HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR VERDICTS

Ryder v. Amtrak - $5,350,000 jury verdict

The jury returned what was the largest personal injury verdict in Connecticut history as well as the largest verdict in the country against Amtrak. Kevin Ryder, a 30 year-old railroad lineman, was working on power lines after a train derailment, when he suffered severe electrical injuries, resulting in the loss of both hands. Kevin was represented by Stanley Jacobs and Bruce Jacobs. The railroad offered $1.8 million to settle the case, which was rejected. A crucial witness in the case was an expert on artificial limbs from Arizona, who testified about the lifetime costs of artificial hands, taking into account future advances in technology.

Mather v. Griffin Hospital - $9,000,000 jury verdict

Stanley Jacobs and Bruce Jacobs obtained another record verdict in the case of a boy who sustained severe brain damage at birth due to the negligence of the hospital and its personnel. During the trial, an offer of $2 million was rejected. The hospital appealed the verdict. Bruce Jacobs argued the appeal to the Connecticut Supreme Court, which upheld the verdict. With post-judgment interest, the hospital's insurance company paid out over $10.5 million.

As a result of this verdict, the parents were able to afford around-the-clock care for their son, as well as the intensive therapy that he will need for the rest of his life. The boy can live at home and travel with his family.

AK v. Obstetricians - $8,000,000 jury verdict

In this case, a baby girl suffered brain damage as the result of her doctor failing to perform a timely Caesarian section. Represented by Stanley Jacobs, the parents rejected an offer of $750,000. Jacobs and Jacobs retained one of the top experts in the field of labor and delivery to testify as to the negligence of the doctors.

RA v. Wendy's International - $1,518,000 jury verdict

A woman was standing in line at a Wendy's restaurant when a sign fell and struck her on her head. Shortly after the incident she began having seizures. She hired Jacobs and Jacobs. Our investigation uncovered the fact that the sign in question had fallen several times before the incident when it struck our client. Each time, Wendy's employees failed to properly secure the sign.

Garrison v. Nationwide Ins Co. - $700,000 jury verdict

The plaintiff, a 38 year-old truck driver and diesel mechanic was a passenger in a car that went out of control striking a stone wall. He suffered serious injuries, including a badly crushed foot, requiring surgical reconstruction. The driver of the car carried only $25,000 in liability insurance. As a result, the plaintiff made a claim under his own insurance policy, which provided coverage for injuries causes by someone who was underinsured. Nationwide offered $225,000 to settle the case. Bruce Jacobs who represented the plaintiff called upon a vocational expert to demonstrate the affect this injury had on the plaintiff's ability to earn a living.

Estate of PD v. Nursing Home - $325,000 jury verdict

The family of an 87 year-old man came to Jacobs and Jacobs after he was left alone in the bathroom of a nursing home by a nurse and fell, fracturing his skull. He died several days later. The nursing home vigorously defended the case, denying negligence and also taking the position that the quality of life of this elderly man before he fell was so poor, that the loss was not that great. They offered $30,000 to settle the case. Our team presented a compelling argument about the value of human life. The jury agreed.

Ruby v. Firelight - $348,000 jury verdict

The plaintiff, a self-employed beautician, was exiting a restaurant in a strip mall and returning to her car. When she stepped off the curb leading to the parking lot, she was caused to lose her balance and fall, due to the fact that the curb was unreasonably high. She suffered a fractured ankle. Stanley Jacobs and Irene Jacobs who handled the trial of this case retained an expert safety engineer to explain the hazards of a 10 inch drop.

Perry v. Hospital of St. Raphael - $170,000 jury verdict

The plaintiff was an elderly woman who had just undergone cataract surgery on her left eye, and was recuperating in the hospital. That night, she was helped to the bathroom by a nurse, who left her unattended. After waiting for the nurse to return, the plaintiff tried to get up and return to her bed. She became dizzy and fell, damaging the eye that had just been operated on, causing permanent vision problems. The hospital denied negligence and claimed that the damage to her eye was caused during surgery. They offered $25,000 to settle. Bruce Jacobs represented the plaintiff.

Monnes v. Zimmer, Corp - $350,000 jury verdict

This product liability case tried by Stanley Jacobs, involved a defective artificial hip. The device fractured after it had been implanted in the patient, resulting in a shattering of the femur.

HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR RECENT SETTLEMENTS

Note that many settlements, including almost all malpractice settlements require confidentiality, so that the names of the parties cannot be used. As always, the amount of any settlement depends on the unique facts of each case. Neither Jacobs and Jacobs nor any other lawyers can guarantee a particular result in your case.

