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Cannon & Dunphy, S.C. has won more $10 million and higher awards than any other personal injury law firm in Wisconsin.

·        $35.3 million jury verdict in a medical malpractice case awarded to the family of a premature infant who suffered brain damage as a result of air emboli introduced into the infant’s venous system during a blood transfusion.  The infant was two weeks post- birth at the time of transfusion, off the respirator, stable and progressing nicely with no significant problems.  Jury awarded future care costs of $20 million, past and future pain and suffering to child in the amount of $5.5 million, $1.5 million lost of earning capacity for the child, $3 million to each parent for loss of their minor child's society and companionship, $1.7 million for nursing care and services and $640,000 for past medical expenses.  This is the largest paid personal injury verdict in Wisconsin history.*

            Location:  Elkhorn, Walworth County, WI

·        $25.24 million jury verdict, judgment and settlement awarded to the parents and their daughter’s estate in a medical malpractice case involving a resident physician who failed to diagnose an acute abdomen in a 15-year old girl and failed to seek a consultation from a senior resident over an 11-hour time span, which led to the ischemic death of the girl’s small bowel and its removal. Complications from this loss of small bowel required 89 additional subsequent surgeries, including two failed small bowel transplants, and ultimately led to her death two years later. This is the second largest medical malpractice jury award in Wisconsin history.*

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI

·        $17.2 million jury verdict in a premises liability case involving severe burn injuries to three masons. This is the first eight-figure personal injury jury verdict in Wisconsin history.*

            Location:  Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, WI 

·        $16 million awarded to a patient in a medical malpractice case where a physician inappropriately ordered high dose steroids for an undiagnosed condition. The doctor discontinued the steroids in the face of an infection masked by the steroids. This event sent the patient into Addisonian Shock, which destroyed her nerves and muscles. This case represents the second largest medical malpractice pretrial settlement in Wisconsin history.*

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI

·        $13.5 million awarded in a food-borne illness case to a family whose 3-year old daughter died 11 days after eating contaminated food at a restaurant.  The source of the contamination was E. coli 0157:H7 from a whole intact tri-tip piece of meat manufactured and sold by Excel Corporation, a subsidiary of Cargill Corporation.  This is the largest food-borne illness award in Wisconsin history.*

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI 

·        $12 million awarded in a medical malpractice case to the family of an infant who suffered a cerebral palsy brain injury at birth due to a failure to timely perform a C-section.

            Location:  Oshkosh, Winnebago County, WI 

·        $12 million awarded in an automobile accident case to two families after an illegally overloaded cement truck ran a red light and struck a van, causing the death of the driver and serious permanent brain injuries to the passenger.

            Location:  Waukesha, Waukesha County, WI

·        $10.46 million judgment in a medical malpractice case for brain damage to a newborn caused by a medical clinic's delay in bringing the newborn in for treatment of acute feeding problems and subsequent dehydration. (co-counsel)

            Location:  Port Washington, Ozaukee County, WI 

·        $10 million awarded in a truck accident case in Michigan to the family of a 37-year old married mother of two after a Waste Management truck ran a stop sign and struck her van, causing her death. 

            Location:  Grand Rapids, Kent County, MI 

·        $10 million awarded in a medical malpractice case to an 8-month old baby boy for the negligence of a doctor in prescribing an overdose of morphine which caused severe brain damage.

            Location:  LaCrosse, LaCrosse County, WI 

·        $10 million settlement in a medical malpractice case involving a 10-year old boy. Arterial and venous lines from a heart/lung machine were reversed during open heart surgery resulting in severe brain damage. This is the first eight-figure personal injury settlement in Wisconsin history.*

            Location:  LaCrosse, LaCrosse County, WI         

·        $9.7 million awarded to an 11-year old boy whose left arm was amputated in a laundromat accident and subsequently reattached. For 10 years before the accident, the European manufacturer was aware of a defect which allowed the washing machine door to be opened during operation, but never fixed the defect or warned users of the defect.

            Location:  Door County, WI 

·        $7 million award in a medical malpractice case for the failure of a family practice physician to call the attending obstetrician for an emergency C-section. The baby suffered severe late heart rate decelerations during labor and delivery causing severe brain damage.

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI 

·        $6.3 million award in a medical malpractice case against an HMO for failing to diagnose cervical cancer in a 28-year old woman and failing to have proper laboratory testing of pap smears. This case was featured in People Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, The New York Times and on 20/20.

