Awards & Settlements

Our litigation team obtained a settlement with a lifetime payout of over $12,750,000 for a middle aged woman who was diagnosed with a brain arteriovenous malformation – AVM – which is a tangle of abnormal and poorly formed blood vessels in the brain that increase the risk of bleeding. The woman’s primary physician referred her to a neurosurgeon, who failed to properly identify the AVM and timely order a crucial study. It was argued that the delay in diagnosis resulted in the rupture of her AVM. She suffered permanent catastrophic injuries including locked-in syndrome, a condition in which she is awake and alert, but completely paralyzed. Fortunately, this brave woman eventually regained limited muscle function that allows her to communicate with her family. She requires constant care from her husband, her sons and hired caregivers. The settlement will allow her to safely remain in her home and obtain lifelong medical care.

A teenage boy with a bleeding disorder was not timely diagnosed as requiring treatment which would have prevented a serious brain bleed resulting in permanent injury that left him disabled. Before his injury, the boy had undergone a bone marrow biopsy which revealed a very low platelet count and a very low white blood cell count. He obtained a transfusion and was sent home waiting for the results of the biopsy. He started to complain of increased leg pain and he was taken to a hospital emergency room. Despite the fact that his platelet count continued to be very low he was sent home where he later collapsed after complaining of severe leg pain. The client was taken back to the hospital and found to have a large intracranial hemorrhage of the brain. As a result, he was left with severe permanent physical and visual limitations despite undergoing months and months of extensive physical and occupational therapy. Two hospitals were involved as were multiple physicians. The medical malpractice case was hotly contested and trial began. As a result of compelling testimony at trial, the case settled for $6,500,000.00 which will provide for the lifelong needs for this fine young man. Numerous expert medical physicians, a life care planner, an economist and others were retained in order to establish the responsibility of the defendants and to establish the lifelong needs of our client. Our litigation team obtained a result in this central Pennsylvania case, which will benefit our young client throughout his life.

The Court approved a lifetime care plan of more than $5,000,000 for a wonderful young boy who loves baseball but will never be able to play because he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy following his pre-mature birth. Our litigation team with the backing of nationally renowned medical specialists contended that the pregnant mother and her infant were not properly monitored during pre-term labor, that a timely C-section was wrongfully delayed and following birth the infant was not properly ventilated with critical oxygen supplementation.

Our middle-aged client lived with his parents in Pennsylvania. He was disabled. He fell and went to an emergency room and later developed a high fever. He was found not to be moving very well and he had numbness in both of his hands. There was no MRI machine in the hospital and they had to wait until the end of the weekend to see what was happening in his spine. When they finally got around to doing the MRI there was an infection in the spine. There was documented spinal cord compression which was ignored. He needed to see a neurologist to find out what was going on in his spine but no evaluation was performed. As a result, our client suffered spinal cord permanent injury with paraplegia. Numerous experts were retained to prove not only the responsibility of the negligent doctor and hospital but also to establish all of the future needs of our client. A life care plan was prepared. The case was ready for trial and it was agreed that a mediation would take place. As a result, a settlement of $3,500,000.00 was achieved. This medical malpractice case took tremendous effort by our litigation team.

Two prematurely born infants in a hospital were given the wrong medication. One died, and the other suffered severe trauma. The total settlement we and our litigation partners obtained from the hospital was $3,000,000.

Liever, Hyman & Potter was able to secure a $2,250,000.00 million settlement for the benefit of a wife and her adult children, after the death of her husband. A lawsuit was filed as a result of a prescription error wherein the patient, who was already disabled from a host of serious medical issues, was given a tenfold increase in his narcotic pain medication which ultimately resulted in his death. A claim was brought both against the prescribing physician and the pharmacy who improperly filled the prescription. We successfully asserted that the family doctor improperly prescribed pain medication that was ten times the proper dose and the Pharmacist who filled the prescription failed to recognize the error or contact the family doctor, and filled the prescription that caused death in this pharmacy and medical malpractice case.

