The following cases represent some recent, high-profile cases the firm is presently prosecuting.

Noteworthy Recent New Cases

 

· Pedestrian Injury, Pedestrians Struck and Seriously Injured by City of Chicago Employee (Cook County, complaint filed May 2011).  The Plaintiffs, a 34 year old man and his 27 year old wife, were photographers and pedestrians on the sidewalk and corner of Cedar, Rush, and State streets in downtown Chicago on May 21, 2011 photographing a wedding party when a city refuse vehicle driven by a city worker jumped the curb and struck the Plaintiffs and 6 other pedestrians causing devastating injuries. The injuries to the male Plaintiff included, but were not limited to, brain injury requiring surgery, a fractured spine, fractured eye socket, fractured skull, facial fractures and damage to his heart and liver.  He has had brain and facial reconstructive surgeries. His wife was also injured and, in addition, has become her husband's caretaker and sues for loss of consortium.  The Defendant driver was speeding, under the influence of alcohol and had an open alcohol container in the city vehicle.  This case has appeared repeatedly in all the local newspapers and on televised local and cable news programs.

 

 · Motor Vehicle Collision Injury, (Cook County, Complaint filed November 2011). The Plaintiff, a 31 year old man, was rear-ended by the Defendant while stopped in traffic on 1-90.  The Defendant failed to reduce his speed prior to the collision and to keep a proper lookout.  The Plaintiff suffers from a shoulder and lower back injury.

 

· Motor Vehicle Collision Injury, (Cook County, Complaint filed October 2011).  The Plaintiff, a 52 year old woman, was rear-ended by the Defendant while waiting to make a left turn.  The Defendant was driving his vehicle at an excessive speed and failed to stop before colliding with the Plaintiff’s vehicle.  The Plaintiff suffers from cubital tunnel syndrome and medial epicondylitis of the right elbow that requires surgical repair.

 

· Bicyclist Struck and Seriously Injured by Motor Vehicle (Cook County, Complaint filed June 2011).   The Plaintiff, a 49 year old woman, was crossing the street in the crosswalk at Cermak and 17^th when the Defendant driver executed a right hand turn while looking at a construction zone to his left.  The driver failed to see the pedestrian legally crossing the street, and struck her with his vehicle, crushing her leg.  The Plaintiff has suffered multiple fractures mid-thigh to ankle, a crushed knee, severe damage to the bone, tendons and ligaments in her leg and has already undergone multiple surgeries including the transplantation of donated tissue, ligament and tendon grafts, and the implantation of metal plates and screws.  More surgery will be required in the future to replace her knee and to maintain the function of her leg.  This case has appeared in the news.

 

· Medical Malpractice, Elderly Woman Goes to Emergency Room for Dizziness, Winds Up In Coma (Cook County, Complaint filed July 2011). The Plaintiff, an 88 year old woman, went to the emergency room for dizziness and trouble swallowing.  The emergency room attendant placed the Plaintiff in a wheel chair and in slamming down the leg guard in to the locked position, lacerated the Plaintiff’s leg.  The emergency room physician failed to treat the leg injury. One week later, the Plaintiff returned to the hospital seeking treatment for her then infected leg.  The attending physician prescribed medications which interfered with the Plaintiff’s heart and blood pressure medication and required a subsequent hospitalization. During this latter hospitalization, the Plaintiff’s care and treatment was neglected and she suffered bed sores and contracted cedis. She became so weak fighting these infections that she went into a coma and ultimately died.           

 

· Premises Liability Injury, Shopper Struck and Seriously Injured by Falling Mannequin (Cook County, Complaint filed June 2011).  The Plaintiff, a 57 year old single mother, was shopping in a Skokie clothing store when a mannequin, used for jewelry display, fell off a shelf and struck her in the head.  The Plaintiff suffered a herniated cervical disc, a head injury, and a torn rotator cuff.

 

· Medical Malpractice, Misdiagnosed Skin Rash (Cook County, Complaint filed June 2011).  The Plaintiff, a 48 year old male, sought medical treatment for a skin rash. The Defendant internist, Defendant medical group, and Defendant hospital failed to order a blood test or a serum test, misinterpreted the rash on his body,  and misdiagnosed the Plaintiff’s syphilis condition  The attending physician prescribed a Z-pack for bronchitis and Benadryl for the rash.  Over a year later, the Plaintiff began losing his vision, hearing, and suffered from memory loss. It was at this time that  the Plaintiff learned that he suffered from syphilis which had not been properly diagnosed or timely treated by the Defendants and as a result therefrom his syphilis condition that could have been easily treatable had it been properly diagnosed progressed to neurosyphillis. The Plaintiff  now suffers from damaged vision, impaired hearing, and decreased brain function. 

