Medical Negligence & Healthcare

Brian Henry and Kayla Condeni successfully argued that the defendant anesthesiologist could not be the surgery center’s apparent agent such that the surgery center was vicariously liable for the physician’s alleged medical malpractice. Brian and Kayla argued that the surgery center’s consent forms unequivocally put the patient on notice that the anesthesiologist was not the ...

Brian Henry and Kayla Condeni successfully defended an orthopedic surgeon in a 1.5 week trial in Cook County. The orthopedic surgeon was accused of negligently overlengthening a patient’s leg when performing a total hip replacement. The plaintiff requested over $1 million in damages after claiming the patient could no longer work, was disfigured, and experiencing ...

Lead counsel Michael Barry assisted by Brian Rocca successfully defended two obstetricians in a 3.5 week jury trial in Cook County.  These obstetricians, along with a maternal fetal medicine physician and six labor and delivery nurses, were accused of causing the extreme, premature birth of twins at 24 weeks of pregnancy by ordering/administering an antibiotic ...

Brian Henry recently lectured to computer animation and medical illustrators at the UIC Medical Center regarding demonstrative trial exhibits. Using real-world examples of medical illustrations and medical animations, Brian demonstrated how trial exhibits can effectively educate jurors to the anatomy and/or the medical procedure and to aid experts in explaining their opinions in a trial.

Alan Schumacher and Alexander Beehler obtained a not guilty verdict on behalf of an interventional radiologist and his employer following a jury trial in Cook County. The case involved an allegedly negligent tunneled dialysis catheter exchange procedure for a 42-year-old woman who suffered a decompensation shortly after the procedure. The plaintiff claimed the post-procedure application ...

Sommer Luzynczyk and Kayla Condeni win dismissal with prejudice based on lack of standing in a putative class action lawsuit against the estate of a deceased physician. The lawsuit brought in the Circuit Court of Cook County alleged a pattern of conduct extending back 29+ years and involved the alleged failure to administer routine childhood ...

Sommer Luzynczyk and Kayla Condeni win dismissal with prejudice based on lack of standing in a putative class action lawsuit against the estate of a deceased physician. The lawsuit brought in the Circuit Court of Cook County alleged a pattern of conduct extending back 29+ years and involved the alleged failure to administer routine childhood ...

Matthew J. Egan and Brendan J. Nelligan successfully defended their client, an attorney for union-sponsored benefit funds, in the United States District Court in Chicago against a claim that the attorney tortiously interfered with the plaintiff’s contract with another company when the attorney notified the other company of the funds’ claim that the plaintiff had ...

Brian Henry recently was a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago Medical Center for emergency medicine resident physicians covering multiple medical liability topics . This was the 49th year of this seminar and Mr. Henry has been a guest lecturer for more than 30 years.

Pretzel & Stouffer partners Brian Sundheim and Kelly Kono obtained summary judgment for their client, a psychiatrist, in a case pending in Winnebago County. The pleadings alleged violations of the Illinois Mental Health and Disabilities Code and “false imprisonment”, for “involuntary” hospitalization of a patient who had been brought by Rockford paramedics to OSF Saint Anthony’s Hospital after being ...

  In what is likely to be the last verdict in Cook County for a while, Pretzel & Stouffer partners Brian Sundheim and Kelly Kono obtained a not guilty verdict on March 17 on behalf of an internal medicine physician. The case involved the alleged failure to diagnose transient ischemic attacks prior to the patient ...

  Pretzel & Stouffer partners Brian Henry and Sommer Luzynczyk successfully defended a general surgeon who performed surgery on a 51 year old male who had a large tumor in his colon. The plaintiff alleged that the surgeon performed the wrong surgery, failed to diagnose a leak of the anastomosis, and failed to re-operate. The ...

  Pretzel & Stouffer attorneys, Michael Barry, Rich Burgland, Tom Draths, and Matthew Reddy, were named emerging lawyers by Leading Lawyers Magazine. Click here to learn more about their practices that span insurance coverage, professional liability defense, commercial litigation, medical malpractice and general tort defense  

  Robert Chemers and Paula Villela recently had a Petition for Leave to Appeal granted by the Illinois Supreme Court. The case involves an Appellate Court opinion in a case of first impression which allowed a #plaintiff in a medical malpractice case to re-designate a previously disclosed controlled expert witness and treating physician as a ...

  Pretzel & Stouffer shareholder, Brian Henry, lectured last week at UIC John Marshall Law School in the Medical Malpractice course taught by Professor Marc Ginsberg. Brian has lectured in that course for the past three years. Click here to learn about the firm’s practice in the defense of medical negligence matters.

