Biography
Thomas G. Siracusa has been with Power Rogers since 1986. An experienced litigator, he has obtained multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements for clients who have suffered personal injuries or the families of wrongful death victims in cases involving medical malpractice, product liability, automobile, and trucking negligence.
Mr. Siracusa has achieved record-setting results for his clients.
In 2015, he obtained a $23,000,000.00 settlement on behalf of a woman who suffered brain damage and quadriplegia as a result of medical malpractice during her labor. The result has been identified as the largest settlement ever reached in Illinois for a birth-related injury to a mother.
In another record settlement, Mr. Siracusa obtained $19,250,000.00 for a child who suffered brain damage as a result of a medication overdose. The medical malpractice settlement was then the largest ever recorded against Cook County.
In 2014, Mr. Siracusa obtained $15,000,000.00 for the family of a woman who died after being administered excessive radiation during a surgical procedure. The result is among the largest wrongful death settlements in Illinois history.
-
$23M
-
$15M
Thomas G. Siracusa obtained a $23,000,000.00 settlement on behalf of a woman who suffered brain damage and quadriplegia as a result of medical malpractice during her labor – the largest settlement reached in an Illinois birth-related injury to a mother.
Mr. Siracusa has an active and varied product liability practice. Recently, he secured $8,000,000.00 for a worker who suffered orthopedic injuries due to the failure of elevator cables. He has obtained millions of dollars for clients in cases involving defective seatbelts, defective airbags, defective tires, unsafe medications, and defective medical devices.
In addition to his caseload, Mr. Siracusa publishes on medical malpractice and product liability for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education. A frequent author and speaker on trial practice and evidentiary issues, Mr. Siracusa also serves on the Board of Managers of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the Board of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and is recognized by peers as a “Leading Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” in the field of personal injury.
Results
Examples of settlements or verdicts in excess of $2,000,000.00 obtained in cases handled by Mr. Siracusa include:
- Medical Malpractice: inappropriate administration of medication caused brain damage to child.
- Settlement: $19,250,00.00
- Medical Malpractice: failure to treat high blood pressure caused brain damage to pregnant mother.
- Settlement: $12,225,000.00
- Medical Malpractice: delayed delivery caused brain damage to child.
- Settlement: $10,500,000.00
- Medical Malpractice: failure to treat pre-term labor caused brain damage to child.
- Settlement: $9,500,000.00
- Medical Malpractice: patient developed loss of strength and sensation in lower extremities following an intercostal injection.
- Settlement: $8,000,000.00
- Product Liability/Negligence: defectively designed/worn tires caused deaths of driver and passenger.
- Settlement: $7,450,000.00
- Medical Negligence: a 66 year-old woman suffered paraparesis after physicians at an area hospital failed to timely diagnose her rare spinal cord lesion.
- Settlement: $7,000,000.00
- Product Liability: failure to warn re: proper use of explosives and premature detonation caused injuries to worker.
- Settlement: $6,700,000.00
- Medical Malpractice: prenatal asphyxia caused cerebral palsy and brain damage to child.
- Settlement: $5,000,000.00
- Automobile Negligence: tractor-trailer struck automobile and caused injuries to passenger.
- Settlement: $4,750,000.00
- Medical Malpractice: perinatal hypoxia caused cerebral palsy and brain damage to child.
- Settlement: $4,500,000.00
- Product Liability: defectively designed tires caused injury to passenger.
- Settlement: $4,000,000.00
- Product Liability: defective vehicle design caused death.
- Settlement: $4,000,000.00
- Medical Malpractice: failure to diagnose arterial disease caused bowel injury.
- Settlement: $3,600,000.00Medical
- Malpractice: delayed delivery caused brain injury to child.
- Settlement: $3,600,00.00
- Medical Malpractice: delayed delivery caused brain injury to child.
- Settlement: $3,500,000.00
- Automobile Negligence: trucking collision caused injury.
- Settlement: $3,500,000.00
- Product Liability: defectively designed restraint system caused injury.
- Settlement: $3,500,000.00
- Medical Malpractice: delayed delivery caused nerve injury to child.
- Settlement: $2,500,000.00
- Medical Malpractice: misdiagnosis of cardiac condition caused death.
- Settlement: $2,948,000.00
- Offer before trial: $0
- Medical Malpractice: nursing negligence caused patient to develop bedsores.
- Settlement: $2,500,000.00
- Offer before trial: $0
- Negligence/Product Liability: negligent driving and defective seat caused death of a child.
