Results

Estate of Holly Maddux v. Ira Einhorn: We obtained the largest judgment ever against a single individual, a $907 million verdict against Ira Einhorn for the murder of his girlfriend, Holly Maddux. Perhaps known as the most egregious murder in Philadelphia’s history, committed by one of the city’s most infamous sociopaths, Jim Beasley Sr. took on the case when he learned from the Maddux family that Einhorn was planning to write a book, which would have handsomely compensated him for telling his story. The Beasley Firm’s victory stopped Einhorn from ever seeing a penny in profit from his horrible crime and murder. The firm handled the case for free.

Smith v Republic of Iraq et al: The firm won a $104 million verdict in 2003 on behalf of the families of victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, the only September 11 verdict in history. The verdict was directed against the Republic of Iraq, al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The case was tried before a Federal Judge in Manhattan. The lawyers from The Beasley Firm were the first and only to prove that the Republic of Iraq provided “material support or resources” to, and conspired with, Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network of terrorists. The Beasley Firm lawyers took a shrewd approach, focusing on only six defendants. We deployed expert witnesses in masterful fashion, with testimony powerful enough to convince a federal judge that a credible cause of action existed. It was a case widely scoffed at by legal observers when it was first filed. No one thought The Beasley Firm lawyers could marshal sufficiently compelling evidence. Instead, with the assistance of former CIA director R. James Woolsey, and Laurie Mylroie, Ph.D., as well as compelling satellite photos, statements from foreign Ambassadors, and volumes of exhibits, The Beasley Firm obtained the world’s only 9-11 verdict.

Vlazny v. Cavarrocci MD et al: The largest medical malpractice verdict in Pennsylvania history. This case involved an adult heart surgeon who operated on a baby who required a relatively simple heart surgery. Dr. Cavarrocci was unfamiliar with the tiny anatomy of a very small, premature neonate, and his lack of knowledge caused the baby to suffer severe brain damage and amputation of his arm.

Gault v. Norwood: 2nd largest medical malpractice verdict in history. We obtained this record setting verdict just weeks after being awarded the $100 million verdict. This case was against the world famous cardiothoracic heart surgeon, William Norwood, M.D., who performed an unauthorized surgical procedure on Stephen Gault, rendering him severely brain damaged and in permanent need of lifelong care. A beautiful little boy was born healthy, with a small narrowing in the aorta, the blood vessel that leaves the baby’s heart and goes to the body. This condition is known as a “Coarctation of the Aorta” and it requires a simple operation through the rib cage to easily correct it. He also had a small hole in his heart that was closing on its own and all of his doctors reported it was a non-issue. Stephen was taken to the pediatric heart surgeon to repair the Aorta, but instead of doing the procedure that the parents were told was going to be done, the doctor did an additional procedure to also fix the hole in the child’s heart. That procedure required the doctors stop the baby’s heart and also stop all blood flow in his body. To do this they had to cool his body to about 55 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure the body was cold and to protect the brain. Unfortunately when they cooled him they did it too fast and the brain was still warm when the blood flow was stopped. When they woke him up after the surgery, he had a massive seizure that left him unable to walk, talk, see or care for himself. We obtained a $55 million verdict on behalf of this child to ensure he would always be cared for.

Fallon v Snyder: Jim Beasley, Sr. and Marsha Santangelo tried a six-week-long medical negligence case on behalf of a brain injured child. The suit involved obstetrical negligence which caused a mother to deliver her baby prematurely and immediately after the birth, another doctor caring for the premature baby in the delivery room put the breathing tube into the baby’s esophagus instead of the lungs. Because the lungs were not receiving oxygen, the baby suffered from oxygen deprivation and severe brain damage.

Sprague v. Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc.: The largest defamation award in Pennsylvania history. The Beasley Firm sued the Philadelphia Inquirer and won $34 million on behalf of Richard Sprague, who was accused of quashing a murder investigation when he was acting as Philadelphia’s Assistant District Attorney. Tried twice, with the first verdict of $3.4 million, but when retried a different jury also found that the newspaper had intentionally harmed Mr. Sprague and came down with the record setting verdict: $2.5 million compensatory and $31.5 million punitive damages. This case lasted for more than twenty years and is a testament to The Beasley Firm’s tenacity in fighting for what’s right on behalf of those that have been injured.

