Results
Multi-Million Dollar Confidential Settlement
Premises Liability: Porch collapse
Our firm successfully represented nine midwestern “snow birds”, some of whom suffered severe and permanent injuries, when a porch they were sitting on collapsed causing them to crash to the ground. Fractured ankles, knees, arms and faces; brain trauma; and numerous lacerations resulted. Our firm established deficiencies in the porch and failures on the part of the condo management company to discover and remedy the dangerous conditions. This multi-million dollar confidential settlement was obtained shortly prior to commencing trial.
$30,000,000 Motor Vehicle Collision
Wrongful Death: Failure to reduce speed
We obtained a judgment on behalf of the family of a young woman who was killed after the defendant driver failed to reduce speed and take evasive maneuvers to avoid striking her car which was stopped for IDOT road construction vehicles. The young woman, a Notre Dame undergraduate and graduate student in theology, was driving to Texas where she worked in youth ministry.
$13,000,000 Medical Malpractice
Loss of Leg: Failure to prevent compartment syndrome
Following a knee replacement surgery our client suffered horrific though preventable complications resulting in dozens of hospital admissions and numerous surgeries culminating in the loss of functional use of her leg. Our attorneys proved that her surgeon and other healthcare professionals were aware of a potential vascular injury but failed to timely confirm the diagnosis or treat it. As a result of these failures our client went days without adequate blood flow to her lower extremity which caused her compartment syndrome and devastating injury.
$12,000,000 Medical Malpractice
Brain Abscess: Multiple physician failures
Our client presented twice to the same ER and saw two different ENT physicians over 10 days with complaints of severe and unrelenting head pain. On each occasion he was diagnosed with sinusitis and treated with narcotic pain medication and antibiotics. Despite the failure to alleviate his painful symptoms, none of the defendants ordered a brain CT which would have diagnosed the frontal lobe brain abscess causing the severe headaches. By the time the abscess was diagnosed it was too late. It ruptured into his ventricles bathing his brain and spinal cord with infection. This triggered a catastrophic response causing severe permanent cognitive and physical disabilities. Our attorneys established that the defendants violated multiple standards of care causing this otherwise preventable tragedy.
$7,000,000 Product Liability
Brain Injury: Defective guarding
Our client was working on an automated industrial lathe when the steel workpiece he was machining came free from the chuck, crashed through the guard, and struck him in the head causing life-altering injuries. Our attorneys established that the guard on this lathe failed to meet national industry standards and, further, that the workpiece would have been contained in the machine, preventing this tragedy, if proper guarding was present. Unfortunately, our client passed away from unrelated causes to his injury prior to trial.
$6,500,000 Shooting Victim
Wrongful Death: Use of firearm
Our firm obtained a $6,500,000 verdict and judgment on behalf of the family of a husband/father who was fatally shot in his driveway by a disgruntled former friend. The defendant is currently serving an extended incarceration for this horrific crime.
$6,200,000 Medical Malpractice
Brain Injury: Intraoperative neurosurgical error
The defendant's neurosurgeon saw our client after he was diagnosed with a benign brain cyst that needed to be removed. He performed the surgery without the assistance of essential neuro-navigational imaging. Engaging the highest qualified neurosurgeon expert to assist us, we established that during surgery the defendant neurosurgeon became ‘lost’ in our client’s brain. As a result, he negligently encroached upon and injured healthy brain tissue which should have been outside the operative field. Our client was caused to suffer a significant brain injury leaving him unable to care for himself. This result is a record high for a medical malpractice brain injury case in the county in which it pended.
$4,650,000 Medical Malpractice
Failure to appropriately treat ischemic stroke
Our client woke with a sudden onset of symptoms consistent with stroke. He went immediately to the ER at his community hospital where a “telestroke” consultation was conducted by an off-site neurologist. We alleged that this physician failed to adequately conduct the exam, make the diagnosis and prescribe necessary medication. Our client was left permanently disabled as a result of this stroke which we alleged could have been prevented. We further alleged that the community hospital was negligent for their failure to have audiovisual capabilities for the telestroke consultation to be adequately done. We reached a settlement with the hospital on the eve of trial and thereafter with the telestroke physician while the jury deliberated following a three-week trial.
