OUr Case Results

A medical doctor and mother of two bled to death following a laparoscopic appendectomy. Her husband, also a medical doctor, filed a suit against the surgeon and the hospital for his wife’s wrongful death. Mark H. Perenich represented the family, and after extensive discovery, found that the victim had complained about her low blood pressure. Despite low blood pressure being a sign of hypotension, her plea was ignored. 16 hours after the surgery, she went into cardiac arrest and died. The case was vigorously litigated and eventually settled for $8,250,000.

A 40-year-old mother of three was admitted to a hospital for a routine urological surgery. Post-surgery, she was given an epidural for the pain. Overnight, her blood pressure dropped, causing her to become hypovolemic. An order for a blood transfusion was given, but there was a substantial delay by the nurses in transferring the blood. The next morning, a neurological examination revealed that the woman was paralyzed from the chest down. With a permanent total disability to a woman barely in her forties, the case settled for more than $4,000,000.

A medical malpractice case also became a legal malpractice case when an attorney failed to file suit within the appropriate time period for these type of claims. As a result, the client’s statute of limitations ran out, and she was unable to receive compensation for her suffering and losses. Attorney Jay Avril worked to prove not only the negligence of the lawyer and the law firm but also the negligence of the doctor and hospital that originally caused the client’s injuries. Due to these complexities, and the fact that the injuries had occurred 9 years before the case was set for trial, the case was a particularly complicated and logistically difficult task. Still, medical, legal, and damage experts were used to strengthen the foundations of the case, and a settlement of more than $2,000,000 was awarded to the client.

A 17-year-old high school student died during conditioning for the Alonso High School baseball team. A lawsuit, filed by his parents, alleged that the Hillsborough County School Board failed to use reasonable care when they allowed him to participate in conditioning activities without first obtaining a pre-participation physical examination. His wrongful death case also consolidated with a medical malpractice case, as the firm found that his pediatrician, who was co-managing his heart condition along with cardiologists, breached the accepted standard of care by clearing him for baseball conditioning without first consulting his cardiologist. Board certified civil trial attorneys Bryan Caulfield and Lorrie Robinson, with assistance from attorney Matthew Noyes, obtained a verdict in excess of $2,000,000. Following the tragic death, his parents were able to raise funding for additional ambulances and defibrillators for youth sports.

A nine-year-old boy was playing at a friend’s house when his friend found his father’s .357 magnum gun. While the boys were playing with the gun, the friend accidentally shot the other boy in the head, killing him. The settlement was in excess of one million dollars.

A 40-year old-man was admitted to the emergency room of a local hospital after experiencing chest pains and heart problems. An x-ray was taken, but never read, and the father of two was left alone for the next 5 to 7 hours. During this time, he went into cardiac arrest and died after being transferred to another hospital. An extensive investigation revealed that one of the doctors on call had left his pager in his desk, therefore delaying the administration of proper medical treatment. Additionally, hospital workers misplaced the patient for about an hour, resulting in a further delay of critical treatment. The firm successfully argued that the hospital’s negligent procedures led to the patient’s death. The settlement was in excess of one million dollars.

A Vero Beach man was riding his vintage motorcycle when a truck turned into him, hitting him as if he wasn’t even there. The firm pursued the case in Indian River County and was successful in the recovery of one million dollars for the client.

While on the phone with her mother, a 36-year-old St. Petersburg woman said she needed to hang up because she smelled smoke in her apartment building. Tragically, this would be the last conversation she would have with her mother. As she tried to leave her second-floor apartment, she became trapped in her building’s interior stairwell and died from carbon monoxide poisoning. When the firm investigated the circumstances of her death, it was found that the building was in violation of numerous safety code provisions. Additionally, the fire was started by a mentally challenged resident of the apartment building who has supposed to be under the supervision of a state agency but had gone unsupervised. While the apartment owners attempted to argue that the fire was arson, and therefore out of their control, the firm was able to make a strong case on behalf of the victim’s estate and won a substantial settlement.

Our client was severely injured while attempting to cross U.S. Highway 19 in Palm Harbor. After assuring his path was clear, the teenage pedestrian attempted to cross the southbound lanes. The driver of a vehicle failed to pay attention and changed lanes into the lane the pedestrian was crossing. As a result, the driver of the car struck the pedestrian. As the pedestrian was getting up from the first impact, another car failed to notice the stopped vehicle and the pedestrian and struck the pedestrian. The two impacts resulted in a broken leg and other medical issues. Attorney Matthew Noyes was able to secure PIP benefits through the pedestrian’s foster mother’s car insurance policy to pay some of the medical bills. After battling with the carriers, the insurance company for each of the cars that struck him agreed to pay their policy limits to resolve the claim.