Settlements & Verdicts

$47 Million Verdict in Car accident case against state of Arizona, January 2016

Attorney Tim Aiken, was part of a trial team that got what is believed to be a record verdict in Arizona on Wednesday January 6, 2016.
In the News: TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) – A Maricopa County jury found the state of Arizona to be mostly at fault for a roadway negligence case in which two women from Tucson died.

The families of Pamela Humphrey and Ann Quinn will receive $47 million.

Humphrey and Quinn were traveling from Tucson to Phoenix on May 18, 2008, when Humphrey swerved to avoid debris in the road. Her vehicle crossed into the median and into a tractor-trailer at Milepost 171.

Their families filed a lawsuit, claiming the state was negligent because the Arizona Department of Transportation failed to put up a barrier in this median.

Two people died in a similar accident at the same location nine months before. Their family members were awarded $7.8 million in 2012.

$7.8 Million Wrongful Death Verdict

Our firm was brought in as co-counsel and jury consultants in a case in Phoenix Arizona. This case was previously turned down by two other law firms before it was accepted for prosecution by our attorney, Tim Aiken and co-counsel from Phoenix and Tucson.

The case involved a tractor-trailer truck and a small SUV were traveling in adjacent southbound lanes when the semi forced the SUV off the road. When the driver of the SUV attempted to re-enter the freeway, she lost control and veered across the median into the opposite lanes of travel, striking the plaintiff’s car. The plaintiff’s husband and child were killed instantly.

Although conceding that the decedent was free of fault, the state alleged that no barrier was needed and that the two vehicles in the opposing traffic were 100 percent responsible for the accident. The jury rejected that view and found the state 100 percent at fault.

Following nearly four weeks of trial, we were awarded a $7.8M verdict against the Arizona Department of Transportation for its failure to install a median barrier cable at the scene of a double-fatality auto accident.

$550,000 Rollover Accident Settlement

A rollover accident in September 2005 on Interstate 55 outside of Jackson, Mississippi, involved a 1997 Red Century Freightliner driven by a friend of the plaintiff. The vehicle was transporting supplies to victims of Hurricane Katrina. The at-fault driver was speeding in a military convoy and was traveling too fast to avoid the victims. He pulled onto the shoulder and the truck took them off the roadway and into the ditch, where the truck flipped to the passenger side. The driver and passenger were able to exit the vehicle before it exploded. The plaintiff suffered neck injuries and eventually had a neck fusion. The plaintiff worked on a farm at the time of the accident and had to modify his workday to accommodate his limitations.

$1.25 Million Legal Malpractice Settlement

In an unusual twist, an insurance company approached Aiken & Scoptur, S.C. in 2008 to represent it in a legal malpractice case against its lawyer, who defended the company in a personal injury case. We agreed and obtained one of the largest legal malpractice settlements against an insurance defense lawyer in Wisconsin history.

