21 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT - UNNECESSARY BRAIN SURGERY

Earlier this year a jury awarded $21 million dollars

 in a case of unnecessary brain surgery. 

It wasn't supposed to be brain surgery!

FACTS – The patient was admitted to a hospital for treatment of a temporomandibular joint problem. She underwent a CT scan of her brain and was told that she required an emergency craniotomy. During the surgery, it was discovered that the patient did not have a subdural hematoma or skull fracture, the conditions justifying emergency surgery.

After the unnecessary surgery the patient’s condition deteriorated after the procedure, requiring life support. She later died and is survived by her husband and three (3) adult children.

Initially, the hospital denied all responsibility. The patient’s estate sued the hospital, alleging unnecessary surgery in that the defendant relied on another patient’s CT scan results in recommending the emergency surgery. Two (2) years later, the defendant admitted that they had operated on the wrong patient, but, told the jury, at trial, that they had done no harm to her, although it admitted operating on the wrong patient.

How the jury determined its $21-million award:

• $300,000 for medical and funeral expenses

• $13 million for damages for pain and suffering

• $4.5 million for damages suffered by next of kin.

• $2.2 million for damages to be suffered in future by next of kin.

(Plus $1 million for interest and other expenses)

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If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of someone else's negligence, 

call us 24/7 for a FREE confidential case evaluation.

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$1.5 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT | Hernia Repair Patch | Poor design

NATIONAL - A federal jury has awarded a couple $1.5 million for injuries the husband suffered after a hernia patch made by the Cranston firm Davol Inc. ruptured in his abdomen. After deliberating about two days, a jury found that the failure of Davol and its parent company, C.R. Bard Inc., to warn about the dangers of mesh patch led to the plaintiff's injuries.  The records reflect that the plaintiff suffered after having a hernia repaired in 2005.  

The jury also found that the patch's poor design caused the couple's suffering.

JURY VERDICT $2.35 MILLION | Medical Negligence lawsuit | Misdiagnosis

NATIONAL - Recently a woman was awarded $2.35 million in damages after doctors at a hospital "misdiagnosed a kidney blockage, leading to an infection that had spread through her body. As a result of this misdiagnosis, part of one leg and part of one foot would have to be amputated."

JURY VERDICT | Jury awards $14 MILLION in asbestos case | DADE COUNTY

DADE COUNTY - According the the Miami Herald (5/21, Morales) reports, "A Miami-Dade jury has awarded a Sarasota man more than $14 million after deciding that the asbestos he inhaled in the 1970s caused his deadly abdominal cancer.

Jurors found that chemical giant Union Carbide was negligent for selling asbestos fibers to other companies, which had used the fibers to make joint compounds used by construction companies -- such as the one William Aubin's family owned."

Jurors "also found that four of the compound manufacturers, including Georgia-Pacific, share some of the responsibility for causing Aubin's illness."

JURY VERDICT | Jury awards $29.1 MILLION to widow in tobacco case | BROWARD COUNTY

BROWARD COUNTY - Accoring to the Bloomberg News (5/20, Van Voris) reported, "R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. must pay $29.1 million to Connie Buonomo, the widow of a Florida man who started smoking at age 13 and died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2008, a jury in Fort Lauderdale said.

The unanimous verdict today by six state jurors includes $4.1 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages." Jurors in Florida "have delivered more than $230 million in verdicts for smokers and their families since February 2009."

JURY VERDICT | $29.1 million in damages over nursing home death | 28 million in punitive damages

NATIONAL - Recently a jury has awarded $29.1 million in damages against a nursing home. The jury found the nursing home staff guilty of elder abuse in the death of the plaintiff.

In response to "hearing testimony about the company's finances,” jurors determined the companies should pay $28 million in punitive damages to the plaintiff’s estate in addition to the $1.1 million in compensatory damages.

A spokesman for the defendant said that they "will contest the verdict."

JURY VERDICT ♦ $36 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT ♦ $36 million malpractice verdict

A Florida resident who was left partially paralyzed after a botched steroid injection was recently awarded a $36 million malpractice verdict.

The jury awarded her this verdict because her former pain management doctor used steroids that destroyed tissue in her spinal cord.

She was being treated by the doctor for personal injuries suffered in a 2000 car crash.

FLORIDA JURY AWARDS $30 million in smoker's death

BROWARD COUNTY - A Broward County jury awarded $20 million in punitive damages to the widow of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer.

The six-person jury found that Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds each shared a third of the responsibility for 68 year old smoker’s 1994 death and the smoker shared a third of the responsibility.

