Results
Since 1970 we’ve been helping victims of personal injury get the compensation they need. Below are just a few of the thousands of examples of our success. Click on each to learn more.
- THE RECOVERIES IN THESE CASES ARE NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF RECOVERIES IN SIMILAR CASES IN THE FUTURE, SINCE EACH CASE MUST BE DECIDED ON ITS OWN FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES.
- Injured Street Sweeper Settles for $650,000
- Accident Victim Receives $1.5 Million
- Disputed Brain Injury and Stress Disorder Victim Gets $600,000
- Unguarded Drain Leads to Injury Recovery
- Medical Malpractice case settles for $3 million
- Automobile accident settles for $4.8 million
- Truck Collision accident settles on second day of trial for $9 million
- Natural Gas Explosion settles for $1.5 million
- Truck Accident settles for $3.3 million
- Bicycle Accident case settles for $1.3 million
- Malpractice case settles for $900,000
Injured Street Sweeper Settles for $650,000
Mr. Kilduff and Mr. Carr represented a street sweeper who was rear-ended by the driver of a Ford Expedition and experienced a herniated disc and right knee osteophytosis. Following the accident, the plaintiff did not seek immediate medical attention, but went two days later to his primary care physician who initially suspected he had sustained right knee and lumbar strain/sprains. Within two weeks, the plaintiff began experiencing radiating right leg pain. He underwent two surgical procedures: a microdiscectomy and a posterior lumbar fusion. However, his pain continued. His pain management physician concluded that his condition could improve only with a spinal cord stimulator.
The defense attempted to develop the theory that the plaintiff had actually injured his back in a subsequent on-the-job accident following the automobile accident. They filed a motion seeking to exclude the testimony of his physician concerning the placement of a spinal cord stimulator. They also sought to exclude testimony concerning loss of earning capacity and the costs of the spinal cord stimulator, and they questioned the plaintiff's candidacy for the procedure. They also suggested that the injury was due to plantar fasciitis of the right foot.
The court refused to limit the doctor's testimony and ruled that testimony concerning the costs of the device and procedure would be admissible once a proper foundation was established. The court took the motion concerning loss of earnings capacity under advisement. Following the hearing, settlement negotiations resumed and the case was settled two days before trial.
Accident Victim Receives $1.5 Million
Walter Emroch and Tom McNally represented a woman who had been driving in the left travel lane when the defendant, who was driving a 15-passenger work van, had suddenly swerved from the right lane into the left lane. The impact caused fractures in the plaintiff's hip, hand and several ribs. She was hospitalized for close to 30 days.
Following the accident, the defendant driver told the police that at the time of the collision, he had gotten a cramp in his leg, jerked the steering wheel to the left and struck the plaintiff's car. However, during the defendant's deposition, he denied ever having made such a statement. He claimed that he had been in the right lane, safely moved into the left lane, slowed down to make a left turn and was struck by the plaintiff. The van had pre-existing damage, so it was difficult to determine where the van was impacted during the collision.
The defense contested liability, and challenged the plaintiff's future medical costs and lost wage claim. They also claimed that she failed to mitigate her damages for years after the accident by making little or no effort to lose weight in order to undergo hip surgery.
The case was settled for $1.5 million.
Disputed Brain Injury and Stress Disorder Victim Gets $600,000
Craig Davis and Bill Kilduff recently represented a woman who experienced a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among other medical issues, due to a highway collision in Northern Virginia.
The plaintiff's vehicle had been struck on an off-ramp for I-95 after the defendant had veered sharply to the right, across three lanes of traffic on I-495. The collision resulted in several impacts between the vehicles before the plaintiff struck a concrete retaining wall. Although initial EMT and ER records indicated there had been no head or facial trauma, photographs taken the following day revealed facial swelling and abrasions, which were also recorded in the first follow-up visit with the plaintiff's primary care doctor. Following reports of panic attacks, nightmares, crying spells, flashbacks, and smelling gas fumes and burning tires, our client was diagnosed with PTSD. Based upon reports of headaches, memory loss and word finding difficulties within a month after the accident, she underwent neuropsychological testing and was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury in addition to PTSD. She also was under the care of an orthopaedic surgeon for her knee and spinal complaints, and received counseling and neurorehabilitation therapy for her brain injury and PTSD for approximately a year. After relocating to Maryland, our client received additional care from a neurologist, a chiropractor and a neuropsychologist who performed follow-up neuropsychological testing.
