Recent Verdicts and Settlements (Continued from page 37)
Allegations of Liability: Failure to diag- nose and treat infection in left foot.
Injuries/Damages: Death, Medicals $48,509.91
Plaintiff ’s Experts: Kalpana Kumar, M.D. (Internal Medicine) Milwaukee, WI and Barbara Crain, M.D. (Pathology) Baltimore, MD.
Defense Experts: Kenneth Lewis, M.D. (Internal Medicine) Middletown, DE and Clayton Moravec, M.D. (Infectious Dis- ease) Baltimore, MD.
Verdict/Settlement: $852,009.91
Insurance Company: Medical Assurance of West Virginia
Plaintiff ’s Counsel: Robert L. Hanley, Jr. (MTLA member) Nolan, Plumhoff & Williams, Chartered, Towson, MD.
Defense Counsel: William B. Whiteford and Catherine Steiner
Premise Liability
Adenike Popoola-Sule-Koiki, et al. vs. Southern Management Corporation, et al. Prince George’s County Circuit Court - Case No.: CAL99-02709
Facts: This a case brought by adult Plain- tiffs on behalf of their minor child, who was six years old at the time. The Plain- tiffs are Nigerian and bathe their children in the customary Nigerian way, by filling a bucket of water from the faucet in the bathtub. They then turn off the faucet and use the water in the bucket to wash and rinse the child while they stand in the bathtub. On the date in question, following her bath, the minor Plaintiff told her mother that she left her towel in the bedroom. While her mother went to get her towel, the minor Plaintiff tried to turn on the water in the bathtub in order to fill the bucket with more water to wash off some soap from her body. The child was unfamiliar with how to turn on and mix the hot and cold water. She turned on only the hot water and the handle that activates the showerhead. Scalding water came out of the showerhead directly onto
her body. The minor child was exposed to the scalding water for only approxi- mately 2 seconds; however, she suffered 3rd degree (full thickness) burns to her left hand and elbow and splatter burns to her abdominal area. The minor Plaintiff’s mother was gone for only a few seconds. When the mother heard her daughter’s screams, she ran back to the bathroom, which was only a few short steps from the bedroom where she had retrieved a towel. She found her daughter standing outside the bathtub crying and observed that the skin on her daughter’s left elbow was sag- ging off.
Allegations of Liability: Plaintiffs filed suit in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County against the owners and the management company of the apart- ment building in question where the incident occurred. The suit alleged that the Defendants had a duty to maintain the premises in a safe condition and to protect against injury caused by an un- reasonable risk. This duty included the maintenance and operation of a properly inspected and properly operating water heater.
a duty to ensure that the
In addition, the Defendants had water heater
Automobile Accidents Medical Malpractice Wrongful Deaths
General & Commercial Liability
CFS
Creative Financing Solutions, L.L.C. PO Box 1339
Rockville, MD 20849 301.984.0600 Fax: 301.984.0719
38 Trial Reporter
servicing the Plaintiffs’ apartment did not heat water in excess of safe levels. The Defendants had exclusive control of the water heater, as it was maintained in a locked area. The Defendants’ policies showed that no one was allowed to alter the thermo- stat temperature settings. The water temperature was to remain at a safe 120° F. At the time the minor Plaintiff was burned, maintenance documents showed it had been turned up to 150° F.
Injuries and Damages: The minor Plain- tiff suffered full thickness burns to her abdomen, left hand and elbow. She had split thickness skin graft surgery proce- dure to her left arm. The donor site for the skin graft was her left lateral upper thigh, an area of about 200 square centi- meters. Medical expenses for the procedures that were performed on her totaled $29,557.25. It was estimated that future scar revision surgery, which would be comprised of 2 separate procedures, would cost $17,000.00.
Plaintiff ’s Experts: Caroline Chester, M.D. (pediatric plastic surgeon); Carl Scroggins, M.D. (plastic surgeon); and Steve Landsman (property management).
Defendant: Dr. Ken McLaughlin Winter 2001
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