The jury also awarded $10 million in compensatory damages, to be divided among the three responsible parties.

http://www.trippfirm.com/   TRIPP LAW FIRM - Personal Injury Law

$11.1 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT awarded by Pinellas County jury against All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG - After deliberating for three (3) full days the jury delivered an $11.1 million dollar verdict in a medical malpractice case that could cost the hospital up to $8.7 million dollars.

The verdict will likely be appealed as a spokesman for All Children's Hospital pointed out that the hospital "was found only partially responsible."

$8.5 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT IN SUV ROLL-OVER

NATIONAL - A woman was awarded $8.5 million dollars in Ford SUV rollover - product liability case. The month long trial from 2005 centered around a rollover wreck of a Mercury Mountaineer (Ford) near Douglasville, Georgia. The accident killed two people and injured two others. The driver had her right leg amputated just below the knee and her left arm is paralyzed as a result of the accident. She also suffered a brain injury.

The jury heard testimony that a car had tried to get over into the SUV's lane. The SUV swerved into the left lane to avoid the car and when it attempted to go back right, the SUV flipped and rolled over four-and-a-half times.

The jury began deliberating just after 10 a.m. and returned a verdict about 2 p.m. finding that the Mercury Mountaineer built by Ford, was defectively designed and, as a result, was unreasonably prone to rollover.

Ford nearly always appeals large verdicts and will almost certainly do so in this case.

$13.5 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT in product defect case

NATIONAL - Jurors hit Lasko Products, Inc., with a $13.5 million verdict after a faulty fan motor ignited a blaze in 2005 that killed a 7-year-old boy.

Lasko is the largest fan manufacturer in the United States. They discovered a defect in the China-made fan motors in 1999 and developed corrective technology in 2004. The company did not alert consumers who already had the defective fans nor report the problem to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) until after the boy's death.

http://www.laskoproducts.com/recall/recall_fans.html

$330 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT • Hernando County • involving drunk-driving collision

HERNANDO COUNTY – According to The St. Petersburg Times - “In what local court observers are calling one of the largest verdicts they can recall, a Hernando County [FL] jury on Wednesday awarded more than $330 million in civil damages to Angela Stone, whose 13-year-old daughter, Shelby Taylor Hagman, was killed in 2007 by a drunk driver, Christopher Marcone.”

BUS CAR CRASH • Florida student awarded $1.6 MILLION in school bus crash case • PASCO COUNTY

PASCO COUNTY – According to the Tampa Tribune, "A jury deliberated for three hours Monday before finding the Pasco County school district negligent in a 2006 crash that severely injured a 16-year-old boy. The jury awarded the student, now 19, and his parents, $1.625 million in damages, which his mother has said she will use to pay for his continuing medical care."

The student “was injured September 22, 2006, when the car he was riding in collided with a Pasco County school bus."

SOURCE – Tampa Tribune

Woman’s Family Awarded $6.33M in Medical Malpractice Settlement ♦ Central Florida ♦ JURY VERDICT ♦

ORLANDO – On Thursday a jury awarded a $6.33 million medical malpractice verdict in favor of a Deltona woman who is now in a permanent vegetative state following a heart attack five years ago.

Lawyers said the woman had complained to her primary care physician of chest pains, fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness and an irregular heartbeat. However, after forty three office contacts, over a two year period, her doctor never referred her to a cardiologist.

The woman who has four children has been cared for at home for the last several years by her husband, who gave up his job.

JURY VERDICT for Home Depot Customer Injured By Forklift ♦ Awarded $1.5 Million ♦ Knocked down causing neck and spine injuries

A Home Depot customer and his wife were awarded $1.5 million by a jury in a lawsuit stemming from a forklift accident at a store.

The injured customer said that a pallet of plywood fell on him from a forklift at a Home Depot store, knocking him down and causing neck and spine injuries.

The injured customer said that he was unable to resume his work in residential construction after the accident.

www.trippfirm.com

Jury awards parents $1.5 MILLION in McDonald's parking lot brawl • civil suit • Land O' Lakes • B&B Cash Grocery • Brickman Management Company

PASCO COUNTY - A jury awarded $750,000 each to the parents of a 21-year-old who was strangled to death in a Land O' Lakes restaurant's parking lot. Jurors this evening decided that Brickman Management Company Inc. and B&B Cash Grocery Stores Inc. were negligent for not providing security on the morning of the 21-year-olds death. Brickman owns the McDonald's where this unfortunate incident occurred on the morning of April 24, 2005. The parents were awarded a total of $1.5 million, but the jurors found the 21- year-old 33.3 percent responsible for his own death; that much will be deducted from the total. The jury found B&B and Brickman each 33.3 percent responsible.

