S. v. Undisclosed Defendants

This medical malpractice case was the largest reported settlement in Cook County in 2016. The plaintiff was a 4-year-old child who suffered serious injuries after his physicians failed to diagnose and treat a bacterial infection. Mr. Bruce is continuing to pursue the case against the remaining defendants in this case. Not only is this the largest medical malpractice settlement for any case in 2016 in Cook County but one of the largest medical malpractice actions ever obtained.

M v. A Local Community Hospital

12-year-old girl presented to a Local Community Hospital on October 18, 2016. The employed hospitalists involved in her care and treatment failed to diagnose neck abscesses by CT scanning, failed to recognize her clinical deterioration and organ dysfunction due to infection and failed to timely transfer her to a children’s hospital. The employed interventional radiologist and otolaryngologist failed to perform a sedation assessment, failed to recognize a class IV airway, failed to recognize developing sepsis, failed to protect her airway before giving inappropriate sedation and failed to timely transfer her to a children’s hospital. These providers failed to recognize deep neck abscesses when treating mononucleosis and streptococcal infection leading to continued clinical deterioration. As a result, the minor suffered catastrophic irreversible neurologic injury due to a cardiorespiratory arrest. This is the largest settlement for a brain injured-minor in the history of the State of Illinois. Co-counsel with Joseph A. Power, Jr.

Contingent Commercial Litigation: This case involves the embezzlement of $53 million dollars from the City of Dixon. by Rita Crundwell, who served as comptroller and treasurer of Dixon, Illinois, from 1983 to April 2012. This was reported to be the largest embezzlement of a municipality in the history of the United States. Plaintiff, the City of Dixon, brought a negligence action against Clifton, Larsen, Allen, Fifth Third Bank and Janis Card & Associates. Clifton, Larsen, Allen was the accounting firm hired by the City of Dixon to perform the City’s annual audits throughout the time period of Rita Crundwell’s theft. Plaintiff alleged that Clifton was negligent in that it failed to discover the theft of the money during the performance of their annual audits. Clifton was further negligent in not reporting and/or investigating numerous irregularities in Rita Crundwell’s tax returns. Fifth Third Bank and its predecessor banks held multiple City of Dixon. accounts as well as a “secret” account improperly opened in the City of Dixon’s name by Rita Crundwell which she used to deposit the stolen City of Dixon’s funds. Rita Crundwell then used the account to pay for numerous personal items such as jewelry, automobiles and to finance her equestrian business. Plaintiff alleged that Fifth Third Bank was negligent in allowing Rita Crundwell to open the secret account and also failed to disclose the existence oft his account in annual bank confirmations to the City’s accountants. Plaintiff alleged that Janis Card & Associates was negligent in failing to identify the theft and by entering into a joint venture with Clifton, Larsen, Allen to perform the City of Dixon audits after 2005.

L. v. Active Transportation Company, LLC

Trucking/Wrongful Death: L., 43, was driving with his wife and children as passengers when he slowed down due to construction on the highway in Lafayette, Indiana. A truck struck him from behind, causing his car to burst into flames. L. sustained fatal injuries. He is survived by his wife and two minor children. His wife sustained facial fractures, a concussion, bone bruising, lacerations, and sprains. His daughter suffered second and third degree burns, requiring amputation of her left leg and the toes of her right foot. She also fractured multiple broken bones in her pelvis and fingers. L.’s son suffered second and third degree burns to his legs.

(2019) Trucking Negligence: This action arose out of a collision that occurred on September 24, 2017, on Interstate 80, near Mile Marker 29.0, in Chesterton, Indiana. The Defendant Driver, Individually and as an Agent and/or Employee of a local trucking company was driving a tractor trailer westbound on I-80 several vehicles behind Plaintiff’s vehicle on the roadway. Suddenly, the Defendant Driver struck the rear of another tractor trailer, causing it to jackknife into the rear of the Plaintiff’s vehicle, causing Plaintiffs vehicle to spin off of the roadway and onto the shoulder. Plaintiff, a 24-year old male, became trapped in the driver’s seat of his vehicle from the collision and suffered a traumatic fracture of his spinal cord resulting in lower extremity paralysis.

Plaintiff was represented by partner, Larry Rogers Jr.

Medical Malpractice/Birth Injury: On December 18, 2011, the Plaintiff Mother presented to the hospital for labor and delivery. Pitocin was administered at 7:30 p.m. to augment labor contractions. Fetal heart rate monitoring began at 7:30 p.m. and was normal and reassuring through 10 p.m. Plaintiffs’ alleged that the fetal monitoring tracings became non-reassuring and abnormal after 10:00 p.m. through delivery at 12:28 a.m. the following morning. Plaintiffs contend that had Mom delivered between 10:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on December 18th, A. would have been neurologically normal. Because of the delay in delivering A., she suffered brain damage and resultant spastic quadriplegia, cerebral palsy and seizures. This settlement is a state record for a child injured at birth.

T v. Elmhurst Hospital, et al.

Medical Malpractice/Brain Injury: Minor plaintiff at three months of age was intubated by defendant physician. Plaintiff alleges that defendant doctor and undisclosed hospital were negligent in the failure to intubate Dalian causing subglottic stenosis. The subglottic stenosis subsequently required the plaintiff to have a tracheostomy. In September of 2006, the minor plaintiff was hospitalized at a separate hospital when the tracheostomy tube occluded and caused an anoxic event. Plaintiff did not receive proper oxygenation for approximately 12-15 minutes. Plaintiff alleged that the defendant failed to monitor the plaintiff while hospitalized.

As a result of the anoxic event, plaintiff sustained permanent damage and is a spastic quadriplegic. He suffers from cortical blindness and requires a gastrostomy tube.

This is one of the largest settlements in Illinois history.

Fatal shootings at a Chicago Loop office tower. Mr. Power secured a $5.05 million verdict for a legal secretary who was shot and witnessed the deaths of co-workers; overall verdict against negligent security contractor was $33.45 million.

Bilateral below-the-knee amputations and emotional distress suffered by a husband and wife struck by a vehicle fleeing police on the corner of Ohio Street and Michigan Avenue in Chicago. City of Chicago paid.

K. vs. Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, et al.

Medical Malpractice: 46 year old male presents for a laparoscopic nephrectomy due to kidney cancer. During the procedure, aortic transection and ligation occurred with a stapling device which was not recognized by the healthcare practitioners until the patient’s transfer to an outside institution. Additionally, injuries to the right kidney were caused by a stapling device which had transected and ligated arteries to the right kidney. As a consequence, the Plaintiff is a paraplegic and requires permanent dialysis.