Guarnere v. Cessna Aircraft Corporation Verdict: This was a record setting verdict for an airplane crash that involved a seat defect in a Cessna aircraft. The defective seat caused the pilot’s seat to slide backwards while the pilot was attempting to land, causing the pilot to lose control of the airplane and crash. Three of the four passengers, including the pilot were killed.

Fledderman v. Glunk: This tragic case came into the firm through the Firm’s founder, Jim Beasley Sr., and involved the unnecessary death of a teenager after an elective liposuction procedure. By the time this case was completed, the Beasley Firm expended over $390,000.00 to investigate this tragedy, generated over 10,000 pages of documents, and spent five weeks on trial. Former Beasley Firm attorneys Slade McLaughlin used their knowledge and the Firm’s resources to obtain a highly publicized $20.5 million verdict for the family of this young woman. At its core, the plastic surgeon failed to acknowledge the woman was suffering from post-operative complications and was having trouble breathing and the CRNA looked the other way why the woman was dying. Justice was served when the jury awarded the $20.5 million on the 7th year anniversary of this woman’s death.

The family of twins injured during their Mother’s prenatal care came to Jim Beasley, Jr. and The Beasley Firm to bring a claim against the physicians and hospital that caused catastrophic injuries to the twins. Proving the case was difficult, but The Beasley Firm’s detailed investigation and strong cross examination of the defendants’ experts resulted in one of the largest medical malpractice recoveries in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This recovery, having been brought in one of the more conservative counties in Pennsylvania, is of particular pride to The Beasley Firm, and proves that no matter where negligence occurs, we are there to help our clients.

Skirpan v. Catepillar , Inc. and Chrin Brothers Settlement: Ex-marine Scott Skirpan was working in a land fill when he was run over by a bulldozer. His co-workers and driver of the bulldozer fled the scene of the accident, leaving Scott helplessly pinned underneath the truck with traumatic amputations of both legs. Scott, while going into shock due to excessive blood loss, called 911 himself from his cell phone. The actual 911 emergency call was played during the trial. Cases, such as this one, require a great deal of expenses to fully investigate and prepare. Many law firms do not have the finances to be able to work up cases of this magnitude with no guarantee of the final outcome. Here at The Beasley Firm, we were able to invest over $400,000.00 in costs to prepare this file, allowing former Beasley attorneys Paul Lauricella and Slade McLaughlin to enter the courtroom with no stone unturned. The Firm’s investment led to the defendants settling the case for $16.25 million.

Dupon v. Holy Redeemer Hospital Verdict: $15 million verdict for a woman who suffered a stroke during carotid artery surgery. Barbara Axelrod successfully handled the post-trial appeals in this case, allowing The Beasley Firm to hold on to the verdict.

Jim Beasley Jr., Scott Bennett, and Jimmy Binns represented the family of a man who was hit head-on by a drunk driver. This driver went to two bars, the second bar whose identify was unknown until The Beasley Firm’s relentless investigation identified this bar. After extensive and aggressive discovery, The Beasley Firm was able to prove that these bars were aware of this driver’s drunken state, and with the threat of a trial looming, they settled for a record amount.

Hoffer v. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Verdict: On November 2, 2012, after a two week trial, a Philadelphia jury awarded 12.6 million dollars to a child who suffered severe brain injury due to the neglect of his health care providers. When his mother was 38 weeks pregnant, the baby had flipped around inside her, for the first time in a “breech” position rather than head down. The midwife diagnosed this during a routine visit, but failed to call a physician to attempt to externally turn the baby. Instead, she was discharged without care, and scheduled for a cesarean section the following week. The day before she was supposed to have the cesarean section, her water broke and the umbilical cord prolapsed out and was between her legs. They rushed to the hospital but by the time the baby was delivered by emergency cesarean section it was too late and he suffered severe and permanent brain damage.

