Recently in negligence Category

Orthopedic surgeon fails to diagnose and treat hip dysplasia in a newborn baby

A Fort Worth family has been awarded $210,530.73 by a Dallas County jury in a medical negligence case resulting from improper treatment to a newborn child by an orthopedic surgeon.

The lawsuit was filed in Dallas County by the child's mother, Tiffany Martinez, and alleged that Dr. Monica Omey and DFW Orthopedic Associates, P.A. failed to diagnose the hip dysplasia [dislocation] and failed to provide appropriate care for the child. Trial began in Dallas County before Judge King Fifer on October 26. On October 30 the jury reached a verdict in favor of the family and awarded $210,530.73.

Tiffany's daughter was born on April 7, 2005. Her pediatrician referred her to an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Monica Omey at DFW Orthopedic Associates, P.A., for evaluation and treatment of possible hip dislocation. The jury found that Dr. Omey was negligent in the care provided to the child.

As a result of Dr. Omey's failure to diagnose and treat the hip dislocation, the child required surgery to repair her hip. She spent three months in a cast, several more months in a brace, and may require future surgery. The evidence showed that the child has had a positive recovery with no current limitations in her activities.

"Children should receive the quality of care that they deserve from healthcare providers," said attorney John David Hart of the Law Offices of John David Hart in Fort Worth, who represented the family. "We are pleased that the jury found the physician responsible for failing to provide the appropriate care to the baby."

The Law Offices of John David Hart is a group of experienced and dedicated legal professionals working to protect the rights of people wronged by the acts of others. Across the country, the firm represents individuals in cases of medical malpractice, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, dangerous drugs, automobile and truck accidents, oil and gas and commercial litigation.

SOURCE The Law Offices of John David Hart

A settlement in excess of $36 million has been reached in the litigation related to the catastrophic, August 13, 2008 Riverwalk at Millennium Apartment Complex fire in suburban Conshohocken, attorneys for the residents, their insurance companies, and the defendants jointly announced today.

Robert J. Mongeluzzi of Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky PC, interim lead counsel for the plaintiffs, and J. Brian O'Neill, the Conshohocken real estate developer, said at a news conference that the $36.25 million global settlement concludes all outstanding litigation on behalf of the fire victims, together with the litigation related to the cost of re-building the two destroyed apartment buildings at Riverwalk. The settlement also concludes the claims brought by the Law Offices of Robert A. Stutman, PC, of Ft. Washington, PA, which served as liaison counsel on behalf of the subrogated insurance company plaintiffs who provided coverage to many of the tenants.

Mongeluzzi said the victims are relieved and generally satisfied with the settlement. "They can finally get on with their lives," he said on behalf of the victims. "While the financial reimbursement does not come close to replacing cherished belongings and memories, the amount recovered is substantial, fair and just. Attorney Stutman, defense counsel, Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Gerald Corso, and U.S. District Court Judge Petrese B. Tucker, and the court-appointed mediator, the Honorable James Melinson (Ret.), are to be commended for working to help reach this conclusion in very complex litigation. They were diligent, creative and saved valuable time and expense for our citizens."

Robert A. Stutman, Esq., whose law firm concentrates its national practice on insurance company representation in property and worker's compensation matters, teamed on this complex, catastrophic case with Mongeluzzi and SMBB. He noted, "This is an example of an excellent outcome as a result of the pooled resources of our respective attorneys and experts."

The former residents of the apartment complex, located along the Schuylkill River, filed a class action complaint (08-23265, Court of Common Pleas Montgomery County) that alleged negligence on the part of welders employed by an Aston, Delaware County contractor. That contractor was named as a defendant along with others responsible for various roles in the construction, management and development of the complex. O'Neill's company, O'Neill Properties, was the developer of the complex.

On the one-year anniversary of the fire, Mongeluzzi publicly reported little movement toward a settlement. He said Judge Melinson, the mediator, was instrumental in helping to bring the sides together to resolve the matter and avoid what surely would have been a long and costly jury trial. "The mediator helped all of the defendants realize that the risk of going before a jury was much greater than reaching a fair and reasonable settlement," Mongeluzzi explained.

"This has been an incredibly emotional ordeal for our family and we're just happy that there is some closure," said Dr. Irwin Becker, a family doctor whose apartment was destroyed in the fire. "We lost valuables but we've always known that nothing is more valuable than our loved ones, and our knowledge that some good might come from the lessons learned from this horrible tragedy."

The SMBB firm in recent years has successfully represented victims of numerous construction disasters, including the collapses of the Tropicana casino garage, Pier 34, and the Kimmel parking garage.

In addition to Mr. Mongeluzzi, the SMBB counsel team includes Patrick Howard and Larry Bendesky. Mr. Stutman's co-counsel included Michael Hopkins and Daniel Hogan from his firm.

