Links to case summaries:

Dedicated Health Professionals adv. Life Care Centers of America

Zang adv. Judd

United Surgical/Warner adv. Burkinshaw

Coleman/Kimberly Quality Care adv. Henderson (2005)

Stephens adv. John C. Lincoln Health Network

Cobre Valley Hospital adv. Uribe

Invacare adv. Davis

Arizona Public Service (APS) adv. Wagoner

Coleman/Kimberly Quality Care adv. Henderson (2001)

Picker International adv. Taylor

Laidlaw Transit/Deer Valley School District adv. Lasher

Dodsworth adv. Phoenix Newspapers, Inc.

Coleman/Kimberly Quality Care adv. Henderson (1999)

Jury Trial Overview, 1999-Present

This was a medical malpractice case in which Plaintiff (Judd) alleged that the insured/Defendant, Dr. Kerry Zang, breached the standard of care by improperly performing hammertoe repair surgery. She alleged that Dr. Zang used inappropriate implants, the failure of which required at least five additional surgeries. She claimed to have suffered a great deal of pain and extreme limitations on physical activities.

At trial, Plaintiff’s expert testified that Dr. Zang improperly used a silicone implant to which Plaintiff was allergic and that a stronger flexible rod should have been used.

In representing Defendants, we argued at trial, and our expert testified, that the implants used by Dr. Zang were designed precisely for the repair of hammertoe deformities. We also argued, and our expert testified, that the implant failed not because Plaintiff was allergic but because she was stepped on at a concert. We also argued that Plaintiff’s subsequent surgeries were the result of noncompliance with physician’s orders, particularly because she engaged in extreme sports when she was told to stay off of her feet.

Plaintiff testified that she later sustained a tear to her Achilles tendon, which she attributed to Dr. Zang’s surgery and which she claimed resulted in her inability to engage in any activities. Plaintiff’s treating physician, after she stopped being treated by Dr. Zang, testified at trial that the Achilles tendon injury was not related to Dr. Zang’s surgery, that it occurred during a physical activity, and that Plaintiff overused narcotic medications to stop pain so she could engage in activities that held a high risk of re-injury.

This was a medical negligence case in which the Plaintiff alleged against the insured/defendant a breach of the standard of care by a medical surgery technician (scrub tech) and his employer, the surgery center, for a failure to notice the breaking of an arthroscopic cutting blade. The tip of the cutting blade was left in the Plaintiff's knee, which over the course of several months became infected. The allegation against the insured/defendant was that it was a breach of the standard of care to not inspect the arthroscopic tool and notice that the piece had been broken and subsequently left in the plaintiff's knee.

The plaintiff alleged marital problems, permanent physical and emotional damages, pain and suffering and reflex sympathetic dystrophy as, among other things, his injuries. Plaintiffs and defendants called standard of care experts. The jury found overwhelmingly in favor of the defendant/insured. It was argued that the insured/defendant's conduct never fell below the standard of care. Plaintiff's called an expert who testified that the insured/defendant's conduct was a deviation from the standard of care for surgical technicians.

Plaintiff's asked the jury for hundreds of thousands of dollars. No specific denomination was requested.

This was a retrial of a June 1, 2001, medical malpractice, wrongful death case. The decedent, male, age 41, a vice president of First Interstate Bank, was survived by his wife, two minor children and his 65-year-old father, all of whom brought suit for his wrongful death. In June, 1993, decedent was rendered a paraplegic following orthopedic and neurosurgery to repair and stabilize his spine, which had been injured 20 years earlier in an accident. Decedent was discharged from the hospital in September, and hospital records indicated that, following surgery, decedent was depressed, vulnerable and insecure.

Defendant Kimberly Quality Care was hired to provide home care. Defendant Coleman, a certified nurse's assistant, was assigned to the decedent. Plaintiffs alleged Defendants fell below the standard of care, in that Defendant Coleman admitted that, by January 1994, she and the decedent had been engaging in oral sexual activity. The sexual relationship continued for several months, and Defendant Coleman allegedly told others that she was planning to leave her husband and three children for the decedent. The decedent committed suicide by ingesting 120 Darvon tablets three weeks before his 20th wedding anniversary. After a seven-week trial, the jury was out for five-and-a-half hours and unanimously found for Defendants.