After two days of deliberations the jury awarded $1.5 million in lost earnings, $3 million in pain and suffering, and $8.1 million in future medical expenses. Beasley Firm attorney Jim Beasley Jr tried this case on behalf of the family.

Jim Beasley Jr, Dion Rassias, and The Beasley Firm’s Special Counsel Jimmy Binns represented a family whose triplet children were serious injuries, with one of the triplets passing away, due to a dump truck crashing into a school bus taking the children to school. The case was very complex in developing the proper theories to ensure that the parties who were responsible and could pay a judgment were held accountable. With detailed accident reconstruction and highly qualified experts, The Beasley Firm was able to successfully resolve this matter and get some closure to this horrific accident for this family.

Myers & Gray v. Philadelphia Housing Authority: $11 million verdict for failure to ensure working smoke detectors were present in the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) houses.

A fire consumed the houses and killed the occupants, after the PHA knew that there were missing or defective smoke detectors. The Firm donated hundreds of smoke detectors to all public housing units as a result of this case.

Jim Beasley Jr. was asked to represent a man who was blinded after a heart transplant. Through relentless discovery, Jim was able to learn that the surgeon who was supposed to be monitoring this patient went to observe another operation, leaving the patient (and our client) to become blinded due to the delay in returning him to the operating room to correct the abnormal blood pressures due to complications of the heart transplant.

$8,000,000 verdict for helicopter crash victim.

In a particularly tragic case, the parents of a child who died after being improperly discharged from a community hospital reached out to Jim Beasley Jr. to investigate how this could have happened, and to hold the doctors and the hospital who permitted this to happen accountable. After extensive investigation, Jim and Pete Johnsen uncovered that the doctors at this hospital were more focused on discharging this child rather than abiding by the parents’ wishes to transfer him to a pediatric specialty hospital. This recovery, in a conservative county in Pennsylvania, was one of the largest recoveries in that county for a medical malpractice wrongful death case.

$7 million settlement for blindness after heart surgery. Our client underwent heart surgery and woke up blind after the surgery. The anesthesiologist let the blood pressure get too low and stay very low for too long. The drop in the blood pressure caused a lack of blood flow and oxygen to our client’s optic nerves in the eyes and it caused permanent damage to the optic nerves and blindness.

$6.6 million automobile accident settlement. Our client was paralyzed in a car accident in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Jim Beasley Jr. was contacted by another attorney to handle this catastrophic injury case. Attorneys Jim Beasley Jr. and Scott Bennett quickly worked up the case, including obtaining medical support from our client’s treating surgeons, producing a “day in the life” video, and other lifecare plans to force the insurance companies to resolve it for all of the insurance funds available. Jim and Scott got this settlement completed in less than six months, a record time period and amount, particularly in Bucks County, a notoriously conservative and defense-friendly venue.

Jim Beasley Jr was asked by the family of a child who ended up blind due to a delay in diagnosing cancer in his eyes. A very challenging case to prove, only after Jim took these defendants to trial did they settle to provide the funds needed to provide the needed care for this child.

Jim Beasley Jr. was referred this lawsuit from another highly competent Philadelphia malpractice lawfirm who had evaluated it and decided they did not think they would win it at trial. Jim, along with Pete Johnsen, aggressively worked this case up and took it to trial. After a week of trial, the defendants asked the judge to help get this case settled. The judge worked well to bring the parties together, and as a result this client now has the funds to ensure his care and needs are met.

The Beasley Firm is known for its verdicts and settlements on behalf of children injured during pediatric heart surgery, and this case was no different. Taking on the best and brightest surgeons in the world is not something that most law firms do; it’s routine at the Beasley Firm. Jim Beasley Jr. led the Firm’s prosecution of the physicians and hospital that caused this child’s brain damage during this complex and challenging heart surgery.

