Collaborative Divorce:

Collaborative divorce offers an often-preferable alternative to traditional divorce. GKWW’s team of family lawyers includes members certified in this type of proceeding.

The goal of collaborative divorce, of course, is for both parties to actively cooperate in completing the divorce. Both parties–along with their representative attorneys–agree to certain ground rules that promote resolution with a minimum of animosity.

In our blog, we’ve put together a helpful primer that discusses the criteria–and benefits–of collaborative divorce. That article is linked here.

Slip-and-Fall Injuries:

• We settled a premises liability case involving a fall in a restaurant parking lot that resulted in a torn knee ligament. The settlement amount was $375,000.
• We settled a fall case involving a hip fracture for $160,000.

Airplane Crashes:

• A commercial plane crash in Peru killed our client. We represented their bereaved families in negotiating a settlement to help them move on.

Asbestos Claims:

• Our client–a military veteran–experienced agonizing health issues and eventual death resulting from exposure to asbestos. We facilitated a substantial settlement for his family.

• We settled a construction negligence case (involving severe foot and ankle fractures suffered by an electrician due to a work site) fall for $2,325,000, in cash–and in addition to the waiver of a $400,000 workers compensation lien.

• We settled a product liability case (involving burn injuries suffered by an electrician) for $2,075,000 in cash–in addition to the waiver of a $455,000 workers compensation lien.

• We settled a construction negligence case, involving fractures suffered in a scaffold collapse, for $350,000.

• We settled a construction negligence case (involving a staircase collapse and multiple fractures) for $300,000.

• Our client slipped and fell on a rolled-up carpet in an elementary school, fracturing an arm. We won the client a $300,000 settlement.

• We settled a case involving torn knee cartilage suffered in a grocery store fall for $200,000.

• We settled a hospital and nursing home neglect case involving pressure ulcers and infection in a 73-year-old postoperative patient. The settlement was $750,000.

• We settled a hospital and nursing home neglect case (involving pressure ulcers suffered by a 62-year-old arm fracture patient) for $500,000.

• We settled a nursing home fall case for $250,000, as well as a nursing home neglect case, involving beverage burns suffered by an elderly surgical rehab patient, for $100,000.

• We settled a nursing home neglect case for $175,000.

• A nursing home resident died as a result of the facility’s failure to discover and treat severe bed sores. We won a large wrongful death settlement for the patient’s devastated family.

• A paraplegic nursing home resident who was injured because of the nursing home’s negligence in transferring the resident from her chair to a bed. We achieved a significant settlement for the injured patient.

• A nursing home resident–suffering from Stage 4 Cancer and Alzheimer’s–was not properly controlled or monitored, resulting in the patient’s expiring. We achieved a significant wrongful death settlement for the patient’s family.

• We have achieved significant results for residents of nursing homes even when the residents have suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

Vehicular Accidents Involving Trucks:

• We settled a trucking negligence case involving skull fractures suffered by a 45-year-old man in South Carolina for $2,750,000.

• Our client suffered catastrophic injuries–including brain damage–when a semi trailer ran a red light and struck our client’s pickup truck. We structured a lifetime settlement for that client.

• Our client was killed in a trucking collision in Indiana. We recently filed suit in federal court in Indiana on this claim.

Vehicular Accidents Involving Cars, Pedestrians, Bicycles, Motorcycles, and ATVs:

• We settled a rear-end auto collision case (involving a torn rotator cuff) for $200,000, a head-on auto collision case (involving a fractured sternum) for $100,000, and another rear-end auto collision case–this time, involving a lower back injury–for $100,000.

• We settled an auto collision case for $100,000.

• A husband and father was killed when struck head-on Interstate 94. We achieved a significant settlement for the family he left behind–as we did in another case for the family of a woman killed when her car ran off the road.

• We achieved a significant settlement for a woman who sustained cognitive deficits when struck by a car while riding her bike.

• Our client’s vehicle was involved in a multiple-vehicle collision. We achieved a significant settlement to help our client recover and return to normal life.

• When vehicular incidents occur, it’s not just drivers and owners that suffer. One of our clients was the passenger in a car accident that left the client seriously injured. We achieved a settlement for the full amount of available insurance in this case.

• We obtained a significant settlement in an automobile collision case (in which a mechanic was broadsided by a drunk driver).

• We settled an automobile collision case involving back and neck injuries.

Vehicular Accidents Involving Pedestrians:

• Our client was walking in a crosswalk when he was struck by a carelessly driven vehicle, causing severe injuries to his legs. We helped him achieve a policy limit settlement.

• We settled a pedestrian auto case (involving fractured teeth and closed head injury) in DuPage County for $180,000.

Vehicular Accidents Involving Bicycles:

• We settled a case on behalf of a bike rider struck by a delivery driver for $1,020,000.

• We settled an automobile accident collision involving a bicyclist who suffered a fractured jaw and teeth. The settlement amount was $300,000.

• Our client was seriously injured when the owner of a parked car opened his door into our client’s passing bicycle. The settlement we won for our client was instrumental in recovery for the resulting injuries.

Vehicular Accidents Involving Motorcycles and ATVs:

• We settled a motorcycle crash case involving leg fractures in DuPage County for $1,250,000.

• We settled a case involving a motorcycle crash for $750,000.

• We settled a case involving a fatal ATV accident for $250,000.

Wrongful Death:

• We obtained a $5.42 million jury verdict for the wrongful death of a 55-year-old cancer patient due to an adverse reaction to a chemotherapy drug.
• We settled a medical malpractice case against a cardiologist and two hospitals for $1,250,000. The case involved the death of a 28-year-old father from a treatable heart condition.
• A patient’s delayed diagnoses of colon cancer resulted in the cancer’s inoperability, making an already agonizing situation ultimately tragic. We achieved a $300,000 settlement for the family.
• A patient died when he was not properly monitored for sleep apnea after a surgery. We achieved a significant settlement for the patient’s bereaved family.

Medical Malpractice:

• We obtained a $700,000 verdict against a Chicago hospital for a patient with severe osteoporosis whose fall precautions were not followed.
• We settled a medical malpractice case involving radiation burns suffered by a prostate cancer patient. The settlement amount was $400,000.
• We settled a medical malpractice case involving an untreated ankle fracture for $400,000.
• We settled a case against a Chicago hospital involving an improperly performed plastic surgery. The settlement amount was $250,000.

Failure of Diagnosis:

• We settled a medical malpractice case against a doctor who failed to diagnose and treat an aneurysm (which ruptured and caused a brain injury). The settlement was for $1,000,000.
• We settled a medical malpractice case against a major Chicago hospital. The case involved the failure to diagnose and treat a cardiac condition in a timely manner, the result of which was a double leg amputation. The settlement amount was $1,000,000.
• We settled a Kansas prison medical staff malpractice case. The staff failed to diagnose and treat pulmonary emboli. The settlement amount was $500,000.
• We settled a malpractice case against a prominent podiatrist.

Wrong Medication:

• We settled a case involving our client who was mistakenly given the wrong medication by a local pharmacy.
• A one-year-old’s necessary medication was withdrawn by the treating physician, resulting in the child’s permanent brain injury and profound mental incapacity. We achieved a very significant settlement for the child’s family.