Results For Our Clients
Rachel Barton
Video shows violinist's battle after train injury
Chicago Sun-Times - February 9, 1999
Tape shows impact of accident on Barton
Chicago Tribune - February 9, 1999
"The courtroom was hushed for 67 minutes Monday as jurors watched a silent video Days in the Life of Rachel Barton showing the violinist struggling to walk after her left leg was severed in a train accident." (Sun-Times)
"Sixty-seven minutes of silence filled a Cook County courtoom Monday afternoon as the jury watched an often-graphic videotape depicting violinist Rachel Barton's life in the months and years since a Metra train accident." (Tribune)
Barton, a child prodigy who was pursuing a career as a classical violinist, was injured Jan. 16, 1995, when she was dragged underneath a Metra train after the doors closed on the strap of her violin case. She obtained a $34 million verdict.
Julie Cobb
Med-mal suit settles for record $12.25 million
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin - February 12, 2002
A Lake County, IL woman and her family will receive a record $12.25 million in settlement of a lawsuit alleging that improper medical care left her brain damaged. The settlement is the highest recorded in any category in Lake County, according to records maintained by the Jury Verdict Reporter.
David C. Hall of Lord, Bissell & Brook represented the hospital. He said the defense decided to settle after watching a "day in the life" video of Cobb, who was pictured weeping uncontrollably.
"This is a catastrophic loss," Hall said. "This was -- in my almost 20 years of practice -- the most devastating day in the life I've ever seen. It was powerful video."
$110-milllion settlement in American Eagle
flight 4184 crash
Chicago Lawyer - January 1998
Robert A. Clifford, of the Clifford Law firm and lead plaintiff's counsel representing 15 of the 28 families whose suits remained at the time of trial, "finds it useful [in a personal injury case] to show jurors a 'day-in-the-life' video of the plaintiff living with the disability the defendant caused him or her."
" 'But in a death case, how do you do it?' Clifford asked rhetorically. The professional-quality videos featured interviews with spouses, children, parents and friends of the loved one. High school teachers talked about what good students they were; bosses talked about their budding careers. All videos climaxed in tearful accounts of hearing about the crash, hoping the loved one wasn't on the plane.
"Every video was a tear-jerker.
"Clifford sends copies of tapes to opposing counsel, showing them what will be presented at trial, and invites them to send copies to the insurers."
Ultimately, a $110-million settlement was reached in this 1994 crash of American Eagle Flight 4184 near Roselawn, Indiana, which killed all 68 passengers and crew aboard.
Amanda Williams
CTA pays hurt girl $8.5 mil. - Turnstile left lasting injury
Chicago Sun-Times - May 20, 2000
The CTA agreed to pay her $8.5 million, ending her trial before the jury had finished its deliberations."
Amanda Williams, 7 years old, pulled an old-fashioned turnstile at a subway stop while her mother was paying their fares. The turnstile pinned Amanda's neck, and while passersby eventually freed her, she lost consciousness and now suffers permanent developmental disabilities.
Anna Mederos
$55M for med-mal sets mark; day-in-life video of brain-damaged victim vital factor
National Law Journal - June 19, 2000
"A Chicago jury has awarded $40.44 million to a 54-year-old woman who sustained massive permanent brain damage during a routine diagnostic procedure and has additionally ordered the defendants to pay $15 million to the woman's husband on his loss-of-consortium claim."
According to plaintiff's attorney, Joseph A. Power Jr. of Power, Rogers & Smith, P.C., the award to Mrs. Mederos and the consortium award to her husband were both records for Illinois.
Mr. Powers also stated that the huge loss-of-consortium award was due in part to a calculated risk taken by plaintiffs' counsel. They had prepared a day-in-the-life video but decided not to use it in their case-in-chief so as to avoid charges of inflaming the jurors' passions. However, they reserved the right to use it if defendants opened the door.
That door opened when defendants took the position that Mrs. Mederos did not deserve damages for pain and suffering because she was so disabled, she couldn't feel any pain.
"The plaintiffs played the video during their rebuttal. 'The film clearly showed that she understood what was going on and that she did feel pain,' Mr. Powers said. The video was a significant reason [for the two awards], he added."
Anna Mederos
Ravenswood patient awarded $55 million
Chicago Sun-Times - May 28, 2000
"The amount is the largest award in a medical malpractice case in Illinois in the last decade, and probably ever, said John L. Kirkton, editor of the Jury Verdict Reporter in Chicago." In addition to the hospital, the defendants included an anesthesiologist and a pulmonary diseases specialist.
The progressive video helped establish Mederos' quality of life, as well as the care she needs in both the present and the future. As her daughter explained, "She was beautiful and outgoing. But now she cries when the news is on TV."
Moises Rojas Jr.
Boy, 4, awarded $11 million in medical malpractice case
Chicago Tribune - September 10, 1997
Hospital ordered to pay millions
The NewsSun (Lake County, IL) - September 10, 1997
A 4-year-old Highwood, IL boy who suffers from cerebral palsy won an $11 million award from Highland Park Hospital for brain injuries he suffered at birth.
"Several jurors wept as [the little boy's] hardships were described by Robert Baizer, one of the family's attorneys, during his closing argument Monday. They also cried when Baizer showed video of the physically handicapped boy trying to enter a school bus." (NewsSun)
It was the largest jury award in Lake County history and one of the largest medical malpractice jury verdicts the state has ever seen.
Anthony Blaylock
Blaylock wins suit vs. doctor - Ex-Bear awarded $3.85 million in claim surgery ended career
Chicago Sun-Times - December 17, 1999
"Jurors were shown videotape of Blaylock intercepting a John Elway pass for San Diego in 1992 and allegedly blowing his pass coverage while defending for the Bears in 1993."
Blaylock sued a Chicago orthopedic surgeon who removed an unsightly scar from the player's knee. Blaylock developed bursitis in the knee, which required him to undergo another operation and wear a cast that caused him to develop tendinitis. He never played football again.
