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Near Lena, Illinois, a 59-year-old
man was driving his pick up truck along a two-lane road. At the
same time tractor-trailer was traveling in the opposite direction
The tractor driver indicated that the brakes had locked and caused
him to skid into the on coming lane, striking the pick up head on.
The result was a broken clavicle and hand of the pick up driver.
He remained off work for nearly 2 years while healing and then retired
from his job as a union laborer.
Since the insurance company for the
trucking concern would not even return the injured man’s phone
calls or pay his medical bills, Attorney David Dugan filed suit
in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
alleging that the driver of the tractor-trailer was negligent. However,
during his investigation of the collision, it was uncovered that
the tractor had a long history of brake maintenance problems and
that the truck was placed back on the road with these known problems.
The owner of the truck was joined as a defendant as well.
The injured man, now 62, had incurred
$24,000 in medical expenses. The insurance company initially offered
$100,000. That offer was declined. In the end, he was awarded $397,000.00
as compensation for his injuries.
Near Jerseyville, Illinois, a young
woman, a physical therapist, was returning to her work in Southern,
Illinois, when a salesperson for a local newspaper ran a stop sign,
causing a collision. The young woman received injury to her neck
and knee, requiring surgery to each. She has recovered and has returned
to work as a physical therapist following a two-year recovery period.
Suit was filed against the salesperson
and the newspaper’s owners. David Dugan discovered during investigation
that the salesperson was actually delivering newspapers to customers
who had not yet received the day’s edition. She was awarded
$425,000.00 for her injuries.
A 35 year old man developed a gall
bladder condition and was admitted by his physician to a local hospital.
The surgeon performed a procedure known as “laproscopic Cholesecectomy”,
which is accomplished through making holes or “portals”
in the skin where entry can be made to remove the gall bladder.
During the course of the surgery, the surgeon cut a bile duct that
should not have been cut. The doctor, apparently unaware of the
mistake, closed his patient and sent him home the next day.
The patient began to have pain, and
the wounds were leaking fluid. He was re-admitted to the hospital
and transferred to a St. Louis hospital where a 7-hour surgery was
necessary to correct the problem. Fortunately, the reconstructive
surgery was successful, and the effects of the first surgery were
minimal when compared to the great potential for harm.
The man has returned to work at his
usual job.
David Dugan filed suit against the
doctor who conducted the first surgery and, during the course of
litigation, settlement was reached thereafter for the sum of $220,000.00
A 55-year-old Union Painter had had
prior surgeries to each of his shoulders for rotator cuff tears.
Then in 2001, while on his way home from work, a young man driving
his girlfriend's car rear-ended the painter. He immediately felt
pain in one shoulder, most likely because he gripped the steering
wheel firmly before being struck. As a result, another surgery was
required. The insurance company claimed that the injury to his shoulder
was from years as a painter, and not from the collision. The insurance
adjuster offered only $50,000 to settle. That offer was rejected.
The insurance company hired a renowned shoulder surgeon from St.
Louis who agreed with the insurer that there was no relationship
between the collision and the damage to his shoulder. Attorney David
W. Dugan secured the depositions of the surgeon who had previously
conducted the surgeries to the painter's shoulders, and asked them
to compare the earlier x-rays and MRI films to those taken post
collision. That surgeon agreed that there was, in fact, a difference
between the conditions of the shoulder that he attributed to the
2001 collision.
Less than one week before trial was to begin, the insurance company
offered to pay all the available insurance to the painter, $300,000.00
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A 58 year old
man had worked for a nationaly known medical supply company when
he suffered an injury to his back. He had been making less than
$20,000 a year and he had been given two employee of the month awards
before his injury. He remained off work while recuperating when,
one day, he received word from his employer that he had been fired
because he failed to report back to work after exhausting his Family
Medical Leave Act benefits. But, he had never requested those benefits.
An attempt was made by his attorney to have the company re-hire
him. The company refused. Fortunately, he shortly found other comparable
employment.
Suit was filed
in Federal Court alleging that the employer violated Illinois Law
when the firing took place. An offer of $5,000 was made by the employer
to settle the case, which the employer considered only a "nuisance"
case. But, during discovery, hidden deep in numerous documents,
David W. Dugan found a page that illustrated that it was the "policy"
of this organization to terminate certain employees in violaton
of Illinois Law. The suit was settled shortly thereafter for $55,000,
nearly three years of his former wages.
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A 19 year old
was riding his motorcycle in Carlyle, Illinois, when a vehicle failed
to yield, causing a collision. The rider was seriously injured,
with cuts to his leg and face. Unfortuneately, the negligent driver
had only minimal insurance, insufficient to pay the medical bills
and lost wages he incurred. The rider turned to his own insurance
company, but that company claimed that his insurance limits were
no higher than the driver of the car. He was referred by former
client to David W. Dugan.
Copies of all
of the policies were gathered, and David W. Dugan found that one
of the rider's family's policies had limits of $250,000.00. A demand
for that amount was made to the adjuster who refused to pay the
full amount. The insurance company disagreed that the policy provided
coverage in the full amount as was alleged. Suit was filed, and
the insurance company hired outside counsel who quickly informed
it that our assessment of the coverage was correct and that the
full amount of the policy should be paid. Shortly thereafter. the
insurance company paid the $250,000 to settle the case.
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