Circuit Court of Cook County, IL

Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered represented the family of a 31-year-old husband and father who was prescribed the drug Tambacor for a heart condition. Through the discovery process and the assistance of well-qualified experts, our firm was able to show that the drug had been improperly labeled by the manufacturer and improperly prescribed by the physician in this case. The award in this case will allow the family of this victim the opportunity to avoid the additional financial hardships that otherwise might have accompanied his tragic death.

Through our extensive history of cases in the field of medical malpractice, Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered has gained experience with, and access to, numerous highly-qualified medical physicians in virtually every area of specialty who are willing to review and testify in meritorious cases. These specialists are well aware of the firm’s reputation for scrupulously screening cases to assure that no unjustified suits are filed against medical providers. As a result of this, our firm is able to vigorously represent our clients’ interests in litigation, with the backing of the best expertise in the medical profession.

18th Judicial Circuit 12L-512.

Trial lawyer Ed Walsh obtained this medical malpractice settlement for our client, whose doctors’ negligence in failing to diagnose and treat our client’s blood bacterial infection necessitated a cardiac mitral valve replacement.

Ed Walsh was able to convince the defendant doctors and hospital to proceed to mediation before retired DuPage County Circuit Judge Hollis Webster at the earliest stages of the litigation. Judge Webster was successful in mediating the $1,000,000.00 settlement.

18th Judicial Circuit 09L-1128.

Lead trial lawyer Ed Walsh secured this medical malpractice settlement for our client during jury deliberations after a two-week trial. The case involved the death of a 38-year-old husband and father of their two young daughters; he died of bilateral pulmonary emboli that his treating physician negligently failed to diagnose.

Circuit Court of Cook County 04L-12491.

Trial lawyer Ed Walsh obtained this medical malpractice settlement for his client, whose husband suffered congestive heart failure that ultimately lead to his wrongful death. The defendant physician failed to correctly interpret abnormalities in routine annual EKG tracings. As a result, treatable cardiac conditions were neglected, and congestive heart failure developed. Defendant Dr. Thompson failed to recommend that plaintiff’s husband consult a cardiologist or receive further cardiac testing.

18th Judicial Circuit 08L-865

Lead trial lawyer Ed Walsh secured this medical malpractice settlement for our client, a 15 year old who suffered permanent paraplegia due to negligently performed spine surgery. The surgery was performed by a prominent, nationally-known pediatric orthopedic spine surgeon. The experience, skill, and wisdom of Ed Walsh resulted in the defendant surgeon and his practice group paying the full limit of their liability insurance. A Chicago suburban hospital substantially contributed to the settlement. According to the Chicago Law Bulletin Publishing Company, the settlement amount is the highest ever DuPage County settlement or jury verdict for paraplegia.

Ed Walsh was the lead trial lawyer, along with Jim Knippen, in this six-week-long jury trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chicago. 75 depositions were conducted all over the United States before this complex defective product and medical malpractice case proceeded to jury trial.

Ed Walsh’s efforts and skills as a trial lawyer were singularly devoted to securing justice for his eight-year-old client, Jane. Through the skilled use of computer digital presentation graphics demonstrative evidence, Ed was able to simplify an extremely complex product and medical case. As a result, he successfully explained how a defective ventilator and repeated medical malpractice by the Chief of Neonatology at a University Hospital needlessly caused profound brain injury in Jane, resulting in catastrophic lifelong injuries.

Ed’s experience, skill and compassion encouraged the jury to award his young client $10,080,000 so that she could be provided with the needed medical and personal care for her lifetime. No other attorney has ever achieved such a jury verdict or settlement in a product liability or medical malpractice case in the history of DuPage County.

On June 20, 2006, a Circuit Court of Cook County Jury awarded $7,287,087.00 to one of our firm’s catastrophically injured clients. Ed Walsh successfully prosecuted this challenging medical malpractice trial, which lasted 2 1/2 weeks. The case involved the professional negligence of an ENT surgeon who failed to properly surgically remove a non-cancerous facial tumor. After undergoing extensive corrective surgery by another surgeon, the plaintiff was left with significant facial paralysis and disfigurement. Prior to trial, Ed Walsh attempted to settle the case for $2.1 Million; however, the defendants, through their insurer, Illinois State Medical Insurance Exchange (ISMIE), offered $500,000 to settle the case. This unreasonable monetary offer was rejected and the case proceeded to trial, resulting in the $7.3 million jury verdict in favor of our client.

This is the third multi-million dollar medical malpractice verdict in excess of available insurance secured by Ed Walsh since 2003. This outstanding jury verdict was achieved due to several reasons: the ability of Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered to secure the pre-trial guidance and trial testimony of the finest medical expert Ear, Nose, and Throat Surgeon witnesses; the use of digital computer demonstrative medical anatomical and documentary exhibits; and the use of Summation© software, which allows the trial attorneys to digitally file and instantaneously search and use all pre-trial deposition testimony and daily copy trial testimony.

Finally, the achievement of this record jury verdict was accomplished most significantly due to the trial skills and extensive medical malpractice experience of Ed Walsh and all of the members of our firm and its trial team. Their experience as medical malpractice trial lawyers allowed the jury to fully understand the complex medical and legal issues and award fair and reasonable compensation to their worthy client.

