Firm obtains two Top Ten largest 2017 jury verdicts in Massachusetts
Todd & Weld LLP obtained two of the top ten largest 2017 verdicts in Massachusetts – a $4 million medical malpractice verdict in state court, and $1.5 million defamation and employment discrimination verdict in federal court.
The $4 million medical malpractice verdict obtained by Maria Davis was the sixth largest verdict in Massachusetts in 2017, and the largest medical malpractice verdict, according to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
The case involved the tragic death of a mother shortly following the birth of her fourth child. The mother became anemic during her pregnancy, and, as a result, was at increased risk of death if she suffered substantial bleeding during and after her C-section.
The C-Section was performed at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Mass. During the C-section, the mother lost one-fourth of her total blood and as a result of an injury to her bowel during the procedure.
Unfortunately, the defendant Ob/Gyns failed to adequately monitor her condition, and take the necessary steps to give her an immediate blood transfusion. By the time she received a blood transfusion, it was too late as she had gone into cardiac arrest and continued to bleed excessively. She died within hours of giving birth to a healthy baby boy.
The jury deliberated nearly five days before reaching its verdict after the three-week trial in Norfolk County Superior Court.
Nick Carter and Joseph Cacace obtained a federal jury verdict of $1.5 million on behalf of their law enforcement client against the City of Fitchburg and its former mayor for defamatory statements and employment discrimination stemming from the withdrawal of the client's nomination as police chief in 2014. This was the ninth largest verdict in Massachusetts in 2017, according to the publication.
The jury, after deliberating four hours following a nine-day trial in federal court in Worcester, found that the former mayor, Lisa A. Wong, made defamatory statements to the media about the firm's client, Scott Heagney, after she had abruptly withdrawn him for consideration as police chief.
The jury determined that the city excluded Mr. Heagney's name from consideration in part because of a criminal case against him for which no conviction resulted and for which the records were sealed.
The publication also reported that a $2.25 million settlement and a $1.2 million settlement, both obtained by the firm, were two of the largest 2017 settlements in the commonwealth. Both settlements involved medical malpractice cases.