(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.

M.M. v. Allied Barton

The Plaintiffs worked for a law firm in the large office building located at 500 West Madison Street. Allied Barton provided Security Services to the building. On December 8, 2006, a former client of the firm’ sentered the 500 West Madison office building armed with a revolver, chain, padlock, hunting knife, and hammer in order to seek out and kill one of the attorneys who he mistakenly believed had wronged him. After loitering in the building’s lobby and being turned away by the security desk, the former client was permitted access to the law firm, located on an upper-level floor, by Allied Barton security. Once he had gained access to the law firm, he shot and killed three individuals and injured the fourth. Joseph A. Power, Jr. represented the Estate of M.M. and recovered $14.6 million for his client. Larry R. Rogers, Jr. represented the Estate of A.H. and secured an $11 million verdict for his client. James Power represented R.L. and secured a $5 million verdict.

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.

R.A v. A Local Hospital, et al.

(2024) Medical Malpractice: 35-year-old mother of 3 girls, all delivered vaginally, presents to hospital for labor and delivery of her first son.  Cessation of Pitocin over hours should have occurred due to tachysystole and/or Category II tracings to improve the tracings and if not, delivery by urgent c-section was needed.  Baby’s tracings were Category I for many hours previously, including on arrival.  The failure to stop Pitocin and notify physician(s) of continued Category II tracings without improvement resulted in fetal deterioration (Category III tracings) and uterine rupture of mom’s unscarred uterus.  Baby suffered total acute asphyxia and permanent neurologic injury.

S.V. v. Brunswick Boat Group

S.V. was a 43-year-old successful business man who suffered catastrophic injuries that rendered him a quadriplegic as a result of the Defendant’s negligent boat design.  Specifically, S.V. was hosting a summer boat party on a rented yacht when he fell from the top deck onto the deck below. The case came to Power Rogers after another Plaintiff’s attorney at a different law firm in Chicago fumbled a $25,000,000 settlement offer and left S.V. facing the real possibility that he would receive no compensation at all for the significant injuries he suffered.   Through a thorough review of contract law, as well as a detailed examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding the settlement offer, Joe and James were able to prove the validity of S.V.’s acceptance of the $25,000,000 offer, and ultimately were able to secure an additional $4.4 million in interest that was incurred as a result of the Defendant’s refusal to move forward with the settlement.

J.D., et al. v. Trucking Company and Steel Company (2019 – Northern District of Illinois District Court)

Trucking/Transportation Negligence: A father (M-64), mother (F-43), and their only daughter (F-11) were rear-ended by defendants’ semi-tractor/trailer when its driver fell asleep on Interstate 55. All three were killed (the father was survived by two adult children from prior marriages and the mother was survived by her parents and siblings). Plaintiffs alleged that the trucker, who was acting under the defendant steel company’s direction, had routinely violated the hours of service and other federal regulations and as a result, according to a sleep expert, was chronically sleep-deprived, which contributed to cause the fatal crash. Joseph A. Power, Jr. co-counsel with Kathryn L. Conway and James I. Power.

D. and S. v. Syntex

(1985) Product liability. Two minor plaintiffs fed infant formula, Neo-Mull-Soy, which was deficient in chloride, a required nutrient. They both suffered brain injury resulting in learning disabilities.

Y.D. v. A Local Academic Medical Center, No. 2020L009452 (Cook County)
(2024) Medical Malpractice: Mom presented to a Local Academic Medical Center for a scheduled induction at 38 weeks due to gestational diabetes. She has a history of a prior c-section and a subsequent vaginal delivery. The effort was again made to have mom deliver by vaginal birth after c-section for this pregnancy. Following Pitocin administration and clear amniotic fluid at rupture, Plaintiffs alleged fetal heart tracing changes occurred, which were not properly responded to by in-utero resuscitation of the fetus which should have included Pitocin cessation. The fetal heart tracings worsened and never improved. Fetal tachycardia and variable decelerations persisted without adjustment of Pitocin. Category II tracings progressed to Category III and ultimately a baby boy was born with Apgar’s of 0,0,3,3, and 3 and cord gases that were compatible with acute total asphyxia. The failure to timely deliver caused respiratory failure encephalopathy and severe neurologic injuries. Plaintiffs alleged this was avoidable with earlier delivery and proper care and treatment. Co-counsel with Joseph W. Balesteri.

Result: $23,000,000.00

Jury Verdict: $27,000,000.00

Reduced on Post-Trial

Motion by Trial Judge: $8,000,000.00

Offer Before Trial: $300,000.00

Church Group v. Eagle Express Lines (2022)

Joseph Power and James Power recently secured $19,400,000.00 on behalf of a group of families who suffered various injuries while traveling down to Disney world in January of 2019. Plaintiffs van was heading south down I-75 nears Gainesville, Florida when a semi-truck that was heading north lost control of his vehicle, crossed over the median and struck the Plaintiff’s head on.