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI 

·        $6 million settlement involving professional legal malpractice.

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI 

·        $5.5 million settlement for paraplegia caused by defective fuel system in Jet Ski which caused Jet Ski to explode.

            Location:  Eagle Lake, Racine County, WI 

·        $5.25 million awarded to the family of a woman involved in an automobile accident.  A car making a wide turn came into contact with a school bus, causing the bus to crash into a van operated by the woman. The woman suffered severe brain damage confining her to a nursing home for remainder of her life.

            Location:  Sheboygan, Sheboygan County, WI 

·        $5 million settlement in a medical malpractice case involving a man whose pathologist misdiagnosed a brain lesion, treatable with steroid medication, as a malignant tumor. The misdiagnosis resulted in an unnecessary surgical removal of a portion of the man’s brain rendering him a totally disabled hemiplegic with severe brain damage.

            Location:  Oshkosh, Winnebago County, WI 

·        $4.8 million settlement in a medical malpractice case involving an emergency room physician who negligently diagnosed ventricular tachycardia on an EKG and negligently ordered medicine which caused the 67-year old patient’s heart to stop for almost 20 minutes. The doctor also failed to timely resuscitate the patient, causing severe brain damage which placed the patient in a persistent vegetative state.

            Location:  Waukesha, Waukesha County, WI 

·        $4.525 million settlement in an automobile case for wrongful deaths and injuries caused by a semi-tractor/trailer that lost control on slippery pavement on Hwy 41, north of West Bend, WI. 

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI 

·        $4.1 million settlement in a medical malpractice case involving a patient who suffered a massive hemorrhage during the delivery of her ninth child. Prior to the delivery, ultrasounds revealed that the patient’s placenta had grown into the wall of her uterus. This condition required a hysterectomy immediately following the cesarean delivery. Instead of doing a hysterectomy, the defendant obstetrician tried to pull the placenta off the uterine wall and caused the hemorrhage. The plaintiff's massive blood loss eventually caused her heart to stop and she lost oxygen to her brain before being successfully resuscitated. She is now permanently brain damaged.

            Location:  Waukesha, Waukesha County, WI 

·        $4 million settlement in a products liability case involving a Halothane vaporizer that malfunctioned during pediatric surgery causing extensive brain damage in a 1-year old child. 

            Location:  Madison, WI

·        $3.5 million settlement in a products liability case against a machine manufacturer for failure to guard a printing press.  The female operator’s hair became entangled in a roller and her hands were severely injured when she attempted to extricate herself.

            Location:  Appleton, Outagamie County, WI 

·        $3.5 million awarded in a medical malpractice case in which physicians failed to diagnose and treat a patient's spinal fracture suffered in an auto accident, rendering the patient a complete paraplegic.

            Location:  Green Bay, Brown County, WI

·       $3.275 million settlement in a train accident case awarded to a woman whose husband was killed when a train derailed and crashed through a wall of the factory where he was working.

            Location:  Lomira, Dodge County, WI 

·        $3.25 million settlement in a medical malpractice case for a child who suffered brain injury from oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery.  The fetal monitor strip showed late decelerations caused by repeated umbilical cord compression. The attending obstetrician stood by and watched this heart rate pattern for 6 hours without intervening. By the time a cesarean section was done, the baby suffered permanent neurological damage which has left her with cerebral palsy.

            Location:  Rhinelander, Oneida County, WI 

·        $3.1 million verdict in a medical malpractice case involving the failure to properly treat a DPT vaccine reaction resulting in brain damage to a child.

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI 

·        $3 million awarded in a boat accident case to the spouse of a passenger on a high speed boat which made too sharp a turn and overturned on Lake Michigan during the "Smoke on the Water Poker Run", resulting in the passenger’s death.

            Location:  Allegan County, MI

·        $3 million settlement in a truck accident case to woman who was rear-ended by a liquor delivery truck while stopped at a red light.  As a result of the collision, the woman sustained a cauda equina injury, resulting in a neurogenic bladder for which she is now required to catheterize herself multiple times a day.

Location:          Pewaukee, Waukesha County, WI 

·        $2.9 million jury verdict in a product liability case. The client suffered partial amputations of both legs and one arm when he was caught in a corn picker.

            Location:  Milwaukee, WI 

·        $2.63 million settlement in a negligence case awarded to a 42-year old worker who sustained third degree burns in an industrial incident caused by negligent supervision and unsafe work practices.