- Settlement: $2,200,000.00
- Medical Malpractice: Hypoxia during surgery caused neurologic injury to child.
- Settlement: $2,125,000.00
Results
Medical Malpractice: Failure to treat high blood pressure caused by brain damage to mother.
Medical Malpractice/Brain Injury: While recovering from burns to 35% of her body, the minor plaintiff (11 months) was negligently provided two boluses of a medication called Albumin resulting in brain damage.
Power Rogers recovers $15 million for radiation overdose.
C. v. Victory Memorial Hospital, et al.
This case settled for a Lake County record of $12,250,000.00 prior to closing argument before Judge Terrence Brady on Friday evening after the jury instruction conference.
On March 29, 1996, C. paged her obstetrician complaining of a splitting headache at 4:00 p.m. He told her to go the emergency room. She and her husband arrived at 4:45 p.m. and saw the emergency room physician at 5:15 p.m. He diagnosed preeclampsia and spoke to the obstetrician between 5:25 and 5:50 p.m. The emergency room physician testified she needed an anti-hypertensive for preeclampsia with hypertension but the obstetrician told him to send her to Labor & Delivery and he would call in his orders. The obstetrician ordered over the phone magnesium sulfate at 5:50 p.m. which is a prophylactic for seizures and reduces blood pressure transiently but did not order hydralazine, an anti-hypertensive. According to one of the plaintiffs’ expert, C. hemorrhaged into her brain between 6:00 to 6:20 p.m. when she started to become less coherent. In addition to suffering from preeclampsia with hypertension C. had HELLP syndrome which made her blood difficult to clot. According to another expert it was negligent not to give C. an anti-hypertensive in the E.R. The baby, Shane, was born healthy, without any medical problems.
Birth Injury/Medical Malpractice: This case involved a water birth in which just prior to delivery shoulder dystocia occurred. Shoulder dystocia is where due to the large size of the D. M.’s shoulders his mother, C. M., was unable to deliver the baby vaginally without various maneuvers. This occurred when C. M. was still in the tub. Because they were unable to empty the tub as quickly as needed they attempted to deliver the baby in the tub. As a result, she was unable to perform the appropriate maneuvers that were recommended for shoulder dystocia. Due to the delay in delivery Plaintiff contended that D. M. became brain damaged and has suffered severe and significant injuries.
M. v. Northwest Community Hospital, et al.
This case involved a water birth in which just prior to delivery shoulder dystocia occurred. Shoulder dystocia is where due to the large size of the D. M.’s shoulders his mother, C. M., was unable to deliver the baby vaginally without various maneuvers. This occurred when C. M. was still in the tub. Because they were unable to empty the tub as quickly as needed they attempted to deliver the baby in the tub. As a result, she was unable to perform the appropriate maneuvers that were recommended for shoulder dystocia. Due to the delay in delivery Plaintiff contended that D. M. became brain damaged and has suffered severe and significant injuries.
Product Liability: Defective/improperly maintained elevator hoist ropes caused orthopedic injuries.
B. v. EVENSON EXPLOSIVES, INC. et al.
The defendants failed to warn the plaintiff, a 28-year-old man, to use a lowering hook when placing explosives in a hole, rather than dropping them down. The resulting explosion caused him to sustain serious injuries to his arm, leading to its amputation, and the loss of an eye.
The plaintiff-decedents, a married couple, were driving a used car when a tire blew out, causing the car to flip over. The accident occurred due to manufacturing defects in the car’s tires and also due to the negligence of the car dealer who sold the vehicle with worn tires. Both the husband and wife died as a result of the accident, leaving two minor children.
Medical Malpractice: The Plaintiff, a 66 year-old woman, suffered paraparesis after physicians at an area hospital failed to timely diagnose and treat her rare spinal cord lesion. The defense contended that the delayed diagnosis was inconsequential, because the lesion was in a location that rendered it inoperable.
In July 2003, Mr. Power, along with Tom Siracusa, represented the family of a terminally ill lymphoma patient who developed bedsores during his hospitalization. The jury awarded the family $2,500,000.00 after a two-week trial. In November 2002, Mr. Power and Mr. Siracusa settled a medical malpractice case on behalf of the family of a patient in whom the defendants failed to diagnose and timely treat a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. One and one-half weeks into the trial, the defendants offered $1.5 million, a substantial increase over their pretrial offer of $200,000.00. Education
