Representative Cases

Here is a sampling of medical malpractice cases that I have handled. There are others at our website at www.mellinolawfirm.com. Remember that each case is different. I can only guarantee my best effort. Ultimately, a lot depends on who is on your jury when the case is tried.

However, you want your case to be in the best possible hands and in the best possible light with the strongest evidence brought forward before the case is turned over to the jury.

We believe you cannot accomplish this without significant trial experience. Also, unless the insurance company adjuster knows your attorney is capable of convincing the jury to decide in your favor and award full compensation, your chances of settling the case are nil. With these disclaimers in mind, here are some of the cases I have worked on.

$3,995,000 Verdict for Little Boy Injured During Birth

The obstetrician used forceps to pull on the baby when he was still too high in the birth canal causing the baby’s shoulders to get stuck in the birth canal.

There was a significant delay in delivering the baby and in the interim, his brain was not getting blood flow or oxygen for several minutes. This resulted in permanent injury to the boy’s brain.

$12,500,000 Settlement for Man Who Had Cardiac Tamponade

A 47 year old husband and father of five minor children had heart bypass surgery. After surgery, one of the bypass grafts was leaking causing a pool of blood to form in his chest that kept getting bigger. It caused his blood pressure to drop and difficulty breathing. None of the medical professionals taking care of him recognized the problem. Eventually, the pool of blood became so large it caused enough pressure on his heart that it stopped it from beating, then he
stopped breathing. He went without oxygen for several minutes causing irreversible brain damage and now lives in a persistent vegetative state.

$1,500,000 Verdict Against a Hematologist and Orthopaedic Surgeon

Our client went into the hospital for a bone marrow biopsy. During the biopsy, the hematologist cut into an artery in his hip. The artery continued to bleed over the next 5 days. Before the artery was fixed, he had lost one-half of the entire blood volume in his body.

The orthopaedic surgeon was called during this time but he chose not to investigate the problem.

All of the bleeding caused a permanent injury to our client’s sciatic nerve, which caused him to have a foot drop, leaves him to live in extreme pain, on morphine and his leg is paralyzed from the knee down.

$500,000 Settlement Against Surgeon for Disfigurement of Woman’s Legs

Our client, a 38 year old woman, was referred to this doctor by her medical insurance company for treatment of varicose veins. The doctor had trained as a heart surgeon but was unsuccessful in that field and was doing this as part of a general surgery practice.

His treatment on the varicose veins caused chemical burning and scarring to our client’s legs. We discovered during the case, that the doctor had over 10 prior lawsuits against him for medical malpractice!

$4,300,000 Verdict Against an OB/GYN Doctor for Delayed Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer

The doctor in this case was warned by the pathologist that a biopsy of the patient’s uterus had abnormal tissue called atypia.

The biopsy was done because the patient kept having vaginal bleeding. But, the doctor told the patient the biopsy was normal and she had nothing to worry about. The patient experienced intermittent bleeding for two to three years after the biopsy, which the doctor assured her was nothing to worry about. Then, because the doctor was out of town,
the client was seen by the doctor’s partner. He immediately did another biopsy, which showed uterine cancer. Surgery was done but the cancer had already spread and her prognosis was poor at that time due to the three-year delay.

$1,750,000 Settlement During Trial for the Death of a Retired Police Officer

Our client’s father was having surgery to remove his prostate gland because he had been diagnosed with early prostate cancer. Because he had risk factors for heart disease, he needed to have his heart checked out to see if it was up for the surgery. The surgeon and internist both agreed that he needed cardiac clearance for surgery but neither actually did the necessary tests. They both thought the other one had done them. Obviously they failed to communicate with each other. During the surgery, the patient suffered a heart attack and died on the table.

Jury Verdict for 9 year old boy and his parents against the Cleveland Clinic for $890,000.

The parents took their son to the Cleveland Clinic on multiple occasions for a condition that began as a limp but progressed to the boy needing crutches then a wheelchair. Doctors at the Clinic mistakenly diagnosed the nine year old with a psychiatric problem called conversion disorder. The Cleveland Clinic admitted the child to it’s Day Hospital program, took away his crutches and made him do sit-ups and pushups for falling, losing his balance or walking too
slow. The Clinic also informed the child’s school that he had a psychiatric condition and should be treated as a normal child. A year after the initial visit to Cleveland Clinic for a limp the boy was given a simple blood test that showed a genetic neuralgic condition known as Dystonia.