Actual Verdicts and Settlements*
We are proud of the successful results we have had for our clients:
Medical product class action
An artificial joint used for jaw problems proved to be defective. It decomposed, caused autoimmune reactions, and ultimately made the jaw joint worse. The manufacturer of the product went bankrupt. The owner of the company and inventor of the product moved to Switzerland, where he could not be sued. Through investigation, we determined the owner/inventor had done his research at, and was assisted by a major medical school/hospital which also participated in the profits. We pursued a class action in Texas on behalf of several thousand victims, which resulted in a $30 million recovery on their behalf.
Defective front-end loader
A front-end loader operated by our client was designed with the shift détente in the shape of an inverted U, so when the operator pushed left and forward, the loader went forward, and when the operator pushed to the right and forward, the loader went in reverse. Thus, an operator with a slight difference in wrist movement could believe, without looking, that the shifter was in forward, when in fact it was in reverse. Our client carrying a heavy load high above the loader, shifted to what he thought was forward, but instead turned out to be reverse, causing the loader to shoot backward and the load falling to the ground. Our client was pitched out of the operator’s seat, causing quadriplegia. Our client recovered over $15 million.
Vaccine injury
A 6-month-old child was given a DPT vaccination which caused her to suffer convulsions and brain damage. The pertussis or P part of the DPT was a vaccine developed in the 1930s and made using dead whole cells of the disease to create immunity. We successfully proved that the vaccine manufacturer knew by the 1960s that the pertussis vaccine caused a small number of children to suffer brain damage each year; and they had a method for using just a small portion of the whole cell to create immunity, discarding the toxic portion of the cell that caused brain damage; and the cost for improving the vaccine would be pennies. A Kansas jury awarded our client $15 million. Thereafter, we participated in over ten cases of severely injured children throughout the country, netting our clients in the millions of dollars. Because of our efforts, the manufacturers in the United States were finally forced to produce acellular pertussis vaccine, which is used today.
Auto accident
A little girl was a passenger in her father’s car. They were broadsided by car that went through a red light. She suffered one-sided hemi paresis—partial paralysis. As a result, we recovered nearly $13 million on her behalf.
Carbon monoxide poisoning
A husband and wife were asphyxiated by carbon monoxide, when their pool heater placed in their basement vented into the house. The exhaust system had a power venter to push the fumes outside of the house. A switch on the venter gut stuck, such that when the heater flames came up, the venter fan failed to start. The mother was killed. The father recovered, but sustained permanent brain damage. A lawsuit was commenced against a number of parties, including the switch maker, the venter manufacturer, the furnace manufacturer, and others. Some of the parties settled before trial. The case was tried to a jury, and a $10 million verdict was awarded against the installers.
Truck rear-ended by semi
Plaintiff was a 38 year old Mexican citizen employed as a paving worker. He was riding in the back of a box truck traveling at about 55 mph on Highway 41 near West Bend, Wisconsin. The box truck, which was open in back, was towing a lit tar kettle. The defendant’s semi truck with double trailers belonged to a major national trucking company and was traveling at 65 mph. It was intending to pass the box truck and trailer, but was not able to do so because of a car in the left lane. The semi struck the trailer and box truck from behind causing the plaintiff to be ejected from the back of the truck. The plaintiff suffered severe injury to the frontal lobes of his brain, which has resulted in permanent cognitive and behavioral problems. The defendant semi driver claimed that the tar trailer swerved into him as he was attempting to pass, but the physical evidence indicated both vehicles were going straight ahead at the time of impact. Experts for both sides agreed that the semi did not slow or brake in any fashion prior to impact.
The trial court found the semi driver negligent as a matter of law. However, the court included on the verdict both the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s employer who instructed the plaintiff to ride in the back of the box truck to observe the tar kettle to make sure it stayed lit. None of the other members of the paving crew who were in the cab of the box truck were injured. Defendants claimed that the speed differential of 10 mph was a relatively minor impact that would not have resulted in injury had the plaintiff not been in the back of the truck or if he had been wearing a seatbelt.
While physically normal, plaintiff’s brain injuries are such that he is unable to work and due to significant behavioral problems; he must be closely monitored and is required to reside in a sheltered living facility for persons with brain injuries. Past medicals were stipulated to be $1.3 million. Present value of future care costs ranged from $4–6 million.
The parties settled immediately before closing arguments for a total amount of $9.375 million.
