Case Results

$45 Million Verdict

Medical Malpractice – Hospital Negligent Credentialing

Largest Hospital Negligent Credentialing Verdict in Oklahoma

Brewster & De Angelis represented a minor child who suffered a life-altering injury as a direct result of negligent care and treatment during and after surgery.

Our client was diagnosed with a thyroglossal duct cyst, and it was recommended he undergo a Sistrunk procedure to remove the cyst. Our client alleged that the hospital allowed an unqualified surgeon to perform this surgery.

During the operation, the surgeon misjudged the anatomical landmarks of our client causing devastating injury to this child’s larynx. Damages were so severe that our client now requires a permanent tracheostomy and speaks with a hoarse whisper.

Throughout a week and a half trial, the Brewster & De Angelis team (Clark Brewster, Katie McDaniel, Jennifer De Angelis, and Guy Fortney) revealed Mercy Health System’s substantial failure to safely treat and care for a pediatric patient. The Mercy Health System had a duty to provide our client with a competent surgeon. Instead, they granted privileges to a surgeon with no evidence of current competency to perform a pediatric Sistrunk procedure on a 4-year-old patient.

The Oklahoma County jury found Mercy Health System’s conduct as reckless and intentional, rendering a unanimous $15 million compensatory damages verdict and $30 million in punitive damages.

$6.0 Million Settlement

Truck Accident- Negligence

Our client is the wife of a UPS delivery driver. The defendant, in this case, was a utility company that was transporting and installing new utility poles. The driver for the utility company pulled across the highway and stopped when entering a private drive. The driver allowed the utility pole he was transporting to remain stretched across the highway lanes of traffic. It was nighttime and the utility pole was not lit or attached with any reflective device. Our client’s husband was traveling on the highway and was unable to see the utility pole. He clipped the utility pole causing him to lose control of his vehicle. He impacted the gasoline pump at a convenience store and was doused with gasoline which explosively ignited. Our client’s husband suffered significant third-degree burns over the majority of his body as well as numerous traumatic injuries. He survived three months in intensive care before finally succumbing to his injuries.

Outcome: 

This case settled against the negligent truck driver and utility company prior to trial for $6 million.

$4.5 Million Verdict

Failure to Diagnose- Wrongful Death

Our client presented to his doctor with ringing in his ears and balance problems. The doctor diagnosed him with tinnitus or ringing in his ears. Six months later, he was again seen by his doctor and, despite his worsening condition, he was not referred for further evaluation. Subsequently, he was seen by another doctor and immediately hospitalized. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The young man died subsequent to trial at age 15.

Outcome: 

This case proceeded to jury trial and the jury awarded a verdict of $4,500,000.00. No appeal was filed by the defendants and a confidential settlement was reached.

$2.8 Million Verdict

Failure to Monitor- Wrongful Death

At the age of four, a young girl was diagnosed with myocarditis and eventually required a pacemaker implant. Her pacemaker was regularly monitored with a 24-hour Holter Monitor. At age 11, the girl collapsed on the playground at school as a result of her pacemaker failing to properly function. She was revived but suffered permanent and severe brain damage resulting in her death nine months later.

The girl’s parents brought an action for the wrongful death of their child alleging that the doctors had been negligent in their reading of the testing on the Holter Monitor. Testing showed that there were periods of time where the pacemaker was not functioning as evidenced by a flat line on the EKG strip. This finding was read by the physicians as “pacemaker functioning normally.”

Outcome: 

A verdict was returned for the plaintiff in the sum of $2,800,000.00

$66 Million Verdict

Oil Lawsuit

Record-Setting

Oil case hits courtroom 13 years after the initial filing

DUNCAN – A jury awarded over $66 million to be paid by Shell Oil Company to two families in a civil lawsuit in Stephens County District Court on May 9. Clark Brewster, lead trial attorney for the families, said that this verdict ranks as one of the largest dollar amount judgments in Oklahoma history.

$15.6 Million Verdict

Bad Faith- Wrongful Death

Tulsa County jurors awarded $15,640,000 in damages at a civil trial based on allegations that an insurance company acted in bad faith in handling a claim that resulted from a fatal traffic accident. The jury awarded $5,640,000 in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages Monday against Mid-Continent Casualty Co., an Oklahoma- based insurance company.

$15 Million Verdict

Product Liability- Wrongful Death

A Tulsa couple claimed that the SUV their son drove had a weak roof.

A federal product liability lawsuit that originally resulted in a $15 million verdict against Ford Motor Co. has been settled on undisclosed terms, sources on both sides of the dispute said Thursday. Tulsa jeweler Kevin Moody and his wife, Veronica Moody, sued in November 2003, a little more than 10 months after their son, Tyler, Moody, 18, died in a rollover crash on Delaware Avenue near 121st Street. The teenager had lost control of a 1995 Ford Explorer Sport while passing another vehicle in a no-passing zone on a curve. The SUV left the street and rolled.