This case was based on 750 calls for service from the McDonald's and the surrounding parking lot between 2001 and 2005. The incidents included juvenile disturbances, loitering and reported assaults. About 200 of the calls mentioned some form of alcohol use and most were made between midnight and 5 a.m. on Friday nights into Saturday mornings and Saturday nights into Sunday mornings.

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FLORIDA JURY AWARDS $4.8 Million Verdict in Florida Rear-End Accident case

A Florida jury awarded a man $4.8 million in a Florida auto accident lawsuit. The injured man was hurt in a 2003 car accident when a commercial drug company’s van rear-ended his car. As a result of this accident trauma, it left the man with serious neck and back injuries. The injured man required extensive surgery, and even after surgery, is still in pain.

Rear-end motor vehicle accidents can be much more dangerous than people think. Even at slow speeds, a rear-end accident can cause serious neck injuries because of the mechanics of the accident. As a result of the rear-end impact, vehicle occupants may sustain a whiplash injury causing chronic neck and back pain as well as headaches and sometimes tingling in the arms and legs.

If you or someone you love has been hurt in an automobile accident anywhere in that State of Florida, CALL the TRIPP LAW FIRM – Personal Injury Law at (888) 392-LAWS (5297) for a FREE CASE EVALUATION.

Injury Attorney G. Alan Tripp, Jr. and the INJURY LAW TEAM are available 24/7.

NO FEES or NO COST if NO RECOVERY www.trippfirm.com

IKEA Ι JURY VERDICT $3.2 million dollars Ι FALLING MERCHANDISE Ι Warehouse store Ι IKEA,USA Ι

A 33 year old woman was recently awarded $3.2 million in damages for injuries she suffered in 2006 when a 350-lb. stack of eight foot countertops fell on her in one of IKEA’s stores. The plaintiff suffered four fractures of her pelvis and alleged permanent injuries.

It sounds as though liability against IKEA was pretty clear. The customer had been looking for a table, but did not find one that she liked. Near the EXIT of the store, she stopped at the “As Is” section of leftover or bargain items but did not touch any of them. A stack of four particle-board counter tops and inside door collapsed on the plaintiff. An expert testified it was unsafe to have eight-foot-long countertops stacked vertically with only one (1) bungee cord to secure them in place. Plaintiff’s counsel said, “IKEA created the dangerous method of displaying merchandise in a way that was a hazard to its customers.”

Given the clear liability, it is hard to see why IKEA did not settle the case and let it go to a jury. The article in the Washington Post said, “the special damages were about $150,000.” IKEA’s highest offer in the case was $220,000. The plaintiff’s last demand was $1.2 million. An earlier mediation attempt was unsuccessful. Perhaps IKEA felt that, even with a finding of liability, it stood a good chance of doing better than paying the demand. That demand of $1.2 million may be looking better now to IKEA.

IKEA distributes its products through its retail outlets. As of March 2009, the chain has 296 stores in 36 countries, most of them in Europe, the United States, Canada, Asia and Australia. IKEA, USA has stores in Tampa, Florida at 1103 N. 22nd Street, in Orlando, Florida at 4092 Eastgate Drive, and in Sunrise, Florida at 151 NW 136th Avenue. Much of IKEA's furniture is designed to be assembled by the consumer rather than being sold pre-assembled. IKEA claims this permits them to reduce costs and use of packaging it is picked up or shipped unassembled rather than assembled.

The layouts of the warehouse-style retail stores create another risk for shoppers -- that of falling merchandise. Open warehouse layouts, high shelving and active equipment, including forklifts and rolling ladders, combine to create the very real potential for serious injuries when products topple from high shelves. In some falling merchandise cases, customers have suffered severe injuries to their head, feet, back, neck or shoulders.

If you or a loved one has been injured by falling merchandise in a warehouse store or super discount store, you may be entitled to compensation under premises liability law. If you have lost a loved one due to injuries sustained, your case would also fall under wrongful death. Call the TRIPP LAW FIRM – Personal Injury Law for an immediate case evaluation. NO FEES OR COSTS IF NO RECOVERY.

Our on-call staff and investigators are available 24 hours a day. CALL - Toll-free (888) 392-LAWS (5297) to speak with our on-call staff or Florida Injury Attorney G. Alan Tripp, Jr.

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