  Kayla Condeni, whose practice focuses on medical malpractice matters, explains the First’s District’s holding in Sparger v. Yamini. The First District of the Appellate Court of Illinois recently held in Sparger v. Yamini, 2019 IL App (1st), 180566, that where a plaintiff claims a neurological brain injury, rather than a psychological injury, the plaintiff ...

Brian Henry and Sommer Luzynczyk obtained a jury verdict in favor of a resident physician and an intern who allegedly failed to timely diagnose and treat a necrotizing MRSA skin infection in a nine day old neonate. The plaintiff argued that the defendants failed to appreciate that area of discoloration and redness on the infant. ...

Brian Henry and Sommer Luzynczyk obtained a jury verdict in favor of an orthopedic surgeon who repaired a fractured ankle and who was criticized by the subsequent treating ankle specialist. The plaintiff argued that the orthopedic surgeon fixated the medial malleolus fragment in such a way that the fragment impinged and closed down the medial ...

Timothy Weaver and Michael A. Barry recently obtained a defense jury verdict in a medical malpractice case in which the plaintiff, who was a dentist, claimed that the defendant orthopedic surgeon negligently delayed spine surgery by one day for an acute, repeat low back disc herniation in order to suit the defendant’s surgical schedule. The ...

Suzanne Crowley and Scott Howie, recently obtained a partial summary judgment for their client, a public hospital, on the basis of the Tort Immunity Act. In a case filed in Whiteside County, Illinois, the plaintiffs claimed that the hospital was liable for the negligence of a pathologist who mistakenly diagnosed lung cancer in a patient, ...

Timothy Weaver and Michael A. Barry, recently obtained a defense jury verdict in a medical malpractice case in which the plaintiff claimed that the defendant orthopedic surgeon prescribed excessive and unnecessary antibiotics following surgery for a hand fracture in violation of accepted guidelines causing nine months of severe and debilitating diarrhea due to a Clostridium ...

Alan Schumacher and Tom Draths, recently obtained a victory for a periodontist and his practice arising out of claims of professional malpractice. The plaintiff claimed that the periodontist caused or exacerbated a neuropathic pain syndrome which allegedly negatively impacted nearly every aspect of her daily life. After Al and Tom thoroughly examined the plaintiff’s medical ...

Pretzel & Stouffer partner, Matthew Reddy, recently published an article in the Professional Liability Defense Federation Quarterly (PLDF) addressing the interaction between the doctor-patient privilege and attorney-client privilege.

Pretzel & Stouffer partners, Rich Burgland and Donald Eckler, filed an amicus brief in the Illinois Supreme Court in support of the petitioner in Crim v. Dietrich on behalf of the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel. This case deals with whether a party is required to file a post-trial motion to preserve issues decided ...

Pretzel & Stouffer partners, Alan Schumacher, Sommer Luzynczyk, and Michael A. Barry, recently spoke at UIC Perinatal Center’s 1st Neonatal Conference – Do We Know What We Don’t Know in Patient Safety. Alan, Sommer, and Michael presented on the topic of the legal implications of open disclosure in the face of poor outcomes.

  A Pretzel & Stouffer trial team of Edward Ruff and Mimi Moon obtained a not guilty jury verdict in Cook County, Illinois for a defendant cardiologist who discharged a 61 year-old female patient from a renowned teaching hospital. Twelve hours after being discharged, the patient died from an intra-abdominal hemorrhage. Plaintiff’s allegation against the ...

Michael Barry and Timothy Weaver obtained a defense jury verdict in a medical malpractice case in which a lawyer claimed that the defendant orthopedic surgeon prescribed excessive and unnecessary antibiotics following surgery for a hand fracture in violation of widely accepted guidelines and thus caused her 9 months of severe and debilitating diarrhea due to Clostridium difficile infection. ...

Brian Henry and Sommer Luzynczyk obtained a jury verdict in favor of a resident physician and an intern who allegedly failed to timely diagnose and treat a necrotizing MRSA skin infection in a nine-day-old neonate. The plaintiff argued that the defendants failed to appreciate that an area of discoloration and redness on the infant’s front and lateral chest ...

Brian Henry and Sommer Luzynczyk obtained a jury verdict for an orthopedic surgeon who repaired a fractured ankle and who was criticized by the subsequent treating ankle specialist. The plaintiff argued that the orthopedic surgeon fixated the medial malleolus fragment in such a way that the fragment impinged and closed down the medial clear space which resulted in ...

