Verdicts and Settlements

January 30, 2024 – After 6 years of litigation, Stephen D. Phillips and Phillips Law Offices secured an outstanding $10 million settlement on behalf of a child injured in a harrowing escalator incident at a Chicagoland commercial building. The unfortunate incident occurred when the child bent down on the escalator to pick up a toy he dropped and his hand became caught between the step and the side of the escalator. His hand was dragged down the 42-year-old escalator more than 20 feet while bystanders searched for an emergency stop button that was hidden below the handrail. Shockingly, the escalator lacked a high mount emergency stop button, which allowed the child’s fingers to be continuously twisted and mangled before the escalator stopped moving.

Stephen D. Phillips conducted a thorough and complete investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, uncovering substantial evidence of the building owners’ repeated disregard for crucial safety measures. After subpoenaing thousands of pages of documents nationwide, he was able to show that the building owner had been warned on multiple occasions that its escalators were old and needed modernization. They also failed to ensure proper escalator maintenance, neglected essential cleaning measures, and deferred crucial safety upgrades to save money. As a result, our client lost two fingers.

The $10 million settlement will provide this young man the financial security to cover medical expenses, future care, rehabilitation, and aid in ensuring a better quality of life as he navigates the challenges of adulthood.

This case was handled by Stephen D. Phillips.

 

Phillips Law Offices of Chicago, Illinois received a $25 million verdict in Gary, Indiana on behalf of a widow who lost her husband of 40 years because of the selfishness of a drunk driver and the negligence of two restaurants who served that driver excessive amounts of alcohol. Our client married her husband when she was 19. She had a heartfelt and true partnership with him until a drunk driver drove onto the shoulder of a road where our client’s husband was helping a disabled trucker change a flat. The driver consumed 21 shots at a restaurant and then three glasses of wine at a second restaurant in the hours before the tragedy. The second restaurant was a mere 45-second drive from the accident site.

Phillips Law Offices of Chicago, after four (4) long years of litigation and fighting for the rights of a 17 year-old boy who lost his kidneys due to gross negligence of a physician, procured a 25 million dollar settlement for this young man. The settlement agreement was reached just prior to jury selection in a case against a Confidential Chicagoland Hospital.

Record settlement for a 37 year-old man severely disabled following hernia surgery. This case was rejected by two other plaintiff firms.

Phillips Law Offices reached a $16,000,000 settlement with a Chicagoland hospital on behalf of a client who had a spinal infection go undiagnosed and untreated in an emergency room, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.

After six years and a two-week jury trial in Coles County, Illinois, personal injury attorneys Stephen D. Phillips, Terrence M. Quinn and Stephen J. Phillips of Chicago obtained a $14 million verdict for a 46-year-old father of two who suffered permanent neurological injuries after being improperly discharged from the emergency department at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center (“SBLHC”) in Mattoon, Illinois.

Settlement in an Accounting Malpractice Case.

31 year old Chicago man who suffered paralysis from an undiagnosed spinal infection.

$7,000,000.00 verdict was obtained by Stephen D. Phillips on behalf of a 39 year old woman as a result of negligent medical care she received while in the intensive care unit of a hospital. In July 2000, our client developed symptoms of an abdominal infection. She was placed in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, under the care of intensive care physicians. We alleged that the physicians did not properly monitor and treat her serious condition. Due to the failure to properly evaluate her respiratory status and place her on mechanical ventilation, she developed lack of oxygen which led to severe brain damage. As a result, our client presently requires 24 hour-a-day care.“The facts of this case clearly show that the physicians were not monitoring her appropriately and did not come to her bedside when she needed immediate care. We are pleased that the jury reached this result,” said Stephen D. Phillips. “This verdict will allow our client the 24 hour-a-day care that she desperately needs and allows her family members to hire health care professionals to supply that care.”

Settlement for the family of a 56 year-old man who was given an overdose of insulin and died.

Settlement for the spouse of a 53-year-old truck driver, who died following a collision with the Defendants’ truck. The case was tried before a jury and settled after the closing argument.

Settlement for the death of a 51 year-old following knee surgery.