A noted expert on the combined effects of MTBI and PTSD was retained as a medical expert on the plaintiff's behalf. This physician produced medical literature and research supporting his opinion that our client's brain injury made her PTSD worse and more difficult to treat, and visa versa. He also worked with a visual artist to develop medical illustrations and other demonstrative evidence.
All elements of the case were contested. Liability was disputed because the defendant claimed that a "mystery vehicle" had swerved into her lane. Physicians hired by the defendant's insurance company said our client did not sustain a brain injury, claimed her symptoms were exaggerated and suggested that she was malingering. The defense attorney attempted to exclude loss of earning capacity evidence because our client had not finished her Masters in Public Health degree from VCU and had no pre-accident experience as a policy analyst. The severity of our client's brain injury was also contested because of our client's ability after the accident to complete work for the degree, graduate with a 4.0 average and be selected as her class's graduation speaker. Likewise, she made no effort to secure employment or obtain treatment recommended for her brain injury in the two years prior to trial. In that time she also became engaged, was married, moved to Maryland and gave birth to her first child.
The insurance carrier withdrew from a scheduled mediation and made only a minimal settlement offer of $60,000. Only minimal negotiations occurred thereafter until the night before trial, when the settlement offer was increased to $600,000.
Unguarded Drain Leads to Injury Recovery
On January 20, 2007, the plaintiff injured his left knee when his foot shot out from under him and into an unguarded/uncovered drain hole. The injury occurred as he was wheeling a loaded handcart during an early morning delivery to the defendants’ restaurant. According to the plaintiff’s expert Charlie Crim, the uncovered drain and inadequate lighting to illuminate the drain were violations of the property maintenance code. The defendants actually admitted liability in response to requests for admission. Although an MRI of the plaintiff’s foot revealed a meniscus tear, this tear proved too small to repair, so a microfracture surgery was conducted to alleviate symptoms attributable to degenerative changes. The plaintiff had sustained a work injury to the same knee three months before the accident. That injury was also diagnosed as a meniscus tear. He had been released back to full duty prior to the drain hole accident.
Although Dr. O’Brien, the defendant’s expert witness physician, stated that only the first three to six weeks of treatment were related to the accident, he conceded in his deposition that the surgery and up to 12 weeks of treatment were related and reasonable. Meanwhile, after first testifying in his de bene esse deposition that the accident was a precipitating factor for the future total knee replacement he had recommended, Dr. Beach, another expert of the defendant, admitted on cross-examination that the plaintiff would have eventually required the knee replacement anyway based on pre-existing changes. Dr. Beach then offered on re-direct that the accident was one of multiple causative factors. The physician was cross-examined with an early, contradictory draft of a report he wrote in the underlying workers’ compensation claim.
The plaintiff’s wage loss claim was complicated by the fact that his employer subsequently fired him for alleged fraud related to his time clock usage. These allegations were rejected twice in the underlying workers’ compensation case, and a motion in limine to exclude this evidence was pending at the time of settlement.
Although the results of a Functional Capacity Evaluation showed that he should be limited to medium demand work, the plaintiff already had the same restrictions for a prior shoulder injury. Dr. Sinsabaugh, the plaintiff’s expert witness, found a future loss of earning capacity lasting five years, while Gray Broughton, an expert for the defense, testified that similar paying jobs were available, even though the plaintiff applied for more than 180 jobs after being terminated.
The plaintiff was simultaneously litigating both the workers’ compensation and personal injury claims. Despite having a subrogation lien, the compensation carrier aggressively defended the underlying claim. The personal injury case settled approximately two weeks after the original mediation, thanks to the efforts of mediator Mike Harman. Ultimately, the compensation carrier waived the subrogation lien of approximately $49,500.00, and the plaintiff was awarded $339,000.00.
Medical Malpractice Case Settles for $3 Million
Walter H. Emroch and Thomas J. McNally obtained a $3 million settlement for a 50-year-old woman who was the victim of medical malpractice.
The plaintiff, a resident of Emporia, Virginia, traveled to Washington, DC, to undergo a gynecological operation to remove a large cyst that had developed in her abdomen. The defendant doctor had previously treated the plaintiff for obstetrical and gynecological conditions and had successfully handled a previous high-risk pregnancy for the plaintiff.
