Vested Interest - Tort Briefs - January 2003 Issue

$6.5 Million Settlement for Doctor’s Failure

A Cook County Circuit judge has approved a $6.5 million settlement filed by a man who claimed that doctors negligently failed to administer an appropriate vaccine after his spleen was removed. The Immunization Practices Advisory Committee of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that such vaccines be administered to adults who are unusually likely to develop pneumococccal infections or a serious complication of infection. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – November 18, 2002)

Jury Awards $4.07 Million to Metabolife Plaintiffs

In Lowe v. Metabolife International Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama has ordered Metabolife International to pay $4.07 million to four plaintiffs who allegedly suffered heart attacks or strokes stemming from the use of the over-the-counter supplement Metabolife 356. The lawsuit is the first such case to be brought to court. (ATLA Law News Digest – November 21, 2002)

Gun Distributor to Pay $1.2 Million in Landmark Suit

A jury ordered a weapons distributor to pay $1.2 million to the widow of a teacher gunned down by a 13-year-old student, largely sparing the company from blame in the closely watched case. Jurors found Valor Corp. to be 5 percent responsible for the slaying of the teacher at a middle school. The jury said Valor didn’t sell the gun with a safety feature, but the jury placed 95 percent of the blame on the school board and gun’s owner for the $24 million verdict. (ATLA Law News Digest – November 21, 2002)

Iraqi Hostage Denied Court Judgment

A former Iraqi hostage was awarded $1.75 million last year by a U.S. District court judge, but the Bush administration has been reluctant to allow any former hostages, including scores of "human shields" to receive the Iraqi money. The money was to be paid from frozen Iraqi accounts in U.S. banks. The State Department opposes legislation that would let 177 victims collect $93 million in court-awarded judgments. (ATLA Law News Digest – November 21, 2002)

$3 Million Settlement for Wrong Drug Dose

A Cook County judge approved a settlement that will pay a woman in excess of $3 million after she was mistakenly given a high concentration of epinephrine and lidocaine during an outpatient sinus surgery. The miscommunication between the doctor and nurses caused the woman to go into cardiac arrest. She now suffers from permanent memory deficits and impaired balance. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – November 29, 2002)

$6 Million Settlement in Malpractice Suit

A hospital and members of a medical group agreed to pay $6 million to settle a medical negligence lawsuit filed by a woman who claims the parties failed to treat her during the last days of her pregnancy. The woman’s child was born severely mentally and physically disabled. The doctor working when the woman was admitted to the hospital failed to recognize a fetal heart rate deceleration. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – December 3, 2002)

$8.8 Million Against Humana Medical

Nashville-based Hospital Corporation of America has won an $8.8 million arbitration decision against Humana Medical Plan Inc. of Florida for late or nonpayment on 3,300 patient accounts at 16 hospitals in Florida. If approved by a Florida court, the award would be one of the largest ever obtained by a hospital operator against a managed health care insurer for payment lapses. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 5, 2002)

Adjusters not Eligible for Overtime Pay

Insurance claims adjusters are not entitled to overtime pay, according to an opinion letter by the U.S. Department of Labor that may have major impact on the glut of wage-and-hour class actions in the courts. The damages in these cases can be huge, such as 2001’s $90 million verdict against Farmers Insurance. While not legally binding, the opinion letter will likely have an effect on pending and future litigation. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 5, 2002)

Victory to Employment Bias Plaintiffs

In a significant victory for employment discrimination plaintiffs, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in Gagliardo v. Connaught Laboratories Inc., that the federal caps on damages should be applied in a way that maximizes a verdict-winning plaintiff’s recovery by assigning as much of the jury’s award as possible to claims brought under state statute with no caps. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 5, 2002)

$40 Million Accord Reached for Highway Crash

A trucking company will pay nearly $40 million to settle a lawsuit seeking compensation for the death of a Chicago man and the injury of family members in an Indiana collision. The man was driving a Saab and slowed to merge with another lane of traffic, but a tractor-trailer did not slow down and rear-ended the car, which burst into flames. The man was killed, and his wife sustained numerous injuries. The couple’s 12-year-old daughter was burned over 30 to 40 percent of her body, and their 8-year-old son was burned over 10 to 20 percent of his body. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – December 6, 2002)