Plaintiffs’ counsel: Gerald J. Bloch, Ann S. Jacobs and Michael I. Tarnoff, all of Warshafsky,
Rotter, Tarnoff, Reinhardt & Bloch, S.C., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Failure to diagnose newborn jaundice
The baby was born a healthy normal child following an uneventful pregnancy, labor, and delivery. At approximately 40 hours of age he was noted to be mildly jaundiced, 5 hours later, his jaundice progressed from "slight jaundice to jaundice."
His physician, a family practitioner, examined him, wrote a progress note that he was "mildly jaundiced" and ordered him discharged at 48 hours without obtaining a baseline serum bilirubin or making any arrangements for follow-up to further test bilirubin levels. Instead, the physician instructed the mother to call his office if the jaundice progressed or if feeding problems developed.
The next day, the mother called the clinic and reported her concerns that the baby was not breast-feeding well, continued to be jaundiced, and was sleeping too much. The nurse said that this was normal and that some babies feed slower than others did. The mother noted the persistence of jaundice, but it did not seem any deeper than it was when the baby was discharged. Two days later the mother again called the clinic saying that the baby seemed to be losing weight, continued to be sleeping too much, and remained jaundiced. The nurse again assured the mother that this was normal, but if it would make her feel better, she should come in the next morning and see her doctor.
When the baby was brought in at 10:00 a.m. the following morning (six days old) the doctor noted that the baby had lost 20% of body weight, was jaundiced, and for the first time, ordered a bilirubin level. His orders to the mother were to start using supplements and return in two days to see if he had gained weight. It took six hours for the clinic lab to report the results of the bilirubin, at which time they notified the physician that the level was so high it was off their scale. Hearing that, the physician immediately notified the mother to take the baby to the emergency room.
Upon admission to the hospital, the baby was transfused three times and although bilirubin levels were soon brought back to normal, treatment was started too late to prevent irreversible damage of the brain.
The client is totally physically disabled. He has minimal purposeful movement, cannot speak, but rather communicates with facial grimaces, smiles, and has some computer ability. His cognitive and intellectual abilities appear to be normal.
This case resulted in a cash settlement for $7.9 million paid by the clinic and its insurance company. The settlement was the largest recovery for a malpractice case in the history of Dane County and one of the largest ever in the State of Wisconsin.
Obstetric malpractice – birth injury
This case involved a baby who was badly brain damaged as a result of severe uterine hyperactivity caused by the giving of prostaglandins for ripening the cervix in preparation for inducing labor. We recovered $7.5 million on her behalf.
Obstetric malpractice – failure to treat prenatal condition
Our client had a child who suffered severe brain damage because of bleeding into his brain, caused by a rare incompatibility between the baby’s blood and the mother’s. There was no way to diagnose this condition before that child was born. However, after the child’s birth, the parents had a sophisticated blood test done which disclosed the incompatibility. Because of the incompatibility, it was possible that the condition would arise in subsequent pregnancies.
Five years later, our client became pregnant again. She reminded her obstetrician of what had happened to her first child and of her concern that it might be repeated in this pregnancy. She was referred to a geneticist, who did some genetic testing, and did two separate ultrasounds at 14 and 22 weeks, which did not show any abnormality. The geneticist, who had access to the records from the first child, did not recognize that the condition that caused the damage to the first baby was a condition that could occur again. He therefore did not make any effort to determine whether or not treatment had been devised that could avoid the problem with bleeding into the brain. In fact, treatment was available and had proven to be very successful.
Just before delivery, our client was told that her baby had hydrocephalus as a result of bleeding into his brain and that he suffered serious brain damage. He was then delivered, and after his delivery, a specialist told the parents that should she become pregnant again, he could provide treatment which would avoid the bleeding problem. As their son grew older, it became apparent that he would never be able to take care of himself. He could not speak intelligibly; he could not feed himself; he could not dress himself; and he was unable to walk. He will always need someone to take care of him.
We sued the geneticist and the obstetrician, claiming that the condition should have been identified. Specialists in obstetrics and in maternal fetal medicine supported our claims. We also hired an expert to estimate the costs of the care that the child would need over the course of his lifetime. The insurance company hired experts from across the country to help them defend the case, claiming that the result was not caused by any negligence on the part of the physicians. At mediation, conducted one month prior to the trial date, we settled the case for a total of $7 million.
Medical malpractice -- missed spinal fracture
After falling at home, our client was taken to St. Francis Hospital emergency room by ambulance on a board with an immobilizing neck collar. There were indications that she may have sustained an injury to her spine. Despite the fact that there was radiological evidence that she had a displaced cervical fracture, emergency room personnel attempted to get her up and walking, which caused spinal injury leading to high level paraplegia. $4.5 million was recovered for our client.
