Wisconsin Parents Win $11.4 Million in Malpractice Suit
Midwest News • October 27, 2008
A Wisconsin jury has awarded the parents of a brain-damaged boy $11.4 million in a medical malpractice case.
Chad and Amy Jelinek of Eastman claimed in a 2006 lawsuit that negligent care by a ...
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Subject: Compassion?
Posted On: October 27, 2008, 2:50 pm CDT
Posted By: Greg
Comment:
This case isn't about Laine Jelinek's lawyer. It's about what happened to this baby during his birth, how his injuries and disability could have been avoided, and how Laine's condition has affected and will forever affect his family.
These cases are defended tooth and nail by hospitals, doctors and the companies that insure them. Misleading defenses, skilled corporate defense lawyers and physician "experts" with their own agendas to defeat all birth injury claims are the norm. Anyone who suggests this child's lawyer had nothing to do with the result or that this case was "easy money" doesn't have any idea about the realities of law suits like the Jilenek family's case.
The family's lawyer took a huge risk in taking this case, knowing the miniscule odds of success in medical malpractice cases across this state. He also likely expended $100,000 or more of his own funds to prepare this case for trial and to try it. Even so, the lawyer's share of the judgment (assuming the defendants choose to pay it instead of filing an appeal that will take another 2 years to resolve) will be a lot less than "half" of the verdict, as someone else suggested. The result? This child and the family will see a real, tangible benefit to them in terms of the quality of care the family will be able to afford for Laine. Given the jury's decision that Laine's injuries were caused by negligence by the delivery team, it sure seems right that the child should be able to receive adequate health care for the rest of his life and be compensated for what he and his family have lost.
Subject: Compassion?
These cases are defended tooth and nail by hospitals, doctors and the companies that insure them. Misleading defenses, skilled corporate defense lawyers and physician "experts" with their own agendas to defeat all birth injury claims are the norm. Anyone who suggests this child's lawyer had nothing to do with the result or that this case was "easy money" doesn't have any idea about the realities of law suits like the Jilenek family's case.
The family's lawyer took a huge risk in taking this case, knowing the miniscule odds of success in medical malpractice cases across this state. He also likely expended $100,000 or more of his own funds to prepare this case for trial and to try it. Even so, the lawyer's share of the judgment (assuming the defendants choose to pay it instead of filing an appeal that will take another 2 years to resolve) will be a lot less than "half" of the verdict, as someone else suggested. The result? This child and the family will see a real, tangible benefit to them in terms of the quality of care the family will be able to afford for Laine. Given the jury's decision that Laine's injuries were caused by negligence by the delivery team, it sure seems right that the child should be able to receive adequate health care for the rest of his life and be compensated for what he and his family have lost.