$9 Million Settlement for Brain Injury Suffered during Echocardiogram
Hospitalized patient suffered a loss of oxygen while undergoing a heart testing procedure which resulted in permanent brain injury. Mr. Meyers established that the resuscitation efforts were grossly inadequate and successfully established the extraordinary cost associated with the patient’s long term care.
$8 Million Settlement for Unmanaged Cardiac Complication Resulting in Brain Damage
$8,000,000 medical malpractice settlement involving failure to manage peripartum cardiomyopathy following pregnancy resulting in cardiac arrest and brain damage (fall 2019)
$4.652 Million Settlement in Case Involving a Vehicle Fire
Jeff Meyers and Justin Hakala obtained a $4,652,000 settlement involving compensation to a victim of a post collision fuel fed fire. The case involved a limousine which was struck at a high rate of speed by a tractor-trailer rig. The action was litigated in Florida.
$4.5 Million Settlement for Patient Suffering Brain Damage Due to Anesthesia Induced Respiratory Arrest
$4,500,000 medical malpractice settlement involving anesthesia induced respiratory arrest during EGD (upper GI) resulting in brain damage (summer 2019)
$4.389 Million Jury Verdict in Medical Malpractice Case
A Medical malpractice action alleging a failure to diagnose a cancerous tumor in patient’s thigh. Despite the fact that the Plaintiff presented to the Defendant physician with complaints of pain and a lump in his thigh, the physician failed to order an ultrasound or MRI and failed to include a cancerous mass in his differential diagnosis. The tumor continued to grow until diagnosed approximately two years after initial presentation. Despite aggressive treatment the cancer recurred and metastasized to the patient’s spine and lungs. Plaintiff contended that the physician should have appropriately worked up the mass at a treatable stage. Instead, the physician assumed the mass was a fatty tumor known as a lipoma and never ordered appropriate testing including ultrasound or MRI. Attorneys Jeffrey T. Meyers and Timothy M. Takala are responsible for securing the verdict.
$3.825 Million Recovery for Family of Garbage Truck Accident Victim
Jeff Meyers & Justin Hakala secured a $3,825,000 recovery for the family of a deceased trucking accident victim from a waste management company. The victim was a sixty year old woman crossing the street at a crosswalk when she as struck by a garbage truck making a turn. The development of the case involved multiple experts with specialties ranging from forensic pathology to biomechanics and accident reconstruction. A complete mock trial with testimony presented by video from family members who were scattered across the country was conducted to develop the strengths and weaknesses of the case.
$3.65 Million Settlement for Victim of an Evolving Heart Attack that went Undiagnosed
A 56 year old woman presented to the hospital with chest pain and was diagnosed with pancreatitis. After her pancreatic enzymes normalized, her chest pain grew worse and she suffered a cardiac arrest and prolonged resuscitation. We alleged that the hospital and its physicians should have considered an evolving heart attack when pancreatitis resolved and their failure to diagnose the injury led to a full cardiac arrest. After deposing over forty healthcare providers, the case was resolved on the strength of excellent support from expert witnesses.
$3 Million Settlement for Patient who Suffered Brain Damage as a Result of an Untreated Sinus Infection
$3,000,000 medical malpractice settlement involving emergency room physician’s failure to treat severe sinus infection resulting in venous sinus thrombosis and brain damage.
$2.85 Million Settlement for Patient who Suffered a Post-operative Bleed Following Back Surgery Resulting in Paraplegia
Patient injured her back at work. She was directed by her employer to present to a workers’ compensation medical clinic for treatment. She treated at clinic over six-weeks and ultimately was assigned to a neurosurgeon. Immediately after the surgery, she could not move her legs. The neurosurgeon failed to order appropriate post-operative imaging studies, which would have revealed a large collection of blood (an epidural hematoma) pressing against the patient’s spinal cord. If an MRI or CAT scan had been obtained, they would have revealed the collection of blood, it would have been evacuated and the patient would not have suffered her permanent spinal cord injury.
The case was settled the day prior to trial, and involved several significant legal issues, including whether the operating neurosurgeon was an agent of the clinic.
$2.5 Million Settlement for Estate of Patient who Bled to Death Following Hernia Repair
A fifty-seven-year-old man presented to a hospital for a hernia repair. Following the operation, laboratory studies, failure to urinate, dropping blood pressure and pain indicated the patient was probably bleeding internally.
