$55 Million Dollars
Wade vs Henry Ford Hospital
Michigan's largest medical malpractice verdict. Verdict obtained on behalf of brain damaged baby who had presented to emergency department of Bon Secor Hospital with complaints of difficulty in breathing. Mother reported child seemed to be "gasping for air". Following cursory physical examination, child discharged home with instructions for use of inhaler. The following morning the child arrested while en route to the hospital for additional respiratory difficulties. McKeen & Associates effectively argued despite normal vital signs, history of child gasping for air and numerous visits to emergency department over previous week merited admission to the hospital for observation.
$35 Million Dollars
Oppenheim vs Project Straight, et al
33 year old husband and father of three, successful business executive presented to outpatient detox center to help with recovering from addiction to prescription pain medications. Rogers negligently failed to preoperatively ascertain whether patient had colonesteres deficiency that would make it more difficult for him to recover from anesthetic than normal patients. Patient left unattended for lengthy periods of time in recovery, suffered hypoxic ischemic brain damage. After lingering for several days, the patient expired. Believed to be largest verdict ever in Oakland County for medical malpractice.
$22 Million Dollars
Blazo vs McClaren Regional Medical Center
Largest jury verdict in medical malpractice case in history of Genesee County. Mother, pregnant with twins at 30 weeks presented to McClaren Regional Medical Center for outpatient carpal tunnel surgery. While in recovery, mother reported contractions. Following brief period of monitoring, nurse spoke with attending obstetrician and decision was made to discharge mother. The next morning, mother awoke with advanced premature labor, totally in breach presentation mandating immediate cesarean section delivery. The twins suffered consequences of prematurity with soft neuro cognitive impairment. The male twin later victimized by sodium overdose resulting in stroke and mild cerebral palsy.
$22 Million Dollars
LUGO
Verdict on behalf of Milwaukee family whose daughter was brain damaged from birthing complications at a community health center funded by the federal government. Claim was brought under the federal tort claims act. McKeen & Associates successfully established that the child was stuck in the birth canal for more than 20 minutes, sustaining severe brain injury due to a lack of adequate oxygen.
$19.8 Million Dollar Jury Verdict
Heister vs Surulli
Jury verdict predicated upon attending obstetricians negligence in failure to provide appropriate ante natal care. During prenatal visits, it should have become obvious that a dangerous condition known as oleoglohydramnious or decreased amniotic fluid existed. Oleoglohydramnious is both an identifier and risk factor for fetal compromise. As a consequence of delay in delivery, the minor Plaintiff suffered me Conium aspiration syndrome and significant cognitive impairment. Defendants argued that cognitive impairment unaccompanied by cerebral palsy cannot be due to ante natal or peri natal events. Plaintiff successfully argued that hypoxia and ischemic injury can cause brain damage that manifests in a variety of ways including cognitive impairment with or without cerebral palsy.
$15.8 Million Dollars Jury Verdict
Lowe vs Henry Ford Health Systems
Mother presented to Riverside Hospital for induction of labor at term. Following administration of Pitocin, fetal monitoring revealed severe episodes of umbilical cord compression and fetal heart rate deceleration. Following repositioning, cord compression was alleviated and fetal heart rate returned to normal baseline. Outpatient obstetrical resident negligently approved patient request to go to bathroom necessitating position change and discontinuation of fetal monitoring. During eleven minute period when fetal monitor was off, cord compression occurred, resulting in severe hypoxic ischemic injury. Following emergency cesarean section delivery, infant was delivered in a profoundly depressed and asphyxiated condition resulting in severe cerebral palsy and mental retardation. The Hospital argued that at the time the decision was made to allow patient to go to the bathroom, the fetal heart tones were normal and baby was well oxygenated. Plaintiff countered arguing that discontinuing the monitor in the face of previous decelerations created an unreasonable risk that additional episodes of umbilical cord compressions would go unnoticed squandering opportunity to alleviate umbilical cord compression with position change or immediate cesarean section delivery before brain damage could ensue.
$11 Million Dollars
Anonymous v Anonymous
Settlement of birth trauma claim arising out of defendant's negligent management of labor and delivery, resulting in lack of adequate oxygen, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation. Plaintiff, a 21 year old college student presented to a level III perinatal center at 37 weeks gestation complaining of pain across her stomach, headache and visual disturbance. An evaluation revealed that she was suffering from preeclampsia and her baby experienced intrauterine fetal death. The defendants negligently failed to diagnose a placental abruption and failed to recognize the existence of a bleeding condition known as DIC. Accordingly, defendants negligently failed to expedite delivery and replace lost blood volume and blood products to correct patient's coagulopathy. Following delivery, patient experienced massive post partem hemorrhage resulting in arrest. Plaintiff went for approximately 12-15 minutes without adequate oxygen to her brain resulting in hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy or brain damage which manifests itself in severe quadraparesis, cortical blindness and cognitive deficits with executive functioning difficulties. The defendant doctor had only $200,000 of insurance. McKeen & Associates successfully argued that the hospital's nursing staff knew or should have known of the potential for a placental abruption and DIC, known or should have known of the potential for a coagulopathy and need for blood replacement products and should have pursued a "chain of command" to go over the doctor's head and insure that the patient received adequate care and treatment.