Valenti v. Central Parking

$5 million verdict for a security guard who was injured at the Philadelphia Sports Complex:

Calvin Valenti was a lifelong Phillies fan and spent his life working for Comcast Spectacor at the Philadelphia Sports Complex. One day, while Calvin was performing security checks at the entrance to the sports complex, one of the parking lot payment booths blew over during a wind gust, crushing Calvin. He suffered a ruptured bowel and many broken bones, requiring multiple surgeries and months of rehabilitation. Jim Beasley Jr. and Dion Rassias tried this case for Mr. Valenti, and overcame many legal hurdles to ensure that Central Parking was held

$5 million settlement for a client for failure to diagnose and treat an infection after spinal surgery that led to screws moving, causing paraplegia

$5 million settlement for a brain-damaged baby after pediatric heart surgery. Our client suffered severe brain damage and a wrongful death after open-heart surgery. In order to perform the surgery, the child’s blood flow had to be stopped, and the doctors have to cool the entire body to a very low temperature to protect the brain from damage prior to stopping the heart. Unfortunately, the doctors cooled the child too fast, permitting the brain to still be warm, and in need of oxygen, before the heart was stopped. The result was severe brain damage and after approximately five years of terrible pain and suffering, this child passed away.

$4.5 million settlement: Failure to diagnose a congenital heart defect and it caused brain damage. This little boy was born approximately two months premature and had an unusual breathing problem. When the doctors put a breathing tube into his lungs, he would breathe fine. When they took the tube out, he couldn’t breathe. After a few days of this, one of the resident physicians suggested that the doctors get a CT scan to see if something was pushing on the baby’s airway, which would be opened only when the breathing tube was pushed beyond the area where the airway was being compressed. The attending doctors refused, not interested in listening to a resident. After two years of suffering, damage to his airway, a tracheostomy and permanent brain damage, someone ordered the same test that the resident doctor suggested years before. The resident was right, and the arrogant attending doctors were wrong. We sued these doctors and the hospital and after an extensive investigation and almost three weeks of trial, we settled this case for $4.5 million for this child.

$4.5 million recovery for a patient injured in a psychiatric center. Jayne Piarulli represented a young man who was seeking treatment for his schizophrenia. While he was a patient in the state-run psychiatric center, there was an altercation that left the patient paralyzed and a quadriplegic.

Jones v Lovrinic: $4.4 million verdict: Failure to diagnose tongue cancer.

Bob Jones was an engineer, devoted husband, and father of two daughters. He religiously went to his doctor and was checked for white spots on his tongue, a condition known as “leukoplakia.” Even though the doctor knew these could turn into cancer, he didn’t biopsy the spots until it was too late. Mr. Jones had developed metastatic tongue cancer, which required many aggressive treatments including removing Bob Jones’ tongue and teeth, in addition to strong chemotherapy and radiation treatments. We brought suit and obtained a $4.4 million verdict for his family.x`

$4 million settlement: Failure to diagnose a post-operative bleed, and the patient bled to death in the recovery room.

Joe Ruzzi was a healthy twenty-year-old boy studying to be a chef when he tripped and fell down a flight of stairs. He was fine but had pain in the left side of his abdomen. He was evaluated in the emergency room where he was diagnosed with a ruptured spleen, which required surgery to remove it. After the surgery, while still in the recovery room, he started to bleed from the surgical site and his heart rate started to increase, his blood pressure started to drop, and he needed more and more blood transfusions to maintain his vital signs. The surgeon was made aware, but wouldn’t come back to evaluate Joe. The physicians in the recovery room did not call another doctor until it was too late and Joe Ruzzi’s heart stopped. Although another doctor who happened to be walking by Joe after his heart stopped rushed him back to the OR, it was too late. Joe had about two gallons of blood in his belly, and couldn’t be saved. The doctors and hospital paid $4 million to settle the case and avoid a trial.

$3.9 million settlement during trial: Prenatal/Birth negligence: failure to deliver baby showing distress on Fetal Monitoring Strips

Mom was a young woman with her first pregnancy and was excited to finally become a parent. She made every prenatal visit and did everything just as her doctors told her to ensure her little boy would be perfect. On the day she was admitted to the hospital to deliver her son, things started to go terribly wrong, but no one told Mom that anything was wrong. The fetal monitoring strips, the only way that doctors can look into the womb and see if the baby is healthy, were very abnormal. For hours during labor this poor baby was being starved of oxygen, but no one did anything. He was born naturally and when he came out he was blue, lifeless, and in need of total resuscitation and CPR. He suffered massive brain damage and cannot speak or feed himself, and needs a wheelchair and full-time care, for the rest of his life. We took this case to help this poor child, and we did with a $3.9 million settlement that will provide for him for the rest of his life.