$3,500,000 Premises Liability
Paralysis: Unguarded stairwell
Our client suffered paralysis when he unexpectedly fell through a basement stairwell door located in the floor of the defendant’s premises. Our investigation discovered that the defendant owner and representatives of the defendant commercial real estate company created a dangerous condition by leaving the stairway door open and shutting off the electricity to the property leaving it without adequate lighting. We proved that our client was neither warned of the dangers nor had an opportunity to protect himself from them.
$3,000,000 Medical Malpractice
Ovarian Cancer: Failed ultrasound follow up
Unbeknownst to our client, a pelvic ultrasound revealed an abnormal growth on her ovary which was reported to her OB/GYN with a recommendation for follow-up imaging. The defendant OB/GYN neither acted on that recommendation nor communicated the abnormal results to his patient. Approximately two years later, our client saw her doctor with complaints of pelvic pain and abnormal bleeding. Stage 4 ovarian cancer was promptly diagnosed. Our client then learned of the previously abnormal ultrasound for the first time. With the help of our renowned medical experts we established that had the recommended follow-up imaging been ordered, the cancer would have been diagnosed at an earlier stage greatly reducing her risk of recurrence and improving her long-term survival.
$2,800,000 Medical Malpractice
Hospital Suicide: Failure to observe
Our attorneys secured this recovery on behalf of the five children of a 44-year-old woman who struggled with mental illness. Knowingly suicidal, she was admitted to a local hospital where she was placed in observation, requiring care providers to check on her every 15 minutes. Two days after her admission, this young mother was found dead in her room as a result of suicide. An investigation by our firm revealed video evidence confirming that care providers had not checked on her in the several hours prior to her death, a direct violation of the admission orders. Our investigation further uncovered falsified medical records claiming, contrary to the video evidence, that observation took place as ordered.
$2,500,000 Medical Malpractice
Lung Cancer: Tumor missed on x-ray
The surviving adult children of this 75-year-old mother believed that her lung cancer should have been diagnosed and treated while it was still curable. Investigation and litigation by our firm discovered that an early-stage and treatable lung cancer was identified on an x-ray performed a year earlier. Along with our team of expert physicians, we established that certain standards of practice were violated by the hospital’s physicians, leading to the prolonged delay in diagnosis and extensive spread of the cancer, causing an untimely death.
$2,250,000 Product Liability
Leg Injuries: Automotive defect, negligent transmission design
We represented two clients who, in separate instances, sustained leg injuries after being struck by their own car of identical make and model. Both clients had shifted into Park and were standing behind the vehicle when it unexpectedly shifted into reverse and hit them. Many years of litigation uncovered that the defendant vehicle manufacturer was aware of numerous prior complaints of similar occurrences. Our attorneys successfully proved the existence of a transmission design defect, which the defendant manufacturer failed to remedy.
$2,225,000 Medical Malpractice
Wrongful Death: Failure to identify malignant pathology
Routine pathology samples taken during our client’s appendectomy contained cancerous cells that went unidentified and unreported by the reviewing pathologist. Fourteen months later our client was diagnosed with metastatic cancer, which originated in the appendix. Kelly & Ignoffo attorneys, through nationally recognized experts, established that the failure to identify the cancer was a violation of the standard of care and resulted in the loss of potentially life-saving treatment options. Unfortunately, our client, a husband and father, passed away shortly after the suit was filed.
$2,200,000 Construction Injury
Wrongful Death: Inadequate scaffolding
Our client’s husband was assigned to paint stairwells at a local school that was being renovated. While trying to do his job with the equipment provided, he fell over 20 feet, resulting in his death. Our attorneys uncovered evidence that the defendant general contractor provided unsafe scaffolding, which lacked essential guards and other necessary fall protection. We proved that this failure was a violation of industry standards, negligent, and caused his death.
$2,000,000 Product Liability
Crushed Hand: Inadequate machine guarding
Our client worked in an industrial plastic facility. After being directed to clean out a plastic grinding machine, he unfastened the hopper to access the grinders. It crashed to the ground without warning, crushing both of his hands, resulting in permanent injury to several fingers. After retaining highly qualified product engineers, our attorneys established that the machine was unreasonably dangerous due to the lack of guards necessary to keep the operator safe.
$1,900,000 Medical Malpractice
Ovarian Cancer: Inadequate patient workup
Despite months of ongoing physical symptoms consistent with ovarian cancer, such as abdominal pain, extreme weight loss, vomiting and fatigue, our client’s primary care physician failed to perform essential imaging and erroneously maintained a diagnosis of ‘gastritis.’ After desperately seeking help from a new primary care physician, our client was promptly evaluated and diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. Our firm obtained a pre-suit near policy limits settlement from the doctor and his practice group after establishing that earlier work-up and diagnosis were required by the standard of care and that the failure to do so left our client with a significantly increased risk of re-occurrence.