Unfortunately, during the surgery, the defendant doctor, believing that he might have cut and/or ligated the plaintiff's right ureter, performed what is referred to as an indigo carmine dye test. After performing the indigo carmine dye test, which is not adequate to rule out a ligated ureter, the defendant doctor erroneously concluded that the ureter was not ligated or damaged, and closed the plaintiff’s operative site.
Over the course of the next several days, the plaintiff developed post-operative signs and symptoms of ureteral damage, including complaints of back pain, elevated creatinine, blood in her urine, nausea and fever. Despite being aware of her post-operative signs and symptoms of ureteral damage, the defendant failed to investigate the cause of those symptoms in a timely manner, and failed to request a consult with a urologist to rule out ureteral damage. Eight days after the surgery, the doctor obtained a consultation by a urologist, who concluded that the plaintiff had a right ureteral obstruction. Twelve days after the initial surgery, the urologist, along with a transplant specialist, attempted to repair the ureter; however, by that time, the ureter was beyond repair and had to be removed, along with her right kidney. The kidney could not be relocated due to extensive swelling, scarring and adhesions from the ligation. Within several months, due to the loss of the right kidney, the plaintiff's kidney function, which had been relatively stable, began a precipitous decline resulting in a six- to seven-year reduction in life expectancy, and she was compelled to begin dialysis treatment.
The defense experts said that the defendant did not violate the standard of care and suggested that the right ureteral blockage was not caused by a stitch or ligature, but was due to pre-existing disease.
Automobile Accident Settles for $4.8 Million
Walter H. Emroch and Thomas J. McNally successfully represented a Richmond man in an automobile collision that settled for $4.8 million two months before trial. The plaintiff was injured when he was a 25-year-old employee of a landscaping company. He was working on a sidewalk when the defendant drove a pickup truck up onto the sidewalk, striking the plaintiff, backing up, striking the plaintiff again, and leaving the scene of the accident.
The plaintiff sustained serious and permanent injuries, including mild to moderate traumatic brain injury; loss of vision in the left eye, as well as right field of vision in the right eye; damage to his pituitary gland, requiring the plaintiff to remain on certain hormones for various functions; and some facial scarring. In spite of his injuries, the plaintiff had obtained an unrestricted driver’s license, was able to converse well with others, and had made a remarkable recovery given his initial injuries.
The defendant’s insurance carrier filed a declaratory judgment action, alleging that they did not owe coverage in the case because the driver did not have permission to drive the pickup truck that struck the plaintiff. The vehicle was owned by a car dealer, and had dealer tags on it. The vehicle had been kept at the home of the car dealer. Prior to the accident, the car dealer and his wife had separated, and he had lent his wife the vehicle to move furniture into her new home. The dealer testified that his wife was aware of the company policy that no one else was supposed to drive a company vehicle with dealer tags on it, except in the case of an emergency or with the permission of the owner. She denied any such knowledge of restrictions on her. On the morning of the accident, she removed the dealer tags from the vehicle, replaced them with her tags, and lent the vehicle to the driver, whom she had known for years, and whom, she believed, her husband would not have wanted to drive the vehicle.
Upon learning of the accident, the car dealer’s wife initially advised the police and the manager of the dealership that the vehicle had been stolen, but shortly thereafter, admitted that she had lent the vehicle to the defendant. Based on the testimony of the car dealer and his manager, as well as the removal of the plates and the initial statement that the vehicle had been stolen, the defendant’s insurance company took the position in the declaratory judgment action that there was no permission to drive the vehicle. In such a case, the plaintiff would have been left with $25,000 primary coverage on the defendant and $100,000 uninsured motorist coverage.
Truck Collision Accident Settles On Second Day Of Trial
for $9 Million
Walter H. Emroch and Thomas J. McNally of Emroch & Kilduff successfully represented a Richmond man in a truck collision that settled on the second day of trial for $9 million.
While the plaintiff was driving a truck for his employer, he had the bones in both of his legs crushed. The accident occurred when the driver of a vehicle failed to yield the right of way at an intersection and pulled in front of the plaintiff, causing a T-bone collision.