This was a personal injury-medical malpractice case. The minor Plaintiff was Cooper Stephens, now age 8. While pregnant with Cooper, his mother, Chelby Stephens, was advised that her vaginal canal was colonized with Group B streptococcus. She was given a card that stated she had cultured positive and was instructed that, after she went into labor and arrived at the hospital, she should present the card to the nursing staff. The parents alleged that, although health care providers knew that Mrs. Stephens was infected and that the transmission of the Group B streptococcal infection to her son could be disastrous, the providers failed to administer antibiotics to her and delayed treatment to her son for seven hours after birth. Plaintiffs alleged that the hospital’s nursing staff did not meet the standard of care. The parents further alleged that, as a result of the hospital’s nursing staff negligence, Cooper developed pneumonia, a pneumothorax, meningitis, and brain damage, with residual encephalopathy, regulatory disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder, sensory integration disorder, impulsivity, social disinhibition, aggression, anxiety and depression. The parents also claimed that Cooper will require ongoing speech and occupational therapy plus lifelong care. After a 20-day trial, ten jurors deliberated and awarded Cooper Stephens $3.63 million in compensatory damages, Mrs. Stephens $1.495 million in compensatory damages, and Mr. Stephens $700,000 in compensatory damages.

This was a medical malpractice action for injuries to a fetus during delivery. Plaintiff parents alleged Defendant's nursing staff fell below the standard of care when they failed to recognize Plaintiff infant was in fetal distress and when they failed to notify a physician of Plaintiff infant's questionable fetal monitoring strips.

During Defendant's opening statements, the court granted Plaintiff's motion for mistrial, which resulted from a misunderstanding of the court's ruling on a motion in limine. The court acknowledged that its ruling was unclear and may have created confusion on the part of counsel. The case subsequently settled on favorable terms for Defendant.

This was a product liability suit for personal injuries and punitive damages. The liability and compensatory damage trial and the punitive damage trials were bifurcated. We tried the liability and compensatory damage case.

Female Plaintiff Davis is a partial quadriplegic who used an electric, motorized wheelchair manufactured by Defendant Invacare to ambulate. Plaintiff alleged that while resting in a reclining life chair a few feet from the wheelchair, which was charging, a fire started as a result of a loose connection. Plaintiff argued that a small fuse in the charging circuit would have prevented the fire and further argued that the battery box should have been made of a flame-retardant material. Defendant denied liability, advancing the defense that the fire was started by a match, candle, incense or other flame source that ignited combustibles on the right side of the wheelchair.

Because of the potential for punitive damages (there were allegations of numerous similar incidents resulting in death and serious injury), Plaintiff demanded $150 million to settle the case. The mediator wanted Defendant to pay $50 million to settle. Defendant made a $3 million offer prior to trial in an offer of judgment.

Because we were winning the trial and a defense verdict appeared probable, on the seventh day of trial we settled the case on a confidential basis on very favorable terms. Settlement was appropriate because of the potential for punitive damages in the second trial if the jury assessed any compensatory damages.

This wrongful death suit for punitive damages was a result of a head-on collision. An unemployed, female decedent, age 34, was survived by her mother, father and five minor children, ages seven to 13. Plaintiff Wagoner, the decedent's mother, brought suit for the decedent's wrongful death, on her own behalf and as personal representative of decedent's estate.

Defendants driver, who was in the course and scope of his occupational duties as a serviceman for Defendant APS when operating Defendant's 30,000-pound utility truck, struck the decedent's car head-on, killing her and her two-year-old son. Plaintiff alleged that Defendants driver had been drinking and smoking marijuana at his home on Sunday afternoon before he accepted a call from Defendant APS to drive to Young, Arizona, to fix a power outage. Plaintiff alleged that Defendants driver was impaired, crossed the center line and caused the head-on collision. Defendants driver's blood alcohol level was 0.13 at the time of the accident. After the accident, Defendant driver committed suicide rather than go to prison.

Defendant APS admitted liability for Plaintiff's compensatory damages but argued against a punitive damage award. Plaintiff made a pre-trial demand of $10 million and made an $8 million pre-trial offer of judgment. Defendant submitted a $3.4 million offer of judgment. We anticipated a total award in the $6 million to $8 million range. After the eight-day trial, the jury deliberated for three hours and awarded Plaintiff $5,960,000 in compensatory damages (7-1) and $5 million punitive damages (6-2). The punitive damages award was a victory in view of Defendant's $2 billion financial statement, which was shown to the jury.

An appeal was filed because of improper conduct by Plaintiff's attorney (a former Arizona attorney general) and numerous errors by the court, the latter resulting in an inflated compensatory damage award. Attorneys were optimistic that the appeal would result in a new trial. It was settled, on favorable terms, prior to issuance of a decision by the Arizona Court of Appeals.

This was a retrial of a February 1, 1999, medical malpractice, wrongful death case. The decedent, a 41-year-old male and a vice president of First Interstate Bank, was survived by his wife, two minor children and 65-year-old father, all of whom brought suit for his wrongful death.