Other Results

• $650,000 settlement in August 2008 in a medical malpractice case in Washington County. We represented a widow whose husband died of a heart attack. He had a stress test and the doctor who completed the stress test recommend follow-up testing. The doctor who ordered the stress test disregarded the recommendation and unfortunately, the patient died. Washington County is a conservative county and this was considered by the mediator to be an exceptional settlement.
• $7 million settlement obtained for child born with preventable streptococcal infection resulting in brain hemorrhage and long-term developmental disability. Defendant OB/GYN provided labor and delivery care to the mother prior to the birth of the minor plaintiff on April 4, 1997. When the mother went into pre-term labor, the defendant OB/GYN failed to administer antibiotics during the course of the mother’s labor. Following delivery, the newborn was diagnosed with a Group B streptococcal infection, which would have been prevented had the mother received intrapartum administration of antibiotics.The minor plaintiff suffered from strep sepsis, severe hypotension; brain hemorrhage with an internal shunt. The child continues to suffer developmental delays related to her acute illness at birth. This case was settled for more than $7 million prior to trial.
• $2.5 million in West Bend for a man who was not diagnosed with thyroid cancer in a timely manner. Had the diagnosis been made when it should have been, his prognosis for cure was high.
• $1.1 million for a Kenosha man whose leg was amputated in a car/motor scooter collision.
• $12.3 million verdict for a Green Bay man who sustained serious neck injuries while using a “Slip N Slide.” The verdict included $10 million in punitive damages, one of the largest awards of punitive damages ever in Wisconsin.
• $10 million settlement with the United States involving the birth of a child after his mother was admitted for fetal monitoring. The medical staff failed to respond to bad signs during the birth process. The child has cerebral palsy.
• $8 million verdict in the Eastern District of Wisconsin Federal Court in favor of a mother who suffered brain damage during child birth. The verdict was in a products liability case against the manufacturer of the machine that delivered the anesthesia during the delivery.
• $6 million verdict for a boy in Wausau in a medical malpractice case where the nurses failed to adequately maintain his airway and neglected to suction his breathing tube, causing the boy to suffer brain damage.
• $5.4 million settlement in Sheboygan for a boy injured at an inadequately protected construction site in his neighborhood. He sustained brain damage as a result of a lack of oxygen.
• $5.3 million verdict in Kenosha County in a medical malpractice case where the emergency room physician failed to diagnose meningitis in a young boy, causing him to suffer permanent brain damage. At the time, this verdict was the largest medical malpractice verdict in Wisconsin.
• $5.3 million verdict in Jefferson County in a case where a teenage girl struck her head while riding her bike. She was taken to the emergency room and admitted for observation. Her parents were never told there was no neurosurgeon on staff and she subsequently developed bleeding in her brain. By the time she was transferred to a different hospital, she suffered an irreversible brain injury. This case is the seminal case on informed consent law in the state of Wisconsin.
• $5 million verdict in Iowa for the estate of a married couple killed when a gas line exploded in their home.
• $4.5 million settlement in Milwaukee in a medical malpractice case for the family of a Milwaukee County judge where a placental abruption went undiagnosed, leading to brain damage for their baby.
• $4.35 million verdict in Milwaukee for a young mother who died as a result of a doctor’s failure to diagnose her colon cancer early enough.
• $3.2 million awarded in a crash involving a Tucson trucker.
• $3 million verdict in a case involving the improper treatment of corn seed that was stored in a grain elevator.
• $2.7 million Florida verdict in St. Augustine on behalf of a young boy and his parents. He was struck by a car while playing on the beach and subsequently sustained a brain injury.
• $2.6 million settlement in Racine on behalf of a young boy who ate lead paint and suffered a brain injury as a result.
• $2.5 million settlement in Manitowoc County in a birth trauma case.
• $2.5 million settlement in a case where a baby sustained a partial brain injury during birth.
• $2.5 million verdict in Green Bay where a young girl sustained a brain injury as a result of a failure to treat her meningitis with the appropriate drugs.
• $2.5 million verdict in Kenosha in a medical malpractice case where a cardiologist neglected to hospitalize a woman who was exhibiting signs of an impending heart attack. Two days later, she suffered a heart attack and after a long stay in a nursing home, died.
• $2.4 million settlement for a woman in Waukesha who died of cervical cancer. She had gone to the doctor and had regular PAP smears, but the lab that interpreted the PAP test incorrectly interpreted the test, which led to her death.
• $2.25 million verdict for bad faith against an insurance company for conversion of a whole life policy, which extinguished extended term coverage that was available.
• $2 million Milwaukee settlement for a woman who received 10 times the nutritional fluid recommended and suffered cardiac arrest.
