Medical Malpractice Litigation

The firm represents victims of medical malpractice, and is widely regarded as having one of the pre-eminent medical negligence practices in the region. Todd & Weld’s attorneys have successfully represented plaintiffs in numerous cases involving failure to diagnose cancer and other life-threatening conditions including pneumonia, ectopic pregnancy, and heart attack. We have tried cases to verdict, have obtained settlements, and represented clients in arbitration in matters involving medical specialties including obstetrics, pediatrics, internal medicine, emergency medicine, pulmonology, cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, and oncology. In a nationally publicized case, we successfully tried to verdict a claim against an IVF clinic that impregnated the plaintiff’s ex-wife with frozen embryos without his consent, and won an amount equal to the father’s total costs for support and education of the child.

Todd & Weld has developed a specialty in handling cases on a national level for children who have suffered kernicterus, a form of brain damage caused by excessive jaundice (hyperbilirubinemia) following birth. We won the largest medical malpractice jury verdict in Massachusetts in 1998 (and one of the largest medical malpractice verdicts in the history of the Commonwealth) in such a case. We have since handled kernicterus cases in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Texas, in both State and Federal Courts. Because of our specialized expertise in this area, we have been successful in obtaining multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts.

• A $7.175 Million jury verdict ($10.5 Million with interest) against a nurse on behalf of a family with a child who developed kernicterus (brain damage) after the nurse discharged the child from a hospital without taking a bilirubin test despite the fact that the child had developed jaundice before discharge.
• Settlements in other kernicterus cases for $5 Million and $3 Million.
• A $1.9+ Million ($2.9 Million with interest) verdict against an OB/GYN for medical malpractice resulting in the wrongful death of a 32-year-old 38-week pregnant wife and mother of a 4-year-old child. 
• A $1.75 million settlement (before discovery commenced) of a wrongful death case involving a 63-year-old woman who died from complications from an incorrectly performed gastric bypass as well as three years of vomiting, nausea, fever and bouts of aspiration pneumonia suffered after the operation and before her death.
• A $1.6+ Million ($2.4 Million with interest) verdict against an internal medicine practitioner for medical malpractice resulting in the wrongful death of a 22-year-old college basketball player from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
• A $1.6 Million settlement for a 38 year old woman who suffered disabling injuries to her hand as a result of an infiltrated intravenous solution into the compartments of her hand, resulting in an injury known as “acute compartment syndrome”.
• A $1.6 Million settlement (shortly after the lawsuit was filed) arising out of the death of a software engineer in his 30's resulting from a pulmonary embolism from a blood clot in his calf (deep vein thrombosis or “DVT”) after arthroscopic knee surgery which was undiagnosed by his physical therapist.
• A $1.25 Million settlement prior to closing arguments during trial as a result of the death of a 33 year old architect from complications of Guillain-Barré syndrome which was improperly treated by a pulmonary physician and neurologist.
• A $1.01 Million settlement on behalf of a 29 year old woman who suffered a debilitating stroke during the delivery of twins.
• Two $1 Million settlements for women based on their physicians' failure to diagnose breast cancer.
• A $1 Million settlement on the second day of trial as a result of the death of a 15 year old girl from pneumonia which was undiagnosed in an emergency room.
• A $750,000 settlement on behalf of a family of a man in his early 40's who died of a heart attack, which should have been diagnosed by his treating physician when he complained of chest pains earlier in the month.
• A $700,000 settlement for a client who claimed that the defendant neurosurgeon's negligence caused or substantially contributed to a three-year delay in the diagnosis of the plaintiff's multiple sclerosis, during which time the plaintiff's MS progressed untreated.  During that three-year delay in diagnosis, the defendant also performed unnecessary brain surgery on the plaintiff that resulted in post-surgical issues.
• A $500,000 settlement arising out of the death of a 13-year-old girl due to failure of her pediatricians to diagnose and treat a shunt malfunction.
• A $475,000 (plus $171,000 in interest) arbitration award against an obstetrician for failure to perform a caesarean section on a woman who delivered an abnormally large baby resulting in shoulder dystocia, Erbs palsy and brachial plexus injuries to the child.
• A $450,000 pre-suit settlement arising out of a sciatic nerve injury suffered by a 64- year-old man during hip replacement surgery. 
• A $400,000 settlement on behalf of a family of a child who was stillborn as a result of an obstetrician's failure to perform a caesarean section.
• A $315,000 pre-suit settlement for a 48-year-old woman who underwent an unnecessary hysterectomy after a lab error involving a cross-contamination of pathology slides led to a mistaken diagnosis of endometrial cancer.
• A $315,000 pre-suit settlement for a 67-year-old woman with back pain who had surgery performed at the wrong level of her back, requiring a second surgery.
• A $250,000 pre-suit settlement for a 62-year-old woman who suffered pain and vision difficulties after Mohs and lid reconstruction surgery for basal cell carcinoma of the left inner canthus.
• In a nationally publicized case, a verdict on behalf of a man against an IVF clinic that created his child from frozen embryos without his consent in an amount equal to his total costs for support and education of the child.

Client Testimonials:
 
On October 30, 2000 our son Gabriel was born in a small local hospital. Like many things in life, unforeseen circumstances can occur. Our son developed jaundice and Hyperbilirubineuria which was not properly cared for and now our son is a boy that suffers from Kernicterus, Cerebral Palsy, Cortical Vision Impairment, Auditory Neuropathy, and Sensory Integration Disorder.

Fortunately, another family with a daughter with Kernicterus told us about their law firm: Todd & Weld. Not really sure what we were about to face, we contacted the firm and met Lisa Arrowood. Lisa was a veteran to newborn jaundice because she had handled other cases in the past. The team of professionals that was put together to work on our case was stunning. Todd & Weld and Lisa Arrowood handled our case with our needs for the future in mind for our family and most of all for Gabriel. As far as a negative situation can go this was a pleasant experience. Communication is important to us and we were always updated when anything came up in our son's case. Todd & Weld and Lisa Arrowood were professional, accurate, and most of all sensitive to our family's needs in a troublesome and stressful situation. Our outcome was a positive one and a wonderful relationship was established. Thank you Lisa and the team at Todd & Weld.

Sean & Christine Kingsley
Amherst, MA

Dear Mr. Catalano:

Thank you for being so nice to me in trying times and for handling my case so well.  I have nothing but lots of respect and well wishes for you.

Susan Olson

Lisa and Jeffrey, you should take great pride in the fact that because of you our lives have changed for the better.  I feel that Bob can now have a better quality of life because of the medical devices that we were never able to purchase; up to now, they have been out of our financial reach as they are not yet approved for medical insurance coverage.

Most Sincerely, Bob and Susan Battis

Hi Jeff,

It has certainly been a long journey since we met in the hospital but I really have appreciated all your support and hard work along the way.  Despite the difficult circumstances, it has been great getting to know you and I really have been moved by the kindness and support shown by everyone at Todd & Weld.

Samantha O'Keeffe

Jeff,

Now that we have reached a conclusion in the case I would like to say thank you and to say how impressed we were with the level of professionalism, integrity, and skill you and your colleagues displayed.  The support and advice you provided for us in our difficulties can only be described as outstanding.

David O'Keeffe