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 

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

$30 million verdict- Hollins v Mt Sinai, et al., Court of Common Pleas, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Case No. 484240 (Birth Trauma)

A Cuyahoga County jury held in favor of a brain-damaged 17-year-old boy and slammed a doctor and hospital with a $30 million medical malpractice verdict – the largest ever awarded in the county. Walter Hollins of Cleveland, who has the mental capacity of a 1-year-old, clapped when the verdict was announced, but couldn’t comprehend the historic event unfolding in Judge Robert Lawther’s courtroom. The panel of four men and four women decided in a 6-2 verdict that Dr. Ronald Jordan and the medical staff of the now-defunct Mt. Sinai Medical Center were negligent at the boy’s birth on Jan. 29, 1987. Witnesses testified that Harris waited for more than two hours to receive an emergency Cesarean section, during which time the oxygen flow to Walter’s brain was cut off. The majority of jurors found that the doctor and hospital staff shared responsibility for Walter’s injuries, including cerebral palsy and no use of his arms or legs. His condition is incurable. Attorney Geoffrey Fieger had asked the jury for $35 million in damages to pay for round-the-clock nursing care for Walter, future surgeries, lost earnings and pain and suffering. “If I were the defense, I don’t think I would have taken me on in the first place,” said Fieger, who called the circumstances of Walter’s birth some of the most horrific he had ever seen. The majority of the jurors agreed. “Although Mt. Sinai no longer exists, a $77 million insurance fund remains to be tapped for damages,” Fieger said.

• Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger

$30 million verdict – Gilbert v DiamlerChrysler, Circuit Court of Wayne County, Michigan, Case No. 94 409216 NH (1999) (Sexual Harassment)

Outnumbered by men 80 to 1, a female millwright suffered abuse for years at Daimler Chrysler. Geoffrey Fieger won a $30 million judgment against the automaker in the sexual harassment case. This award is the largest single sexual harassment verdict in U.S. history.

• Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger