VanSlembrouck v. Halperin, et al., Circuit Court of Oakland County, Michigan, Case No. 06-074585-NH (2011) (Birth Trauma)

A $144.5 million verdict obtained by Fieger Law in 2011 is the largest ever awarded in a medical malpractice case in the nation. Attorney Geoffrey Fieger, with help from Fieger Law Counsel Jack Beam, procured the award on behalf of a Macomb Township family in a tragic birth trauma case against William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. The verdict came in Oakland County Circuit Court on Oct. 18 before Judge Rudy J. Nichols. Fieger Law represented the family of Markell VanSlembrouck, a 15-year-old who sustained serious injuries during her birth at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. Fieger argued that doctors should have ordered a C-section for Markell’s mother, Kimberly VanSlembrouk. The hospital’s negligence caused a traumatic birth, which resulted in Markell’s severe cerebral palsy. Now a teenager, Markell can’t walk or talk and needs constant care. Her parents assist her 24 hours a day, helping with every aspect of her life, from eating and dressing to bathing. After a three-week trial and three days of deliberation, the jury awarded Fieger’s client $144 million. “Ninety-eight percent of this verdict is economic damages required to care for Markell for the rest of her life. It’s $12 per hour, 24 hours per day, for 77 years,” Fieger said, plus lost earnings capacity starting in 2018, the year she would have graduated from college. The verdict also includes non-economic damages, capped at $738,000 by law. “It’s been an emotional, long time,” said Kimberly VanSlembrouck, mother of Markell VanSlembrouck. “It’s not about getting rich — it’s about helping a poor baby that didn’t ask for this.”

• Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger

Attorney Geoffrey Fieger was recognized for earning the number one verdict of the year — $136.7 million in a medical malpractice case — in 2018 Million Dollar Verdicts & Settlements, an annual publication by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

The case involved a 10-year-old girl who underwent spinal fusion surgery at Children’s Hospital of Michigan to correct scoliosis and a spinal anomaly in 2011. After the surgery, she complained of tingling and numbness in her hands and feet which progressed up her extremities. This resulted in decreased muscular function and loss of bladder and bowel control. A second surgery was performed five days later, causing further spinal cord compression and complications. The following day, an urgent third surgery removed the hardware installed during the previous procedures. Sadly, she was left unable to walk normally, incontinence and loss of dexterity in her right hand. All of this will affect her for the rest of her life, including  severe depression, loss of earning capacity, chronic pain and medical expenses.

Fieger claimed negligence, gross negligence, surgical errors, and failure to perform proper exams within 24 hours of the onset of complications on behalf of the plaintiffs. 

Following a 2-week jury trial before Judge Brian Sullivan in Wayne County Circuit Court, the jury returned a verdict of $136.7 million on July 2, in favor of the plaintiffs.

In addition to this top verdict, Geoffrey Fieger, his Partner James Harrington IV, and the attorneys of Fieger Law in Southfield, Mich., earned 23 other top verdicts and settlements in 2018, totaling more than $235 million, according to the publication.

Other Fieger Law attorneys recognized in the special issue include Greg Wix, Todd Weglarz, Chris Collis, David Dworetsky, Stephanie Arndt, James Craig, James McCullen, and Don Dawson.

• Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger

Largest Verdict In The USA for 2018.

Fieger hails jurors as heroes.

Nationally known trial lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger, announced today that a Wayne County jury, sitting in the courtroom of Judge Brian Sullivan, after a two-week trial, returned a verdict on Monday, July 2, 2018, against the Detroit Medical Center, totaling $135 million as a result of crippling.

• Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger

$56.5 million verdict – Moreland v. St Joseph County et al., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Case No 3:99 CV-607-PS (2002) (Jail Death)

Geoffrey Fieger recently won the largest verdict in Indiana history in the case of Moreland v Dieter et al. A jury awarded the $56.5 million verdict May 9, 2002, on a civil rights claim involving a death in a jail cell. Christopher Moreland, 30, was arrested in the early morning of Oct. 5, 1997, for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. While housed in the St. Joseph County Jail in South Bend, a jailer sprayed him in the face with the powerful OC 10, known to be ten times stronger than pepper spray. The jailers also choked him and slammed his head against a concrete bench. Testimony revealed that two other jail deputies then took Moreland to the showers where they doused him with hot water, magnifying the effect of the OC 10, then restrained him and resprayed his face. Afterward, they threw him back into the showers causing him to hit his head and suffer a subdural hematoma. Moreland, naked and unconscious, was later pronounced dead. The deputies were acquitted of federal criminal charges, but Moreland’s family hired Fieger Law to file a civil suit. The firm sued deputies and the county jail, alleging they violated Moreland’s civil rights under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act. A jury agreed and awarded a record $56.5 million verdict.

• Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger

Isaiah was born with a severe brain injury after suffering 12 hours of fetal distress due to the negligence of the attending medical staff, who later mounted a cover-up. The medical malpractice verdict is the largest ever in Cook County, Ill., and will ensure Isaiah’s medical costs are covered for the rest of his life.

• Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger

He won $40 million in the medical malpractice case of the Estate of Terrea Holly v. Detroit Receiving Hospital and Detroit Medical Center.

During the 8-day trial in front of the Hon. Annette J. Berry in Wayne County Circuit Court, Fieger argued that had doctors conducted their care within the accepted standard, and had Holly been properly treated with anticoagulants on Oct. 17, 2013, the 26-year-old would not have suffered the massive pulmonary embolism that killed her the following day.

The jury deliberated for three hours before returning the verdict.

• Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger 

$30 million verdict – Sheikh v. Lexington Medical Center, Court of Common Pleas, Lexington County, South Carolina, Case No. 2003-CP-32-0675 (2007) (Medical Malpractice)

Geoffrey Fieger won a record verdict of $30 million in Lexington County, South Carolina, for the family of Dr. Asif Sheikh. The jury found that Lexington Medical Center negligently caused Dr. Sheikh’s death after routine knee surgery by administering an overdose of narcotics and failing to monitor his vital signs.

• Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger

$30 million verdict – Coe v City of Dearborn, Circuit Court of Wayne County, Michigan, Case No. 03-306126-NI (2005) (Automobile Negligence)

Geoffrey Fieger won a $30 million jury verdict for the family of a 35-year-old man who died after a Dearborn parking meter attendant took the law into his own hands. Agron Seiko, 20, was given a Dearborn police car to drive during his shift as a meter maid on Feb. 17, 2003. While driving the car, Seiko heard over the radio that Dearborn police were pursuing a stolen vehicle several miles from where he was. Suddenly deciding to play cop, Seiko began racing through the city at speeds approaching 100 miles an hour to reach the scene of the crime. As he sped down Rotunda Drive around 4:30 p.m., carelessly plowing through red lights, Ford Motor Company employees were just leaving work. William Vesper Owen IV, 35, was among them. Working as a Ford computer engineer for many years, Owen was pulling out of the company’s parking lot on a green light. As he proceeded to make a left-hand turn on Rotunda, Seiko struck him at nearly 60 miles per hour. Owen died a slow, painful death. Seiko was convicted of negligent homicide after being charged with manslaughter. Geoffrey Fieger filed suit against the City of Dearborn in February 2003. The city’s insurer, AIG, refused to settle the case on the advice of its attorneys, who claimed that Michigan Appellate Courts would never allow the plaintiff’s verdict to stand. In July, the suit went before the Honorable Michael Callahan of the Wayne County Circuit Court. The 10-day trial ended July 28, when the jury announced its verdict of $25 million, though, with interest, it could increase to  $30 million. Fieger said it’s a shame that city residents will have to pay for the tragic accident out of their own pocket. “The taxpayers of the City of Dearborn should tar and feather AIG Insurance Company and its attorneys. Dearborn is insured in the amount of $12 million. The case could have been settled. Instead, after paying for its insurance, the taxpayers will be stuck with a $20 million excess verdict,” Fieger said. “It is shocking that this occurred, but it is the result of the insurance company’s belief that they own the Michigan Supreme Court.”

• Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger

Curry v Westerby, Circuit Court of Genesee County, Michigan, Case No. 95-39277-NI (2000) (Automobile Negligence)

Geoffrey Fieger won a verdict of $30 million in the case of Mary Curry, who was struck five years ago by a Ryder Truck while stopped for a passing presidential motorcade. One friend in the car with her during the accident died, and Curry was severely injured.

• Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger