Rapoport Law - Cases

$5.6 Million Settlement on Behalf of a Baby Asphyxiated at Birth as a Result of Medical Negligence

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:16:58 -0500

The medical malpractice lawyers of Rapoport Law Offices P.C. reached a $5.6 million settlement with a downstate Illinois hospital on behalf of a baby injured during labor and delivery in a hotly contested case. At the time the case was settled, this result marked the highest medical malpractice settlement in the downstate Illinois County where the incident occurred. David Rapoport commented after the settlement: “The amount would have been much higher if the proof of fault was clearer."

On May 7, 2003 a woman presented to the hospital for the delivery of her baby. She was connected to an electronic fetal monitor and her labor was augmented with Pitocin. The following afternoon the fetal monitoring strips became non-reassuring. This development was overlooked by the hospital labor and delivery staff for several hours. Eventually an emergency cesarean section was performed, but it was too late. The baby was born depressed and in need of resuscitation. She was transferred to a University hospital where she was subsequently diagnosed with cerebral palsy, mental retardation and cortical blindness. Treating physicians testified that the baby's severe injuries significantly decrease her life expectancy.

Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. is a personal injury law firm based in Chicago, Illinois. The personal injury attorneys at Rapoport Law Offices have achieved multimillion dollar verdicts and settlements for individuals with lawsuits arising from medical malpractice, product liability, semi truck and motor vehicle accidents, workplace injuries and construction accidents in Illinois and Wisconsin. Rapoport Law Offices’ premier aviation negligence lawyers represent victims of commercial and general aviation disasters nationwide.

If you feel you may be in need of legal services, personally email an attorney from Rapoport Law Offices for a free case evaluation or telephone our Chicago office toll free at 800-545-6437.

$7.1 Million Jury Verdict for Family of Comair Flight 5191 Airplane Crash Victim

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:42:43 -0500

December 7, 2009 - (Lexington, Kentucky) . Following a four day jury trial which took place at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Lexington, an eight member jury returned a verdict of $7.1 million in favor of the family of Mr. Bryan Keith Woodward, who was killed in the Comair airplane crash at Blue Grass Airport in Kentucky.

At the trial three of the aviation attorneys at Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. represented the family of Mr. Woodward, a 39 year old from Lafayette, Louisiana, who was a passenger on Delta Connection/ Comair Flight 5191 when the airplane crashed. In the early morning hours of August 27, 2006, the Comair regional jet attempted to take off on the wrong runway, one that was too short. The airplane ran off the end of the runway into the grass, hit a berm and after leaving the ground momentarily crashed through an airport perimeter gate then into a row of trees then slamming the ground plowing into more trees before coming to a rest in flames.

Mr. Woodward was returning home from a business trip to Kentucky. According to David E. Rapoport, lead counsel in the case and the lead trial attorney: "Mr. Woodward was an outstanding father and family man who was also hard working and uniquely talented. The airline and its expert witnesses insisted Mr. Woodward did not experience conscious pain and suffering. The jury disagreed with the airline."

Forty-seven passengers and two of the three crew members on board were all killed in the airplane crash. The copilot survived with severe injuries. Senior United States District Judge, Karl S. Forester ruled that the question of punitive damages will be decided by a different jury in a trial that will begin on February 1, 2011.

If you feel you may be in need of legal services, personally email an attorney from Rapoport Law Offices for a free case evaluation or telephone our Chicago office toll free at 800-545-6437.

$9.858 Million Verdict Against Midwestern University's Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:31:57 -0500

February 25, 2008-- A Chicago jury returned a $ 9.858 million verdict against the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and the doctor running the Fellows Clinic of the college in Downers Grove, Illinois, on behalf of a Rapoport Law Office client who was formerly a medical student at that school.

Now 31 years old, our client was injured on December 8, 2003, at the Fellows Clinic. That day, she presented to the clinic with complaints of mild shoulder and neck pain from studying. An unsupervised medical student manipulated her neck, injuring her long thoracic nerve. As a result of her injury she had two shoulder surgeries, developed a chronic pain syndrome, and had to withdraw from medical school.

In the medical malpractice lawsuit, the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and the doctor, who ran the Fellows Clinic, denied doing anything wrong, arguing that our client suffers instead from a rare disease. The Rapoport Law Offices trial team believed this defense had no merit and the jury agreed. The trial team brought out that a defense witness filed a false affidavit in the case, and an important log record had been altered by someone at the college. The defense attorney argued our client's credibility was suspect, but our firm effectively turned that around on the defense during the final rebuttal argument. In the Fellows Clinic on the day our client was hurt, the University failed to have procedures and protocols requiring direct on premises supervision of medical students by a licensed doctor as required by Illinois law. Instead, the medical student was allowed to form his own diagnosis and treatment plan, and then he proceeded to execute it badly, all without supervision.

At 31, our client has accomplished much in her life. She was graduated from Rush University College of Nursing cum laude in 1998 and was inducted into the national nurses' honor society, Sigma Theta Tau. She worked as a registered nurse while completing her prerequisites for medical school and was accepted to the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine where she began medical school in August of 2003. Before she was injured, our client was also a marathon runner, completing four marathons including her favorite, LaSalle Bank's Chicago Marathon, on two occasions.

