Onstad Blog

Dec 23

Written by: Rock Onstad
12/23/2009 2:59 PM 

 

As a long-time Texas personal injury lawyer, I have seen a sea change in the law over the last 10 years. If  you have come to this blog because you or a loved one has been injured or, worse yet, a loved one has been killed due to the negligence of a driver, or a doctor, a hospital or a manufacturer, then the changes matter to you as a possible litigant in a lawsuit. I’ll be talking about those changes in this blog for a few posts. These are the kinds of things I explain to my clients all the time to help them understand the limitations of their attempt to recover damages.
 
In 1997, the Texas Supreme Court effectively stopped victims of medical malpractice from recovering damages from a hospital that knowingly allows bad doctors to operate in their operating rooms. It does not matter that the doctor is a cocaine addict or incompetent. The Supreme Court says the victim must prove malice on the part of the hospital, but proving malice is impossible because hospitals have a peer review privilege which hides from public scrutiny the facts they may know about any bad doctors on their medical staff. 
 
Sound like Catch-22? It is. 
 
If you are the victim of medical malpractice in a hospital at the hand of an impaired physician or just plain inadequate doctor, it may not seem like justice…because it isn’t.
 
Next, what doesn’t work in Texas when pain and suffering damages are limited.
 

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VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS in which Rockne W. Onstad was Lead Counsel or Co-Counsel

    Gross Amount  Client Recovery        Attorney Fee           Expenses Nature
$13,650,000 $8,055,000 $5,460,000 $135,000 Defective manufacture, military helicopter gear box, spinal cord injuries (settlement)
$9,200,000 $6,320,064 $2,760,000 $119,358 Defective design, airplane component, wrongful deaths (settlement)
$6,800,000 $4,473,334 $2,266,666 $60,000 Brain injury, defective water slide, amusement park negligence (settlement)
$4,800,000 $2,347,000 $2,400,000 $53,000 Hospital labor and delivery negligence, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (settlement)
$4,300,000 $309,000 $138,000 $13,000 Wrongful death, pilot error in airplace crash (jury verdict)
$3,850,000 $2,373,000 $1,425,000 $52,000 Birth asphyxia, cerebral palsy, obstetrical negligence, fetal distress (settlement)
$3,500,000 $2,028,000 $1,400,000 $72,000 Spinal cord injury, defective truck component – truck rollover (settlement)
$3,235,000 $2,361,250 $808,750 $65,000 Brain injury, federal tort claims act, FAA negligence (bench verdict)
$3,000,000 $1,724,000 $1,200,000 $76,000 Cauda Equina Syndrom, neurosurgeon negligence in spinal surgery (settlement)
$2,900,000 $844,000 $694,000 $26,000 Spinal & leg injuries, driver negligence (verdict/settlement-gross reduced on appeal)
$2,650,000 $1,804,667 $833,333 $12,000 Wrongful death, hotel fire (settlement)
$2,500,000 $1,644,667 $833,333 $22,000 Arm loss, product liability, defective design of farm tractor (settlement)
$2,300,000 $1,399,000 $960,000 $41,000 Brain injury, anesthesia negligence (settlement)
$2,300,000 $1,321,000 $920,000 $59,000 Spinal cord injury, 3 wheel all terrain vehicle defective design (settlement)
$2,200,000 $1,276,000 $880,000 $44,000 Brain injury, obstetrical negligence, pre-eclampsia, cerebral palsy (settlement)
$2,200,000 $1,267,000 $880,000 $53,000 Spinal injury, construction negligence & insurance bad faith (settlement)
$2,000,000 $1,303,334 $666,666 $30,000 Wrongful death, esophageal intubation, nurse anesthetist negligence (settlement)
$2,000,000 $1,106,887 $800,000 $93,111 Brain injury, radiologist negligence & product liability (settlement)
$2,000,000 $976,484 $976,482 $47,034 Brain injury, obstetrical negligence, forceps delivery, preeclampsia (settlement)
$2,000,000 $972,331 $972,669 $55,000 Brain injury, obstetrician negligence, UPI & IUGR (settlement)
$1,900,000 $905,000 $950,000 $45,000 Clinic failure to supervise impaired physician, four victims (settlement)
$1,700,000 $1,130,730 $565,363 $3,907 Burn injuries, defectively designed refueling nozzle, military aircraft (settlement)
$1,400,000 $718,689 $560,000 $121,310 Brain injury, shunt infection, neurosurgical negligence (jury trial & settlement)
$1,400,000 $818,000 $560,000 $22,000 Spinal cord injury, automobile driver negligence (jury trial & settlement)
$1,403,000 $848,221 $503,552 $51,227 Brain injury, obstetric negligence, Group B strep (settlement)
$1,300,000 $754,000 $520,000 $26,000 Retinopathy of prematurity, visual impairment, pediatric negligence (settlement)
$1,300,000 $341,000 $250,000 $33,189 Wrongful death, E.R. physician negligence, sepsis (jury verdict and settlement))
$1,237,000 $794,667 $412,333 $30,000 Brain injury, pedi-cardiologist negligence (settlement)
$1,167,000 $628,187 $466,800 $72,513 Wrongful death, E.R. physician failed diagnose infarct (settlement)
$1,150,000 $727,667 $383,333 $39,000 Brain injury, obstetric negligence, Group B strep, cerebral palsy (settlement)
$1,100,000 $634,004 $440,000 $25,996 Impaired survival, delayed diagnosis of breast cancer (settlement)
$1,060,000 $532,715 $478,991 $48,294 Brain injury, obstetrical negligence, breech delivery (settlement)
$1,000,000 $630,000 $333,000 $37,000 Wrongful death, military aircraft manufacturing defect, product liability (settlement)
$1,000,000 $566,116 $400,000 $34,884 Wrongful death, surgeon negligently injured bile duct (settlement)
$1,000,000 $477,500 $477,500 $45,000 Wrongful death, negligent bariatric surgery (settlement)
$1,000,000 $606,732 $350,000 $43,268 Brain injury, family practitioner negligence, preeclampsia (settlement)
$1,000,000 $514,000 $400,000 $86,000 Brain injury, Crawler crane track failure (settlement)
$1,111,000 $596,603 $444,000 $70,397 Heart attack, product liability, cardilogist negligence (settlement)
$2,950,000 $1,725,000 $1,180,000 $45,000 Defective helicopter design, wrongful deaths (verdict/settlement)
$2,800,000 $1,854,667 $933,333 $12,000 Wrongful death, hotel fire, premises liability (settlement)
$1,900,000 $73,000 Wrongful death, pilot error, helicopter crash (jury verdict-no insurance coverage)
$1,500,000 $947,000 $520,000 $33,000 Wrongful death, defective design military aircraft component (settlement)
$1,111,000 $594,975 $444,400 $71,625 Heart attack, product liability and cardiology negligence (settlement)
$500,000 $225,000 $250,000 $25,000 Wrongful death, defective design of hay baler (settlement)
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