The laboratory findings and the dropping blood pressure were not acted upon and approximately 36 hours following the surgery, the patient died as a result of the internal bleeding. At the time of autopsy, over a liter of blood was found in the patient’s abdomen.
The case was particularly tragic in that the dropping blood pressure and absence of urination was not acted upon by a number of nurses, residents, or attending physicians.
Following the patient’s death, a top hospital administrator informed the patient’s wife that her husband had probably died of blood clots to the lung, even though he knew laboratory studies confirmed the patient had bled to death.
$1.875 Million Settlement for Misdiagnosed Cerebral Aneurysm
A radiologist failed to diagnose a cerebral aneurysm. The emergency physicians ignored the constellation of red flags consistent with progressing symptomatic neurologic deficits concerning an intracranial process including aneurysm and failed to seek neurology/neuro-interventionalist consultation.
The failure to recognize the emergent significance of the history and clinical picture, and the radiologist’s incorrect reading, delayed the correct diagnosis and denied Plaintiff appropriate surgical intervention. The aneurysm ruptured resulting in an extensive subarachnoid hemorrhage and blindness.
The radiologist admitted he should have reported the abnormalities consistent with the aneurysm though denied it was a violation of the standard of care to miss. Although the defense mounted a late comparative negligence defense, many of the allegations were successfully defeated.
$1.67 Million Jury Verdict for Death following negligent treatment in the Emergency Department
Plaintiff presented to the emergency department with complaints of chest pain and shortness of breath. A decision was made to admit the patient to the hospital; however, a bed was not available. As the patient sat in a holding area of the emergency department, evidence was presented to the jury that several hospital employees and/or agents breached their respective standard of care owed to the patient.
The facts presented to the jury demonstrated that the patient showed obvious signs of significant internal bleeding and that the significance of the bleeding was never explained to the patient or his daughter. During the course of trial, Plaintiff presented evidence of multiple standard of care violations by the attending hospitalist, emergency room nurses and an emergency room resident physician. The patient ultimately left the emergency department after approximately 22 hours. At the time of his departure, the patient had not been seen by a physician for 15 hours. Less than 24 hours after leaving the emergency room in the late morning on October 20, 2012, the plaintiff was found dead at his home.
The jury deliberated for just over an hour before rendering an award of approximately $1.7 million dollars for the estate. The jury assigned 30% of the negligence to Mr. Hatfield and 70% against the hospital. Attorneys Jeffrey T. Meyers and Timothy M. Takala are responsible for securing the verdict.
$1.6 Million Recovery for the Family of a Vehicle Fire
Co-counseling with the attorney for the family of a deceased auto accident victim, Jeff Meyers and Justin Hakala handled the automotive defect portion of the case, which involved a post-collision fuel fed fire. The vehicle’s fuel tank was placed behind the rear axle with minimal protection from rear end accidents and when our client was struck, his vehicle burst into flames burning and ultimately killing him. We uncovered excellent testimony from the automaker’s chief executive and a back-room negotiation between the company and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to avoid a recall and keeping the dangerous vehicles on the road. The manufacturer agreed to a $1.5 million settlement, with the remainder paid by the insurance company for the negligent driver.
$1.4 Million Settlement for Patient’s Death Caused by Failure to Treat Allergic Reaction to Medication
A forty-four-year-old husband and father of two died as a result of allergic reaction to drug used to treat a heart condition. The FDA had warned of life-threatening allergic reactions to the drug, Coreg, as early as 2009. The patient presented to an Emergency Room on two occasions during the thirty-day period prior to his death, suffering from severe allergic reactions. On the second occasion, six days before his death, a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis was present. Even following the second Emergency Room visit, the patient’s cardiologist failed to stop the Coreg and actually doubled the dose. The patient was not provided with an EpiPen and was not provided with a referral to an allergist. The Defendants argued that the patient’s death was not caused by an allergic reaction, but rather, his underlying heart condition.
$1.375 Million Medical Malpractice Settlement
Jeff Meyers and Tim Takala Secured a $1.375 Million Dollar settlement for an 81 year-old woman who suffered three separate falls while hospitalized for a mitral valve surgery resulting in a subarachnoid hemorrhage and facial fractures. Aggressive litigation, including multiple Daubert challenges, neutralized a defense that the residual damage from the head injury was the result of preexisting Alzheimer’s disease.