$5.1 Million Dollars
Settlement on behalf of 1 month old infant who was run over by father in driveway. Child was airlifted to care center where he was noted to be neurologically intact. Several hours after admission, child began demonstrating evidence of weakness in hand grasp. Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) was ordered STAT. Defendant hospital however negligently failed to obtain the study in a STAT fashion, and eventually the child suffered a stroke from delayed recognition of an internal carotid artery dissection. McKeen & Associates successfully argued that the delay in diagnosis resulted in a squandered opportunity to either anticoagulate the child to prevent stroke and/or utilize endovascular techniques to stint the injured artery. The child suffers from severe seizure disorder and hemiparesis.
$5 Million Dollars settlement in birth injury claim. Mother had multiple previous cesarean sections and was scheduled to have a repeat cesarean section scheduled for 37 weeks. Mother presented to the hospital at 35 weeks complaining of abdominal pain. Mother requested cesarean section but was informed by hospital staff that she could not have cesarean section simply for abdominal pain. Defendants negligently failed to recognize that uterine rupture was occurring and eventually uterine rupture transpired resulting in profound hypoxic ischemic brain damage to baby with cerebral palsy and mental retardation. Defendant hospital argued that it would have been below the standard of care to have done a cesarean section for a premature infant. Plaintiff successfully demonstrated however that the child had mature lungs and that if there was any concern for lung immaturity, (a consideration which was insignificant, the risk of profound brain damage from uterine rupture), a simple test would have revealed lung maturity which defendants expert then agreed would have necessitated immediate cesarean delivery.
$4.0 Million Dollars
Settlement on behalf of patient who experienced brain stem injury secondary to increased inter-cranial pressure from benign coloid cyst of the third ventricle. Patient presented to his primary care physicians complaining of headache. The physicians negligently failed to obtain a CT scan which would have allowed for identification of benign brain tumor and safe steriotactic aspiration. The cyst caused an obstruction of cerebral spinal fluid and increased intercranial pressure. The patient presented to the hospital with a severe headache and loss of neurologic deficits. The hospital personnel negligently failed to take prompt steps to decrease the increased intercranial pressure. The patient suffered severe brain stem injury.
$2.5 Million Dollars
Settlement paid on behalf of 39 year old male (Cobus) who developed severe aphasia or inability to verbally communicate following endovascular coiling of arterial venus malformation. McKeen & Associates successfully demonstrated how the defendant, Interventional Neuroradiologists, negligently injected glue to occlude only the arterial venus malformation, but also the artery of purcheron, an important arterial structure that was not encompassed within the aneurysm which resulted in the severe aphasia. Defendants argued that the complications were an expected risk of a procedure. McKeen & Associates, however, demonstrated that the complication was a result of inappropriate technique and the defendants negligent failure to use appropriate testing to ascertain whether the vessel was a vital structure prior to embolizing it.
$2,375,000.00 Million Dollars
Settlement on behalf of former premie twin who developed hypertension and newborn_____as a consequence of clothing secondary to an indwelling catheter. Rather than simply use conventional anticoagulation therapy, Defendants chose to proceed with dangerous and unapproved thrombolytic therapy designed to break up the clot, which unfortunately resulted in severe intercranial bleeding and cerebral palsy. McKeen & Associates was able to successfully overcome the defendants argument that the thrombolytic therapy was necessary by demonstrating that studies showed there was still a good flow around the clot and that utilization of anticoagulation therapy would prevent enlargement of the clot.
$1.8 Million Dollar
Medical Malpractice Verdict
Miller v Cabrera
Patient presented to emergency department complaining of abdominal pain and appearing jaundiced. Patient underwent surgery to remove an impacted gall stone. Defendant surgeon reportedly felt the pancreas felt "woody" and proceeded with dangerous non-indicated pancreatic biopsy. Pancreatic biopsy led to severe multiple complications eventually culminating in the wrongful death of a 39 year old housewife.
O'Donnell v Henry Ford Health Systems
49 year old attorney presented to defendant's ophthalmology clinic for performance of lasik surgery. Lasik surgery negligently done when ophthalmologist failed to cut an adequate flap, consequently leading to laser obligation of flap hinge, resulting in irregular stigmatism. Irregular stigmatism required that patient wear hard contact lenses which patient found very uncomfortable to use and which did not eliminate halo glare, other higher order apparition.
Settlement of birth trauma claim versus suburban hospital.
During the course of admission, it was noted by high risk consultant that abnormally low umbilical cord created risk of cord compression. Following two days of periodic abnormal fetal heart accelerations, a cesarean section was belatedly performed resulting in a severely asphyxiate baby who developed cerebral palsy and mental retardation.