State Common Law Against Boat Propeller Manufacturer Not Preempted

In Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that a state common-law tort action seeking damages from the manufacturer of an outboard motor was not pre-empted by the enactment of the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 or by the decision of the Coast Guard in 1990 not to promulgate a regulation requiring propeller guards on motorboats. In so holding, the Supreme Court reversed a decision in which the Illinois Supreme Court held that the FBSA did not expressly pre-empt the claims, but that the claims were implicitly pre-empted. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 5, 2002)

19 Years After Birth: $19 Million Settlement

A mother, who filed a medical malpractice lawsuit 17 years after her son’s birth, and the hospital where he was born settled a negligence suit for $19 million while the jury deliberated. The boy was born with severe cerebral palsy resulting from oxygen deprivation. The mother, who cares for her son’s every need, started to worry about who would look after him if she was not there. In 2000, she contacted a lawyer and filed the suit in Cook County Circuit Court. While it is rare for a lawsuit to be filed so many years after an incident, lawyers were able to do so because the boy is considered mentally incompetent. The statute of limitations that would normally apply in a medical malpractice case is barred when a person is unable to recognize that he has been harmed. (Chicago Tribune – December 5, 2002)

$1.8 Million Verdict Against Department Store

A jury awarded a $1.8 million verdict to a 73-year-old woman who was injured when she tripped over a movable department store clothing rack. The fall left the woman with a fractured left elbow and knee. Her knee initially was repaired with a rod, but the entire knee was later replaced. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – December 9, 2002)

$12 Million for Undiagnosed Cancer

Parties agreed to a $12 million settlement in the case of a man whose cancer went undiagnosed after two radiologists reported normal CT scans, even though the scans allegedly showed evidence of a mass in the pancreas. Abdominal scans done in July 1996 and March 1997 were reported to be normal. A 1999 scan showed a pancreatic mass and liver metastasis. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – December 9, 2002)

Family Settles Lawsuit for $4.7 Million

The family of a man who bled to death immediately following lower back surgery settled a lawsuit for $4.7 million. The man’s doctor noted in his medical records that there were no complications at the end of the surgery and that he was "satisfactory." Oxygen was being administered as he was wheeled into recovery, but his blood pressure plummeted because he was bleeding internally. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – December 10, 2002)

Judge Rips Aerojet in Asbestos Case

In Foster v. Aerojet, a St. Louis Circuit Court jury has awarded $5.1 million to the family of a 41-year-old Missouri woman who died of asbestos-related cancer after apparently being exposed to fibers while a toddler. The verdict came after the judge sanctioned the defendant and barred defense lawyers from presenting key evidence that the company had never used asbestos in its products. The evidence was found to be false. The judge directed the jury to find that the plaintiff was exposed as a child and that the company knew the material was hazardous at the time. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 12, 2002)

$11.65 Million Awarded for Distress in FMLA Case

A recent $11.65 million verdict in a Chicago federal court showed that including state law claims in a Family Medical Leave Act complaint can greatly enhance the value of a plaintiff’s case. In Schultz v. Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp., the attorney said FMLA is "tailor-made" for asserting emotional distress and retaliatory discharge claims. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 12, 2002)

Drunk Driver Wins $1.2 Million Verdict

A Michigan jury awarded $1.2 million to a drunk man who was stopped at a red light and rear-ended by an off-duty police officer. Following a two day trial and three hours of deliberation, the jury found the defendant police officer 82 percent at fault for running a stop sign. The Michigan intoxication statute precludes recovery if the plaintiff is found 50 percent or more at fault. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 12, 2002)