            Location:  Milwaukee, WI

·        $2.6 million awarded in a premises liability case against the general contractor, carpenter contractor, and architect to a construction worker who suffered spinal cord injuries in a fall when the roof trusses collapsed due to improper bracing.

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI 

·        $2.5 million settlement in an automobile accident case awarded to surviving family members and an injured passenger in which the defendant vehicle crossed over the center line causing the death of the driver and serious leg injuries to the passenger.

            Location:  Madison, Dane County, WI 

·        $2.5 million awarded to a brain damaged child in a products liability case involving a defective automobile.

            Location:  Muskego, Waukesha County, WI

·        $2.45 million settlement in a medical malpractice case arising from a neurosurgeon failing to properly perform a fusion on a 52-year old patient. As a result, the drill came in contact with the spinal cord of the patient causing paraplegia.

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI

·        $2.25 million awarded in an automobile accident case to a driver who sustained a closed-head brain injury resulting in memory impairment.  The accident occurred when the defendant vehicle ran a red light striking the plaintiff’s driver-side door as he was proceeding from a freeway off-ramp with a green light.

            Location:  Germantown, Washington County, WI

·        $2.2 million verdict in a medical malpractice case against the United States. The defendant's surgeon incorrectly connected the cannula during open heart surgery causing extensive brain damage in a 52-year old woman. The case was featured on 60 Minutes and in The New York Times.

            Location:  Milwaukee, WI

·        $2.1 million awarded in a product liability case to a man who sustained serious burn injuries when a propane gas water heater exploded from fumes.

            Location:  Wautoma, Waushara County, WI

·        $2 million awarded to the family of a 78 year old woman in a wrongful death case against a pharmacy. The pharmacy negligently refilled her prednisone prescription, used to treat her sarcoidosis, with Coumadin, a blood thinner. The error ultimately led to her death because she failed to receive treatment for her underlying lung condition.

            Location:  Racine County, WI

·        $2 million awarded in a medical malpractice wrongful death case to the widow of a man whose cardiologist failed to diagnose an impending heart attack despite the man’s history, classic symptoms and findings, resulting in the man’s death.

            Location:  Sheboygan, WI

·        $2 million awarded in a motorcycle accident case to a Harley Davidson motorcyclist who sustained a severe leg fracture when a motor vehicle ran a stop sign and struck him.

            Location:  Milwaukee, WI 

·        $2 million awarded in a medical malpractice case where a nurse failed to timely call a physician to treat persistent prolonged late decelerations, resulting in the death of a full term fetus.

            Location:  Waukesha, WI

·        $2 million settlement in a medical malpractice case for brain damage caused by failure to administer insulin medication to a hospitalized diabetic.

            Location:  Waukesha, WI

·        $2 million awarded in a wrongful death case awarded to the family a 36-year old woman who died after misread pap smears caused a delay in the diagnosis of cervical cancer.

            Location:  Waukesha, WI

·        $2 million settlement in an automobile accident wrongful death case awarded to a widow whose husband was killed in a Hwy. 41 accident. 

            Location:  Slinger, WI

·        $1.975 million in total settlements in an truck accident case awarded to a young woman who suffered spinal cord injuries after being ejected from a car in which she was a passenger, after the driver of that car pulled out into the path of a semi-tractor trailer, resulting in a crash.  The underage driver of the car had become intoxicated while attending an outdoor party in Northern Illinois.  The majority of the settlement proceeds came from the insurers for the hosts of the party, who had furnished alcoholic beverages to minors.  This is the first known settlement obtained under Illinois' Drug or Alcohol Impaired Minor Responsibility Act, 740 ILCS 58.

            Location:  Waukegan, Lake County, Illinois.

·        $1.95 million settlement in an automobile accident case awarded to a passenger in a van who sustained a torn carotid artery resulting in a stroke.   The van was broadsided after it had turned sideways from braking in a snowstorm to avoid hitting other vehicles ahead. 

            Location:  Waukesha, WI

·        $1.9 million awarded in a wrongful death medical malpractice case to the spouse of a patient who died as a result of a cardiac biopsy procedure during which a catheter sheath broke in the artery and migrated to the lung.

            Location:  Milwaukee, WI

·        $1.9 million awarded in a medical malpractice case against an obstetrician who failed to timely deliver a newborn resulting in anoxic brain injury to the newborn following a vacuum extraction.