$3.3 million verdict for an adult circumcision where too much skin was removed. We represented a Philadelphia Judge who underwent circumcision and was left with damage to his penis. The medical and legal teams at the Beasley Firm found that the physician removed too much skin, causing a decrease in the penis size and very painful erections because the skin could not stretch when aroused. This had an enormous impact on the intimate life that he and his wife, who had been together for decades, were able to enjoy. Barbara Axelrod successfully handled the appeal in this case which vacated the remittitur (a judge’s ruling to vacate a jury verdict) ordered by the Court of Common Pleas and reinstated the entire award.

$3.1 million settlement for failure to monitor post-operative patient. Dion Rassias represented husband and wife plaintiffs who filed a medical malpractice action as the result of a hospital’s failure to recognize a growing hematoma after neck surgery. The case raised issues about failing to properly monitor post-operative patients and then, failing to take action quickly enough to prevent permanent injuries. The case settled in the summer of 2014 for $3.1 million.

$3.1 million settlement: failure to diagnose meningitis in an infant resulting in severe brain damage and death. We represented a healthy little African American child whose grandmother took her to the local clinic because of a fever and a rash. The grandmother was told that the baby was “teething” and was given pain medicine and medicine to numb her gums. No one tested the baby for an infection, which they should have especially due to the rash, which was a classic sign of a bacterial infection. That night when she went to bed, her fever spiked to 105 degrees and she became very sick. Mom rushed her to the hospital, where a spinal tap was done showing a severe infection in her spinal cord or meningitis. The child suffered a seizure and developed permanent and severe brain damage, which finally took her life. We were able to settle the case for $3.1 million for her family as a result of her pain, suffering, and death.

$3 million recovery for a failure to treat preeclampsia that caused brain damage in a newborn. Jayne Piarulli represented a mother that developed preeclampsia that was undiagnosed and treated. The mother developed eclampsia that led to a placental abruption and the baby suffered from a lack of oxygen, blood, and nutrients. Because of the lack of oxygen, the baby has Cerebral Palsy (CP) and profound mental retardation.

$3 million settlement for a delay in delivering a distressed fetus. The Firm sued a local Delaware County hospital for a newborn that developed Cerebral Palsy (CP) as a result of a delayed birth. The fetal heart monitoring strips showed that the baby was in distress from the time the mother arrived at the hospital. The mother was of advanced maternal age and had several miscarriages prior to her admission and numerous complications during her pregnancy. After discovery was completed, Dion Rassias was able to settle the case for $3 million, and ensured that this child had proper money management, so that the recovery will result in over $17 million over the child’s lifetime.

A waitress was awarded $3 million by a Philadelphia jury for an unwanted kiss from a restaurant patron. When a kiss is more than a kiss. A waitress was awarded $3 million by a Philadelphia jury for an unwanted kiss from a restaurant patron. See Lisi v. Englesbe in Cases in the Spotlight. Note: Praecipe to Satisfy Judgment filed, the case resolved.

$3 million dollar settlement for a child who suffered permanent brain damage after a failure to diagnose and treat meningitis This is just one of the brain-injured children we have helped. This child was brought to the emergency room with signs and symptoms of an infection. Signs such as a rash, fever, irritability, and poor feeding. The doctor told the mother that the child’s rash was due to a soap allergy or irritation and discharged them from the hospital. That night the infection got worse and the child became stiff. The mother took the child back to the emergency room to be evaluated. A spinal tap was performed and it showed that the child had meningitis, but by that time, it was too late and the child suffered a seizure that further worsened the brain damage caused by meningitis.

$3 million settlement for failure to properly provide a spinal injection.

