Appeals panel upholds $10.1 million verdict in delayed diagnosis case

Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld a $10.1 million verdict won in 2015 by Andy Stern and Elizabeth Crawford against Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for a mother and her son, whose delayed diagnosis for meningitis resulted in deafness and developmental and learning delays. The appellate court panel unanimously disagreed with the defendant that the largest portion of the verdict -- $7.5 million for the child’s pain and suffering – was “grossly excessive” but instead found that because of his extensive injuries the verdict was “fair and reasonable compensation.” The verdict also included $1.5 million for future medical care, which CHOP argued was improperly based on projections that included inflation. But Superior Court, in rejecting that argument, cited a previous Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision noting that a plaintiff is “entitled to have defendant presently place in her hands the money necessary to meet her future medical expenses … so that she will have it ready to lay out when the service is rendered.” Additionally, the court upheld delay damages, interest for the time it took to get the case to trial, as well as interest for the time taken for post-verdict appeals. That interest so far brings the total compensation in the case (also including $1.1 million for potential lost earnings) to $12.1 million.

Charles “Chip” Becker and Andra Laidacker successfully defended a post-trial challenge to a $5.35 million verdict won late last year by Nadeem Bezar and Emily Marks against Presbyterian Children’s Village. PCV twice placed a young girl in the home of a temporary foster family where she was sexually molested, the last incident occurring in 2013. Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Idee C. Fox also allowed delay damages of $411,713, bringing the total award to more than $5.76 million. Fox decided the defendant’s post-trial motion in place of the presiding judge at trial, Victor J. DiNubile. Jr., who has since retired. Fox ruled there was ample evidence that PCV was both negligent and “reckless,” a threshold necessary for finding punitive damages. She rejected a defense contention that the girl suffered only “mental injuries.” Fox wrote: “To the contrary, the vicious sexual acts perpetrated upon (the victim) constituted an assault to and invasion of her person resulting in physical pain. These acts most certainly were injurious to her body which in turn may very well have caused her permanent psychological harm from which she may never recover.” The girl, now 11, was adopted by an aunt with whom she is living.
 

Bezar voted as winner of diversity award

Nadeem Bezar was presented the Thomas R. Kline School of Law Diversity Champion Award by Dean Daniel M. Filler, who cited the importance of “building communities that include rather than divide.” He noted that Bezar has been teaching at the law school since 2006. “Nadeem has been teaching our students how to be ‘people lawyers’ … He is an advocate for people with disabilities, for children, for people who need to be lifted a little bit. We are so lucky that Nadeem is a part of our community.” Bezar, who with Kline & Specter represents children who have been the victims of abuse, told his audience that his parents were both doctors who treated the poor in Brooklyn and Harlem, often minorities who had been abused, and taught him that "broad inclusion should not be applauded but expected." He added: "My father and mother taught me the value of taking care of people who couldn't take care of themselves."

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other government agencies more and more are blaming transportation incidents on “loss of situational awareness (SA),” writes Patrick Fitzgerald in the February issue of Trial magazine. His article notes that such a claim can hurt a civil case by foreclosing theories of liability and limiting types of damages. In debunking this theory, Fitzgerald cites human factors psychologists and academics as condemning the use of loss of SA in causal analysis as “pseudoscience” and lacking scientific legitimacy. He writes: “These experts criticize the theory as impossible to test or validate, and they argue that any conclusions derived from it are the result of hindsight bias and circular reasoning, rather than scientific analysis.” The article argues the NTSB’s “loss of SA” conclusion in the Amtrak 188 derailment and other transportation accidents is simply a coded term for the real culprit:  human error. (Read the complete article)

The March issue of Trial magazine features a review of the book Danger Above, the story of the legal case Goretzka v. West Penn Power and the five-week trial to win justice for the family of Carrie Goretzka, who was killed by a fallen power line on her property. The case, litigated by Shanin Specter, Kila Baldwin and Dominic Guerrini, resulted in a $109 million verdict and, ultimately, a $105 million settlement. The review notes in part: “Danger Above chronicles Philadelphia attorney Shanin Specter’s successful quest not only to secure justice for the Goretzka family, but to overcome the utility’s blame-the-victim defense. His efforts resulted in industry-wide safety reforms. The book will leave any impassioned litigator ready to take up arms.” The review mentions that among those reforms were remedial measures ordered by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, including stepped-up power line inspections and employee training “that resulted in systemic safety improvements across the industry.” The book review, titled “Inspiration, Bravery, and a Quest for Justice,” was written by Rachel E. Gusman, a partner at the Tulsa law firm Graves McLain. Read the full review (Order the book from Amazon or Barnes and Noble)  

Nadeem Bezar and daughter Mia won the Merion Mixed Doubles Group C Tournament held at the Merion Cricket Club in late February.