Circuit Court of Cook County Case Number 85 L 19291

This case involved the death of a 40-year-old mother of three young children. She died as a result of her doctor failing to diagnose that she was suffering from intestinal angina, a condition which resulted in the rotting of her bowels. This medical negligence case involved claims against her family doctor, a major Chicago area university hospital, and a gastrointestinal specialist.

Pre-trial preparation and discovery in this case included the taking of 42 depositions of lay witnesses, nurses, doctors, and expert physician witnesses throughout the United States. The use of computerized deposition transcript organization allowed trial attorney Ed Walsh to efficiently organize and review all depositions immediately when necessary.

The jury trial of this case was conducted in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois; the case lasted three weeks. On the morning of closing arguments before the jury, trial attorney Ed Walsh settled this case for $2,675,000. Prior to trial, no offers of settlement were made.

As a result of the settlement, the three surviving children have been able to provide for their education and lifetime financial security, thereby allowing them to pursue and achieve their vocational and professional goals.

Circuit Court of Will County Case Number 90 L 4828

In this case, Ed Walsh represented a young boy and his family. Five hours after the infant’s birth, he suffered cardiac and respiratory arrest, resulting in profound cerebral palsy and intellectual deficits. His cardiac and respiratory arrest was caused by a Group B strep bacteria infection.

At birth, the baby had several of the classic clinical symptoms of Group B strep infection, including a drop in heart rate and ultimately cyanosis; the defendant obstetrician transferred the infant to the hospital nursery for observation without notifying a pediatrician or any attending physician, contrary to hospital policy. Upon arrival to the nursery five hours after his birth, the defendant pediatrician noted respiratory distress during her routine rounds but failed to consider or diagnose Group B strep infection.

Through selective retention of nationally known medical experts and rehabilitation life care planners, and through the efficient utilization of computerization techniques to store and review over 30 pre-trial deposition transcripts, Ed Walsh was able to secure a record-setting medical malpractice settlement for the Circuit Court of Will County in the sum of $5,735,000.00.

In recognition of the significant assistance provided to them by the staff at United Cerebral Palsy, Easter Seals, Joliet, Illinois, Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered made a substantial monetary gift donation to the school their young client attends daily.

January 5, 1995

Dear Mr. Walsh:

On behalf of everyone at United Cerebral Palsy, I want to thank you for your generous donation on behalf of your client, for the students at our Reed Street facility.

Providing services to children and adults with developmental disabilities is a mammoth undertaking which requires the involvement of everyone in our community. The Firm has taken a lead role in making our community work by joining United Cerebral Palsy in its effort to provide care, opportunities and hope to individuals with disabilities.

We are indeed fortunate to be affiliated with your organization. Your dollars will help us purchase a wide variety of equipment and supplies from which each child has an opportunity to benefit.

Thank you again for your support of our work.

Sincerely,
Geoffrey S. Obrzut,
Executive Director
United Cerebral Palsy

Cook County Case 00L 10323

Ed Walsh secured a jury verdict of $2,485,000.00. This verdict was $1,485,000.00 in excess of the Illinois State Medical Inter-Insurance Exchange Policy limit of insurance which indemnified the defendant doctor.

Ed Walsh and Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered were privileged to represent a wonderful 43-year-old man who lost total hearing in his left ear and suffers from permanent imbalance as a result of negligently performed outpatient ear surgery.

Our firm was successful in accomplishing this outstanding result for several reasons. The firm has a staff of assistants and paralegals who are experienced in the prosecution of medical negligence cases. Through detailed medical research, our firm was able to retain the services and guidance of an extremely highly qualified ENT expert witness surgeon from the most premier ear clinic in the United States. The consultation, guidance, and trial testimony of the expert ear surgeon was one of the significant reasons why this outstanding trial jury verdict was secured.

Additionally, all of the 104 trial exhibits were used and illustrated throughout the trial by way of a PowerPoint® computer graphics presentation. Similarly, Ed Walsh illustrated the significant trial exhibits and key jury instructions by way of a PowerPoint® presentation during his closing argument. Finally, all pretrial depositions and daily trial testimony were downloaded to the attorneys’ notebook computers and immediately searchable using Summation® litigation support software.

After two days of trial before the Honorable John E. Morrissey, Cook County Circuit Judge, Ed Walsh settled this challenging case against a Chicago hospital and head and neck surgeon. Sadly, after undergoing a routine outpatient surgery to correct a deviated nasal septum, Alberto Gallardo, age 34, died. Seeking justice for the needless death of her son, his 80-year-old mother retained experienced Illinois medical malpractice trial attorney, Ed Walsh.

Ed Walsh retained the expert medical guidance and testimonial assistance of a head and neck surgeon with extensive national experience in order to successfully prosecute this challenging case. The trial attorneys were able to convincingly illustrate that the defendant surgeon negligently ordered a post operative pain medication, Toradol, to be given to Alberto. As a result, his blood platelets were unable to allow his surgical wounds to coagulate and stop bleeding, thereby creating the need for two additional surgeries.

