Verdicts & Settlements

Featured Cases and Matters

John and Jane Does 1-14 v Two Major Pharmaceutical Companies

Practice Area: Defective and Dangerous Drugs Pharmaceutical Products
Outcome: Confidential settlement totaling over $10,000,000.00
Description:
All 14 cases on behalf of individuals who took the diet drug Fen-Phen were litigated in Circuit court after recommended that Holzberg legal all Plaintiffs should opt out of pending Class Action, on our firm’s advice, and file separate lawsuits. The cases settled before trial for confidential payments to each Plaintiff we represented, ranging from $350,000.00 to over $1,000,000.00, per client. We alleged that the diet drug Fen-Phen caused serious and permanent heart valve damage to our clients as a result of long-term ingestion of the drug to assist in weight loss.

S. P. v Medical Center

Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Outcome: $2,500,000.00 (Jury Verdict)
Description:
The Jury found General Surgeon and then Hospital Chief of Surgery liable for negligence during a gallbladder removal surgery- a laparoscopic cholecystectomy – by failing to properly identify the anatomy, by failing to perform an intraoperative cholangiogram, which with the injection of a radioactive dye would have provided a “road map” to the common bile duct, resulting in a complete dissection of the duct. This breach of the standard of care was not recognized by the doctor during surgery and our client was closed with bile leaking into the abdominal cavity and adjacent organs including the liver. Ultimately she suffered from complications associated with liver damage and caused by a delay in recognizing the duct dissection, leading to likely lifelong infections, digestive difficulties and pain, and suffering.

Settlement – Cruise Ship Grounding

Practice Area: Maritime
Outcome: Over 6 times initial offer (Settlement) Description:Settlement of 22 passenger claims for survivors of the grounding and near sinking of the Major Cruise Line Ship for a confidential amount reflecting an average settlement 6 times the companies initial offers.

Q.D. v Major Cruise Line

Practice Area: Maritime
Outcome: $1,050,000.00 (Settlement) Description:On the eve of trial, we settled this case from $1,050,000.00 on behalf of badly injured Indian seaman, who worked on a large cruise ship for over 17 years rising to the level of chief bartender. After failing to diagnose an intestinal tumor on the ship he was left in a hospital in Aruba for over 30 days where he had multiple unsuccessful operations including several reversals of colostomy’s following exploratory surgeries never finding the actual tumor. He spent another five months in Miami Florida Hospital where he almost died and was given last rites. J.D finally returned to his home in Goa, India where with the settlement proceeds, he was able to retire as due to his injuries and significant scarring and pain he was no longer able to work in the cruise ship industry.

R.N. v Chiropractor

Practice Area: Medical Malpractice
Outcome: $785,000.00 (Settlement)
Description:Florida chiropractor performed a dangerous manipulation under anesthesia to our client’s cervical spine causing an embolic stroke with significant consequences to our client who is a 54-year-old successful businessman. This procedure, MUA, is illegal in Canada and other parts of the world as it causes unreasonable risks of harm to the spinal cord and brain of patients who undergo the procedure. We are able to demonstrate that as a result of over-manipulation of the neck during a many many our procedure where client was under anesthesia and unaware of what was happening to them, the over-manipulation by the chiropractor caused a severing of a vertebral artery causing a shower of blood to the brain – an embolic stroke which resulted in significant traumatic brain damage. Before trial, we were able to settle this case on behalf of her deserving client for $785,000.00.

Kenrick DeGannes v Avis Car Rental

Practice Area: Brain Injury
Outcome: $769,000.00 (Jury Verdict)
Description:
We sued Avis Car Rental for negligence in their operation of an airport bus transporting K.D, an airplane flight and ground mechanic. After establishing that Mr. DeGannes suffers traumatic closed head injuries and a concussion upon striking his head inside the bus on a metal support post behind the front passenger seat, we won a hard-fought jury verdict, after 5 days of trial for $769,000.00 including approximately $550,000.00 in projected future wage loss. The verdict was paid in full by the rental car company after past trial motions were denied by the court. We also successfully obtained a $100,000.00 workers compensation award for K.D. with the help or co-counsel attorneys with whom we regularly work to obtain full benefits for our clients who were injured on the job.

J.P. and W.P. v C.C and R.C.

Practice Area: Slip and Fall Accident
Outcome: Settlement for $750,000.00
Description:
J.P. tripped over a vacuum cleaner in her sisters’ home when the family dog lunged at her baring its teeth in an aggressive manner. She suffered a distal radial fracture of her dominant wrist, which over 4-6 weeks developed into RSD/CRPS I (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy n/k/a Comprehensive Regional Pain Syndrome). The defendant’s insurance carrier covered the defendants C.C. home with a $300,000.00 policy with a $25,000 dog attack limitation. Holzberg Legal took the position that a failure to pay the $25,000.00 limit within 30 days of demand was bad faith. When the insurance carrier, through its outside adjustment company, offered the 25k limits after 72 days, we rejected the offer filed suit and prepared for trial. At mediation 1 month before trial, the insurance carrier acknowledged the problems in failing to timely tender, paid $750,000.00 to settle this and any future Bad Faith action. Had the insurance carrier delivered a check for $25,000.00 WITHIN 30 DAYS OF OUR INITIAL DEMAND THEIR EXPOSURE WOULD HAVE BEEN LIMITED TO THAT AMOUNT AND WOULD HAVE SAVED $725,000.

I.G. v Apartment Complex

Practice Area: Premises Liability
Outcome: $475,000.00 (Settlement)
Description:Our client a 37-year-old husband and father, who worked in law enforcement, slipped and fell on wet flyers and other papers that an apartment complex allowed to be distributed near the mailboxes of our client apartment. When the breezeway with the mailboxes relocated, very common in Miami Florida, the flyers from local restaurants and other businesses would become wet and remain on the floor. Our client unfortunately slipped and fell while carrying his small child in his arms. While instinctively protecting her during the fall he struck his head hard on the wet pavement, resulting in mild traumatic brain injuries. Holzberg Legal was able to negotiate a settlement for $475,000.00 before trial for this deserving client.

J.D. v Shopping Mall

Practice Area: Premises Liability
Outcome: $300,000.00 (Settlement)
Description:After several years of litigation, we reached a $300,000.00 settlement for a 32-year-old mother and wife who slipped and fell at this well-known Boca Raton shopping mall due to a leaking roof causing water to puddle on white marble in the center of the mall. Our clients suffered mild traumatic brain injuries, cognitive changes, memory loss and recurrent headaches. Due to our discovery efforts which establish that the mall had waited for more than the estimated useful life of the roof and slowly replaced it in stages resulting in excessive water leakage and puddling, we were able to prove negligence on the part of the shopping center and its management company. We settled the case on behalf of our well-deserved client, because of our discovery work in suit.