$15 Million Verdict

Automotive Negligence

Our clients were the parents of a young man who died in a single-vehicle rollover. The roof of the SUV collapsed into the passenger compartment pushing the young man’s head into his chest and trapping him in that position. This position prevented the young man from being able to breathe resulting in his death due to positional asphyxiation.

Outcome: This case was tried to a jury who found that the SUV’s roof was defective and unreasonably dangerous and awarded our clients $15 million in damages.

$2.7 Million Settlement

A Two-Week Jail Confinement Led To The Loss Of Both Legs

Who wants to be a millionaire, if it means losing your legs in the process? That is what is happening to Sapulpan Russell “Rusty” Mounger. Mounger has reached a $2.7 million settlement in a federal lawsuit he filed in February 2008 connected to his 2007 stay in the Creek County Jail. The two-week jail stint ended up costing him both of his legs when an infection caused by blood clots progressed to the point that doctors had no choice but to amputate.

$1.8 Million Verdict

Surgical Negligence- Wrongful Death

A woman was admitted to a hospital for laparoscopic gallbladder surgery. During the surgery, one of the Doctors severed 60% of the circumference of her transverse colon and cut her duodenum. The woman began leaking fecal matter from her incision sites. The nurses were discouraged from documenting this. After two days, she was transferred to another hospital and diagnosed with peritonitis. She died two weeks later at age 52.

Outcome: 

The settlement with the hospital is confidential. The case proceeded to a jury trial against the doctors. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $1,800,000, including $500,000 in punitive damages.

$300,000 Settlement

Shooting Case

A federal lawsuit over the August 2002 fatal shooting of a sword-wielding suicidal man by Owasso police has been settled for $300,000, Owasso City Attorney Julie Lombardi said Wednesday. Plaintiff’s attorney Guy Fortney said the case dealt with important issues concerning how police treat mentally ill people.

$58,000 Verdict

Failure to Diagnose

Plaintiff presented to the emergency room with groin/testicular pain. He was diagnosed by the doctor with an infection and released with antibiotics and pain reliever. The diagnosis was reached based only on a clinical exam, no studies were ordered. Plaintiff drove back to his home in Dallas. He went to another hospital where he was diagnosed with testicular torsion. He underwent surgery for testicle removal.

The client brought suit against the hospital and physician for failing to diagnose the testicular torsion, the delay of which caused the loss of his testicle.

Outcome: 

The case was tried to an all-female jury and resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $58,000.00.

Not Guilty

United States v. Randall Erwin

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma

Case No: 6:08-cr-00033-FHS

Randall Erwin served 12 years in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1992 through 2004. Over the years Mr. Erwin rose in his level of rank and respect amongst his peers. During the 2002-2004 legislative sessions Mr. Erwin served as Chairman on the Subcommittee on Natural Resources and Regulatory Services. In 2008 Mr. Erwin was indicted on seven counts related to allegations that as an Oklahoma Representative Mr. Erwin conspired to illegally funnel Oklahoma state money to private businesses owned by Steve Phipps in exchange for “kickbacks”. A five-day trial was held from April 20-24, 2009.

Outcome: On April 24, 2009, the jury found Mr. Erwin not guilty on all counts of the indictment.

Unsupervised Probation

State of Oklahoma v. Barbara Lynn Bell

Court: Tulsa County District Court

Case No: DF-93-0479

Defendant: Barbara Lynn Bell

Prosecutors: Jay Holtzhauser – Deputy District Attorney, S.M. Fallis Jr. – Special Appointed Prosecutor

Experts: Dr. George Brenner – Pharmacology, Dr. Reese Price – Shock and Trauma, Ron Singer – Criminology, Richard Stengle – Firearm Forensics, Arthur Linville – Criminology

On January 22, 1993, Dr. David Bell was shot once in the forehead at his home. The next day, his wife, Barbara Bell was jailed and charged with first-degree murder. Prior to this firm’s involvement, Barbara Bell was tried and convicted for second-degree murder by a jury and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Thereafter, Mrs. Bell served two years in prison before the State Court of Criminal Appeals, in 1995, overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial based on a “presumed guilty” instruction routinely offered by the trial judge. Her case was one of many convictions that were overturned on this basis. The State sought a re-trial of the matter and this firm was retained to defend her at the second trial.

Outcome: On the Saturday before the retrial was to begin, the State offered a plea. Mrs. Bell accepted and entered an Alford plea. Mrs. Bell plead to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced by the Judge to an 18-year prison term, giving Mrs. Bell credit for 4 1/2 years of time already served. The Judge ordered the remainder of the sentence (13 1/2 years) to be served as unsupervised probation.