Settlement of this case was complicated by the insolvency of the defendant surgeon’s insurance company. This unfortunate event resulted in the surgeon paying for a portion of the settlement with his personal funds.

The trial attorneys were able to illustrate the strength and power of their case by creating a PowerPoint exhibit of all of their trial exhibits. This powerful demonstrative trial tool was effectively used during the direct examination of the plaintiff’s head and neck surgeon expert witness. This computer graphic trial evidence demonstration was instrumental in causing the defendants to settle this medical malpractice case.

A more detailed explanation of the facts of this malpractice case is contained in the Pre-Trial Memorandum.

DuPage County Case No. 00 L 546

After a three week jury trial before the Honorable Hollis Webster, Chief Judge of the Law Division, Ed Walsh secured a jury verdict of $1,730,000.00 in a medical malpractice case.

The trial lawyers rejected as totally unreasonable the defense’s settlement offers of $600,000 before trial and $750,000 at the conclusion of the case. The jury returned with a verdict of $1.73 million. This verdict was $730,000 in excess of the doctor defendant’s policy of insurance.

Significantly, after the verdict, Ed Walsh advised the insurance carrier for the defendant doctor that a bad faith lawsuit would be immediately filed against the insurer due to its unreasonable refusal to settle the lawsuit within the limits of the physician’s policy of insurance. The insurer then agreed to fully indemnify the defendant doctor and pay the entire judgment; however, it also elected to prosecute an appeal of the verdict.

The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the entire $1,730,000.00 verdict. Ed Walsh was successful in creating new trial practice law in the areas of rehabilitation expert witnesses and jury instructions. The opinion may be read in its entirety.

Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered was privileged to represent a 64-year-old woman who suffered profound neurological injury due to the failure of her neurologist to diagnose her treatable vitamin B12 deficiency illness.

Ed Walsh was successful in accomplishing this outstanding result for several reasons. The trial attorneys and the firm’s paralegals and legal assistants are all experienced in the prosecution of medical negligence cases. Additionally, all 22 discovery depositions and select trial testimony were downloaded to the attorney’s notebook computers, becoming immediately electronically searchable using Summation® litigation support software. This technological advantage greatly assisted our trial lawyers throughout all phases of the case, including the jury instruction conference with the Court.

All of the 394 trial exhibits were organized and digitally illustrated throughout the trial by way of a PowerPoint® computer graphics presentation. Similarly, Ed digitally illustrated the significant trial exhibits and key jury instructions during his closing argument. His use of digital computer graphics, along with his art of oral advocacy in his closing argument, greatly assisted the jury in arriving at its significant monetary verdict.

Circuit Court of Cook County, IL

Ed Walsh represented the family of a 59-year-old produce manager whose family doctor failed to follow up on his complaints related to his symptoms of colon cancer, as well as a radiologist who improperly read a barium scan of the man’s colon. The case was resolved against a final defendant in mid-trial, after the defense had refused to make any offer of settlement. The resolution provided for the victim’s widow’s financial needs and allowed her to remain in the family home. It also demonstrated our firms commitment to pursue full and fair compensation for all of our clients against all liable wrongdoers.

18th Judicial Circuit 06 L 783

Ed Walsh secured this settlement for our 11-year-old client whose mother needlessly died as a result of the negligent medical delay in the diagnosis of her breast cancer.

DuPage County Circuit Court 03L1130

Ed Walsh settled this medical malpractice case just prior to trial and after two extensive mediation sessions before the Honorable Hollis Webster. The case involved a 70-year-old woman who suffered a neurologic stroke as a result of non-emergency orthopedic ankle surgery at Elmhurst Hospital. The defendants included an internist, an orthopedic surgeon, and two anesthesiologists.

Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered were able to achieve this outstanding result by demonstrating the negligence of the doctors through the testimony of four highly respected medical expert witnesses. They simplified the issue of the causation of the stroke by working with High Impact Graphics and created a digital video illustrating the physiology of the vascular neurologic injury. The catastrophic damages suffered by their client were presented with a “day in the life” digital movie and the use of Sanctionevidentiary exhibit presentation software.

The extensive trial skills and medical malpractice experience of Ed Walsh and all of the members of our trial team allowed us to simplify a very complex medical malpractice case and achieve a successful settlement.

The trial lawyers at Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered express their deep gratitude to all of those DCBA members who continue to refer their seriously injured clients to us for limited representation, on a referral fee basis, in the challenging and specialized area of personal injury law.

Ed Walsh secured this settlement in a DuPage County wrongful death action involving the death of a two-day-old premature infant (25 weeks gestation).

16th Judicial Circuit 00LK-630

Lead trial lawyer Ed Walsh secured this medical malpractice settlement for our client after a four week jury trial. The client’s wife and unborn child died after both an emergency room physician and an obstetrician negligently failed to diagnose the wife’s aortic dissection. Defendant Dr. Nickerson instead discharged her with instructions to take Mylanta and Tylenol and to follow up with her obstetrician. Defendant obstetrician Dr. Hussey also negligently failed to diagnose the aortic dissection and discharged our client’s wife with a prescription for a stronger pain-killer.