$4.2 Million for Work Injury

A federal judge has approved a $4.2 million jury verdict for a Chicago man whose hand was crushed and burned after it became caught in a machine that projected and formed hot liquid zinc. While attempting to adjust a perforated cylinder on the machine manufactured by Sandvik Process Systems, he lost his balance, and his arm was pulled into the machine. This is the second time a person had been injured by a Sandvick rotoformer. Sandvik designed a safety guard for the rotoformer head and two emergency stop switches after the first accident in 1993. Those pieces were never installed on the machine the man was operating. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – December 13, 2002)

Estate Settles Death for $750,000

The estate of a man killed in an automobile accident settled a lawsuit against a truck driver and trucking company for $750,000. The 60-year-old man was attempting to turn left at an intersection when a truck driver apparently tried to pass him on the left. The man died instantly. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – December 17, 2002)

$18 Million Settlement in Birth Injuries

The parents of a boy who suffers from cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia have reached an $18.4 million settlement with the hospital in which he was born and the medical personnel who participated in his birth. The parents alleged that his disabilities resulted when an obstetrician and other staff performed an untimely Caesarean section delivery and improperly treated the subsequent complications. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – December 18, 2002)

$2.775M Settlement in Drug Dose Death

The family of a woman who never woke from anesthesia reached a $2.775 million settlement with the hospital and doctors responsible for her treatment. The 57-year-old woman had surgery to repair a small fracture in her neck. A second-year resident physician gave her twice the maximum dose of the "reversal agent drug" to awaken her from the anesthesia. As a result of the administration of the drug, she sustained a cardiac arrest, lapsed into a coma and died three months later. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – December 19, 2002)

Salomon Must Pay $3.2M in Sexual Harassment Case

Salomon Smith Barney has been ordered to pay $3.2 million to a female stockbroker, the first monetary award stemming from a notorious sexual harassment lawsuit against the firm. A panel of arbitrators is handling the settlement with the more than 1,900 women who filed claims against the company. The panel criticized the firm for creating "a work place permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule and insults." (ATLA Law News Digest – December 19, 2002)

Halliburton Reaches Accord on Asbestos Claims

Halliburton Co. said that is has reached an agreement valued at roughly $4 billion that would settle "all present and future asbestos claims, fully and permanently resolving all personal injury asbestos liability." The agreement, which must be approved by a federal bankruptcy court, calls for the company to put up as much as $2.775 billion in cash, along with 59.5 million Halliburton shares and $100 million in notes. These assets would go into a pool to pay present and future claims of individuals injured by asbestos. The settlement was reached with attorneys representing substantially more than the 75 percent of present asbestos claimants required for resolution on all of the cases. The deal remains contingent on Halliburton’s ability to borrow enough to meet its commitments. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 19, 2002)

Surgical Tool Left in Woman’s Stomach for 4 Months

Airport security guards in Saskatchewan were unable to find any metal on a Canadian woman’s body despite the metal detector’s beep. The woman, who had been suffering from persistent stomach aches four months after having abdominal surgery, had an X-ray several days later. It showed a 30-centimeter long, 5 centimeter wide surgical retractor, used to hold incisions open, had been left in her abdomen after surgery four months earlier. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 19, 2002)

9th Circuit Upholds $1.4M Secondhand Smoke Award

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a $1.4 million judgment awarded to a woman whose husband died from exposure to secondhand smoke during a transatlantic flight. The court said the district judge did not clearly err when ruling that the man’s death by asphyxiation was caused, in part, by Olympic Airway’s failure to heed his request for a new seat because the smoke was affecting his health. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 19, 2002)

Ford to Pay $51 Million in SUV Safety Claims

Ford Motor Co. agreed to shell out $51.5 million to settle claims that it misled consumers about the safety of its highly profitable SUVs while also failing to disclose known tire failure risks. The agreement, which does not affect private legal claims against Ford, was announced by the automaker and attorneys general from some of the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, that participated in the case. The bulk of the funds from the settlement, $30 million will be used to launch a nationwide public service advertising campaign on SUV safety. In addition, each state will receive $300,000, along with added money being given to Illinois, Florida, Iowa, Georgia, Washington, Connecticut, Tennessee and Texas to cover the cost of their investigations. These eight states will each receive $1 million. (Chicago Tribune – December 23, 2002)