• $1.85 million settlement in Iowa in a wrongful death case were a weld failed, causing a worker’s death.
• $1.75 million settlement where a baby suffered a partial brain injury caused during the birth process.
• $1.75 settlement in Janesville in a medical malpractice case for man who suffered a blood clot in his neck after neck surgery. His airway was compromised and he sustained brain damage.
• $1.7 million verdict in Milwaukee for an immigrant family who sustained burn injuries in a gas explosion in their apartment.
• $1.6 million settlement for the family of a physician who was killed by a truck driver while riding his bicycle in Germany.
• $1.5 million settlement for lumbar injuries sustained in a forklift accident.
• $1.4 million settlement in Kenosha County on behalf of a doctor who suffered minor brain injury in an asthma attack. The treating physicians did not respond appropriately so as to prevent the brain injury.
• $1.4 million settlement in Milwaukee County for premature birth due to incompetent cervix. The girl suffered cerebral palsy as a result of her premature birth.
• $1.4 million settlement in a medical malpractice case for child who suffered hearing difficulties as a result of the failure to monitor her antibiotic level after being given Gentamicin. The case was against Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee.
• $1.35 million settlement in a medical malpractice case to the family of a man who died as a result of an aortic aneurysm. It was not diagnosed and in fact, he was given a clot busting drug which caused the aneurysm to bleed, resulting in death. The case was in Washington County and at the time was the largest settlement in a medical malpractice case in the county.
• $1.3 million settlement in a products liability case where a man was killed when a high-pressure steam line ruptured at a paper mill in Green Bay Wisconsin.
• $1.25 million settlement in a car-truck collision in Dane County. Tim and Paul were asked by another lawyer to help in a case involving a school teacher who was killed in a car wreck case. Through their collaborative efforts, they were able to defeat a motion by the defense to dismiss the case and obtained a settlement for the widow.
• $1.2 million settlement for a couple that was badly injured when a motorist ran a stop sign and crashed into their motorcycle.
• $1.1 million settlement for a Kenosha man whose leg was amputated in a motor scooter/SUV accident.
• $1.1 million for a Kenosha man whose leg was amputated in a car/motor scooter collision.
• $1.1 million verdict, including punitive damages, in Menomonie in a case involving the malfunction of a scissors lift. The plaintiff sustained cervical injuries.
• $1 million settlement during trial for a young boy from Racine who sustained a brain injury during surgery. It was alleged that the anesthesiologist improperly monitored the boy during the surgery. There were no offers made to settle the case prior to the trial.
• $1 million verdict for an Ozaukee County woman who sustained soft tissue injuries in her back as a result of an improperly maintained elevator in the courthouse.
• $1 million settlement in Milwaukee on behalf of a young woman who was sexually assaulted by a fellow resident in a nursing home.
• $975,000 settlement for the family of a Kenosha woman who was killed in a semi truck/car accident in the town of Pleasant Prairie.
• $671,000 verdict in Milwaukee County for a man who sustained a mild brain injury when he was involved in a low-speed automobile collision.
• $450,000 settlement in Jefferson County for a man who was struck by a car that went through a red light.
• $317,000 for a Racine teacher who was injured in a car accident in Madison.
• $240,000 for a Marinette woman who was injured in a car accident in Madison.
• $150,000 for a Brookfield woman who was injured when the car she was riding in crashed in Missouri.
• Policy limits for a Milwaukee man who had both legs amputated when he was pinned between two cars.
• $658,000 for a Brookfield police officer who was struck broadside by a truck that went through a red light.
• $450,000 for the family of a Wisconsin Rapids man who was killed when a car crossed the center line and hit him head on. This was all the available insurance.
• $355,000 for a Wauwatosa woman whose car was hit by a semi truck. She hurt her shoulder and needed surgery.
• $325,000 for a Milwaukee woman who hurt her back after her car was struck in the rear on Brown Deer Road.
• $276,000 verdict for the family of a young girl who was killed when she was struck by a car as she was riding her bike out of her driveway.
• $225,000 for a Milwaukee woman who was hurt when a police squad car ran a red light.
• $180,000 for an Illinois woman who was struck by a car as she was crossing the street at night in Kenosha.
• $175,000 for a Brookfield man with a broken wrist as a result of a car accident in Missouri.
• $150,000 for a Wauwatosa woman who got a neck injury when hit from behind.
• $140,000 for a Green Bay woman whose neck was injured in a car accident in Green Bay.
• Confidential settlement for the family of a truck driver who was killed in an accident in Illinois.

With many years of providing exceptional litigation services to our clients, we are capable of litigating and settling any issue of personal injury law that you are facing. Contact the attorneys of Aiken & Scoptur, S.C., by calling 414-914-2803 or by using our online contact form.

All verdicts, settlements, appellate decisions are applicable for the date reported.