The Stutman firm has represented major insurance companies on large fire losses and mass torts throughout the country, including the 2007 California wildfires, a $50 million refrigeration plant fire in Kentucky, and the catastrophic fire which destroyed the "White Building" at 12th and Sansom Streets in Philadelphia.

SOURCE Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky, PC

Royal Palm Beach, Florida resident Richard E. Hicks is filing a lawsuit today against his employer, Waterman Steamship Corporation and Maersk Line, Ltd. for knowingly sending him into pirate-infested waters near Somalia without adequate protection.

Hicks was taken hostage by Somali pirates April 8 while working as chief steward preparing food for crewmembers. When Hicks heard over the loudspeaker that pirates were on board, he and other crewmembers gathered in the engine/steering room for nearly 12 hours.

"The engine room was dark and hot, maybe 130 degrees," Says Hicks. "We were all cramping up with heat stroke symptoms when we were able to take a pirate hostage and tried to negotiate the return of our Captain."

Pirates promised to exchange the ship's Captain for the pirate hostage but

instead escaped with the Captain and their pirate crewmember.

Richard Hicks attorney, Terry Bryant says the ship owners' knowingly exposed their employees to imminent danger and took no steps to provide appropriate levels of security and safety for its employees.

"Waterman Steamship Corporation and Maersk Line Limited chose to rely on the United States Military and taxpayers to provide after-the-fact rescue operations," Says Bryant. "This choice caused substantially more cost and risk to human life than what would have been incurred by Defendants had they provided appropriate levels of security in the first place."

Hicks says he still suffers from injuries as a result of the incident and is afraid to return to his work as a chief steward.

SOURCE Terry Bryant

The government has filed two lawsuits against the Union Pacific Railroad Company for allegedly failing to prevent the use of its rail cars to smuggle large quantities of narcotics into the United States, the Justice Department announced today. The complaints, filed in San Diego and Houston, seek more than $37 million in monetary penalties. The government alleges the rail cars were brought across the border at the ports of entry at Calexico, Calif., and Brownsville, Texas.

According to the complaints, Union Pacific Railroad, the largest provider of rail transportation services in North America, has substantial Mexico rail operations, serving border gateways in California, Arizona and Texas. It is alleged in the complaints that Union Pacific has a substantial ownership-interest in the privatized Mexican railroad company Ferrocarril Mexicano (FM). Union Pacific also partners with FM to offer Union Pacific's customers the ability to move merchandise north- and south-bound between Mexico and the United States.

In accordance with Title 19, United States Code, Section 1584, the owner or person in charge of a vehicle bound to the United States is required to submit to Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a manifest that accurately identifies all merchandise on board the vehicle. A violation of this section mandates the imposition of civil monetary penalties.

"It is imperative for transportation providers to be vigilant in determining the nature of cargo they bring into the United States from other countries," said Michael F. Hertz, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Division. "These laws were established to protect the American people."

The complaint, filed in the Southern District of California, alleges that on 37 separate occasions, from November 2001 to October 2006, after Union Pacific submitted its manifests, CBP officials found a total of over 4,000 pounds of marijuana on Union Pacific rail cars north-bound from Mexico for travel throughout the United States. According to the complaint, CBP imposed mandatory monetary penalties of $33,595,112 for Union Pacific's violations but to date, Union Pacific has failed and refused to pay the civil penalties.

The government's complaint filed in the Southern District of Texas alleges that on June 16, 2003, Union Pacific submitted a manifest to CBP for entry at the Port of Entry at Brownsville, Texas. According to the government complaint, the railroad manifest indicated that the rail cars were empty. However, the suit states that CBP officials, during a routine inspection, found a total of 99 packages containing 117 kilograms of cocaine within a false wall on the bottom side of the rail car. The suit, filed in the Southern District of Texas, seeks $4,128,000.

"Railroad companies and other freight carriers must take seriously their obligations under the law to take appropriate action to prevent the use of their vehicles to smuggle narcotics and other contraband into the United States," said Karen P. Hewitt, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. "This civil complaint marks an important step toward addressing the repeated failure of the largest railroad company in North America to prevent rail cars bound for travel throughout the United States from being used to smuggle significant amounts of narcotics."

"Along with the profits of doing an international transportation business comes the legal obligation to ensure contraband is not also brought into our country," said Tim Johnson, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. "The consequences of failing to meet that obligation are what this suit is all about."

"Securing the nation's rail system against the threat of cross border smuggling requires the compliance and cooperation of the rail industry," said Jayson P. Ahern, Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security. "Failure to comply with reasonable security measures leads to vulnerabilities that are simply unacceptable when considering the consequences of illegal cross border activity."

The case is being handled in San Diego by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph P. Price, Jr., and Joseph J. Purcell; in Houston by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy L. Masso; in Washington by Civil Division Trial Attorneys, David S. Silverbrand and Lauren A. Weeman; and with the assistance of Shelby L. Stuntz and Julie Koller, Attorneys, Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice