Practice Area: Medical Negligence & Healthcare

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

  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 …

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 …

  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 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), …

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 …

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 …

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 …