December 10, 1999
1999 Trial Results
6 Defense Verdicts
December 10, 1999
After a lumbar adjustment at the chiropractor’s, a patient complained of increased back pain and later underwent a cervical fusion surgery. The man claimed that when at the chiropractor’s, he suffered from a bulging disc, and that the chiropractor negligently manipulated his spine, causing the bulging disc to become herniated. In defense, James Grohmann argued that only extreme trauma can cause a herniated disc and in this case the disc injury preexisted the adjustment. When asked whether the chiropractor had violated the reasonably competent chiropractic standard, the Jefferson County jury said no and awarded no damages.
November 16, 1999
Complications followed a surgery to repair a ventral hernia, resulting in death brought about by bowel perforation and ensuing sepsis of the abdominal cavity. The Louisville vascular surgeon was accused of malpractice in nipping the bowel and not noticing the complication until it was too late. The Plaintiff asked for $931,486 in damages. The doctor, represented by Gerald Toner, successfully argued that the complication was widely-known and accepted, and that the hole in the bowel could have had other causal origins, namely an eroding suture from a prior surgery. The Jefferson County jury concluded the doctor had not violated the reasonably competent vascular surgeon standard and awarded the estate no damages.
August 27, 1999
In this auto negligence case, a Louisville jury found in favor of a man accused of violently crashing his truck into a woman’s small sedan. The man remembered the collision as minor and initiated by the woman. Regardless, the woman claimed injury from the impact, purportedly suffering a painful low-back injury and soft-tissue bruising on her legs. In defense, David Strite contested injury alongside liability, attributing the low-back injury to unrelated degenerative conditions. The defense then urged the jury to quickly take care of this frivolous lawsuit. The jury complied, returning a zero verdict just forty minutes later.
June 25, 1999
A Jefferson County jury returned a verdict in favor of an insulation company after an electrician alleged he had suffered from asbestos-related diseases and an increased risk of cancer due to his exposure to asbestos products. The Plaintiff alleged the company’s products were in a defective condition and were unreasonably dangerous at the time of exposure. The defense pointed out that Owens-Corning acted as a reasonable manufacturer, discontinuing the manufacture of asbestos once it was learned to be unsafe. Furthermore, the defense successfully argued that any injury suffered by the Plaintiff must be considered in light of (1) the Plaintiff’s inveterate smoking habits and (2) the 18 other manufacturers of asbestos products noted in the instructions that didn’t make it to trial.
May 26, 1999
Donald Brown successfully defended a Louisville internist from charges of medical negligence after failing to diagnose a fatal blockage of a patient’s coronary artery. The Plaintiff asserted that had the physician performed a stress test at any one of the numerous checkups, the blockage would have been discovered and the patient saved. The Plaintiff sought over 6.9 million dollars in damages, five million for the consortium claim of the victim’s young son. The defense countered, saying the doctor’s treatment was proper and the cause of death uncertain, especially in light of no autopsy. After ten days of trial, the Jefferson County jury concurred, awarding no damages.
January 27, 1999
After a checkup with a Louisville internist, a patient discovered that he had high blood pressure. The doctor prescribed the drug pressure medicine Accupril. The medication worked at first, but a few months later, the man suffered a stroke, affecting his speech, mobility, and relations with his wife. The Plaintiff alleged the internist’s mismanagement of the blood pressure condition resulted in the stroke. The physician, represented by Donald Brown, counter-argued that the treatment and dosage of the blood pressure medicine was appropriate, noting that blood pressure decreased when the medication program started. Furthermore, the defense argued that the stroke was unrelated to the internist’s care. The jury agreed, awarding the Plaintiff none of the over 2.44 million dollars sought.