ARCHIVES

June 12, 2003

JURY AWARDS $2.2 MILLION TO FORMER PIT CREW MEMBER

Steve Warf, 46, a drag-racing crew member from LaGrange Highlands, was working on a car engine at a Top Fuel Drag race in Columbus, Ohio, three years ago when the car's owner turned on the engine.  It took off the middle finger and the tips of three other fingers on Warf's right hand.

A Cook County jury awarded Warf a $2.2 million verdict against Ralph White Racing of LaGrange.

"He started the engine with my guy's hands in it, and that exhibits an indifferent attitude," said Warf's attorney, Robert Napleton. "That's a 6,000-horsepower engine, compared to your average engine which has a horsepower of 250.  These things use rocket fuel and go from zero to 100 in 8 tenths of a second," Napleton said. Warf traveled the country working as an unpaid pit crew worker on White's team, Napleton said.  

While he is still able to serve as the plant manager of a Broadview auto parts company, Warf had to quit his part-time job as a firefighter and emergency medical technician for Brookfield.  "He had to retire from the Fire Department--he had no strength to hold an ax, or a hose," Napleton said.  "He can throw a baseball, but a football or 16-inch softball is a problem," he said.  

May 23, 2003

$1,150,000 MALPRACTICE AWARD

On May 23, 2003, Judge William Maddux approved a $1,150,000 settlement on behalf of the Estate of Alexandra Salerno against Loyola University Medical Center .  Loyola allegedly failed to properly maintain Alexandra’s airway during her transport from the operating room to the neonatal intensive care unit following open heart surgery. As a result, Alexandra was involuntarily extubated and developed resulting heart complications which ultimately caused her death on November 6, 1998 .  Alexandra was 9 months old at the time of her death and is survived by her parents and four siblings.  John M. Saletta represented the Estate of Alexandra Salerno.

January 28, 2003

$3 MILLION MALPRACTICE AWARD

On January 28, 2003, Judge Mary Mulhern approved a $3 million dollar settlement on behalf of the Estate Richard Hoselton against Dr. Rodolfo Mejicano.  Dr. Mejicano allegedly failed to diagnose and properly treat Mr. Hoselton's significant coronary artery disease. Richard Hoselton suffered a fatal heart attack on November 29, 1997.  Mr. Hoselton was 48 years old at the time of his death and is survived by his two adult children.  John M. Saletta and Nicholas J. Motherway represented the Estate of Richard Hoselton.

January 23, 2003

$7.625 MILLION MALPRACTICE AWARD 

The two remaining parties in a medical malpractice case settled for $1.125 million Thursday, bringing the total settlement amount to $7.625 million.

Cook County Circuit Judge John A. Ward approved the settlement.

The plaintiff, Carl Musillo, sued Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center and two doctors, alleging that the parties failed to administer a vaccine after his spleen was removed.  He later was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis.

Dr. Abdel Noureldin agreed to contribute $1 million while Alexian Brothers Medical Center agreed to pay $125,000.  In November, Dr. Mark Gillis agreed to pay $6 million and Rush-Presbyterian agreed to pay $500,000.  Robert J. Napleton of Motherway & Napleton represented the plaintiffs.

The case is Carl Musillo v. Mark Gillis, et al., No. 01 L 5848.

December 5, 2002

BOB GLENN DEPARTING FIRM

Motherway, Glenn  and Napleton  has  announced that Robert J. Glenn  is  leaving the  firm effective January 1, 2003, ending a twenty year relationship  with  the  firm and its predecessor, Motherway and Glenn.  The firm will continue, as Motherway and Napleton, concentrating in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases. Glenn plans to enjoy a sabbatical and then return to the practice of law sometime next year.

Commenting on Glenn’s departure, Nick Motherway said “Bob will be missed. We’ve shared many satisfying professional experiences over the years.  I wish him the very best in his new endeavors.” Bob Napleton recalled that “As a law clerk and in my early years as a lawyer, I gained invaluable insights into the successful practice of law from Bob Glenn.  I hold him in the highest regard and wish him the very best.” Glenn said “Over the past twenty years, I have had the privilege of helping to develop a successful practice working with lawyers of the highest professional caliber. I wish them continued success.”

November 15, 2002

ELK GROVE VILLAGE MAN SETTLES MALPRACTICE SUIT FOR $6.5 MILLION DOLLARS

A $6.5 million settlement has been approved by Cook County Circuit Judge Bill Taylor in a lawsuit filed by a man who claimed that doctors negligently failed to administer an appropriate vaccine after his spleen was removed.

