P.P. on behalf of L.T. v. City of Chicago

L.T. was returning home from picking up lunch for her two young children when she was struck and killed by a vehicle that had fled from a traffic stop and was involved in a collision while being chased by Chicago Police Officers.  The vehicle was initially stopped for its failure to have a license plate affixed to its front, and the Officer’s General Orders prohibited them from chasing the vehicle after it fled the stop.  The chase itself unfolded over 3 city blocks, and the defense contended that due to its short duration, the city should not be held liable for L.T.’s death. Larry and James were able to establish that the General Orders prohibit chasing under these circumstances and that the duration of the pursuit is insignificant because the officers knew or should have known that their pursuit encourages reckless driving.  After initially refusing to settle the case, the parties were able to reach a $4,500,000 settlement just before the start of opening statements.

W.S.T., Individually, and as Independent Administrator of the Estate of M.C.T., Deceased v. County of Cook, et al.

(2018) Medical Malpractice: On September 29, 2011, 31-year-old female underwent an effort to remove her left lower wisdom tooth in an operating room at Cook County Hospital. During the procedure, she experienced catastrophic exsanguination due to a laryngoscope blade being passed into her airway and impaling a known congenital vascular malformation on the right side of her mouth by the anesthesia service after oral surgery incised her gum line. This resulted in her death. She was survived by her parents and five siblings.

Result: $4,500,000.00

LT, individually and as Independent Executor of the Estate of GT, deceased v. Rush University Medical Center

(2014) Medical Malpractice: Healthcare practitioners failed to provide 58 year old male with appropriate Coumadin dosing instructions at discharge following an ablation procedure for atrial fibrillation leading to a cardioembolic stroke and his death two months later. The dosing instructions provided included lesser than normal weekly Coumadin dosing and other errors. The decedent is survived by his wife and two adult daughters.

Result: $4,500,000.00

MG, Independent Administrator of the Estate of MG, Deceased v. Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, et al.

(2010) Medical Malpractice: 47 year old female underwent a cervical epidural injection performed at Rush University Medical Center by a pain specialist. Prior to the injection she received sedation which should have allowed her to experience pain if her spinal cord was compressed by the epidural needle. After the injection she was rendered a quadriplegic due to an intra-cord injection of medication during the epidural. The failure of the anesthesia team to ensure a safe level of sedation for the injection resulted in her neurologic injuries. MG passed away of asthma three years later – May 2, 2007. She is survived by her adult daughter.

Result: $4,500,000.00

Mother had uncomplicated prenatal course, and reaching full-term, baby. was born severely depressed and soon after birth was diagnosed with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and profound brain damage.  E.B. lived with profound and extensive physical and mental injuries up to his death on September 11, 2019, at the age of 13 ½ months.

P. v. MacNeal, et al.

(2011) Medical Negligence: A woman underwent bariatric surgery for weight loss. Following the procedure, her clinician failed to identify signs and symptoms of infection associated with a failed anastomosis. The Plaintiff almost died as a result of developing sepsis but recovered with minimal mental deficits following exploratory surgery and repair of the gastric leak. Lead Counsel, Larry R. Rogers, Jr.

Estate of M.G. v. CTA, 10 L 11637 (2015 – Cook County)

The Decedent was attempting to cross the street when she was struck by a left-turning CTA bus and ultimately run over by its rear tires. Defendants contended that Decedent was distracted and on her phone at the time of the collision. Initially, the CPD and CTA believed another vehicle was involved in the collision and that Decedent was struck by that vehicle and somehow forced under the bus as she was crossing the street on the east side of the bus’ turn. Through the use of video from a CPD camera, video from the rear of the CTA bus, and reconstruction efforts, Plaintiffs’ counsel determined that no other car was involved in the collision and that Decedent had actually been on the west side of the bus as it was making its turn, and was struck due to the phenomenon of off-tracking. Decedent was a mother of two, and was separated from her husband, the father of her first child, and living with her boyfriend, the father of her younger child. Co-counsel Thomas M. Power.

Premises Liability: Two occupants of a home aged 62 and 12 suffered second and third degree burn injuries when their home exploded as a result of gas leakage, which migrated into the home through the sewer line from a main leak in the roadway on their residential block. The explosion resulted in permanent scarring of portions of their bodies. The home was ignited when they entered the home in the winter and the furnace activated resulting in the explosion. (2019)

S.S., Individually and as Independent Administrator of the Estate of M.S., Deceased v. Advocate North Side health Network d/b/a Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center

Medical Malpractice: After receiving a history of a patient falling out of a cab going 25-35 miles an hour, hospital staff, including trauma, neurosurgeons and nurses, provided inpatient care to Decedent. On the sixth day of hospitalization, the neurosurgical service and the nursing staff failed to do timely neuro checks, obtain CT scanning, and failed to diagnose increasing intracranial pressure, which had occurred in a delayed fashion following head trauma. That resulted in brain stem herniation and death. The patient was 46 years old at the time of his passing. He is survived by his wife, who remarried prior to trial, and their two minor children. Lead counsel Joseph A. Power, Jr.

(2017) Medical Malpractice: 42 year old male underwent successful bilateral lung transplant on December 27, 2015. On January 11 and 12, 2016, while his tracheotomy tube was capped for the first time overnight, his vitals were inadequately monitored and he experienced respiratory arrest that led to cardiac arrest which resulted in his death on January 12, 2016. He is survived by his wife and 3 children.