$3 million settlement for failure to diagnose and treat spinal infection

$3 million settlement: Failure to properly perform an epidural injection and it caused partial paralysis. Our client had low back pain and went to the pain management doctor for a lumbar epidural injection. However, when the doctor did the injection he injected the medication directly into the area around the spinal cord, which caused lower extremity weakness. Walking became difficult, but fortunately, he was not completely paralyzed. The defendants settled for $3 million to avoid a trial.

$2.25 million settlement: Failure to deliver a premature baby when the doctors knew there was an infection in the uterus. Our client was pregnant with her first child and came to the hospital due to early labor contractions. Blood tests and examinations showed an infection in the womb, yet the doctors permitted the mother and baby to wait over eight hours before delivering the baby. The child was born critically ill with an infection and unfortunately suffered permanent brain damage.

$1.95 million settlement for malpractice that caused the loss of both legs and an arm. This was a very difficult case involving a blood condition known as Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT). This condition results when the body reacts to the blood thinner heparin in the opposite way and actually causes blood clots to form instead of preventing blood clots from forming. The medical and legal teams here at the Beasley firm were able to recognize that the patient suffered from HIT.

$1.9 million settlement for a defective helmet that caused spinal cord injury.

$1.9 million products liability settlement for a defective helmet resulting in paralysis. The Firm’s client was wearing a helmet while he was playing sports at his school when he was hit in the head. The faulty helmet allowed his neck to bend in such a way that the spinal cord was injured. The sports helmet manufacturer fought hard, but the Firm was able to obtain a settlement that will provide for this young man’s future care.

$1.7 million settlement: Failure to treat meningitis leading to brain damage. Twin boys were born to a healthy mom a few weeks premature. The twins were admitted to the hospital for observation and treatment, but while in the hospital one of the twins started to show signs of an infection. Even though the one twin had a fever and abnormal blood tests, nothing was done until it was too late and he had a seizure, causing permanent brain damage. The doctors failed to manage the infection despite seeing the signs that the baby was infected. We secured almost $2 million for him and will provide for his needs as he grows.

$1.7 million settlement for failure to diagnose endocarditis. Dion Rassias sued a physician and the doctor’s practice group in the state of Delaware for failing to diagnose and properly treat endocarditis in a mid-40’s year old woman that, tragically, caused a stroke and significant brain damage.

$1.6 million settlement: Failure to treat developing infection in woman with no spleen. We represented a wife and mother of two small children who went to the local ER in one of the outlying Philadelphia counties complaining of a fever and feeling sick. Earlier in her life, she had her spleen removed, and the spleen is very important in fighting infections. In spite of knowing she didn’t have a spleen and likely had a bacterial infection, the ER doctor discharged her with Tylenol. That night she got really sick because of the overwhelming infection and died in her husband’s arms in front of their two children. In order to avoid a trial, the defendants paid $1.6 million to settle the case.

Kostic v. LU Transport: $1.6 million truck accident settlement.

John Kostic was driving on a state road in New Jersey when a tractor-trailer rear-ended him, killing him almost instantly. We were able to bring this case to Pennsylvania and overcame significant hurdles in establishing conscious pain and suffering. Once that was obtained, we were able to resolve this lawsuit for all of the available insurance proceeds. Part of these funds went to a scholarship fund created to support John Kostic’s college.

$1.5 million settlement due to a morphine overdose. Dion Rassias of the Beasley Firm sued a local hospital as a result of a morphine overdose for a patient who was seeking pain relief for a kidney stone. The hospital attorneys blamed all of the patient’s problems on an adverse reaction to the morphine that caused his death. The hospital lawyers fought that the morphine doses were all within the normal range. The hospital did not offer any money during discovery and did not begin discussing settlement until the cross-examination of the defendant doctor when, after obtaining vital information, the hospital paid in excess of $1.5 million to settle the case.

$1.5 million settlement during trial: failure to diagnose and treat breast cancer. While our client was pregnant, she felt a lump in her breast. The doctor did not order any tests and assumed it was a “milk duct” without any confirmation. By the time the cancer was diagnosed, it was too late and had spread throughout her entire body and took her life.