After years of health problems, Carl Musillo was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis in 1995 at age 44.

Musillo claimed that his primary care physician, Dr. Mark Gillis, failed to administer pneumococcal vaccine although he knew Musillo had undergone a splenectomy in 1970 as a result of Hodgkin's disease.

Musillo saw Gillis 15 times for various maladies, including infection, between 1992 and 1994, said Robert J. Napleton who represented the Musillos.

Musillo also alleged that the physicians at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center who arranged for the splenectomy failed to administer the vaccine on two occasions, in 1990 and 1993.

The Immunization Practices Advisory Committee of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that such vaccines be administered to adults who are unusually likely to develop pneumococcal infections or a serious complication of infection.  This category includes persons with asplenia, Napleton said.

The case is Carl Musillo v. Mark Gillis, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, et al., No. 01 L 5848.

October 16, 2002

ANESTHESIA AWARENESS VERDICT BRINGS AWARD OF $165,000

On October 16, 2002, a Cook County jury awarded $165,000 to a woman who experienced three minutes of "anesthesia awareness" while undergoing a caesarean section at South Suburban Hospital.  John M. Saletta, who represented the 36 year old mother, stated that his client, although completely paralyzed, was awake and felt every cut of the surgeon's scalpel during a three minute period of the caesarean section.  

This is the first "anesthesia awareness" verdict in Cook County.

October, 2002

ROBERT J. NAPLETON SPEAKS AT ILLINOIS TRIAL LAWYERS SEMINAR

On October 15, 2002, Robert J. Napleton gave a speech at the Westin Hotel at an Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Seminar on the subject of "Liens on Personal Injury Cases" before a large group of Chicago trial lawyers.

August 29, 2002

CICERO WOMAN WINS $1.8 MILLION DOLLAR AWARD

MacNeal Memorial Hospital has agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that nurses failed to monitor a 69-year-old patient after total knee replacement surgery.

Cook County Circuit Judge William D. Maddux, who presides over the Law Division, approved the settlement today.

Frank Perez, a retired sheet metal worker for Brach Candy Co., living in Cicero, had the surgery on April 23, 1999, in the Berwyn hospital.

Plaintiff attorney Robert J. Napleton of Motherway Glenn & Napleton alleged that nurses gave Perez a large dose of a narcotic pain medication known as fentanyl, then failed to monitor him.  Perez went into respiratory and cardiac arrest, and suffered brain damage.  He died less than two months later.

Perez is survived by his wife and three grown children.  A case against a doctor and a nurse anesthetist is pending in court.

The case is The Estate of Frank Perez v. MacNeal Memorial Hospital, et al., No. 99 L 14477.

August 2002

JOHN SALETTA TO SPEAK AT ILLINOIS TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION SEMINAR

John Saletta will be giving a speech on Jury Instructions in Chicago on September 14, 2002.

May 30, 2002

FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE PULMONARY EMBOLISM RESULTS IN $1,375,000 AWARD

Cook County Circuit Judge William D. Maddux approved a settlement of nearly $1.4 million in a wrongful-death case involving a 35-year-old woman who died of a pulmonary embolism, apparently after being misdiagnosed with dehydration at a suburban hospital.

A day after being released from the hospital emergency room, the woman died of the embolism, a severe condition in which blood vessels are blocked by a blood clot, fat or other substance.

On April 19, 1998, Sharon Jean Williams went to the Loyola University Medical Center emergency room with complaints of dizziness and shortness of breath.   According to the lawsuit, doctors attributed the symptoms to Williams' weight of 325 pounds.  She also had moved to a new apartment the day before.

Williams was given food and an IV for dehydration, and was discharged.  She died the next day.

She is survived by her husband, Stanley, whom she had married three years earlier.  The couple had no children.

The woman's estate was represented by Robert J. Napleton of Motherway, Glenn & Napleton.  The case is Stanley Williams, etc., v. Loyola University Medical Center, No. 99 L 00934. 

April 15, 2002

ROBBINS GIRL AWARDED $15 MILLION DOLLARS IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE SUIT AGAINST COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL

A disabled girl from Robbins will receive a $15 million dollar award for improper medical care under the terms of a settlement approved by Cook County Judge Benjamin Novoselsky.

The settlement is the highest malpractice payout in Cook County Hospital history.  The settlement was approved by the County Board on March 21, 2002 and is more than $3 million dollars higher than the record malpractice award agreed to by the county last year.   Robert J. Napleton  represented the plaintiffs in this case.  