Insurance fraud class action
This case was based upon a conspiracy between various title companies in Arizona and Wisconsin to fix prices for title searches and examinations. We recovered $4 million on behalf of the class members who were injured as a result.
Birth injury with vacuum extractor
This case arises from injuries sustained during the delivery of a baby in Neenah, Wisconsin. Her mother entered the hospital at term following cervical ripening with prostaglandin gel and Pitocin induction. On two occasions, the nurse on her own cut back the Pitocin because of her concern with decreasing variability. Each time she contacted the doctor he told her to resume the Pitocin and let labor continue. Finally, problems with the baby’s heart rate developed. Again, the nurse shut off the Pitocin and the problems disappeared.
The defendant perinatologist arrived at the hospital at 2:15 a.m. The perinatologist, however, attempted a vacuum delivery despite many indications that a cesarean section was the correct course. He persisted with his vacuum attempts for over 20 minutes. He then tried forceps. The forceps resulted in the delivery of the head, but shoulder dystocia was encountered.
Shortly after the vacuum was applied the fetal heart rate decreased dramatically. Rather than stopping the vacuum and going immediately to a C-section, the doctor was insistent upon accomplishing a vaginal delivery, using such force that the nurse had difficulty keeping the mother in position on the delivery table.
At birth, the baby’s Agars were 0 and 3. She needed to be resuscitated. Seizures occurred at 6 hours.
A 3-month MRI showed serious brain damage. The plaintiff’s expert stated that the use of the vacuum resulted in a positional change to the head, which caused cord compression, depriving the baby of adequate oxygen to the brain.
The child has severe cerebral palsy affecting all activities of daily living, has spastic quadriparesis, and needs a feeding tube. She appears to be quite bright despite an inability to be formally tested. Gerald J. Bloch settled the case before trial for a cash payment of $3.5 million.
Faulty road construction
Our client was injured in an automobile crash. The jury in this case split liability between the defendant driver and the company that had recently resurfaced the road. The case went on appeal and was settled for $3.25 million.
Auto transmission defect
Coming home from vacation, a couple, with their 14-year-old child sleeping in the back of the car, suddenly spun out of control on a wet curve, with their daughter sustaining brain damage. The police attributed the accident to a late-night tired driver on a slippery road. Investigation disclosed that the transmission had a non-slip differential; that is the kind of differential that permits a car in an icy curve with two wheels on a dry surface to pull away without spinning. As a result of this case and others that followed as a result of what was discovered during the trial, within two years, the automobile industry had changed to what is now known as a “limited slip differential,” which permits locking the rear axle when at the curve, or at a very low speed, but does not do so on the highway.
Faulty road construction
Our client was injured in an automobile crash. The jury in this case split liability between the defendant driver and the company that had recently resurfaced the road. The case went on appeal, and was settled on appeal for $3.25 million.
Defective motorcycle
This case involved a young biker, who after consuming several beers, was driving his motorcycle down a rough, rutted road, when he lost control and was injured. He was rendered a paraplegic. We showed the jury that the motorcycle was fundamentally flawed in design; that the company was aware of it since the 1960s; that they had put marketing over quality, with disastrous results. The jury agreed and awarded our client $3,2 million.
Surgical malpractice
Surgical malpractice and miscommunication among nursing staff led to cardiac arrest and consequent neurological impairment in our client. We recovered $3.1 million on his behalf.
Auto/truck accident
Insurance company executive was traveling in Canada when her car went off the road. The police report said that she just went off the road. She said that she felt something happen and lost control of her car. As a result of this accident, she was permanently paralyzed. The expert witness concluded a truck tire hit her, thus causing the accident. This case settled the afternoon of trial for $3 million.
Anesthesia malpractice
Improper care by an anesthesiologist caused our client to aspirate vomit during surgery. As a result, he suffered extreme damage to his lungs and is ventilator-dependant for life.
Medical malpractice
The defendant hospital failed to diagnose loss of blood in a newborn infant, resulting in cardio respiratory arrest at approximately 2 hours of age with resultant permanent and serious brain damage. This case settled before trial for $2.9 million.
Motor scooter hit by semi
Our client was an older man, retired, who was riding a motorized scooter. He was hit by a semi that went through stop sign without stopping. The insurance company for the semi truck originally said that this case was not worth anything because client was old and not working. After our efforts on the client’s behalf, the case was successfully settled for $2.8 million.