$1 Million Settlement for the Negligent Granting of Hospital Privileges
A neurosurgeon was negligently granted hospital privileges. One of Mr. Meyers clients suffered serious injury at the hands of the Neurosurgeon. The Neurosurgeon was later indicted for Medicare fraud.
$850,000 Settlement-Auto Negligence
Young elementary school teacher suffered serious neurologic impairment after being struck by Defendant’s vehicle attempting to change lanes on a highway ramp. Plaintiff’s vehicle was forced into the retaining wall, rolling four times before coming to rest. Plaintiff developed Tourette’s Syndrome like symptoms in the months following the accident. The potential to develop Tourette’s Syndrome symptoms following a traumatic accident was hotly contested. The defendant had one million dollars in insurance coverage.
$832,500 Settlement in Medical Malpractice Case-Interventional Cardiology
Elderly Plaintiff underwent procedure to eliminate the risk of blood clots forming in their heart. During the procedure, air was negligently injected into Plaintiff’s heart, causing them to suffer myocardial infarction and air embolus to the brain, causing brain damage resulting in death a few days later. Circumstantial and direct evidence both showed air was injected into Plaintiff’s heart, with no reasonable alternative explanation offered, and those advanced were either conceded to be violations of the standard of care or dismissed as causative factors.
$800,000 Settlement Following Leg Amputation-Medical Malpractice
Dermatology specialists misdiagnosed and mismanaged a lower extremity ‘rash’ as dermatitis, leading to an above the knee amputation. By the time the elderly Plaintiff was evaluated by a vascular surgeon, the extremity could not be salvaged. Defendants denied liability and claimed comparative fault of the Plaintiff for failing to take anticoagulation medication. There was one million dollars in insurance coverage.
$750,000 Settlement for the Mismanagement of Glaucoma
A forty-eight-year-old man suffered blindness after his glaucoma was mismanaged by his eye doctor. The lawsuit alleged that the physician diagnosed the wrong form of glaucoma, open-angle glaucoma, and missed the signs and symptoms that showed the patient was actually suffering from the more severe and more dangerous form: angle closure glaucoma. Because of the error, the doctor never ordered the appropriate treatment and the patient lost a significant portion of his vision before seeking help from another ophthalmologist.
$650,000 recovery for an undiagnosed bowel perforation in jury verdict
A sixty nine year-old woman underwent a right salpingo-oophorectomy and was discharged three days later with an undiagnosed bowel perforation. When the patient was re-admitted to the hospital two days later, radiological studies revealed a perforation and severe contamination of her peritoneum. As a result of the delayed diagnosis, the patient suffered peritonitis, sepsis, multi-system organ failure and ultimately died from her injuries.
$590,000 Settlement in Wrongful Death Suit
A radiologist discovered a 1cm lung nodule during a CTA of the chest. Both the Plaintiff’s pulmonologist and cardiothoracic surgeon were aware and failed to inform Plaintiff. One physician contacted Plaintiff and documented he left a voicemail for the Plaintiff that there were no changes on imaging. Plaintiff was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer one year later and succumbed to the disease within months. Defendants claimed Plaintiff was aware of the new nodule by accessing his patient portal and chose not to pursue treatment. Defendants also claimed Plaintiff was a Stage IV at the time of the CTA. A Daubert hearing was pending at the time of settlement. Plaintiff prevailed on numerous summary disposition motions related to proximate cause and economic damages under the Wrongful Death Act. (The pulmonologist had $400,000.00 in insurance coverage.)
$450,000 settlement after traumatic fall
79 year-old man suffered a traumatic fall which led to significant brain injury in the Intensive Care Unit. Although a sitter was requested and should have been assigned to monitor the patient, he was left unattended and suffered permanent brain injury which qualified for the higher cap for non-economic damages.
$350,000 Settlement in nursing home fall case
Jeff Meyers and Tim Takala obtained a $350,000 settlement for an eighty two year-old woman suffered a fall at home and required an open reduction internal fixation to stabilize her hip fracture. After the operation, the internal medicine service failed to identify and treat an infection, which eventually led to Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, septic shock and ultimately death. Settlement was driven by a nuanced and scientifically supported legal argument which qualified the patient for the higher cap exception for non-economic damages pursuant to MCL 600.1483(1)(b).