“It is the labor and delivery nurse’s responsibility to clamp off the IV line before wheeling the patient from the labor area to the delivery room and it wasn’t done in this case”, said the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert J. Napleton.  “Even worse, none of the hospital nurses had the courage to step up and admit involvement with unhooking the patient from the I.V. pump on the day in question. On a day that should have been the happiest day of Lavonne White’s life turned into an unthinkable disaster resulting in profound injuries to her daughter, and the mother’s death a few days later.”  “The sudden cardiac arrest of the mother due to a magnesium sulfate overdose caused the mother and baby to be deprived of oxygen for over 15 minutes.  The events that transpired (mother and baby suddenly going downhill) in the early morning hours on July 18, 1993 are one of the most catastrophic situations in medicine.” Napleton said.  A question was raised by the plaintiffs’ attorneys as to whether there were enough nurses on duty to properly monitor her IV lines.  In the discovery phase of the case, it was determined one nurse was overseeing the labor of four patients, including Lavonne White.  “The mom got 10 times the prescribed amount of a potent drug because of carelessness by the attending nurse and lack of personnel.  It was an event waiting to happen due to individual nursing negligence and negligence by the institution itself.” said Napleton.  “It was prudent of the County Board to approve the award because their exposure was greater than the settlement amount given the egregious nature of the case and the severity of the child’s injuries.” he added.  “On the other hand, this settlement ensures the future medical needs of this child will be taken care of for life.  Because of that, it would be too risky to try this case to verdict given the amount of the County’s settlement offer.  We think it is an appropriate resolution to a tragic medical misadventure.”

January 2002

ROBERT J. NAPLETON SPEAKS AT ILLINOIS TRIAL LAWYER'S SEMINAR

On January 19, 2002, Robert J. Napleton gave a speech at the DoubleTreeHotel at a Illinois Trial Lawyer's Association seminar on the subject of "Screening Potential Cases" before a large crowd of Chicago trial lawyers.  The seminar audience consisted of attorney members of the Illinois Trial Lawyers's Association who came to learn about tort litigation from intake to verdict.

December 2001

NICK MOTHERWAY RE-ELECTED TO ABOTA BOARD

The Illinois Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates has re-elected Nick Motherway as its representative on the   Board of Directors of The American Board of Trial Advocates, a national trial  lawyers organization.  ABOTA membership is by invitation only and the membership is comprised equally of trial lawyers who represent plaintiffs and those who defend in  personal injury litigation.  ABOTA is dedicated to preservation of the right to trial by jury in civil cases. Nick is now beginning his third three year term on the ABOTA Board.

December 2001

JOHN SALETTA TO SPEAK AT ILLINOIS TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION SEMINAR

John Saletta will be giving a speech on Maximizing Damages in Springfield on February 9, 2002.

October 2001

ROBERT J. NAPLETON SPEAKS ON MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

Robert J. Napleton gave a speech at the Chicago Bar Association on the subject of establishing medical negligence from a plaintiff¹s lawyer¹s perspective before a large crowd of Chicago attorneys.  The seminar audience consisted of attorneys from the young lawyers division of the Chicago Bar Association.  Below is a copy of Bob Napleton¹s seminar materials provided to the seminar audience on October 4, 2001.

Seminar Materials

August 2001

$11 MILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT REACHED IN HELICOPTER CRASH

An eleven million dollar settlement has been approved by Judge Cheryl Starks of the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Case No. 98 L 6186, in connection with two of the deaths arising from a helicopter crash occurring on May 18, 1998, in Arlington Heights, Illinois.  The estates of Shinobu Sada, age 49, and Kazuya Yamaguchi, age 38, are each to receive 5.5 million dollars.  Each left surviving a widow and one daughter.  The families were represented by Nicholas J. Motherway and Robert J. Glenn of the firm of Motherway, Glenn & Napleton.  

The decedents were Japanese citizens on temporary assignment as teachers at Futabakai Japanese School in Arlington Heights and were surveying property on behalf of the school at the time of the crash.  The helicopter pilot and a third passenger, Yasuo Sato, age 62, also died in the crash, which was blamed on pilot error.

May 5, 2001

NICK MOTHERWAY SPEAKS AT ITLA SEMINAR

Below is a copy of Nick Motherway’s seminar materials provided to the seminar audience on May 5, 2001.

Lecture Materials

April 2001

$375,000 VERDICT IN CATARACT SURGERY CASE A - WILL COUNTY RECORD

A Will County jury has awarded $375,000 to a 64-year-old woman who suffered cystoid macular edema from complications related to a cataract surgery.  The sight in her left eye was permanently damaged by cataract material that fragmented and lodged in the posterior segment of her eye.

