Chicago Lawyer Wins Group of Huge Medical Malpractice Suits
Related Entries: Medical Malpractice - StateChicago trial attorney Kevin Burke appears to be on on heck of a roll...
In the past 13 months, the quiet lawyer has won roughly $104 million in settlements in medical malpractice cases.
The multimillion-dollar awards, he said, compensate clients for pain, suffering and a lifetime of medical bills arising from botched care.
In only one of his cases, Burke recently won a $34 million settlement from St. Francis Hospital in Blue Island for 7-year-old Tairay Sewell. Tairay has suffered brain damage, allegedly as a result of a mishandled birth at St. Francis Hospital.
Tairay can't walk, talk or even eat by himself. His mother, Misty Campbell, said Burke "wanted to see justice prevail."
But to doctors squeezed by skyrocketing liability insurance premiums, such large judgments are one of the many indicators that shows whats wrong with an out-of-control tort system.
"They create a lottery mentality that increases the incentive to file lawsuits, whether the suits have merit or not," said Dr. Craig Backs, president-elect of the Illinois State Medical Society.
During the 12-month period ending last Aug. 31, Cook County jurors awarded $161 million in 30 medical malpractice verdicts. There were seven verdicts of more than $10 million. During the same period, 191 reported cases were settled out of court, for an average of $2.4 million, according to Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter.
Posted on March 22, 2005 09:34 AM