In June 1993, decedent was rendered a paraplegic following orthopedic and neurosurgery to repair and stabilize his spine, which had been injured 20 years earlier in an accident. The decedent was discharged from the hospital in September, and hospital records indicated that, following surgery, the decedent was depressed, vulnerable and insecure. Kimberly Quality Care was hired to provide home care. Defendant Coleman, a certified nurse's assistant, was assigned to the decedent. Plaintiffs alleged Defendants fell below the standard of care, in that Defendant Coleman admitted that, by January 1994, she and the decedent had been engaging in oral sexual activity. The sexual relationship continued for several months, and Defendant Coleman allegedly told others that she was planning to leave her husband and three children for the decedent. The decedent committed suicide by ingesting 120 Darvon tablets three weeks before his 20th wedding anniversary.

After the-five week trial, the jury deliberated for two-and-a-half days before awarding Plaintiff wife $1 million compensatory damages, Plaintiff son $4.5 million compensatory damages, and Plaintiff daughter $4.5 million compensatory damages. They found Plaintiff wife to be 6% at fault, decedent to be 57% at fault, non-party Dr. Abbate to be 4% at fault, Defendant Coleman to be 18% at fault and Defendant Kimberly Quality Care to be 15% at fault.

In a 17-page opinion, the trial court granted a new trial based on improper conduct and argument by Plaintiffs' counsel. The new trial was affirmed on appeal and Plaintiffs' counsel was severely reprimanded.

This was an employment discrimination lawsuit brought by a former employee (Taylor) of Defendant Picker International, a medical products manufacturer.

Plaintiff alleged that his supervisor discriminated against him based on his race. He claimed that his supervisor used racial slurs in referring to him, promoted less qualified Caucasian employees, and ultimately created a “hostile environment” that resulted in a constructive discharge.

In reality, Mr. Taylor had taken almost a year's sick leave due to injuries unrelated to work and Picker was forced to replace him due to the expiration of his FMLA time. Plaintiff claimed that his “disability” was due to job-related stress and sought damages for both past and future lost wages, as well as emotional distress.

After a nine-day trial, the jury returned in 20 minutes with a verdict in favor of the self-insured Defendant.

This was a transportation negligence suit for wrongful death. A bus/auto mishap resulted in the death of a male student attending Deer Valley School District. The decedent, age 16, was survived by his non-custodial father, who brought suit for wrongful death. The decedent's mother was operating an automobile in which the decedent and the decedent's grandmother were passengers. Plaintiff alleged Defendant Laidlaw Transit's bus driver, in the course and scope of his employment with Defendant school district, negligently ran a stop sign and T-boned Plaintiff's vehicle, killing the decedent and Plaintiff's grandmother. Plaintiff also alleged that Defendants's driver suffered from sleep apnea and that he was asleep at the wheel when his bus ran the stop sign.

The wrongful death of grandmother and the personal injury claim of the mother were settled before trial. Defendants admitted liability. Prior to trial, Plaintiff demanded $2 million to settle the case. Defendant offered $200,000 with the understanding that the case could settle for more if Plaintiff reduced his $2 million demand. After a two-day trial, the jury deliberated for two hours before unanimously awarding Plaintiff $1 million compensatory damages. This was exactly the number we predicted a year prior to trial and which the company reserved.

This was a personal injury premises liability case involving a Plaintiff (Dodsworth) who, while shopping at an outdoor flea market, fell when her feet became entangled in a plastic newspaper bundle wrapper. She injured her knee, which required surgery.

Plaintiff claimed that the people who sold the newspapers at a nearby stand were negligent for failing to collect and discard the plastic wrappers, which are difficult to see.

The jury returned with a verdict in favor of Defendant.

This was a medical malpractice, wrongful death case. The decedent, a 41-year-old male and a vice president of First Interstate Bank, was survived by his wife, two minor children and 65-year-old father, all of whom brought suit for his wrongful death.

In June 1993, decedent was rendered a paraplegic following orthopedic and neurosurgery to repair and stabilize his spine, which had been injured 20 years earlier in an accident. The decedent was discharged from the hospital in September, and hospital records indicated that, following surgery, the decedent was depressed, vulnerable and insecure. Kimberly Quality Care was hired to provide home care. Defendant Coleman, a certified nurse's assistant, was assigned to the decedent. Plaintiffs alleged Defendants fell below the standard of care, in that Defendant Coleman admitted that, by January 1994, she and the decedent had been engaging in oral sexual activity. The sexual relationship continued for several months, and Defendant Coleman allegedly told others that she was planning to leave her husband and three children for the decedent. The decedent committed suicide by ingesting 120 Darvon tablets three weeks before his 20th wedding anniversary.

On the eleventh day of trial, at the close of Plaintiff's case in chief, the court entered a directed verdict for Defendants on the issue of duty/causation. Jury was excused.