Settlement for the death of a woman following a boating accident.

Jury Verdict for a 51 year-old man who had a stroke following a heart attack. No offer to settle was made by the defense.

Our client gave birth to a 9 pound 7-ounce baby. Shortly after delivery, the baby was noted to have a fractured clavicle as well as a limp right arm. We alleged that the doctor used excessive force to deliver the baby. The defense made no offer to settle this case as they contended that the natural forces of labor caused the injury and that the doctor used the appropriate amount of force. We were very pleased that the jury concluded that the doctor caused the brachial plexus injury to our clients’ daughter during birth. The verdict will help pay for her future medical care, surgeries, and therapy which she will require throughout her life.

A $2.8 million dollar jury verdict was obtained by Stephen D. Phillips and Terrence M. Quinn on behalf of a 9 year old boy who suffered a permanent nerve related arm injury at birth. The child weighed 10 lbs 6 oz at birth after a 34 week ultrasound indicated he was in the 88th percentile for weight. We alleged that the doctor failed to properly monitor the mother in the prenatal period and used excessive force to deliver the baby. The defense was very confident that they would receive a defense verdict and made no offer to settle this case. Defense counsel contended that the natural forces of labor caused the injury and that the doctor used the appropriate amount of force. After over a week and a half of trial testimony, the jury returned the $2.8 million verdict, finding the defendant doctor negligent. The verdict will help pay for our client’s future medical care and therapy which he will require throughout his life. Phillips Law Offices is proud to have represented this child and his family against these powerful professionals who tried to avoid responsibility for their negligent conduct.

Following a heart attack, our client underwent a medical procedure to re-establish blood flow through a blocked heart artery. The physicians performing this procedure used a small device to re-open the artery. The device either broke or came apart during the procedure causing uncontrolled bleeding, which led to bilateral leg amputations before her death a few weeks later. One question motivated our efforts to obtain justice for the family: Why would the manufacturer run the risk of unintentional detachment associated with virtually any two-piece device? In answer to this question, we learned that this was another tragic example of a corporation placing “profits over people.” Despite industry standards requiring a one-piece design, the manufacturer continued to produce the more dangerous two-piece design because a small minority of physicians preferred that design, and thus, they could sell a few more products.

Verdict for a 54-year-old man who suffered serious leg injuries following a forklift accident. The defendant offered $100,000 to settle the case.

Settlement for the death of a man who was killed by the negligence of another truck driver

A 32-year-old unmarried maintenance worker was killed while performing maintenance on a food refrigeration machine, which contained anhydrous ammonia. During routine maintenance, he opened part of the machine, which sprayed ammonia in his face and lungs. Once inhaled, the ammonia burned his lungs and ultimately caused his death. We claimed the machine lacked proper warnings and that the operator’s manual was unclear in its instructions on how to maintain the machine. The defense argued that our client did not follow the instructions in the manual, that his employer did not train him, and that warnings would not have made a difference. This case settled one week into trial. It provides us great satisfaction to obtain compensation for the family of a hard-working maintenance man, who, despite taking the time to read the manual, was subjected to working on an unsafe product.

Settlement for the death of a 51 year-old woman with no husband or children. The case was rejected by 5 other firms.

Our client, a journeyman ironworker, was working on a construction project that involved putting additional floors on top of an existing building. As part of that task, the iron workers were assigned to weld 600-pound large metal plates onto vertical columns to support the additional weight being added to the top floors. The area in which our client was forced to work was too small to allow scaffolding or proper access to the columns for the iron workers to safely perform their work. The general contractor refused to correct the conditions or increase the size of the work area because it would cost them too much money. Unfortunately for our client, as an iron worker, if he objects to doing something on a job site, his days of iron working are numbered. Iron workers are expected to “get things done.” Our client injured his shoulder, which required two surgeries and thirteen months of physical therapy.

The Plaintiff, a 32-year-old man, was struck broadside in an automobile collision. Our client then underwent surgery on his back, which we contended was performed below the herniated disc that was causing his pain and symptoms. This case was settled after three weeks of trial before closing arguments were scheduled to begin.