If you feel you may be in need of legal services, personally email an attorney from Rapoport Law Offices for a free case evaluation or telephone our Chicago office toll free at 800-545-6437.

$13 Million for Indiana Toll Road Semi Truck Crash Case

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 05:56:35 -0500

June 16, 2008 - The semi truck and motor vehicle negligence lawyers at Rapoport Law Offices represented family members following a tragic semi truck crash on the Indiana Toll Road on August 1, 2006. A semi tractor-trailer weighing approximately 73,000 pounds and speeding in a 45 mile per hour construction zone crashed into the rear end of a minivan causing a chain reaction collision that ultimately ensnared six motor vehicles. The minivan was moving slowly in a well marked road construction zone near a lane closure in Bristol, Indiana, when the semi tractor-trailer smashed into the rear of the minivan at approximately 55 miles per hour, crushing it into the rear of the trailer ahead.

A 39 year old Illinois woman and her passengers, two sons aged one and three and her seventy three year old mother, all lost their lives in the collision. The driver of the semi truck that rear ended them was also killed.

On October 12, 2006, Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. filed a triple wrongful death lawsuit in federal court in Chicago on behalf of the woman's husband and boys' father, the sole surviving member of the family. The Wisconsin based interstate motor carrier whose driver caused the semi truck crash was the only defendant.

The trucking company's first defeat occurred when the federal judge denied a motion by the trucking company seeking to transfer the case from Chicago to the federal court in South Bend, Indiana. According to lead plaintiff's counsel David E. Rapoport: "The trucking company's motivation for filing this motion was apparent. They wanted the case transferred to Indiana because they hoped to limit their damages exposure through use of Indiana law and an Indiana jury."

Next, the trucking company claimed it only had $5 million in liability insurance to cover the semi truck crash, all the while also trying to blame the crash on others, including the minivan driver, a toll-road pickup truck driver and construction companies involved in the road work. However, with the help of a specially hired insurance coverage specialist, Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. unmasked an additional $6 million in insurance money that had not previously been revealed by the trucking company, bringing the total liability insurance coverage to $11 million. Moreover, through use of thorough investigation, evidence preservation and development, depositions, and a carefully selected expert witness team, Rapoport Law Offices P.C. defeated the effort to deflect blame on others, proving instead how the trucking company's improper safety management was the only factor other than the semi truck driver's negligence that caused the crash.

As trial approached, the full $11 million insurance policy limit was offered by the insurers to settle the case, after which the trucking company told a federal magistrate judge assisting with negotiations that the trucking company will never offer personal money. In response, the firm’s clients rejected the offer, insisting they would not settle without a substantial personal contribution from the trucking company. Just before trial, the trucking company offered $2 million from it's personal coffers and the five wrongful death cases handled by Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. (by then the three surviving sons of the 73 year old women that died in the minivan and the driver of the truck ahead of the minivan joined the effort) settled for a total of $13 million: $5.376 million for the wrongful death of the 39 year old woman, $2.75 million for the wrongful deaths of each of the boys, $1.344 million for the wrongful death of the 73 year old woman and $780,000 for the injuries suffered by the driver of the other semi truck.

Mr. Rapoport commented after the case ended: "This horribly sad semi truck crash illustrates many of the problems with motor carrier safety. This driver had a bad driving record that the trucking company management knew about but failed to reveal to the police, and attempted to hide from us. Because the driver's string of previous accidents did not maim or kill anyone, he continued to be technically qualified to drive due to flaws in the regulations and the attitude of this management, which treated these regulations as if they were a ceiling instead of a floor when it comes to safety. We hope this lawsuit will be a wakeup call to the trucking industry nationwide, and inside a motor carrier's management office, the example of a motor carrier paying millions out of its own pockets has to be good for safety."

Attorney David Rapoport has been designated as a Leading Lawyer in the area of Transportation Law by the Law Bulletin Leading Lawyer Network.

If you feel you may be in need of legal services, personally email an attorney from Rapoport Law Offices for a free case evaluation or telephone our Chicago office toll free at 800-545-6437.

Product Liability Lawsuit Alleges Client Implanted with Defective Hip Replacement System

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 11:08:47 -0500

July 25, 2008 - Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. filed a product liability lawsuit today on behalf of a 54 year old woman who had a defective hip replacement system implanted into her during a right total hip replacement surgery on March 21, 2007. According to the product liability lawsuit, defendants Stryker Corporation, Stryker Ireland, Ltd., and Howmedica Osteonics Corporation have been manufacturing, distributing and selling the defective Trident brand ceramic on ceramic hip replacement systems in the United States since 2003, and continued to do so despite being warned by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that these hip replacement systems were in violation of federal safety requirements.

