On July 10, 1997, a Cook County jury returned a verdict of not guilty in Sciortino v. Lewinbuk, a case in which Robert J. Winston represented Dr. Joseph Lewinbuk, Jr., a psychiatrist. This recent victory is a continuation of a trend of success for Jerome G. McSherry & Associates in defending mental health professionals in cases of severe injury or death in which the jury was asked to return multimillion dollar verdicts.
In Sciortino, the plaintiff, Mark Sciortino, Administrator of the Estate of Anthony Sciortino, contended that Dr. Lewinbuk and Dr. Cruz, the codefendant, had been negligent in the treatment of Anthony Sciortino, causing his death one year after the treatment ended. Dr. Cruz had treated the decedent for kidney stones and called in Dr. Lewinbuk to detox the patient from Demerol, a narcotic used to relieve the pain of the kidney stones. Dr. Lewinbuk detoxed the decedent with Valium, discharged the decedent in good condition, and did not see him again. The decedent subsequently died from an apparent overdose of heroin. The plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury for $2,000,000.
The defense established that the use of Valium, a nonopiate, is proper to detox a patient from Demerol, an opiate. Additionally, the defense established that the decedent was not dependent on Demerol when he was discharged from the hospital and that there was no connection between the kidney stone treatment and the use of heroin one year later.
On September 12, 1996, a Cook County jury returned a verdict of not guilty in Casey v. Pasic, a case in which Timothy M. McCarthy represented Dr. Kathy Pasic, a psychologist. She had provided psychotherapy to Daniel Casey, a profound alcoholic who also abused street drugs. Mr. Casey tried to commit suicide by jumping in front of a CTA train, causing a broken hip, depressed skull fracture, brain injury, and severe cognitive deficits. The plaintiff contended that Dr. Pasic was unqualified to treat Mr. Casey, failed to inquire into his suicidal ideations, and failed to refer him to a medical doctor for pharmaceutical management.
The codefendant, Dr. Menezes, the treating psychiatrist, settled out of the case for $250,000. The defense offered $210,000 on behalf of Dr. Pasic, but the plaintiff rejected this offer. The plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury for $2,700,000.
The defense established that Dr. Pasic was a qualified psychologist and that her treatment of Mr. Casey was appropriate and unrelated to his attempted suicide.
The attorneys with Jerome G. McSherry & Associates look forward to more trial opportunities. Our goal is in keeping with American International Companies’ program: to control the litigation process so that legal expense is minimized while also minimizing indemnity dollars paid.
We are available to handle your litigation in general commercial liability, medical malpractice, professional liability, construction, automobile negligence, and worker’s compensation.