$1.5 million settlement during trial: Doctor’s failure to diagnose blood clot in a leg. We represented a man who developed a blood clot in his leg that went untreated. The blood clot blocked the blood flow to his foot, and the man had to have his foot amputated. We took this case to trial and after three days of testimony in the courtroom, the defendants settled to avoid an embarrassing verdict.

$1.5 million settlement during trial: failure to diagnose a bowel obstruction. Our client went to the emergency room for pains in her stomach, and she was admitted to the hospital. In spite of knowing she likely had a bowel obstruction, the doctors waited days before they finally took her to surgery. When they operated on her the surgeons found an extensive bowel blockage which they removed. Unfortunately, due to the delay in taking her to the operating room, many toxins built up in her intestine and when the blockage was relieved, all of the poisons spread throughout her body and almost killed her. She suffered permanent lung damage as a result of this. Halfway through the trial, the defendants settled this case to avoid a significant verdict against them.

$1.45 million settlement: failure to diagnose blood clot after knee replacement surgery. Our client underwent a successful elective knee replacement surgery. On the night following the surgery, she developed a blood clot in her leg that cut off the blood flow to her leg. The night nurse did not come in to see or evaluate the patient all night, and by the time the doctor saw her the next morning, the leg was cold and dying. She required amputation as a result of the nurses' neglect.

$1.4 million settlement during trial: Failure to recognize intraoperative bleeding and death. Our client required a pacemaker to be removed from his body because of an infected pacemaker wire. During the procedure, the doctor pulled out the wire and ripped a hole in the patient’s blood vessel, causing internal bleeding. For the next hour, even though the heart rate and blood pressure were becoming increasingly abnormal, the doctors never called a heart surgeon to help stop the bleeding. The patient, a father of two, died on the procedure table. After a few days of trial, the defendants settled for $1.4 million.

$1.4 million settlement: failure to diagnose and treat a parotid tumor resulting in recurrence and metastases to the brain. Our client’s husband repeatedly went to the ears, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor complaining of a lump by his ear, yet the doctor did nothing. Unfortunately, by the time the parotid tumor was diagnosed, cancer has spread to his brain causing horrible pain and suffering until he died.

$1.4 million settlement for fall injury. Dion Rassias represented a plaintiff who filed a premises liability action as a result of a rotted wooden railing that caused the plaintiff’s fall. During the fall, the plaintiff sustained an internal facial laceration that caused him to lose his sense of smell and some of his sense of taste. The case raised issues about the property owner’s knowledge of the defective railing and settled in the summer of 2014 for $1.45 million.

$1 million premises liability settlement during trial: Electrocution. Our client was shopping at a clothing store and when she raised her arm to try on a shirt, her hand touched a light bulb socket that was unprotected and she was electrocuted. The electrical shock caused her to develop a condition known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD). This caused almost permanent damage to the nerves in her arm. A jury had been selected and the trial was about to begin when the defendant paid its entire insurance policy to resolve the case.

$1 million settlement: failure to diagnose a heart attack. Our client went to the emergency room with chest pain and sweating, which are classic symptoms of a heart attack. Even though the ER doctor called a cardiologist, the heart doctor didn’t show up for hours. The patient had a heart attack while waiting for treatment in the hospital’s emergency room.

$1 million settlement: Failure to diagnose ovarian cancer. Our client always had a fear she would get ovarian cancer, and as a result, religiously went to the gynecologist for tests. And even though this specialist was seeing the cysts on her ovaries growing and becoming “complex” (a dangerous finding for ovarian cancer) no further testing was ever ordered. Ultimately, our client developed her worst nightmare – ovarian cancer. The defendant paid $1 million to settle the case to avoid a trial.

$1 million settlement: failure to diagnose a brain tumor. Our client was complaining of headaches and underwent a brain scan or CT scan of the brain. The radiologist misread the film, so the brain tumor continued to grow to the point that it became an incurable and inoperable brain cancer.