$1,850,000 Corporate Litigation
Improper Termination: Breach of partnership agreement
Our attorneys represented a partner in a brokerage company after he was terminated. We alleged that the defendant partners breached the partnership agreement and otherwise improperly terminated our client. The loss of revenue and income were supported by our retained financial experts.
$1,800,000 Automobile Accident
Multi-victim Accident
Kelly & Ignoffo Law Group obtained this settlement on behalf of a woman and her family following a catastrophic accident that fatally injured her husband and caused her severe orthopedic injuries. Our firm secured this recovery while also assisting the prosecutors in the related criminal case.
$1,800,000 Trucking Accident
Brain Injury: Truck strikes pedestrian
Our client was on her way to work when she was struck by a commercial truck resulting in a concussion with severe post-concussion syndrome that limited her daily activities. Our attorneys were able to secure this settlement through extensive pre-trial settlement negotiations.
$1,750,000 Medical Malpractice
Untimely Diagnosis: Failure to identify pelvic mass on CT scan
After enduring months of unexplained weight loss and fatigue, our clients’ husband/father underwent multiple CT imaging studies to look for a possible cause. Present on each image was a large cancerous tumor that went unidentified by three separate radiologists. By the time the cancer was diagnosed, nearly 18 months after the initial CT study, it was untreatable resulting in death weeks later. Working with highly credentialed experts, our attorneys secured this compensation on behalf of the family.
$1,550,000 Motorcycle Accident
Fractures and Degloving Injury: Truck strikes motorcycle
Our attorneys obtained this settlement against four defendant automobile dealerships on behalf of our client who was a passenger on a motorcycle struck by a pick-up truck being transported between the defendant dealerships. Intense litigation commenced concerning not only the accident itself but also relative to the employment status of the defendant truck driver. After countless depositions and extensive arguments before the Court, our attorneys defeated the defendant dealerships’ attempts to be dismissed and settled the case after multiple mediations.
$1,500,000 Workplace Injury
Wrongful Death: Failure to secure medical intervention
Our firm obtained this recovery on behalf of a family who lost their loved one as a result of failures to provide timely medical care when he collapsed at work. Despite a clear need for medical intervention there was a substantial delay in calling 911 leading to untimely medical intervention that could have been lifesaving. After years of litigation, our attorneys showed the defendants' failures were multiple and the lack of timely 911 intervention contributed to his death from a pulmonary embolism.
$1,500,000 Nursing Home Neglect
Leg Amputation: Inadequate wound care
After hip surgery our client was transferred to the defendant nursing home for physical therapy and management of vascular disease. Over several weeks a small area of skin breakdown progressed to multiple large necrotic ulcerations. Multiple debridement surgeries were unsuccessful and our client ultimately underwent an above-knee amputation. Our team established that the amputation was a direct result of failures by the defendant physician and nurses to monitor the wounds and treat our client’s underlying vascular disease.
$1,500,000 Product Liability
Wrongful Death: Improperly designed machine guarding
While working on a large industrial machine our client’s husband leaned over to pick up a piece of metal. Though equipped with an appropriate light curtain guard, the guard was not properly positioned resulting in the machine cycling and fatally crushing him. Our attorneys and expert design and mechanical engineers overcame aggressive defense experts and defenses including faulting the deceased and established that proper positioning of the guard would have prevented this tragedy.
$1,400,000 Municipal Negligence
Wrongful Death: 911 operator failed to transfer emergency call
A young husband was found dead several days after he did not return home from visiting friends. Through investigation and litigation, we established that the defendant municipality had received a 911 call in the days prior advising of his location and that he was alive but intoxicated. The dispatcher did nothing with the call. As a result our client’s husband died from exposure to the elements. We established that the death was preventable had emergency response personnel been sent pursuant to the dispatcher’s duty to do so.
$1,200,000 Automobile Accident
Wrongful Death: Roll-over accident
A young mother and wife was a passenger in a family member’s vehicle on an interstate in Utah when another vehicle entered their lane. Though the vehicles did not collide our client’s vehicle lost control and rolled into the median resulting in a spinal cord injury and her immediate death. After interviewing numerous witnesses and reconstructing the accident we secured settlements for the full insurance policy limits from both vehicles involved in the occurrence.