The plaintiff was trapped in the truck until rescue personnel were able to remove him from the vehicle. He was immediately flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Northern Virginia. Unfortunately, the plaintiff, a diabetic, developed an infection in his right leg, which required amputation above the knee. As a result of the amputation, he is required to have a prosthetic leg and to use a cane. He is no longer able to do the same type of work he did before the accident, which involved driving a truck and moving furniture. Currently, he is limited to doing sedentary work with the likelihood of earning only $6.50 per hour. Prior to his injuries, he had been earning $11.50 per hour. He also incurred medical bills totaling $467,000.
Natural Gas Explosion Settles for $1.5 Million
Walter H. Emroch and Thomas J. McNally represented a four-year-old girl injured by a natural gas explosion. The plaintiff was visiting her grandmother when she and two other small children were playing near a sewer manhole. One of the children with her dropped a lighted match into the sewer manhole, resulting in an explosion that literally blew the manhole cover off the hole.
As a result of the explosion, she sustained first- and second-degree burns to her legs, requiring hospitalization for nine days. She underwent split-thickness skin grafts, which were harvested from her thighs. As a result of the burns, she incurred permanent scarring to the burn sites and to the skin grafts sites. There were no future medical expenses claimed by the plaintiff. The plaintiff incurred medical bills totaling $40,487.06.
During discovery, it was learned that several months earlier, city workers had received a complaint of a gas leak on the block of the explosion. The city immediately responded and did not find a gas leak there, but did find a natural gas leak approximately 50 yards away in a sewer that ran underneath an abandoned street. Having determined that there was natural gas leaking into the sewer system, the city attempted to identify the source of the natural gas leak over the next 15 days. They found several leaks in the area and repaired them. However, even after the initial repairs were done, city officials still were aware that natural gas continued to leak into the sewer system.
The city’s defense was that the explosion was not caused by a natural gas leak but was from some other source of gas in the sewer system. Additionally, the city would have argued that it had taken all reasonable precautions to identify and fix the gas leak prior to the explosion.
The plaintiff’s gas experts testified that the old cast-iron pipes, which had been installed by the city more than 60 years prior to the explosion, were prone, over time, to develop leaks, and that this leak was foreseeable, particularly since the city was already on notice that the cast-iron pipes were leaking gas into the sewer system before the explosion occurred. The plaintiff’s experts also would have testified that fugitive natural gas is a well-known hazard and contact with an ignition source is particularly dangerous if the gas escapes into a sewer system.
The case settled one month before trial for $1.5 million.
Truck Accident Settles for $3.3 Million
The plaintiff was a passenger in a truck driven by a coworker when they were victims of a broadside collision. The two were trapped inside the truck when mechanical structures in the vehicle were forced into the passenger compartment.
The plaintiff’s injuries included bilateral tibial fractures and bilateral patella fractures. While hospitalized, he underwent open reduction internal fixation procedures on both tibias as well as his left kneecap. Subsequently, he developed post-traumatic arthritis in both knees. He has already undergone a total knee replacement on his right leg and he is expected to need a total knee replacement in the future on his left leg. Additionally, the plaintiff’s orthopaedic expert said that he will need two additional total knee revisions on each leg during his lifetime.
Due to his injuries, the plaintiff is limited to performing sedentary work. He also needs a cane for ambulation and can walk only relatively short distances. The case settled for $3.3 million on the morning of trial.
Bicycle Accident Case Settles for $1.3 Million
Mr. Emroch represented the estate of a 60-year-old mother of two adult children. The woman had been riding her bicycle, along with her 65-year-old husband, on a cross-country trip from Virginia Beach to San Francisco. She was rear-ended by the defendant.
She was killed instantly when she broke her neck after striking the ground. She had been in excellent condition for her age and had participated in numerous marathons. Her close-knit family was devastated by her loss.
After commencing litigation, the firm obtained a settlement in the amount of $1.3 million for the woman’s family.
Malpractice Case Settles for $900,000
Walter H. Emroch and Thomas J. McNally won a $900,000 verdict, which at that time was believed to be the largest medical malpractice verdict ever awarded in the city of Fredericksburg Circuit Court.
The plaintiff, a DEA agent, sustained a complicated stress fracture of the right femur and was sent to the hospital, where he came under the care of the defendant, a physician.
During the surgical repair of the plaintiff’s leg, the leg was placed in traction for more than five hours. The standard of care allows for two and one-half hours of continuous traction. Due to excessive use of traction, the plaintiff sustained permanent nerve damage affecting both legs and permanent sexual dysfunction.
The jury deliberated two hours before returning their verdict.