            Location:  Milwaukee, WI

·        $1.85 million settlement awarded in an automobile accident case to a 15 year old who sustained paraplegic injuries. He was involved in a night time accident in which another vehicle ran a stop sign colliding with the vehicle in which he was a passenger. This was the maximum amount of insurance available on both vehicles, with the largest share arising from Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage on the host driver vehicle.

            Location:  Calumet County, WI

·        $1.8 million recovered for a flag man on a construction jobsite, who sustained significant crush injuries as a result of being run over run by a Genie aerial lift. The operator of that lift started up and drove it forward before receiving visual or audible authorization to do so.

            Location:  Milwaukee County, WI

·        $1.7 million awarded in a truck accident case to a family whose 4-month old daughter was killed when the driver of a semi-truck fell asleep at the wheel, causing the truck to strike the car in which the baby was a rear seat passenger in a child safety seat.

            Location:  Waukesha, Waukesha County, WI 

·        $1.7 million awarded in a product liability case to a man who sustained a severe brain injury when his 3-wheel ATV overturned and threw him from the vehicle.

            Location:  Juneau, Dodge County, WI

·        $1.65 million settlement in a medical malpractice case in which a doctor failed to diagnose a spinal cord infection and caused paralysis to the patient.

            Location:  Appleton, WI

·        $1.625 awarded in a premises liability case where a girl sustained serious leg injuries from a fireworks explosion.

            Location:  Oconomowoc, WI

·        $1.625 million settlement in a medical malpractice case where a neurologist failed to diagnose a brain tumor in a 72-year old woman.

            Location:  Milwaukee, WI

·        $1.6 million settlement in a §1983 civil rights excessive force case involving a dispute over the unlawful use of excessive force.

            Location:  Milwaukee, WI

·        $1.56 million settlement in a negligence case awarded to a cheerleader who sustained a quadriparetic injury due to the negligent supervision of the university cheerleading program.

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI 

·        $1.55 million settlement in a §1983 civil rights case. A distraught man left alone in a police holding cell used in violation of state order tried to hang himself and sustained permanent brain damage.

            Location:  Lake Geneva, Walworth County, WI  

·        $1.5 million settlement in an assault and rape case against a Florida motel for failure to have adequate security and monitoring. 

            Location:  Orlando, FL 

·        $1.5 million awarded in a truck accident case where the plaintiff driver sustained a severe pelvic injury.

            Location: Juneau, Dodge County, WI

·        $1.5 million awarded in premises liability case to a worker who sustained electrical burn injuries when a truss being raised by the defendant crane operator came into contact with overhead electrical wires.

            Location:  New Berlin, Waukesha County, WI

·        $1.36 million awarded in a product liability case against the manufacturer of a covered cart attached to a bicycle.  The child passenger of the cart suffered a brain injury when a car struck the bicycle and cart. 

            Location:  Dane County, WI

·        $1.35 million, plus title to real estate, awarded in a commercial litigation case to the plaintiff, a local real estate investor, who was forced out of the planned redevelopment of the former Pabst brewery in Milwaukee.  In exchange for assigning the option to purchase the brewery to several outside corporate investors, the plaintiff was to receive title to several historic buildings along with an ownership interest in the development project.  After assigning his purchase rights in the brewery, plaintiff was not given title to the buildings and was pressured to sell his interest in the development.  Following two appeals that made new law in Wisconsin, plaintiff pursued remedies in both tort and contract law, and ultimately obtained title to his historic buildings as well as a monetary recovery. 

            Location:  Milwaukee, WI

·        $1.35 million awarded in a product liability case involving a farmer whose leg was caught in a corn picker and required amputation.

            Location:  Appleton, Outagamie County, WI

·        $1.34 million settlement in an automobile accident case involving a man whose leg was amputated due to an accident caused by the negligence of drunk driver.  An insurance coverage lawsuit resulted in the payment of policy limits under business owned automobile coverage.

            Location:  Waukesha, WI

·        $1.33 million awarded in a medical malpractice case involving an obstetrician who failed to do a timely C-section resulting in brain injury to a newborn.

            Location:  Port Washington, Ozaukee County, WI

·        $1.3 million settlement awarded in a wrongful death case to a family whose adult son was killed after a truck crossed the median and collided with the van in which he was a passenger.

            Location, Grant County, IN

·        $1.25 million settlement in a diving accident case involving a 21-year old who suffered spinal cord injuries as a result of diving into an above ground swimming pool.