Cohen v Gulf Oil – first $1 million verdict in PA and a bench trial– Auto accident. In one of the earlier success stories for the Firm, Beasley lawyers represented an attorney in Philadelphia who was rear-ended in a motor vehicle accident (MVA) and suffered significant neck injuries as a result of the accident. This was tried to a judge only in what is called a “bench trial.” The federal judge awarded Attorney Cohen $1 million, the first time this amount had ever been awarded in Pennsylvania.

$850,000 settlement: improper pelvic surgery causing incontinence. Our client required surgery to repair a fistula in between her vagina and her rectum. Rather than correcting this connection (the fistula), the surgeon caused her to become incontinent of stool or feces, which passed through her vagina requiring her to undergo four additional surgeries to repair the mistake.

$800,000 verdict: Damage to eye muscles causing permanent strabismus during sinus surgery. Dave Moncrief was a graphic designer who started to suffer from headaches. He went to his doctor, who suggested he see an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctor to see if it was his sinuses that were causing his head pain. Even though the CT scan of his sinuses was basically normal, the doctor operated on his sinuses anyway. During the operation the doctor pushed the bone scraper through the sinus bone and into Dave Moncrief’s right eye socket, grabbing an eye muscle and causing damage to the nerve that controlled his eye movement. Mr. Moncrief was left with permanent double vision and an eye that always points to the right side. The case was brought in Chester County, a very conservative county that hasn’t had a favorable plaintiff malpractice verdict in years, and the firm got Dave and his wife an $800,000.00 verdict.

$750,000.00 settlement for birth injury resulting in an infant’s death. Our clients were at the hospital having their first child when, unfortunately, the baby required forceps to help with the delivery. The resident doctor improperly placed the forceps on the child’s head, crushing the baby’s fragile skull. After about one month of suffering, the child passed away.

Friedman v. Terrance Malloy, M.D.: $650,000 verdict: Failure to properly insert a penis implant and failure to diagnose

We represented a physician who suffered from impotence after having his prostate removed. He and his wife waited five years to be considered cancer-free before they considered a penis implant. The couple went to Terrence Malloy, M.D., who claimed to be the best doctor in penile implant surgery. However, part of the penile implant device was placed into Dr. Malloy’s bladder, allowing urine to leak into his pelvis, causing severe pain and bleeding when urinating. He was in the hospital for five days and complained of unbearable pain that the doctors ignored. After a week it was so bad he had to leave the hospital on his own to get admitted to another hospital, where he was immediately diagnosed with a bladder injury. The new doctors rushed him to the operating room, where the penile implant had to be removed. We represented the doctor-patient and his wife and the jury awarded the couple $650,000.00 for their pain and suffering.

$600,000 settlement for inadequate security. We represented a family whose house was broken into and burglarized after a prisoner escaped from a local prison. We sued the security guard company and obtained this significant settlement for this family.

$500,000 settlement during trial: Failure to diagnose testicular torsion and loss of testicle. Our client went to the hospital with pain in his left testicle, but when he went there, rather than a doctor reading the ultrasound images and results to see if his testicle was twisted, a tech interpreted the scan. Unfortunately, the technician misread the images and it led to a failure to diagnose and treat a testicle that was twisted. The delay in diagnosing the testicular torsion and lack of blood flow to the testicle caused our client to lose his testicle. We tried this case for only a few days before the defendants paid $500,000.00 to settle the case.

Jim Beasley & Dion Rassias of the Beasley firm were lead counsel in securing an early global eight-figure settlement for injured children and their families. The Beasley firm represented a family of triplet girls who were 11 years old at the time and seated on the back of the bus when it collided with an over-weighted dump truck in an intersection accident in Burlington County, NJ. The dump truck has been coming from a nearby construction site at the New

Jersey Turnpike widening project.

the triplets suffered catastrophic injuries with one of them dying from blunt force trauma at impact, while the second suffered a traumatic brain injury. The third triplet experienced compartment syndrome of the leg. The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident and their findings can be found here.

The Beasley Firm was instrumental in uncovering that the bus operator for the school bus was on prescription drugs at the time of the accident for back pain. See NBC expose on the subject.