The product liability lawsuit alleges that by early 2005, the defendants received numerous complaints indicating their hip replacement systems were failing after being implanted. On March 13, 2006, the defendants recalled a batch of component parts for their hip replacement systems due to "dimensional anomalies." In November of 2006, following an inspection of their Ireland manufacturing facility, the defendants were notified by the FDA of numerous deficiencies in their manufacturing and inspection processes involving their hip replacement systems. On March 15, 2007, six days before the plaintiff's right total hip replacement, after the defendants failed to take any appropriate corrective measures in response to the FDA findings, the FDA issued a stern warning letter telling the defendants that Trident Acetabular Hip Systems were "adulterated" due to manufacturing methods not in conformity with industry and regulatory standards.

The lawsuit alleges that despite knowing all of this, the defendants continued to supply Trident Acetabular Hip Systems to orthopedic surgeons, including plaintiff's surgeon, without revealing the artificial hips had been discovered to be out of compliance with defendant's specifications, industry standards and regulatory standards. In fact, it was not until February of 2008 that the defendants finally sent plaintiff's surgeon notice of an "Urgent Product Recall" of the defective components of these hip replacement systems. As a direct result of this, the plaintiff had the unreasonably dangerous and defective hip replacement system implanted into her, resulting in permanent injuries and extensive damages, including an unstable right hip, pain, suffering, disability, loss of a normal life, delayed medical care for her left hip and the need for additional medical procedures including a revision of her right total hip replacement surgery.

If you feel you may be in need of legal services, personally email an attorney from Rapoport Law Offices for a free case evaluation or telephone our Chicago office toll free at 800-545-6437.

Wrongful Death Suit Filed by Aviation Negligence Lawyers after Air Taxi Crash

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 11:08:16 -0500

December 20, 2002 – Aviation negligence lawyers at Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. filed suit on behalf of the family of a man whose wrongful death occurred when a twin engine Swearingen SA227-AT air taxi crashed as it circled to land at the Beaver Island airfield on February 8, 2001. The pilot and a passenger were killed, four other passengers suffered serious personal injuries.

If you feel you may be in need of legal services, personally email an attorney from Rapoport Law Offices for a free case evaluation or telephone our Chicago office toll free at 800-545-6437.

Aviation Negligence Lawsuit Filed in Indiana Airplane Crash

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 11:07:47 -0500

April 14, 2004 – An aviation negligence lawsuit was filed today by Rapoport Law Offices P.C., on behalf of a passenger who incurred severe injuries on April 19, 2002 when the Piper PA-32RT-300T airplane crashed shortly after take off from Porter County Airport in Valparaiso, Indiana. The aviation negligence lawsuit, which was filed in Valparaiso, alleges that the airplane crash occurred as a result of negligent piloting and names the pilot, his employer, and the corporation that owned the airplane as defendants. A second lawsuit, also filed today, seeks a declaratory judgment against an insurer that disputes whether its insurance policy covers the crash.

If you feel you may be in need of legal services, personally email an attorney from Rapoport Law Offices for a free case evaluation or telephone our Chicago office toll free at 800-545-6437.

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Against Hospital That Ignored a Woman Having a Heart Attack

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 11:07:28 -0500

February 23, 2004 - Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. filed a lawsuit today in a medical malpractice case involving delayed treatment of a heart attack in a hospital's emergency room. It is alleged that the delay lead to substantial heart muscle damage and permanent disability.

The patient was treated and released from the Department of Emergency Services at a Chicago area hospital the afternoon of February 22, 2002. Later that evening the plaintiff returned to the same hospital and went through registration at the Department of Emergency Services again. After waiting for more than one hour without being called, the plaintiff traveled by cab to another hospital where she was diagnosed with an acute anterior infarct and experienced cardiac arrest.

If you feel you may be in need of legal services, personally email an attorney from Rapoport Law Offices for a free case evaluation or telephone our Chicago office toll free at 800-545-6437.

Machine Operator Suffered Severe Personal Injuries from a Faulty Heat Sealer

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 11:06:58 -0500

September 14, 2005 - While a machine operator was wiping residue off of the upper plate of a press used for heat sealing packages, the press plate closed trapping the operator's hand under hundreds of pounds of pressure and temperatures in excess of 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The press, which was manufactured and installed by Universal Machine, was in emergency stop mode to allow for the cleaning when the work injury accident occurred. Lawyers at Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. filed a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer of the machine on behalf of the plaintiff who suffered serious personal injury and disfigurement as a result of the incident in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

If you feel you may be in need of legal services, personally email an attorney from Rapoport Law Offices for a free case evaluation or telephone our Chicago office toll free at 800-545-6437.

Aviation Negligence Lawsuit Filed in Piper PA-32R-301T Airplane Crash Case

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 11:06:27 -0500

July 5, 2006 Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. is representing the family of a Bloomington, Illinois woman who died, along with four other people, when the airplane they were in impacted terrain while on approach to the Wheeling Ohio County Airport near Wheeling, West Virginia. The aviation negligence lawsuit, which was filed in Cook County, Illinois, alleges that the airplane crash occurred because of instrumentation failures and failures in properly maintaining the aircraft’s instruments.

If you feel you may be in need of legal services, personally email an attorney from Rapoport Law Offices for a free case evaluation or telephone our Chicago office toll free at 800-545-6437.