Settling Your Case -- Usually A Good Thing
Most cases settle without having to be tried. And that is a good thing. Litigation is expensive, it is time consuming and it is very stressful. If your case can be resolved without the stress of going to trial, then by all means consider settlement.
Cases like trucking accident cases, medical malpractice cases, insurance bad faith cases, can take two to three years to get to trial and can cost as much as $50,000 - $100,000 or more in litigation expenses. If the trucking company, doctor or insurance company believes your case is weak, they will not offer much to settle and can force you to trial. On the other hand, if you have a strong case, and a reputable attorney who is respected by the other side, the chances of your case settling are better.
I have tried cases against trucking companies, doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, automobile manufacturers and other similar defendants. As a result, these defendants know that I have the skill, the resources, the talent and the will to take them to trial if necessary. I have also settled cases against these very same type of defendants. Once the defendant knows your lawyer can or will take them to trial, they become more interested in settling the case.
Listed below are some examples of cases I have settled over the years. Just like with jury verdicts, each case is different. No two cases are exactly alike. Even if the cases sound the same, they are not. So the results listed below are not meant to imply that any other case would settle for some similar amount.
Drug and Pharmaceutical Settlements
In excess of $3.0 million from the manufacturers of the supplement L-Trytophan.
Trucking Accident Settlements
$3.5 million - in this case, a truck pulled onto a highway from a private drive and was struck by a car. The passenger in the car was paralyzed as a result.
$1.25 million - A truck driver had been delivering hogs all day and into the night. In the middle of the night, on a dark country road, he had made a delivery. He was trying to get out onto the two lane highway and got stuck. His truck blocked the whole road. It was so dark you couldn't see it. Our client slammed into the truck and had serious head, neck and back injuries.
$1.13 million - A truck driver ran a red light and T-Boned a man and his wife. The man had to be cut out of his car. He nearly bled to death. Witnesses at the scene said the truck driver was more concered about the fact that he had just paid off his truck and it was damaged than he was about the man and his wife.
$500,000.00 - A truck pulled out from a stop sign near the Big Cabin exit off I-44. Our clients had the right of way and could not see the truck in time to stop. The clients suffered head, neck and back injuries.
Automobile Accident Settlements
$800,000.00 - Domino's Pizza. Remember when Domino's had their "30 minutes or it's free" policy. This caused a lot of wrecks and a lot of problems for Domino's. They were sued all over the country over this policy. Their drivers were in such a hurry to get the pizza delivered that they drove recklessly and carelessly and caused a lot of accidents. In this case, the delivery driver was speeding at night in the rain, lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a young lady's car. She suffered head, neck and back injuries.
$650,000.00 - Domino's Pizza delivery driver is following too close and rear ends the client. He has multiple back surgeries and is disabled for life.
Medical Malpractice
$1.3 million - Rural doctor and hospital do not recognize that a patient is having a stroke. If they had, they could have given him a clot buster drug and stopped it. Instead, they thought he was having an allergic reaction to shellfish and told him to go home and sleep.
$1,080,000.00 - Compartment syndrome - Compartment syndrome is a medical emergency. It happens most often when someone fractures one of their arms or legs. After the fracture, there can be swelling in the compartment of the arm or leg. The tissue swells up and chokes off the supply of blood and oxygen to the arm. If not treated quickly, part of the arm or leg can die and have to be amputated. In this case, the patient, a teenage girl, was injured in a go cart accident. The orthopedic surgeon and the nurses at the hospital did not monitor her closely. She developed compartment syndrome and had to have her leg amputated below the knee.
$1,000,000.00-Compartment syndrome. Doctor treating a young girl's broken arm does not realize she has compartment syndrome. Now, the young girl can hardly use her arm. Doctor admits in his deposition he should have paid more attention and recognized the problem.
$910,000.00 - Compartment syndrome - another case involving a teenager who was injured in a motor vehicle accident. He broke his leg. The doctors and nurses did not monitor him closely and he developed compartment syndrome. His leg was amputated below the knee.
$1,000,000.00-Complications from Gastric Bypass Surgery. Surgeon and hospital do not recognize patient has complications from gastric bypass surgery. Patient has a stroke, then dies later.
$1,000,000.00--Complications from Gastric Bypass Surgery--Patient has leak after surgery. Surgeon and hospital do not see it until it's too late. Patient dies.
$500,000.00 - Failure to diagnose subarachnoid hemorrhage. In this case, the patient presented to the emergency room with complaints of sudden headache, nausea and vomiting. The doctor did an exam and sent the patient home. A short time later, he had a full blown bleed and was rushed to the hospital but it was too late. He died a few days later.
$350,000.00--Gallbladder surgery. Surgeon cuts the common bile duct. Patient has to have three more surgeries. Doctor admits in deposition that photo taken during surgery shows he cut the wrong duct.
$375,000.00--Doctor gives patient way too many medications. Patient had just got out of drug rehab. Doctor puts patient back on the same medication and gives him too much. Patient dies fom overdose.
In excess of $2 million total settlements were reached with two doctors who performed plastic surgery on women. They did breast augmentations, face lifts, tummy tucks and other surgery. Each doctor had some very serious problems. One of the surgeons had substance abuse problems,and the other was not even a real plastic surgeon. I handled more than 20 cases against the one doctor and about six against the other. Their insurance companies settled because they could not defend these doctors in court. One doctor had his license revoked and the other gave up her license because we had filed complaints against her with the medical licensure board and she was under investigation at the time she surrendered her license.
Construction Site Accidents
$2.6 million--Company was unloading pipe from a flat bed truck. They did not follow safety rules and caused the pipe to roll off the truck and crushed the truck driver. Witnesses admitted they did not follow proper safety procedures when they unladed the pipe using a forklift. The pipe rolled off the forklift and crushed the truck driver.
$1.4 million--Company was cleaning out debris at a hospital construction site. Company employees ignored safety rules and tossed an 80 pound piece of metal on the top of a dumpster that was sitting right by an unframed window on the third story. The metal went out the window and hit a worker on the head.
Insurance Disputes
$500,000--Insurance company makes lowball offer to it's policyholder. Insurance adjusters choose to ignore favorable evidence and force the policyholder to sue.
$350,000.00--Fall at Bank--Worker uses restroom at a bank. The bank knows the toilet is leaking but does not fix it. Worker falls and fractures foot and ankle. Many complications.