Medical malpractice: Missed pelvic fracture and resident negligence
Our client was riding his bike in his hometown in Illinois, just south of the border, when he was struck by a drunk driver. The local hospital sent him by Flight for Life helicopter to the trauma center at Froedtert Hospital, where he arrived after 11 p.m. Most of his care was rendered by residents who failed to realize that he was bleeding internally. At 5 a.m., he died.
The case against the drunk driver settled for $300,000. Ted Warshafsky and Frank Crivello of our office completed a two-week trial, which resulted in a verdict against the Medical College of Wisconsin and the treating doctors of an additional $2.7 million.
Undiagnosed meningitis
The child’s pediatrician failed to perform the necessary tests to discover that the child was suffering from Meningitis. Accordingly, the child suffered severe neurological injury. The case was settled for $2.5 million.
Faulty heart valves
This was a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of the many people who had received heart valves that were known by the manufacturer to be defective.
School bus accident
In September of 2000, a six-year-old boy was killed when he was run over by his own school bus. This happened because the boy could not be seen by the driver while the child was crossing in front of the bus. Randy Reinhardt argued that had the bus been equipped with a sweep arm, designed to keep children from crossing in an area that is not visible to the driver, this tragedy would not have occurred. Wisconsin law limits recovery for the death of a minor child to $500,000. However, Randy argued that, because the parents arrived on the scene within moments after the occurrence and witnessed the aftermath of the tragic events, they were entitled to recover for their emotional trauma. The case successfully settled for $2 million. Since the accident, the parents have become strong advocates for requiring that all school buses be equipped with sweep arms. They have testified before the legislature and have attended hearings in support of this change in the law.
Deep tunnel explosion
A worker was fatally injured in an explosion, which occurred during the construction of the Milwaukee Sewer District’s Deep Tunnel project. $2 million was recovered for the worker’s family.
Bar fight
A good Samaritan bystander assisting a woman during a bar fight was smashed in the head with a bar stool by a drunk patron. The bar had long-term knowledge of the drunken patron’s propensity for violence. $1.8 million was recovered for our client.
Sailor injured by noxious fumes
A young seaman on a Great Lakes carrier suffered severe brain damage due to inhalation of noxious fumes while cleaning the ship’s boiler. Due to his serious injuries, we recovered $1.8 million on his behalf.
Defective scaffolding
Our client suffered permanent partial paralysis due to an injury suffered while on the job. The scaffolding he was using was defective, causing him to fall. The settlement was $1.55 million.
Drilling rig causing hand injury
A 38-year-old equipment operator discovered a hydraulic fluid leak in one of the hoses on a new directional drilling machine. While trying to locate the specific hose and place of the leak, he suffered a hydraulic fluid injection into his hand. Over 10 operations were performed to remove the fluid, resulting in a substantial loss of strength and motion in his non-dominant hand. An action was commenced against the manufacturer of the drilling rig. A jury returned a verdict of $1.2 million. After our client’s contributory negligence was discounted, the client recovered approximately $800,000.
Defective electric substation
Two employees of an electric company sustained severe burns when a substation manufactured by the defendant manufacturing company exploded while the two were taking measurements.
Automobile accident
This was a one-car accident where our client was unbelted. The client suffered a serious back injury with multiple surgeries. We recovered $1 million for our client.
Automobile accident
In this case, we represented a passenger who suffered multiple fractures. We recovered $998,000 on our client’s behalf.
Automobile accident
A young girl was badly injured in accident. She had a flashing red light and the truck that struck her had a flashing yellow light. We recovered $900,000 on her behalf.
False imprisonment in psychiatric hospital
Hospitals were filling their beds based upon insurance coverage rather than medical need. Bob Goldstein recovered over $500,000 on behalf of his falsely imprisoned clients.
Sewerage backups cause property damage
In the only significant verdict obtained against Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), $325,000 was recovered for sewer backups during a storm. We proved MMSD was negligent in its operation of a bypass gate and a diversion structure.
Automobile pedestrian accident
Our client, a 16-year-old girl standing next to a truck in a parking lot, was struck by a car that hurriedly attempted to pass another vehicle and lost control. Because of the impact, this young woman suffered fractures of some ribs and her pelvis, and many lacerations to her skin, including a very deep open wound to her leg. She recovered well from her injuries, but was left with significant scarring across the parts of her body. We were successful in settling her claim for $1.12 million.