A Court approved settlement of $2,350,000 was obtained for a child who suffered dramatic birth trauma. Our medical malpractice litigation team successfully demonstrated that the doctors in training improperly allowed the mother's labor to proceed while the fetus was being deprived of needed oxygen. An earlier emergency C-section was mandated in order to avoid the brain injury which occurred. The hard fought settlement which was achieved allowed for the establishment of a specials needs trust, and the family was able to purchase a handicapped accessible home for the child and to make sure that all necessary care be provided for the child as he develops and grows. The substantial trust funds will ensure continuing income and the best treatment and therapies throughout the child’s lifetime.

The Court approved a $2,000,000.00 settlement on behalf of a child delivered at 35 weeks gestation to a teenage Mom. The mother was initially seen at one hospital and then transferred to another hospital; however, delivery was not performed in a timely manner. Numerous medical experts were consulted to successfully present the claim that the fetal monitor strips indicated problems with the baby getting sufficient oxygen and that delivery should have been emergently performed. For the benefit of the child, the settlement proceeds will be placed into a special needs trust for a lifetime of care.

Following neck surgery, our client, who was a plumber, developed an infection that was not detected. Because of the delay in diagnosis, the infection was able to attack his spinal cord, which resulted in paralysis. Working with our litigation partners, a $2,000,000 settlement was obtained just before the trial was scheduled to begin.

The Court approved a $1,200,000.00 settlement obtained for the children of the mother who died following childbirth. Our medical malpractice litigation team successfully demonstrated that the mother had an rare abnormal condition which should have been identified earlier, and an earlier caesarian section delivery should have been performed. With support of nationally recognized medical specialists, we successfully showed that had proper care been rendered the mother could have survived. The case was vigorously contested by the defendant Hospital arguing that earlier delivery would not have mattered but the medical malpractice case was settled for $1,200,000.00.

When she was an infant, her doctor failed to diagnose congenital dislocated hips. As a teenager, she suffered harm when a nerve was injured during surgery. At the age of 20, as the client of Liever, Hyman & Potter and our litigation partners, she won a $1,000,000 verdict plus delay damages.

A young man in his 20’s underwent lower back surgery. During the procedure, a metal screw perforated a blood vessel. The problem was not promptly diagnosed. Additional surgeries to correct the injuries to his blood vessel caused serious swelling of his leg and severe pain. Our firm and litigation partners obtained a $1,000,000 verdict and judgment for our client.

A settlement was found to be appropriate by the Court for a widow and two surviving children of a 56 year old delivery truck driver who died following successful hip replacement surgery. The case was hotly contested. The gentleman died after he was misdiagnosed as having heart symptoms when he was really suffering from pulmonary emboli. A fatal emboli caused his untimely death. Our trial team retained highly qualified medical specialists that offered that he received negligent care and that his death could and should have been avoided.

The husband, who died because of medical malpractice, was a delivery man for a trucking company. He had hip replacement surgery and several weeks later while going to physical therapy he developed shortness of breath and experienced weakness and other symptoms and was admitted to a hospital and despite tests that showed that he had a pulmonary emboli coming from clots in his legs, he was worked up for a heart attack and did not receive timely and adequate blood thinning therapy. This case was aggressively contested and both sides had hired numerous medical experts to testify. When the case was at the trial stage, it settled for $1,000,000.00 with proceeds paid to the decedent’s wife and adult children. Our litigation team had to face many obstacles but was ultimately successful on behalf of this family.

A medical laboratory was negligent in performing a pap smear, which caused delay in the diagnosis of cancer. We obtained an $800,000 settlement from the laboratory.

An $800,000 medical malpractice settlement was achieved on behalf of a 61 year old when his family physician failed to timely diagnose his worsening kidney function. As a result, the patient was required to prematurely begin kidney dialysis several times a week. We successfully showed that proper examination of the frequent and ongoing routine blood tests should have alerted the family doctor of pending kidney failure, and the patient lost the opportunity to seek early treatment in this medical malpractice case.

A lifelong smoker was sent to the hospital for a chest x-ray. The x-ray showed a suspicious gray area, but the client was not told and no additional testing was done at that time. When she was x-rayed two years later, she found that she had incurable lung cancer. She died a year after that. Liever, Hyman & Potter and our litigation partners were retained. A highly qualified expert physician reviewed the two x-rays and was prepared to testify as to the increased risk of harm caused by the delay in diagnosis of lung cancer. A settlement was obtained in the amount of $450,000.