Motherway, Glenn & Napleton attorney Robert J. Napleton represented the plaintiff in the medical malpractice case in front of 12th Judicial Circuit Judge Ludwig J. Kuhar.  The award is the largest verdict or settlement for similar visual impairments from Will County recorded in the Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter, editor John Kirkton said.  Rita Ingram v. Karl Fritz, M.D., 98 L 0002.

March 2001

NICK MOTHERWAY TO SPEAK AT ITLA SEMINAR

Nick Motherway has agreed to participate in the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA)  Evidence Seminar to be held on May 5, 2001 at the Double Tree Guest Suites, 198 E. Delaware Place, Chicago, Illinois.  He will join other well known trial lawyers in presenting "how to do it" lectures to lawyers in attendance who are seeking to expand their legal knowledge.  ITLA's membership is comprised of attorneys representing the injured and the next-of-kin of those negligently killed in accidents and by medical malpractice. Mr. Motherway will address the subject of proving pain and suffering through appropriate evidence during a  jury trial.  Following the seminar, Mr. Motherway's lecture materials will be available on this page.

February 2001

$2.25 MILLION VERDICT FOR PARENTS OF STILLBORN - AN ILLINOIS RECORD

On February 5, 2001, a Will County jury awarded a Plainfield couple
(Stephen MontMarquette Jr. and Barbara MontMarquette) $2.25 million dollars
for the wrongful death of their stillborn son, Stephen Charles MontMarquette
III. The verdict against Joliet obstetrician Michael Borders, M.D. is an
Illinois record for a stillborn child according to John Kirkton, editor of
the Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter. "The highest verdict that we show for
a stillbirth was in 1997 for $1 million" Kirkton said. "Before 1990, there
was some dispute between the circuits as to whether to even allow loss of
society for a still birth."

In June 1996, Barbara MontMarquette was in her 36th week of pregnancy
which was complicated by gestational diabetes (requiring her to take insulin)
when the pregnancy was improperly managed by Dr. Borders. Plaintiffs alleged
Dr. Borders failed to perform proper fetal surveillance and testing between
6/21/96 and 7/2/96 resulting in the delivery of their stillborn child on July
3, 1996. The jury¹s gross award of $2.5 million was reduced by 10% because
of the patient¹s contributory negligence for a net award of $2.25 million
dollars. Judge Gilbert Niznick presided over the 6 day jury trial. The
jury deliberated 2 hours and 15 minutes before reaching a verdict. Robert J.
Napleton  represented the MontMarquettes at trial. 

August 2000

ROBERT J. NAPLETON MAKES "40 ILLINOIS ATTORNEYS UNDER 40 YEARS OLD TO WATCH" LIST

Robert J. Napleton was recently featured in the first edition of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin Company¹s ³40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 Years Old to Watch².  The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer publications solicited nominations from attorneys throughout Illinois who were asked to submit names of attorneys under 40 years old who stood out from others their age.  Nominators were asked to give stringent consideration to a nominee¹s lawyering skill, and also consider what they have done for the good of the profession and the good of society.

May 18, 2000

ROBERT J. NAPLETON SPEAKS ON HMO LIABILITY

Robert J. Napleton gave a speech at the Illinois State Bar Association on the subject of HMO liability from a plaintiff’s lawyer perspective before hundreds of Illinois lawyers.  The seminar audience consisted of attorneys who practice exclusively in the area of tort and insurance law.   Mr. Napleton is a frequent speaker on HMO malpractice liability by virtue of the fact he was the lead plaintiff’s attorney in the landmark Petrovich v. Share HMO decision.  Attached is a copy of Robert J. Napleton’s seminar materials provided to the seminar audience on May 18, 2000.

View Seminar Materials

March 30-31, 2000

ROBERT J. NAPLETON SELECTED AS FACULTY MEMBER FOR THE SEDONA CONFERENCE RE: HMO MALPRACTICE LIABILITY

On March 30-31, 2000 name partner, Robert J. Napleton spoke on the landmark Petrovich v. Share HMO decision and the trial of a complex managed care lawsuit at the Sedona Conference.   Health care lawyers from across the country attended the Sedona Conference which is held in Sedona, Arizona.  The Sedona Conference assembled a faculty panel including, Robert J. Napleton, who also spoke on the subject of complex managed care litigation and HMO malpractice liability.  The Sedona Conference is a research and educational institute dedicated to the serious study of law and policy in the area of complex litigation.  The Sedona Conference resembles more of a think tank than a continuing legal education program and is recognized nationwide as a leading educational institution in the area of law and public policy.