Case Results

A young woman was driving her SUV at only 35 mph when struck by another motorist, causing her vehicle to roll over. She was ejected from the vehicle when her seatbelt malfunctioned. As a result, she has chronic, intractable pain from metal rods surgically placed in her back to stabilize her spinal cord, and required surgery to remove a kidney damaged in the rollover. Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C., argued that the auto manufacturer was responsible for an SUV design which was not crashworthy and failed to protect the driver in such a collision. The manufacturer acknowledged the propensity for the vehicle to rollover, yet did nothing to warn or protect drivers. Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C., recovered a large settlement for the client.

After surgery for an abnormally curved spine, a 7-year-old girl was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) to recover. As is proper procedure, the patient was restrained using soft wrist restraints to guard against her removing her breathing tube (a normal reaction when patients regain consciousness). Within hours of arriving at the PICU, the restraints were removed. When she awoke, she removed her breathing tube. She stopped breathing and her heart stopped. She was resuscitated, but oxygen deprivation caused permanent damage to her spinal chord. She has lost the use of her legs, cannot control bladder or bowel function and faces a lifetime of health complications. Her future medical needs will exceed $4 million. Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C., achieved a multi-million dollar settlement after two mediations.

An electrical lineman was electrocuted while replacing electrical catenary lines. He suffered multiple injuries including the amputation of both arms at the shoulder and his left leg above the knee. Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C., filed suit against multiple defendants in a highly technical and complex case involving many expert witnesses and teams of attorneys representing the various defendants. The case was settled on the first day of the trial.

After experiencing respiratory problems, a 10-week-old boy was taken by his mother to a local emergency room. The physicians failed to diagnose his illness and improperly discharged him. After his release, the baby experienced seizures which caused severe, permanent brain damage. When the boy was 4 years of age, Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C., filed a claim on his behalf. After just one week of trial, the firm recovered a large settlement, which is to be placed into trust for the child’s future care.

Labor and delivery nurses failed to recognize and react in a timely way to fetal heart rate abnormalities that can often precede uterine rupture. After several weeks of trial where liability was aggressively contested, Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C., proved that the nursing staff, undergoing a shift change, decided to wait before notifying the attending physician to evaluate the patient. As a result, Cesarean delivery was delayed until after the rupture had occurred and tragically the newborn suffered permanent and severe neurologic injuries.

The plaintiff, then 27 years old, sustained severe brain injuries as a passenger in a pick-up truck that ran a stoplight and collided with a tractor-trailer. The driver of the pick-up had auto insurance with a $300,000 policy limit. In an all-day session of negotiation before the judge scheduled to preside over trial in the case, Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C., was able to show that the tractor-trailer driver had been negligent by speeding down the exit ramp and could not stop in time to avoid the collision. The City of Philadelphia agreed to pay $50,000 for poor maintenance in the area of the accident, and the company owning the tractor-trailer agreed to pay $3.75 million in the case. The settlement is essential to care for the needs of the victim, who today is ambulatory in a wheelchair, has hearing difficulties and double vision, loss of hand-eye coordination and impaired use of her hands, as well as short-term memory loss and urinary dysfunction.

A 55-year-old city worker underwent surgery to remove a tumor on his esophagus and received pain medication through an epidural catheter inserted in his back after surgery. A few days later, when the nurse removed the catheter, she notified the surgeon of pus at the site and the doctor ordered an antibiotic to fight infection. Over the following days, the patient developed fever, elevated white blood cell count and redness at the site of the epidural—common signs of infection. Finally, after four days, the doctor scheduled the patient for an MRI. Tragically, due to the untreated MRSA infection, the patient had already become paralyzed from his chest down before the MRI could be performed. After one day of trial, Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C., reached a settlement by arguing that the negligence of the surgeon and hospital caused a tragedy, which clearly should have been avoided.