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VALENTINE’S DAY ISSUE

Jilted Bride

We represented the family of a bride whose husband-to-be called off the ceremony the night before the wedding. When the groom was a no-show at the rehearsal dinner, his friends and family
hunted him down, and he admitted that he didn’t want to go through with the wedding, which was then cancelled. The bride’s family had spent over $85,000 up to that point (gown, country club banquet room, food, flowers, photographer, etc.) and were able to only recover a portion of that amount. We filed suit alleging that the bride’s family paid for the wedding in exchange for the event to take place as planned. The lawsuit alleged that the groom’s refusal amounted to his breaching that agreement and gave rise to his responsibility to pay for all of their losses. A claim for punitive damages was included in the suit. Initially, the groom asserted that the bride’s family paid for the wedding simply because they wanted their daughter to be married, and there was no responsibility to pay the family back. The matter was confidentially settled 3 days after the lawsuit was filed.

Doctor’s Negligence Leads to Impotence

We represented a married Philadelphia couple (Mike and Mary) in their late 40’s in a lawsuit against their family physician. Mike was a machinist in relatively good health and Mary worked at home taking care of their 3 children. At Mike’s routine physical when he was 45, the doctor did a PSA blood test to test for prostate cancer (a standard test for men of his age). The doctor told Mike that “if anything comes back positive, we’ll let you know.” The results did, in fact, come back positive, but the doctor misplaced the paperwork and never notified Mike or Mary. Five years later, the mistake was discovered. By that time, the cancer had progressed so that the tumor was interfering with the nerves around the prostate; this required the surgical removal of the nerves necessary for an erection, along with the removal of the prostate. The effect of this 5 year delay was twofold: 1) the cancer metastasized and could spread to other organs, and 2) the removal of the nerves caused impotence that was only remedied through expensive procedures that Mike’s insurance would not pay for. We filed a medical malpractice action and our oncologist and urologist experts stated that the nerve bundles would not have been removed had the cancer been detected five years earlier. The case settled during jury selection for a confidential amount that enabled Mike and Mary to afford the procedures and renew their intimacy.

Arbitrator Awards 50% of Verdict to Spouse

Our client was 60 when he visited an outpatient surgery center for a procedure to correct snoring. Due to the doctors’ failure to properly monitor the patient during and after surgery, he suffered brain damage from a lack of oxygen, something that was corroborated by the many experts we brought in on the case. Our client was an first generation Italian immigrant who ran his own
barber shop. After the surgery, he was unable to feed himself, bathe or even go to the bathroom. His wife, also an Italian immigrant, took it upon herself to provide round-the-clock care for her husband. The arbitrator recognized the devastating toll the injury had on her and awarded her 50% of the verdict.

Loss of Consortium
Under Pennsylvania law, Loss of Consortium is an actionable injury for the loss of love, sexual relations, and services of a spouse due to injury for which money damages may be awarded. These types of claims arise out of  personal injury cases such as medical malpractice, negligence, and wrongful death. This is a legal claim that is made by the spouse who did not suffer the actual physical injury or death.

The Return of Love!

Did you know that the world-famous “Love” statue was on the move this week? It’s returning to its home in – where else? – Love Park, Philadelphia. It will be a welcome sight downtown.

Did you also know… we LOVE working with referrals? Call us and let’s make a date… to talk about that injury case we can handle for you.