$1,200,000 Medical Malpractice
Failure to Identify: Mass on brain imaging
After experiencing bouts of intermittent dizziness and facial numbness our client underwent a brain MRI which revealed a nearly 2cm tumor that went unidentified by the reporting radiologist. Our client’s symptoms persisted and gradually worsened over the subsequent 17 months at which time another MRI diagnosed the tumor which had essentially doubled in size. Due to the untreated growth of the tumor, the corrective surgery carried significantly higher risks for complications, including facial nerve injury. Our client suffered this dreaded complication resulting in permanent left-sided facial pain and paralysis.
$1,000,000 Failure to Provide Aid
Traumatic Brain Injury: Failure to call 911
We obtained this insurance policy limits recovery for the husband and father of two who suffered a traumatic brain injury from a fall. It was alleged that the defendant deprived our client of essential medical intervention because of the failure to call 911.
$1,000,000 Medical Malpractice
Wrongful Death: Failure to diagnose ovarian cancer
This result was obtained on behalf of the family of a woman who succumbed to cervical cancer that the defendant failed to timely diagnose. Allegations included that the defendant failed to perform necessary biopsy screening in light of concerning symptoms. As a result, the cervical cancer went undiagnosed for nearly a year at which time it was advanced stage and caused her death. She is survived by two adult children.
$1,000,000 Trucking Accident
Wrongful Death: Improper usage of the roadway
While on his way to work, our client’s husband crashed into a semi-trailer obstructing the road resulting in a fatal brain injury. During litigation we uncovered that the defendant's truck driver was performing an illegal 3-point turn on a road prohibited to truck traffic and that the trailer had inadequate lighting. As a result of the lawsuit, the defendant’s insurance carrier paid their insurance policy limits.
$1,000,000 Premises Liability
Wrongful Death: Improper handrail
Our client was visiting a friend at his three-story walk-up apartment. Just shy of the third-floor landing our client lost his balance and fell over the handrail to the entryway 30 feet below suffering paralysis below the waist. Our firm’s investigation and litigation uncovered that the handrail was approximately 2 inches below the applicable building code requirement. As a result, the defendant property owner’s insurance carrier promptly complied with our demand for tender of the insurance policy limits.
$1,000,000 Medical Malpractice
Wrongful Death: Failure to diagnose pulmonary embolism
We represented the family of a young father who died from an undiagnosed and untreated pulmonary embolism. Though diagnosed with pneumonia by the defendant's physician, his symptoms were also consistent with a pulmonary embolism – a potentially fatal disease process known to mimic pneumonia and other common conditions. Our attorneys established that the standard of care required the defendant physician to consider and work-up pulmonary embolism. We further established that the failure to consider and rule out this diagnosis caused the father’s otherwise preventable death. As a result, the defendant tendered his full insurance policy limits to settle this case.
$945,000 Medical Malpractice
Wrongful Death: Failure to timely diagnose rare blood cancer
After several years of care, including blood tests, from his primary care physician, our clients’ husband/father was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer. Investigation and litigation by our firm revealed that multiple abnormal blood tests in the preceding years should have prompted further work-up by the primary care physician. We further established that additional blood work and referral to the appropriate specialist would have been diagnostic of the cancer likely preventing his death.
$900,000 Medical Malpractice
Post Op Death: Lack of monitoring
Without warning a family lost a loving husband and father after he was admitted to the hospital for an elective surgery. After being given a large dose of a medication to correct high levels of potassium in the blood, hospital personnel failed to perform simple but essential monitoring of the patient’s blood sugar. As a result, the patient suffered a hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) crash resulting in his death. The patient was generally ill and suffered from numerous serious medical conditions significantly limiting his life expectancy. Despite this, our attorneys were able to secure a pre-suit settlement with the hospital. Notably, this case was rejected by another law firm prior to our office being contacted.
$900,000 Product Liability
Wrongful Death: Miniblind cord strangulation
Our attorneys settled a case on behalf of the family of a 15-month-old boy who suffered a strangulation death when the inner cord of a miniblind unraveled. While the pull cords were recognized and warned of as hazards, we established that the inner cords represented similar strangulation hazards to children. We successfully sued one of the largest retail stores in the world and the Chinese manufacturer of the miniblind alleging that they knew the miniblind was defective and failed to act on that.
$700,000 Medical Malpractice
Fatal Stroke: Undiagnosed carotid artery disease
Kelly & Ignoffo Law Group represented the family of a 75-year-old husband and father who suffered a fatal stroke as a result of undiagnosed and untreated carotid artery disease after presenting to the emergency room. Despite his high-risk presentation, essential diagnostic imaging and life-saving treatment were not performed. After multiple highly qualified experts battled about their respective positions, we secured this result for the family on the eve of the trial.
$675,000 Landlord Negligence
Leg Fracture: Lack of smoke detector
Awakened by a screaming neighbor our client was trapped in her second-floor apartment by a fire in the hallway. The only way out was to jump from the window causing her to suffer a leg fracture requiring surgical repair. Our attorneys established that the defendant landlord failed to provide and maintain functioning smoke detectors in the apartment building which led to the lack of warning.
$600,000 Medical Malpractice
Ear Drum Perforation: Chiropractic malpractice
Our client’s chiropractor recommended a device intended to help relieve jaw pain. Despite not being trained in the procedure, the chiropractor injected the impression material into the ear, perforating the eardrum and causing significant injury to our client’s middle ear anatomy. This resulted in multiple surgeries and permanent moderate hearing loss.
$592,000 Nursing Home
Wrongful Death: Obstructed trach tube
Due to underlying respiratory illness our client’s wife was dependent on a trach tube to maintain her airway. She was a resident at the defendant nursing home where trained care providers were to ensure that her trach tube functioned properly. Unfortunately the nurses and respiratory therapist assigned to her care failed to do so. Following her death, our attorneys discovered that her trach tube went unchanged for an unreasonably long period of time causing it to become obstructed. Our lawsuit further established that the nursing home failed to equip her room with an emergency trach kit preventing care providers from properly responding to the obstruction resulting in her death.
$500,000 Automobile Accident
Multiple Fractures: Crossing over center line collision
Our client suffered facial and minor skull fractures as a result of the defendant driver’s failure to pay attention and crossing the centerline.
$445,000 Automobile Accident
Leg Fracture: Cab strikes pedestrian
Our client suffered a hip fracture when struck by a taxicab while crossing the street. Our firm obtained a verdict in excess of the defendant’s insurance policy limits after the defendant refused to settle the case prior to trial.
$350,000 Nursing Home
Skin Breakdown: Failure to prevent pressure ulcer
Our elderly client suffered from a heal pressure ulcer which required multiple debridement surgeries. Our attorneys proved that failures by the nursing home staff caused the otherwise preventable ulcerations.
$300,000 Premises Liability
Ankle Fracture: Sidewalk defect
Our client broke her ankle when she stepped into a hole in the sidewalk that the defendant construction company created. We established that reasonable construction practices required the defendant to barricade the area for the protection of pedestrians using the sidewalk.
$300,000 Premises Liability
Brain Injury: Improperly designed staircase
We obtained a pre-suit policy limits settlement on behalf of a client who suffered a traumatic brain injury at a friend’s home. Opening what he believed to be the bathroom door, our client stepped into what was, in fact, the doorway to the basement stairs that had no landing. Our client was caused to fall head first striking the basement floor. We were able to establish with the homeowner’s insurance carrier that this was an unreasonably dangerous condition that should not have existed.
$285,000 Dog Bite
Facial Trauma: Dog mauls young girl
A young girl suffered multiple facial scars after being attacked by a friend’s dog. Our investigation discovered that this unprovoked attack was not the dog’s first and our lawsuit proved that the owner was responsible for it.
$235,000 Premises Liability
Torn Rotator Cuff: Failure to maintain store entrance
After placing a lightweight sign in front of their store on a windy day, store management failed to adequately secure it. As our client approached the retailer she tripped over the sign that was laying on its side and not readily visible to her or others. She suffered a full thickness rotator cuff tear requiring surgical repair and extensive therapy.
$174,000 Bicycle Accident
Elbow Fracture: Unleashed dog causes bicycle crash
The defendant dog owner allowed his dog to roam without a leash or other restraint in his front yard. While our client was riding her bike past the defendant’s home, his dog ran into the road causing her to crash and sustain an elbow fracture requiring surgical repair.
$160,000 Bicycle Accident
Ankle Fracture: Cab strikes bicycle
After interviewing and securing statements from witnesses, our attorneys were able to establish that the defendant cab driver failed to maintain his lane during a left-hand turn and veered into our bicyclist client causing him to crash.