2009

Estate of Joyce B v. Lauren T. --$1,475,000 settlement. Motor Vehicle Collision. Our client who had just pulled out of a driveway with limited visibility, was struck in the rear by a 16 year-old girl who was on her way to school. Our client suffered a bleed in her brain, resulting in her death approximately a week later. The defense claimed that the plaintiff had just pulled into the road and should have seen the defendant. However, an accident reconstruction determined that the defendant’s vehicle was travelling at a minimum speed of 42 MPH when she struck and snapped a utility pole AFTER the impact with our client’s car – showing that she was likely going at more than twice the 25 MPH speed limit before the first impact.

2008

Cole S v. Obstetrician -- $1,750,000 settlement. Medical Malpractice – traumatic forceps delivery. After a lengthy and difficult labor, the defendant, a young obstetrician attempted a difficult forceps delivery. After failing to engage the baby’s head in his first attempt, he switched to a different type of forceps and was able to deliver the baby- using a good deal of force. The trauma from the delivery resulted in the baby losing the vision in one of his eyes and internal injuries to the mother. At the deposition of the defendant, Bruce Jacobs, who represented the plaintiffs, uncovered the fact that this was the first time that this doctor had used the type of forceps with which he delivered the baby, other than during his training on a model. As a result, our expert was able to say that the doctor should have either obtained the assistance of an older physician who was more experienced with the use of forceps (younger obstetricians are generally better trained in the use of vacuum extraction – a newer form of assisted delivery) or performed a C-Section.

David E. v. Richard K. -- $200,000 settlement. Auto Collision -Defendant made a left-hand turn in front of our client. There was minor property damage at the scene and no injuries reported at the time. Our client developed neck and arm pain and headaches requiring ongoing pain management. The defense claimed that because none of the diagnostic tests showed any injury, that the injury was a simple neck sprain. However, Jacobs & Jacobs elicited testimony at the deposition of the treating orthopedic surgeon that the tests for nerve injury have a 25% false negative rate. As a result, he rendered the opinion that our client suffered nerve damage based upon the nature of his symptoms and complaints.

Josephine D. v. Hospital -- $150,000 settlement. Defective Premises- Our client, an 83 year-old woman who was working as a volunteer at the reception desk of the defendant hospital, was caused to fall when her foot was caught in computer and phone wires that were on the floor below the desk. She sustained a fractured pelvis. The hospital contended that it had no knowledge of the loose wires.

2007

Mark S. v. Dr. S. and Hospital -- $1 Million Settlement. Medical Malpractice- Failure to Diagnose- Our client underwent a 9-hour open heart surgery, successfully performed by the defendant surgeon. In the early morning hours after the surgery, Mark began to develop symptoms of pain, numbness and swelling in his right hand. The surgeon and the nurses and physician's assistants at the hospital felt that the symptoms were routine post-surgical symptoms. One of the PA's ordered a consult with a hand specialist at 7:45 AM in order to rule out anything more serious. However, the surgeon cancelled that order because he felt it was unnecessary. During the course of the day, our client's swelling became worse to the point where he could not move his hand. Unfortunately, this information was not conveyed to the surgeon. Finally when the surgeon examined Mark in the evening, after he had completed surgery on another patient, he ordered an immediate hand consult. Mark was diagnosed with "compartment syndrome" of the right hand: a rare complication of being on the heart bypass machine during surgery. Despite emergency hand surgery, Mark was left with a permanent partial loss of function of the right hand. The defense contended that the delay in diagnosing the condition had no effect on his ultimate outcome.

Preble v. Norma T. -- $595,000 settlement. Motorcycle Collision - Woman turned left in front of our client who was driving a motorcycle. Defense claimed excessive speed. Injuries to right ankle, left wrist and left knee.

Dennis R. v. Dr. L -- $480,000 settlement. Medical Malpractice - Eye Injury - Our client went to the defendant ophthalmologist who administered a steroid injection in Dennis' left eye. The procedure resulted in a torn retina which later detached causing permanent visual damage. The defense contended that the retinal damage is a known risk of the procedure, which our client had undergone on prior occasions. However, our expert felt that the defendant doctor was too quick to choose to do the injection and should have given the less risky treatment (drops) more time to see if the problem resolved.