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI

·        $1.25 million awarded in a product liability case to a worker whose long hair was caught in an unguarded rotating shaft at work resulting in a degloving scalp injury.

            Location:  Milwaukee County, WI

·        $1.25 million awarded in an automobile accident case to a man who sustained a skull and brain injury with fractured jaws when the defendant vehicle ran a stop sign and t-boned the man’s vehicle. 

            Location:  West Bend, Washington County , WI

·        $1.2 million settlement in a §1983 civil rights case awarded to the family of an inmate at the Milwaukee County Jail who was denied medical treatment for his diabetes resulting in his death.

            Location:  Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI 

·        $1.2 million settlement in a medical malpractice case.  Physicians failed to diagnose and treat an abscess in a patient which resulted in compression of the spinal cord, causing paralysis.

            Location:  Wisconsin

·        $1.2 million awarded in a medical malpractice case involving a neurosurgeon who failed to order required antibiotics and failed to timely diagnose an ensuing infection which resulted in the patient’s wrongful death. 

            Location:  Milwaukee, WI

·        $1.2 million awarded in a truck accident case where a truck crossed over the center line causing severe brain injury to the plaintiff driver.

            Location:  Emmet, WI

·        $1.2 million settlement in a premises liability case awarded to a 27-year old worker who sustained second and third degree burns while dismantling an electrical substation that, contrary to directives, remained connected to the main power source.

            Location:  Kenosha, WI

·        $1.15 million awarded in an airplane accident case to a passenger who sustained a serious back injury, including a spinal fusion, as the result of a Cessna airplane crash. The crash was the result of pilot error in landing the airplane too fast and too close to the end of the runway.

            Location:  Juneau, Dodge County, WI 

·        $1.15 million settlement in a motorcycle accident case awarded to a female passenger on a motorcycle who suffered a massive head injury and permanent brain damage when the operator of the motorcycle lost control, causing the cycle to leave the paved portion of the highway and crash. 

Location: Waukesha, WI

·        $1.125 million settlement in a truck accident case awarded to adult children whose parents were killed in a truck collision. The parents were 49-years old at time of their deaths. There was no evidence of conscious pain and suffering for either parent. Wisconsin law capped non-economic damages at $150,000 per death claim. The bulk of the claim was for lost inheritance.

            Location:  Racine, WI

·        $1.1 million settlement in a negligence case awarded to a man who became a paraplegic as a result of being thrown from a horse at a country club's "Western Days" event.

            Location:  West Bend, WI

·        $1.1 million settlement awarded in a truck/car accident case for multiple injuries suffered by a child, including a leg fracture that required multiple surgeries.

            Location:  Columbia County, FL

·        $1.1 million settlement in a medical malpractice case awarded to a 47-year old who sustained an injury to her heart as a result of the health care provider’s failure to timely intervene and perform a second catheterization.

            Location:  Milwaukee, WI

·        $1.1 million settlement in a nursing home malpractice case awarded to the family of an elderly patient who suffered from dementia who developed decubitus ulcers, sepsis and ultimately died. 

            Location:  Wisconsin

·        $1.09 million awarded in a truck accident case to a 23-year old who sustained spinal cord and brain injuries when a truck crossed over a highway center line and collided with his vehicle.

            Location:  Wisconsin

·        $1.075 million insurance policy limits settlement in a truck accident case for injuries caused by the truck driver's failure to obey a stop sign.

            Location:  Waukesha, Waukesha County, WI

·        $1.05 million settlement awarded to a family in a helicopter accident case for the wrongful deaths of two family members as a result of an alleged defective helicopter.

            Location:  Wisconsin

·        $1.03 million awarded in a boat accident case to a swimmer who was hit by a power boat at dusk causing an above the knee amputation.

            Location:  Rhinelander, Oneida County, WI 

·        $1 million awarded in a medical malpractice case to a 65-year old rendered a hemiplegic when a physician failed to diagnose and treat bacterial endocarditis.

            Location:  Winnebago County, WI

·        $1 million awarded in an automobile accident case to a passenger in a vehicle where the defendant made a left turn in front of the plaintiff's car resulting in shoulder, hip and leg injuries. 

            Location:  Racine, WI

*Cannon & Dunphy, S.C. has won more $10 million and higher awards than any other personal injury law firm in Wisconsin. This information is based on published and publicly available information.

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