Workers Comp, Personal Injury Settlements Making News

Stacy Johnson-Klein, an ex-coach for the women’s basketball team at California State University at Fresno was awarded $9 million to settle a lawsuit that she brought against the university for sex discrimination. Johnson-Klein says that she was fired in 2005 due to her advocacy for greater opportunities for female athletes.

In December of 2007, a jury in Fresno County awarded Johnson-Klein a verdict with a record $19.1 settlement payout. The ruling was appealed by the University, and the judge later reduced payment to $6.6 million. Although Johnson-Klein accepted this new payout, the University once again appealed and sought a new trial. The finalized agreed settlement of $9 million appears to have ended the months of legal battles.

This is the third multi-million dollar lawsuit that CSU at Fresno has had to pay out to female athletics officials for sex discrimination.

After a two-week trial in Cuyahoga County, OH in which Elizabeth Elia brought suit against the Cleveland Clinic for negligence by the facility which resulted in the permanent brain damage of her son, the jury agreed to a total settlement payment of $15.9 million. This includes the original $10 million that Elia sought for compensation of her son’s injuries, as well as the court approved request of $4 million in legal fees and $430,000 in legal and medical expenses filed by the plaintiff’s lawyers. Lawyers for both the plaintiffs and defendants agreed to settle the case on May 1st before the verdict forms were officially signed, however the papers were accidentally placed on public file rather than becoming sealed. If the verdict had been made official by the jury, it would have been one of the largest payouts out ever in Cuyahoga County.

An Atlanta Federal Judge has ordered the operators and founders of a now defunct online pharmaceutical business to pay fines totaling $15.8 million for fraudulent claims they made about their drugs to the US Federal Trade Commisision. The order also held Dr. Terrill Mark Wright responsible for false advertising claims and is to pay $15.4 million to compensate consumers for his part in promoting drugs created by the National Urological Group, the National Institute for Clinical Weight Loss Inc. and Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals Inc. among others.

U.S. District Judge Charles A. Pannell, who issued these orders, called the violations against the FTC “numerous and grave.”

Birmingham lawyer J. Stephen Salter, who represents Jared Wheat, one of the corporate officers to be held accountable, stated that his client “is doing everything by the book” and that he is “in complete compliance” with how online pharmacies are to be operated. Salter plans to file an appeal in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

On May 29^th, an appeals court in Texas overturned a jury ruling in favor of Carol Ernst, who had sued Merck, the creators of Vioxx, after her husband Robert died from taking the drug. The appeals court decided that the plaintiffs had not proven that Vioxx was the cause of Mr. Ernst’s death. In a separate appeals court ruling in New Jersey, a ruling against Merck was greatly reduced. The court overturned the jury’s decision to find Merck guilty of committing consumer fraud and responsible for paying punitive damages. The court ruled that Merck was only responsible for paying compensatory damages to the tune of $4.5 million.

These rulings left the plaintiffs with just three minor victories against Merck of the total twenty cases against the pharmaceutical company which had reached juries. Mark Lanier, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, promised to appeal after criticizing the decision. However, these rulings will make little difference as the plaintiffs and Merck have already agreed to a payout of $4.85 billion to the 50,000 plaintiffs that have sued the company claiming that Vioxx was responsible for causing the drug’s users heart attacks or strokes. The plaintiffs have until June 30^th to reach a final settlement agreement.

The attorneys at Venardi Elam LLP obtained a $4,900,000 arbitration award for a company that supplies parts and services for a radar reconnaissance and surveillance system sold by a United States company to foreign governments. The client had an exclusive license to supply the parts and service the systems. The defendant terminated the license agreement without cause because it considered the terms unfavorable. The law firm prevailed after a three-week arbitration and obtained a $4,900,000 lost profits award for the client.

www.VEFirm.com

In 2005, plaintiff Erika Hayward and three passengers were awarded $3.95 million collectively as a result of an April 2000 Ford Explorer rollover accident. Attorney Ed Bell of Georgetown, South Carolina represented Hayward’s family. The auto defect attorneys of The Bell Legal Group argued that Ms. Hayward lost control of the vehicle and was thrown from it only because the SUV is fundamentally unstable in design and also because of defects in the roof and windows. Ford had known of the Explorer’s tendency to roll over but failed to make the necessary changes to make it a safer, more stable vehicle. Unfortunately, Ford Explorer rollovers continue to happen nationwide…

www.defective-vehicle-lawyer.com

The Baltimore medical malpractice lawyers of Snyder Weltchek & Snyder won a verdict of $1.75 million for the family of a woman who died of a pulmonary embolism after undergoing bladder suspension surgery at St. Joseph Medical Center. The nurses failed to give her blood thinners or put compression stockings on her legs to reduce the risk of clotting. Those stockings are one of the best ways to prevent blood clots. The nurses also failed to have her up and walking around after surgery, as the doctors had instructed. The patient died four days after surgery when a blood clot broke off and traveled to her lungs. After a six day trial the jury awarded $500,000 to the estate, $500,000 to her husband, and $250,000 to each of their three adult children.

www.litigationteam.com

The Law Offices of Snyder Weltchek & Snyder obtained a $1.05 million verdict in a medical malpractice case. Two emergency room doctors at Union Memorial Hospital failed to diagnose a blood clot in the lungs of Christian. Christian had surgery on his bowel days before pain sent him back to the emergency room. The doctors told him it was pneumonia when he visited the emergency room. Christian died two weeks later. The lawyers of Snyder Weltchek & Snyder believed that the doctor’s negligence was the cause of the death and autopsy reports showed Christian had a blood clot that should have been diagnosed by the doctors, because blood clots are a common condition after surgery. After two weeks of testimony, a Baltimore Circuit Court jury ruled that the doctor’s committed medical malpractice that led to death and must pay $1,050,000 in damages to the Christian’s Family.

www.litigationteam.com

Tricities, TN Medical Malpractice law firm of Evan Meade and Associates successfully assisted their injured client in being awarded a settlement of $1.67 million. The case of doctor error against the involved Elizabethton, Tennessee hospital and attending OB-GYN physician whose negligence caused a birth trauma resulting in cerebral palsy, was the largest paid jury verdict of the first judicial district in 2000.

Similarly, Mr. Meade represented injured clients in later cases where his clients were awarded a $825,000.00 settlement in a case of misdiagnosis of breast cancer against a Johson City pathologist and $800,000 in a prescription error lawsuit which resulted in a wrongful death from an overdose of Marcaine, in 2004 and 1994 respectively.

www.injury-lawyer-tn.com

The Johnson City, TN personal injury law firm of Evan Meade and Associates successfully represented a Minnesota accident victim in a lawsuit where they were awarded a settlement of $1.85 million. The 2007 case began when a reckless pick up truck slid directly into a parked vehicle resulting in serious injuries including severe leg fracture and traumatic brain injury .

Similarly, in 1999 Evan Meade’s law firm represented a Bristol Tennessee car wreck victim who was unable to stand or walk easily due to severe fractures of the legs, which were sustained during the accident. They were awarded a $750,000 settlement by the jury, while the attorneys obtained experience allowing them to use their acquired skills to win future cases.

www.injury-lawyer-tn.com