carriers. But the doctor failed to request a test for MTM when writing the lab instructions, though he did indicate that there was a family history of it. OPL pursued the medical negligence case, and the mother was awarded $15 million for future medical expenses and $13 million for anguish. Fault was placed on the doctor, the testing lab and the lab director who signed the report.
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$22M for Hostile Workplace Discrimination: An Essex County jury awarded $22.67 million in damages, including $15 million in punitives, to a gay trucking company employee verbally and physically abused on the job due to his sexual orientation. The plaintiff suffered psychological injuries, including severe emotional distress as the result of being continually subjected to anti-gay slurs and physical abuse. The jury found the company liable under Law Against Discrimination and common-law claims.
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$10.5M for Delayed Skin Cancer Diagnosis: A dermatologist’s failure to detect skin cancer early forced a middle-aged man to have surgery which left a lip gap and affected his ability to speak and eat. Additional surgeries helped, but the man ended up with disfigurement of his chin. The victim, who has a personal and family history of basal cell carcinoma, began seeing the dermatologist ten years earlier as a preventive measure. Basal cell cancer developed on his chin but the dermatologist failed to detect it during 19 visits spanning three years. Another dermatologist spotted the cancer, but only after it had spread to the chin nerves. OPL handled the medical malpractice case which ended in a jury verdict awarding damages for the victim and $2 million for his wife’s per quod claim.
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$6M for Truck Driver Hit by Freight Train: A truck driver was struck by a slow-moving freight train and died several hours later. He left behind a wife and four children. OPL alleged that the conductor supervising the train’s movement from a utility vehicle passed the victim but didn’t warn him of the train’s approach. OPL also argued that the yellow safety line beside the track wasn’t far enough from the rails to account for the train’s overhang which struck the victim. The defendants claimed that the victim was negligent by placing his body in the path of an oncoming train. To overcome this contention, OPL hired biomechanic, railroad and pain and suffering experts. The case was settled for $6 million.
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$6M for Injection Causing Spinal Cord Lesion: The victim received an injection in her back because of a herniated lumbar disc which was mistakenly injected into her spinal cord causing a lesion. The woman suffered from partial paralysis, which eventually dissipated and left her with a foot droop and bladder and bowel incontinence. Since the physician only had a million-dollar insurance policy, OPL had to fight the insurance company to obtain the entire verdict for the client. In a published case, the New Jersey Appellate Division found that victim was entitled to $7.4 million by way of a bad faith claim, which all came from one of the doctor’s business entities.
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$3.9M for Unnecessary Surgery: A hospital administrative assistant was advised by her cardiologist to undergo bypass surgery for a blockage that he found after performing a diagnostic cardiac catheterization procedure. She suffered scarring and residual pain in her chest and in her leg, where the vein was removed. A catheterization ordered by a different cardiologist after the surgery showed that the bypassed arteries were clear. OPL’s medical negligence suit sought recovery for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. OPL argued that the victim had a history of catheter-induced spasms that can look like a blockage and an intravascular ultrasound could have determined whether one existed. The jury awarded $3.9 million to the victim.
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$3.375M for Medical Malpractice: A 70 year old patient was presented to Jersey City Medical Center in a dazed-like state. He was sent to the medical/surgical floor and overmedicated. As a result of the over medication (Propofol), he ended up in a coma-like state for a number of years. The over medication was unnecessary and caused him to go into the coma-like condition.
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$3M for Personal Injury caused by improper field design: Twenty month old infant ran away from his mother at a school field. The fencing allowed the infant to get through quicker than the mother could which led to a vehicle striking the infant. The infant was badly injured and the Ridgewood Board of Education claimed that no accidents had occurred for 18 years prior to this incident. The witnesses testified that the maze configuration that led to a busy street slowed the mother down which disallowed her from catching the infant.
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$2.2M for Whistleblower Case: OPL handled this high-profile suit by a doctor previously employed by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). The doctor, a former head of cardiology at UMDNJ, was demoted, then let go two years later when his contract expired. OPL argued that he was dismissed because he had protested an arrangement that UMDNJ was making with area doctors enabling them to teach part-time in exchange for bringing in more surgical business. The case appeared on the front page of the New Jersey Star Ledger and launched a probe by the U.S. Attorney that also resulted in a number of front page stories regarding the investigation. The terminated employee was awarded $2.2 million.
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$1.5M Medical malpractice: delay in diagnosing a rapidly progressing kidney disorder that led to kidney transplantation. Patient had a high creatine level that led the internist to refer the patient to a nephrologist. Our lawyers proved that nephrologist failed to perform the appropriate tests within a narrow window which led to kidney failure and kidney transplantation.
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$1.225M Personal Injury: Plaintiff went to a model home in Colts Neck, NJ, while it was still under construction. He went up to the second level where the stairs were not properly secured. He fell down the stairs and sustained a closed head injury.
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$1.03M for an Automobile Accident: In this case, the victim’s car collided with a box truck causing him to severely fracture his leg. The victim lost consciousness as a result of the accident and was unable to offer an accurate representation of what happened. He believed that the driver of the box truck made an improper left turn which caused the collision. OPL located an eyewitness in Pennsylvania—a trucker who had observed the accident in his rearview mirror. OPL traveled to Pennsylvania to videotape his testimony. The victim was awarded $1,030,000 as a result of the injuries sustained by the automobile accident.
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$1.8M for a Surgical Mistake Causing Bladder Incontinence: A New Jersey woman claimed that she suffered bladder incontinence due to a complication from back surgery. The case was tried by OPL only on informed consent—arguing that the defendant neurosurgeon failed to advise that there was a one percent risk of a neurogenic bladder from the intended surgery. The case was a difficult one to win, due to other risks that were more significant, including death, of which the victim was fully aware. But OPL convinced the jury that the defendant failed to properly advise the victim of the risk of a neurogenic bladder. The jury awarded $1.4 million to the victim and $400,000 for her husband’s per quod claim.
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$1M Personal Injury: Plaintiff was moving materials within a house under construction. There was an opening in the floor that should have been covered and he fell down the opening and was paralyzed. The open area should have been covered before workers were allowed to go into that area.
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$1M Medical Malpractice: Settlement for the estate of a 44 year old man who alleged he was negligently maintained on the drug Coumadin leading to stroke and death. The decedent was survived by his wife and 2 children. In discovery indicated there was an error in paperwork in the physician’s office which led to the deceased being prescribed too much Coumadin.
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$900,000 Medical Malpractice: In this case the plaintiff was told he had stomach cancer when he did not have said cancer. He was given misinformation that led to a great deal of emotional anxiety for a number of months.
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$850,000 Medical malpractice: The plaintiff received a overly vigorous chiropractic manipulation that resulted in vertebral artery dissection that caused him to suffer some degree of brain damage.
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$500,000 Personal Injury: Plaintiff suffered a closed head injury in a slow speed rear end accident. He did not lose consciousness but had difficulty at work and a verdict was obtained in Somerset for the closed head injury.