 

· Federal Employee’s Liability Act Claim (Cook County, Complaint filed May 2011).  The Plaintiff, a 52 year old Amtrak employee, was working on a train outside the Wheel House near 16^th and Lumber when he slipped on the uneven gravel and rock sloped area of the ground and fell.  The Plaintiff suffered severe dislocation of several joints in his foot that have required major ankle surgery that has left him unable to work and ambulate. He suffers from daily pain and can only ambulate with the assistance of orthotics and walking aids.  The Defendant railroad failed to provide the Plaintiff with a safe work environment.

 

· Wrongful Death / Hit and Run (Cook County, Complaint filed April 2011).  The Plaintiff, a 69 year old female physician, was exiting her motor vehicle as it was parked on the east side of Stockton Drive, near the Webster Avenue intersection in Chicago, Illinois when a motor vehicle operated by  the Defendant driver struck the Plaintiff then failed to stop or report the accident.  The Defendant driver was later identified and located through the Plaintiff who memorized the Defendant’s driver’s license.  The Plaintiff suffered herniated discs in the same area of her spine as was a  cancerous tumor.  Treatment for the herniated discs exacerbated and accelerated the growth of the tumor causing the Plaintiff’s death.

 

· Motor Vehicle Collision Injury (Cook County, Complaint filed March 2011).  The Plaintiff, a 37 year old female, was driving west on Madison at Halsted in Chicago, Illinois when the Defendant driver, heading north on Halsted, ran a red light and struck her vehicle.  The Plaintiff suffered brain, head and spinal injuries.  The Defendant driver was speeding when he failed to obey the stop light. An uninsured/underinsured case is being pursued.

 

· Slip and Fall Injury (Cook County, Complaint filed March 2011).  The Plaintiff, a 37 year old female single mother, was grocery shopping in a local market when she stepped in an area that had blood on the floor in the meat department causing her to fall.  The Plaintiff suffered a herniated disc and requires ongoing therapy and potential spinal surgery. The Defendant market owners negligently allowed blood to remain on the floor for a substantial period of time, creating a significant hazard for its customers

 

· Medical Malpractice, Negligently Performed Physical Therapy (Cook County, Complaint filed January 2011). The Plaintiff, a 46 year old female, underwent knee surgery for a torn ligament.  After surgery and in violation of an order from the attending surgeon, the Defendant physical therapist took off the Plaintiff's brace that immobilized her knee and manipulated the Plaintiff's knee within 24 hours of the surgery causing the ligament to re-tear and infection resulting in additional and numerous surgeries. The Plaintiff has never regained full use of the leg or knee and lives with chronic and debilitating pain.

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· Medical Malpractice, Multiple Myeloma Misdiagnosis (Cook County, Complaint filed October 2010).  The Plaintiff, a 65 year old female, was misdiagnosed with multiple myeloma and underwent unnecessary radiation therapy which caused permanent damage to and fractured her spine. Surgery was required to cement her fractured spine in place. She now endures chronic back pain and disability as a result therefrom. The Defendant doctor and hospital failed to correctly diagnose her condition, failed to perform the proper tests to diagnose the Plaintiff's condition, and had the Plaintiff undergo radiation therapy for a condition the Plaintiff did not have.

 

· Sexual Assault, Woman Sexually Assaulted at Chicago Hotel by Massage Therapist (Cook County, complaint filed July 2009).  The Plaintiff, a female, was sexually assaulted during her scheduled massage therapy session at a Chicago hotel by a male massage therapist employed by the hotel.  The Plaintiff has and will continue to experience ongoing permanent and irreversible physical injury, pain, suffering and emotional damages as a result of the Defendant massage therapist’s sexual assault and the Defendant hotel’s failure to safeguard the Plaintiff against the Defendant massage therapist. 

 

· Medical Malpractice, Delayed Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer (Cook County, complaint filed December 2008). The Plaintiff went for annual testing to monitor his PSA values for a five year period.  The Defendant physician failed to advise the Plaintiff that his PSA results indicated clinical signs of prostate cancer and failed to recommend a biopsy.  When the Plaintiff was finally told of his abnormal PSA values, he was already in the most severe stage of prostate cancer. 

 

· Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice (Cook County, complaint filed June 2008).  The mother of a 16 month old child brought her baby to the emergency room with a 103 degree temperature.  The child was misdiagnosed with an ear infection and released with instructions to take Tylenol and Motrin as needed.  The next day, the still concerned mother brought her child to another hospital, where the child was again negligently diagnosed with an ear infection and released even though his blood work clearly indicated an infection.  The physicians failed to diagnose the child’s viral meningitis and the child died.  The hospital failed to perform the proper tests or provide appropriate emergency care. 

 

· Sexual Assault, Woman Drugged and Assaulted at Company Function (Cook County, complaint filed March 2008).  The Plaintiff was drugged by a co-worker at an event sponsored by her employer at a Chicago hotel.  In an altered state of consciousness, the Plaintiff was taken to a hotel room and forced to stay there against her will while she was physically and sexually assaulted.  The Plaintiff has and continues to endure physical and emotional damages as a result of the assault, battery, and false imprisonment.