Vested Interest - Tort Briefs - September 2006 Issue

Verdict in Partial Foot Amputation

A Williamson County, Illinois, circuit court returned a verdict for an 80-year-old WW II vet who suffered a partial foot amputation after an orthopod used a tourniquet over plaintiff’s leg during a routine knee scope surgery. Plaintiff had an artificial graft in the leg and use of a tourniquet is normally contraindicated.

Settlement over Defective Norcold Refrigerator

Norcold and a travel-trailer retailer agreed to a settlement in a case involving a fire which occurred in the plaintiffs’ trailer in the early morning hours while they were sleeping. The cause of the fire was a defective Norcold refrigerator, specifically the cooling unit, which was originally sold with the trailer. The refrigerator was recalled in June 2000 as a result of the defect, however, neither the plaintiffs, nor the two prior owners of the vehicle ever received a recall notice. As a result of the fire, plaintiff’s husband was killed and plaintiff sustained burns to 15 percent of her body as well as injuries to her lungs and vocal cords. Plaintiffs sought punitive damages from Norcold for its alleged failure to promptly and appropriately notify consumers of the recall and of the dangers of the refrigerator and to see that such refrigerators were removed from use.

Death Benefits Awarded in Workers’ Comp Case

Death benefits were awarded for a fatal brain tumor caused by electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation in a workers’ compensation case. Decedent taught class for over a decade in a classroom located above basement transformers generating high levels of EMF radiation. Decedent was regularly exposed to EMF levels far above those studied in human populations and hundreds of students and/or workers would have unwittingly been exposed to the radiation over the five decades the transformers were in place.

Bad Faith Verdict Against Allstate

Plaintiffs were returned a bad faith verdict against Allstate in a fire loss case. In addition to awarding plaintiffs judgment for the fire loss claim itself, the home was burned by vandals, the court, under section 155 of the Illinois Insurance Code, awarded all fees and costs, the maximum $60,000 statutory penalty, and prejudgment interest of almost $100,000, based on Allstate’s bad faith claim handling. After the court entered this judgment, Allstate settled with plaintiff under a confidential settlement, but the court’s memorandum of decision on the bad faith claim is public record.

Yellow Cab Sanction Vacated Following Settlement

A Chicago Yellow Cab driver struck plaintiff pedestrian causing him to sustain bilateral tibia and fibia fractures. The driver pled guilty to reckless driving. Yellow Cab tendered interrogatory responses indicating they only had $350,000 in coverage. A former Yellow Cab president also testified to that in a deposition. Two years into litigation, after a punitive damage motion was granted against the driver, Yellow disclosed an additional $650,000 excess policy. After bringing a sanctions motion before the Court for belated disclosure, the judge sanctioned Yellow and allowed insurance discovery and required Yellow to pay attorneys fees. The Court also entered and continued the motion for further sanctions when insurance discovery was complete. While motion was pending, the case was settled, and as a condition of the settlement, the sanctions were vacated.

Settlement in Truck Collision

Trucking company Mr. Bults Inc., agreed to a settlement in a case where one of it’s trucks crossed the center median of a highway in high winds and ended up sideways across the opposite lane of traffic. This caused plaintiff, who was going in the opposite direction and also driving a semi, to hit him broadside, sustaining numerous injuries. Defendants raised an act of God defense because of the high winds involved, but chose to settle the case after plaintiff’s deposition.

Prescription Medical Malpractice

Plaintiff asserted medical malpractice in a case where two out-of-state doctors prescribed medication over the internet without first performing a physical examination on the plaintiff. An internist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital testified that it is deviation from the standard of care to prescribe medication to individuals who are not your patients without first performing a physical exam. One of the doctors who settled immediately before the jury trial commenced is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department. Plaintiff admitted to ordering the drugs Xanax and Ultram partly for pain and partly for recreation. After taking one pill of each, plaintiff blacked out and subsequently was found by his wife and then treated for a stroke at the hospital. He suffered significant brain damage as a result of oxygen deprivation.

Docs Agree to Settlement for Undiagnosed TEN

The family of a man whose skin fell off from a disease known as Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) reached a settlement with St. Mary Nazareth Hospital and three treating doctors. The doctors and hospital failed to timely diagnose the disease while he was an inpatient and then allowed him to languish for five days before he was transferred to the burn unit at Cook County Hospital, where he died eight days later. The hospital failed to accept responsibility for any liability until after its resident was cross-examined on the fifth day of testimony.

GYN Settles Before Expert Disclosure

A suburban Chicago gynecologist performed a uterine suspension during the course of an attempt to remove a uterine polyp. The patient did not consent to the uterine suspension. The doctor damaged bilateral pelvic nerves, leaving the patient, a 43-year-old woman, unable to have sexual intercourse due to pain. The case settled before expert disclosure.