Timothy Weaver and Michael Barry recently obtained a defense jury verdict in a medical malpractice case in which a dentist claimed that defendant orthopedic surgeon negligently delayed spine surgery by one day for an acute, repeated low back disc herniation in order to suit his surgical schedule, thereby causing multi-million dollar damages including permanent foot paralysis (drop foot), ...

Pretzel & Stouffer partners, Brian T. Henry and Michael A. Barry, successfully defended a pulmonologist against a wrongful death claim by the family of a woman who alleged that the defendant failed to timely diagnose the decedent’s lung cancer, which later spread to the decedent’s brain and caused her death. At trial, the plaintiff contended that given the ...

The Appellate Court of Illinois has affirmed summary judgment for several doctors and professional corporations finding that the trial court properly found no genuine issue of material fact as to whether any of the defendants proximately caused the plaintiff’s injury. Robert Marc Chemers and Scott L. Howie of Pretzel & Stouffer prepared and defended the appellate brief on behalf ...

Sommer Luzynczyk has been invited to speak at the Illinois State Bar Association’s “Anatomy of a Medical Negligence Trial” seminar, which will feature attorneys speaking on the various aspects of a medical negligence trial. Sommer will speak on the topic of motions in limine and will provide insight on how to limit evidence a plaintiff can ...

Brian Henry recently obtained a jury verdict in favor of an orthopedic surgeon. The plaintiff claimed a failure to timely diagnose a compartment syndrome and that the surgeon did not perform necessary fasciotomies. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the physician after a short deliberation finding that the standard of care had been ...

Pretzel & Stouffer Partner Brian C. Rocca and Michael A. Barry successfully defended a surgeon against a wrongful death claim by the family of a woman who was admitted to the hospital for respiratory distress, diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, and placed on blood thinners. She developed a rectus sheath hematoma, and Plaintiff alleged that she bled to death because ...

Pretzel & Stouffer partner Brian C. Rocca and Michael A. Barry successfully defended an ENT surgeon in a case brought by the family of a woman who at the age of 32 underwent sinus and septal surgery and allegedly contracted bacterial meningitis the next day. She was a high-level master’s degreed biomedical engineer who claimed to have permanent brain ...

Edward B. Ruff, a Partner, and frequent speaker spoke at this year’s FDCC Winter Meeting in San Diego, CA. Ed spoke to conference attendees during two separate meetings. During a plenary session, Ed spoke on the “Fantastic Voyage” of how the use of nanotechnology in the medical arena will impact medical liability claims in the future. ...

Edward B. Ruff and Michael P. Turiello successfully defended an orthopedic surgeon against a claim of unnecessary ACL surgery. A pre-operative MRI was read by the radiologist as showing an ACL which was taut and intact. The client orthopedic surgeon sent the plaintiff for a course of physical therapy, however, she failed to improve. Based upon his physical ...

Richard Waris and Tom Draths obtained a complete dismissal for their pharmacy client, which was defending against claims of negligence and breach of implied warranty in relation to a product liability prescription drug case. The dismissal came as the customer was involved in a nationwide class action lawsuit regarding the side-effects of the specific medication. Mr. ...

Brian Henry recently taught at the annual Medical Legal Seminar for emergency medicine residents at the University of Chicago Medical Center. This week-long seminar has been held annually for more than 40 years and Mr. Henry has taught for a day at that seminar for close to 30 years.

Brian Henry recently defended a multi-specialty medical group in a trial in Cook County in which an internal medicine physician and clinic nurse were alleged to have improperly instructed an 80-year-old patient regarding a change in her blood thinning medication, for failing to notify her family and visiting nurse of the dosage change and for failing ...

Donald J. O’Meara, Jr. obtained dismissal of a multi-count medical negligence lawsuit brought by a plaintiff physician against a Chicago-area internist. The Plaintiff, a neurosurgery resident at an out-of-state medical center, alleged that he underwent an evaluation by a multi-disciplinary medical team comprised of Chicago-area physicians. The medical team had been retained by the Plaintiff’s employer ...

Matt Egan recently obtained summary judgment on behalf of a hospital client in a case of alleged apparent agency. The Arabic-speaking plaintiff patient claimed to not be able to read English, and he had no prior relationship with the independently employed physician who was alleged to be the hospital’s apparent agent. The plaintiff claimed the physician ...

Equity Partner Dan Mills was a featured speaker for the Illinois Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons (ISEP) and Chicago Ophthalmology Society (COS) Seminar entitled, “Academy Rules of Ethics: A Sword and Shield in Litigation” on March 7, 2014. The presentation involved a mock trial for several hundred physicians.