INVASION OF PRIVACY – $14,000,000
FACTS: Dr. James Dustin “Dusty” Chaney was a beloved doctor who served the people of Perry County, Kentucky for many years. In 2010-2014, pharmacists at the local Rite Aid and CVS began using Dr. Chaney’s DEA number to fill false prescriptions for opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and other schedule II drugs. These prescription drugs are monitored through the KASPER program and were reviewed periodically by law enforcement. As a result of the high number of drugs placed on Dr. Chaney’s KASPER, Dr. Chaney was investigated by various law enforcement agencies and served prison time for prescriptions he did not write. Laraclay represented Dr. Chaney in a two-week trial, claiming that the false prescriptions on Dr. Chaney’s KASPER placed him in a false light in his community.
RESULTS: At a 2023 trial, the jury awarded a unanimous verdict of 14,000,000. Post-trial Motions continue.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE– $7,500,000
FACTS: Kimberly Johnson discovered a lump in her breast in the fall of 2014. She made an appointment with her primary care provider, who sent her for a mammogram. The mammogram films showed a spiculated lump, highly suspicious for cancer with a 98% probability. Nevertheless, the radiologist failed to diagnose cancer and, in tandem with the local hospital, sent a letter to Ms. Johnson stating that she was cancer free. The primary care physician received notice that the patient needed follow up in four months, but despite Ms. Johnson calling her office repeatedly about her continuing breast pain, the primary care physician never informed Ms. Johnson of the need for follow-up. In September 2015, Ms. Johnson was finally seen by a different doctor, who immediately diagnosed her with cancer. Due to the delayed cancer diagnosis, Ms. Johnson’s cancer had progressed to a Stage IV metastatic breast cancer with no hope of cure. Laraclay and Dale represented Ms. Johnson in a three-week trial, claiming that if Ms. Johnson had been diagnosed in a timely manner, her cancer would only have been Stage II, highly curable, and survivable.
RESULTS: At a 2023 trial, the jury awarded a unanimous verdict of 7,500,000. Post-trial Motions continue.
INSURANCE BAD FAITH – $28,405,505
FACTS: Dale represented a motorist whose vehicle was struck in a head-on collision. The Plaintiff was incapacitated for an extended period of time causing his extensive business enterprises to fail. Discovery revealed that the driver of the at-fault vehicle had previously driven too many hours for a trucking company where he was employed. Eleven days before trial the at-fault driver’s insurance company had only offered $25,000 to settle the case. At trial, the amount was increased to $500,000 with the Plaintiff being told if he did not accept that amount that no additional offers would be made. Dale and his client immediately rejected the offer and announced ready for trial. This prompted the Defendants to offer $1,000,000 to settle the case. At the time, it was thought that $1,000,000 was the extent of the liability coverage. When it was learned there was an additional insurance policy over and above the primary $1,000,000 in coverage, a bad faith claim was filed against the Defendant’s insurance company.
RESULTS: At trial, the jury awarded a verdict of $28.4 million, the highest reported jury verdict against an insurance company for bad faith at that time. Extensive appeals followed, including a Motion for Writ of Certiorari before the United States Supreme Court that was denied. Ultimately, the Appellate Court reversed the award.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE – $3,200,000
FACTS: Plaintiff Oscar Moberly was admitted to the critical care unit of Harrison Memorial Hospital after complaining of shortness of breath. After being intubated and bed bound, the nurses of Harrison Memorial Hospital failed to monitor the quality of his skin throughout his stay. For more than four days, the skin on Mr. Moberly’s feet was squeezed by the pressure stockings the hospital applied. His skin deteriorated under this pressure while the nurses failed to remove the stockings for skin checks once during his entire admission. Because of this pattern of inattentive behavior, Mr. Moberly suffered painful pressure injuries on both of his feet which lingered for the remainder of his life. Along with the damages from his breathing issues, the pain from Mr. Moberly’s injuries prevented him from ever walking again.
Over the course of a week, the Golden Law Office trial team and Mr. Moberly’s family effectively told Mr. Moberly’s story to a Harrison County jury. The trial team was able to prove that Harrison Memorial Hospital’s policies and procedures caused the nurses and staff at the hospital to confuse responsibility for skin care between nursing shifts to the point where no one was ever actually providing skin care and treatment to Mr. Moberly.