Acquittal

State of Oklahoma v. James A. Hogue

Court: Tulsa County District Court

Case No: CF-97-1766

Plaintiff: State of Oklahoma

Defendant: James A. Hogue

The State filed 22 counts of embezzlement by Trustee and 1 count of caretaker abuse, neglect, financial exploitation against former District Court Judge James Hogue and his wife, Kathleen Hogue in connection with their management of the Estate of Jewell Levone Young. In a sensational case, over 900 veniremen were summoned- the most in the history of Tulsa county. The trial took approximately four weeks and was closely followed in the press.

Outcome: Acquittal

Confidential Settlement

Industrial Accident- Negligence

Our client was a loaned servant to a Chemical Refinery Company. He was directed to remove bolts from a gas vessel using a cutting torch. Our client was instructed by the employer that the vessel had been cleared of explosive gases. As the flame of the cutting torch contacted the bolts, gas pockets that had not been cleared exploded sending chemically fueled flames into the face and down the throat of our client. He suffered serious and disfiguring thermal and chemical burns to his face and throat requiring an extensive hospital stay and numerous life-saving and reconstructive surgeries.

Outcome: 

This case was settled prior to filing suit for a confidential amount.

Confidential Settlement

Workplace Safety- Negligence

Our client was digging a trench at a construction site. Another contractor had installed a water line but had failed to adequately secure the line and had pressurized despite that the construction project was incomplete and the water line was not properly secured. This resulted in a large section of PVC piping being shot like a missile into the knee of our client. The severity of the injury to the knee resulted in the below-the-knee amputation of our client’s leg.

Outcome: 

This case was settled prior to trial for a confidential amount.

Confidential Settlement

Unsafe Conditions- Premises Liability

Our client was an exercise jockey at a horse racing facility. Repeated requests to change the training conditions at the race track for better safety of the jockeys were ignored by the race track. During a training exercise, our client was thrown off his horse and suffered spinal fractures leading to paralysis. The cause of the accident was directly related to the unsafe conditions which had been ignored and un-remedied by the race track.

Outcome: 

This case was settled prior to trial for a confidential amount.

Confidential Settlement

Failure to Diagnose & Treat

Our client was the spouse of a gentleman who suffered from a type of cancer referred to adenocarcinoma. This cancer was presented to physicians on multiple occasions over several years for excision. However, the physicians failed to recognize the significance of cancer’s re-occurrence and the dangers of metastasis. Ultimately cancer which originally presented on the hand metastasized to the lungs. The husband of our client ultimately died of metastatic lung cancer.

Confidential Settlement

Misdiagnosis & Failure to Treat

Our client presented to his doctor with jaw pain, nausea, sweating, and shortness of breath. The doctor treated him for indigestion and released him. He had taken an EKG but missed the evidence on the tracing of an impending heart attack. When he left the clinic, the man suffered a myocardial infarction and had a car wreck injuring himself and his wife. He was taken to another hospital and survived.

Outcome: 

During discovery, the doctor admitted the missed diagnosis and the case settled for a confidential amount.

Confidential Settlement

Surgical Negligence

Plaintiff had a hysterectomy performed at a medical center by the Doctor. A laparotomy sponge was left in her abdomen after surgery and was retained for 17 months. She underwent surgery to remove the sponge.

Outcome: 

A settlement was reached. The terms of the settlement are protected by a confidentiality agreement.

Confidential Settlement

Failure to Diagnose & Treat- Wrongful Death

A young woman had given birth to a stillborn child in late 1981 at the age of 15. In February of 1982, she began experiencing leg pain and had difficulty breathing. She became increasingly weak and confused. Her mother took her to the hospital where the symptoms worsened over a several-hour period without recognition or treatment by the hospital physicians. The young girl stopped breathing and died in the hospital due to the development of a pulmonary embolism.

The girl’s mother brought an action for the wrongful death of her daughter seeking to hold the doctors responsible for their negligence in failing to conduct any tests to discover her daughter’s medical problem and denying her the opportunity for life-saving intervention.

Outcome: 

A settlement was reached. The terms of the settlement are protected by a confidentiality agreement.

Confidential Settlement

Failure to Diagnose- Wrongful Death

A man presented to a medical center with clinical signs of an impending heart attack. He was admitted, but no tests were performed. His condition worsened over the next several hours and no treatment was administered. He suffered a myocardial infarction and died hours later.

Outcome: 

A settlement was reached. The terms of the settlement are protected by a confidentiality agreement.

Confidential Settlement

Failure to Diagnose & Treat- Wrongful Death

A man presented twice in a three-day period to a hospital, complaining of chest pains was released each time. He returned home after the last visit and died of a massive heart attack.

Outcome: 

A settlement was reached. The terms of the settlement are protected by a confidentiality agreement.