Linda H. v. Town --$450,000 total settlement. Municipal Liability- Police negligence -This case involved a high speed police chase in which our client, a passenger in a van, was injured when a drunk driver being pursued by a police officer crashed into the van at an intersection, resulting in serious injuries to our client. The drunk driver was not insured. After collecting $100,000 from our client's uninsured motorist insurance, we brought suit against the police officer and the town for negligence in engaging in the high-speed pursuit. The defense claimed governmental immunity for the discretionary decision to engage in the chase. The case settled shortly before trial for an additional $350,000 against the town.

Adams v. Sansone -- $240,000 settlement. Pedestrian Injury- Our client an elderly man was crossing the street in a crosswalk. However, the crossing signal in his direction read "Don't Walk". The defendant made a left-hand turn and struck Mr. Adams causing him injuries including a fracture of the cervical spine. The defendant fled the scene, but was apprehended after a witness gave the police his license number. The defense paid almost all of the $250,000 insurance policy limits.

Seccia v. Trowbridge --$225,000 settlement. Motorcycle Collision- Our client was operating a motorcycle, when an elderly woman turned left in front of him resulting in serious lacerations and an ankle injury. Case was resolved for 90% of the insurance coverage.

2006

Jan L. v. Dr. S --$350,000 settlement. Chiropractic Malpractice - Our client a woman in her 40's was treating with a chiropractor for neck pain. During an adjustment of her neck she felt a sharp pain, Despite complaints of nausea, dizziness and severe headache over the next week, the defendant failed to refer her for medical care. Finally, her family doctor insisted that she go to the hospital where it was determined that she had a dissected vertebral artery, which resulted in a stroke. Our client, worked extremely hard at her rehabilitation and made an amazing recovery. The defense argued that the injury was not caused by chiropractic manipulation and even if it were, such injury is an extremely rare consequence of neck manipulation (the consent form signed by our client mentioned stroke as a potential complication). Our expert testified that, given the fact that our client's neck pain was improving as a result of less risky treatment (massage, ultrasound and heat), there was no reason to subject her to the risk of spinal manipulation.

Estate of James Purtell v. Richard Layton, Co.--$425,000 arbitration award. Truck Driver's Negligence - Wrongful Death -- Our client, a 63-year old mentally ill homeless man, who was estranged from his family and lived alone in a tent on the Housatonic River in New Milford, Connecticut, was walking along a road with no sidewalk when an oil truck pulled out of a driveway and ran him over, killing him instantly. The defense claimed that our client should have noticed that the truck was stopped to pull out of the driveway and that he walked directly into its path. The driver claimed that he could not see our client over the hood of his cab. Finally, the defense claimed that our client's life had little financial value because he was not employed and had no material possessions. They offered $75,000 to settle, before their insurance company filed for bankruptcy. As a result, the Connecticut Guarantee Fund took over. Their liability was limited to $300,000. Prior to the arbitration, the Fund offered $175,000. Our client's family demanded $225,000. We presented the case arguing that our client had the right-of-way and that, because the driver saw him before he started to accelerate, he had to account for our client before he pulled out. We also argued that simply because our client had an unorthodox lifestyle, did not mean that he did not enjoy life as much as any one of us. We presented testimonials from people in New Milford who knew James and spoke about what a wonderful person he was. The case was resolved after the award for the $300,000 maximum liability of the Guarantee Fund.

Randi v. Goldstein -- $191,400 net arbitration award. Auto Collision - Our client was struck from behind by another driver, sustaining what appeared to be typical whiplash (neck sprain) injuries. However, despite treatment, his pain did not subside. Our client did not lose any time from work, but testified that in order to continue working as the head of a culinary arts department at a local community college, he needed to have physical therapy on average once a week. We presented live testimony from a neurologist and a naturopath and convinced the arbitrator that if he was not compensated for this necessary ongoing treatment, the loss of income would far exceed that expense. The arbitrator agreed, and awarded the future medical costs through our client's expected working years. Prior to the arbitration, we had demanded $125,000 and the insurance company had offered $90,000.

Dario M. v. Hospital -- $172,000 settlement. Medical Malpractice - Our client, a 65-year old cabinet maker, suffered severe lacerations of his hand while working on a table saw. He went to the emergency room where a resident cleaned, stitched and wrapped his hand. He instructed our client not to remove the bandages until he followed up with an orthopedic surgeon one week later. When the bandages were removed, it was determined that the resident had failed to remove the tourniquet from our client's middle finger, preventing the circulation of blood to it. As a result the finger had to be amputated. Our client did not lose any income, but as not able to work at the same speed as he previously had. The hospital admitted liability and the case was settled at a mediation in court.