RESULTS: At a 2022 trial, the jury awarded a verdict in favor of the Moberly family in the amount of $1,500,000 for the pain and suffering Mr. Moberly endured, $1,500,000 in punitive damages, and an additional award of hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover Mr. Moberly’s outstanding medical bills.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE – $3,000,000
FACTS: Plaintiff Steven Summers, a retired grandfather and farmer, woke up with chest pain on the morning of February 21, 2019 and went straight to the emergency room of Mercy Health-Lourdes in Paducah, Kentucky. An APRN saw Mr. Summers without any physician involvement, discounted his complaint of chest pain, insisted that Mr. Summers actually had back pain, and discharged him from the ER in less than an hour. A little over an hour later, EMS was called to Mr. Summers’ residence because he had become unresponsive due to a massive heart attack. Golden Law Office lawyers sued the hospital for missing Mr. Summers’ obvious symptoms of heart attack.
During discovery, Golden Law Office lawyers were able to determine that employees of Mercy-Health Lourdes had apparently changed Mr. Summers’ medical record to delete any reference to chest pain. Luckily, one record escaped deletion, proving that Mr. Summers told the APRN about his obvious heart attack complaints.
RESULTS: At a 2022 trial, The jury returned a unanimous verdict for the Summers family, awarding all damages that were requested on the jury form including $2,000,000 for wrongful death and $1,000,000 for loss of consortium to Mr. Summers’ wife of many decades, Brenda Summers.
SCHOOL/EMPLOYMENT LAW – $3,500,000
FACTS: The Plaintiff, Melinda Cobb, was the principal of Leestown Middle School. The school had a history of problems and Ms. Cobb was instructed to correct the problems. Ms. Cobb was met with resistance at every turn from a small group of teachers and a small group of parents who were apparently satisfied with the status quo. In retaliation for her unpopular efforts, police officers met Ms. Cobb in her office on a Monday morning and conducted a frisk search of her body, and searched all of her belongings, her office and her motor vehicle. The search revealed a handgun in the glove compartment of Ms. Cobb’s automobile. However, the police involvement that occurred on a Monday was, according to Ms. Cobb, in retaliation for Cobb appealing a bogus evaluation on the prior Friday.
Superintendent Flynn was notified that a gun in the glove compartment of a motor vehicle was not a statutory violation but merely violated the school board’s policy. Flynn was further notified that in order for there to be a statutory violation, Cobb had to have taken the gun into the school. The day after Superintendent Flynn was notified of these facts, Ms. Cobb’s supervisor brought forth a witness who claimed that Cobb had taken a gun into the school building six months prior. The grand jury refused to indict Ms. Cobb on felony charges.
Ms. Cobb successfully appealed her termination before an administrative tribunal. Thereafter, she pursued her civil claim for a whistleblower violation and for wrongful use of administrative proceedings. Because Cobb’s immediate supervisor and the soon-to-be new Superintendent of Fayette County had admitted that they destroyed documents, the trial court gave an inference instruction that the documents that were destroyed would be favorable to Cobb.
RESULTS: The Court of Appeals reduced the amount of total recovery and awarded attorney’s fees.
EMPLOYMENT – $1,000,000
FACTS: Plaintiff Stella Shrout, a 54 year old grandmother, worked at a food processing plant. While working, she was struck by a forklift and knocked to her knees. Ms. Shrout testified she was immediately concerned that her employer would try to retaliate against her out of fear that she would claim workers’ compensation insurance. Ms. Shrout was sent for a drug test, which tested positive for methamphetamines but not amphetamines, thus proving that the test was a false positive due to Ms. Shrout’s use of Zantac heartburn medication. Nevertheless, her employer publicly fired her and communicated to others that it was due to the fact that Ms. Shrout was “high on meth,” thus ruining her reputation in her community.
RESULTS: At a 2020 trial, the jury awarded a unanimous verdict of just over $1,000,000 to Ms. Shrout. The case was settled for a confidential amount on appeal.
CIVIL RIGHTS – $631,000
FACTS : Dale represented two students in this civil rights action against their teacher, Tony Luttrell. The trial lasted two weeks in federal court and over 150 witnesses were listed to testify. This case is notable in that it was the first time that the Sixth Circuit acknowledged that school children have a liberty interest in their bodily integrity that is protected by the Due-Process Clause of the 14th Amendment and that physical abuse by a school employee violates that right. The federal district court made this finding in Wilson v. Webb, 869 F.Supp. 496 (1994), despite the fact that the Sixth Circuit had yet to address the subject matter in a public opinion.
RESULTS: The jury returned an award for the two students of $631,000.00
Note: Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.
