Lowis & Gellen, LLP Successfully Defends A Troublesome Stillbirth Case

Lowis & Gellen, LLP partners Pamela L. Gellen and Scott R. Wolfe recently represented a Chicago area community hospital whose staff was accused of the mismanagement of a labor, which resulted in a stillbirth of a full-term baby girl. The hospital was not only accused of the direct negligence of its employed nurses but also that the physician who managed the labor and delivery was an apparent agent of the hospital. Pam and Scott chose to first address the allegations against the nursing staff. After completing sufficient discovery, Pam and Scott moved to dismiss the nursing allegations on the merits arguing the plaintiff did not obtain credible testimony that the nurses mismanaged the labor. The Court agreed and dismissed the nurses and nursing allegations. Then, by thorough preparation and aggressive depositions of the plaintiffs and the physician, Pam and Scott established that no reasonable juror could rule in favor of the plaintiff on the apparent agency allegations. The Court found the hospital could not have been the apparent principal of the physician and dismissed the entire case against the hospital. The case recently went to trial against the physician who managed the labor and was settled during trial for $2,000,000. The hospital represented by Lowis & Gellen contributed nothing to the settlement. For further information on the case or for general information regarding Lowis & Gellen’s professional malpractice group please contact Scott R. Wolfe at (312) 456-2709 or swolfe@lowis-gellen.com.

Causation Defense Leads To Favorable Settlement in Stillbirth Case

Lowis & Gellen, LLP partners, Robert H. Smith and Scott R. Wolfe recently represented a Chicago area hospital for alleged inappropriate labor management by its nursing staff in connection with a stillborn full-term male. Although the loss was tragic and the nursing care rendered could not be defended, Bob and Scott aggressively pursued a causation defense based on a lack of amniotic fluid causing chronic asphyxia to the fetus chronically damaging the baby prior to the mother presenting to the hospital. The aggressive defense by Bob and Scott caused the plaintiff’s attorney to accept a $200,000.00 settlement, a small fraction of what had originally been sought by the plaintiff and far less that the cost to defendants faced with similar claims in Cook County, Illinois. For more information regarding the case or for general information on medical malpractice and liability defense practice of the firm please contact Scott Wolfe at (312) 456-2709 or swolfe@lowis-gellen.com.

LOWIS & GELLEN WINS UNANIMOUS CITY COUNCIL

On March 20, 2007, Lowis & Gellen attorneys David Grobart and Melissa Dakich secured City Council Approval for a commercial shopping center, in Des Plaines, Illinois. The City Council voted unanimously in favor of this Planned Unit Development, rezoning application and replat. Mr. Grobart and Ms. Dakich guided this project through its preliminary and final stages working with the Des Plaines City Staff and presenting the project to the Des Plaines Architectural Review Board and Des Plaines Plan Commission in addition to the City Council. They will also present this project to the Des Plaines Zoning Board of Appeals to secure a Localized Sign Ordinance covering all of the required signage within the shopping center. For more information regarding this matter or the Real Estate Practice Group at Lowis & Gellen, please contact David Grobart at (847) 282-1201 or via email at dgrobart@lowis-gellen.com.

LOWIS & GELLEN ATTORNEY SPEAKS TO AP ASSURANCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ON ILLINOIS TORT REFORM

On January 17, 2007, Lowis & Gellen partner Jenny O. Blake presented a speech on Illinois Tort Reform to a group of American Physicians Assurance Corporation's sales agents at the Wyndham Hotel in Chicago. The information was so well received that President and CEO R. Kevin Clinton invited her to make the presentation again in Boca Raton, Florida at a meeting of their Board of Directors. This board meeting took place on March 9, 2007, and will be synopsized in a press release entitled Constitutionality of tort reforms not yet tested; stakes are high for Illinois physicians, in the near future.

Ms. Blake clarified the provisions of tort reform for her audiences. She opined as to the likelihood of its being upheld as well as to the short and long-term implications of its potential success or failure.

Successful Defense of Shoulder Dystocia/Erb’s Palsy Birth Injury

Lowis & Gellen, LLP partners Pamela L. Gellen and Scott R. Wolfe recently represented a Chicago area hospital and its nurses who were alleged to have mismanaged a labor and delivery when a baby became stuck in the birth canal, a shoulder dystocia. The result of the birth was a full term baby girl with a nerve injury to her arm and hand resulting in a severe, permanent disability, an Erb’s palsy. Extensive and thorough pre-trial preparation by the firm on behalf of the hospital and its nursing staff, and strong expert witnesses retained by the firm enabled Pam and Scott to establish that the hospital and its staff were not responsible for the girl’s injuries and condition. After years of work up by a well respected and nationally recognized plaintiff’s firm, the plaintiff and her counsel elected to dismiss the case before trial. For more information regarding the case or for more general information on the medical malpractice and liability practice of the firm, please contact Scott R. Wolfe at (312) 456-2709 or swolfe@lowis-gellen.com.

LOWIS & GELLEN WINS VICTORY FOR CLIENTS IN CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT

On February 6, 2007, Lowis & Gellen attorneys Martin McManaman and Patrick Moran won a victory in federal court for four clients who had been accused of violating the plaintiff's civil rights. The plaintiff, a former inmate at a local county jail, sued the county sheriff, the county jail's warden and two jail guards, alleging that each violated the plaintiff's Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment by allowing another prisoner at the jail to attack and severely injure the plaintiff. After conducting limited discovery, McManaman and Moran filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff had no evidence to prove that any defendant violated his civil rights. In his published opinion, Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois agreed, holding that "no reasonable juror could find" that the defendants acted with deliberate indifference for the plaintiff's safety. By prevailing on their motion for summary judgment, McManaman and Moran prevented the case from going to trial. Judge Der-Yeghiayan's published opinion can be found at 2007 WL 433537 (N.D.Ill. Feb. 6, 2007).

For further information in this case or on Lowis & Gellen's civil rights defense group, please contact either Martin McManaman at mcmanaman@lowis-gellen.com or Patrick Moran at pmoran@lowis-gellen.com.