Practice Areas

Verdicts and settlements in gentamicin cases

Although we have come very close to trial, all of our cases have settled. Because of the confidential nature of the settlements, we cannot state the details of the cases, but we can state that one of the settlements was for $2,000,000, one was for $1,975,000, and the others ranged from the low hundreds of thousands to $1,000,000. Obviously, many factors play into the settlement. Non-economic damage caps play a large role. Age of the plaintiff is a major factor in limiting special damages. A few of my clients have been in their late 60’s or early 70’s. Proving wage loss is a major issue. A person who has used multiple social security numbers, or has not reported income has a difficult wage loss claim. Some persons will have compensated to a degree after deposition but before trial. One of our clients, who could not even stand up at his deposition, and who claimed that he could do no housework, including cooking, was videotaped by the defense just days prior to mediation. He was off loading 4 by 8 foot sheets of wallboard from the top of his van and carrying it on his head into his house, and later running up and down a 15 foot hill while fishing. This settlement was in the very low one hundred thousand dollar range.