Two Million Dollar Verdict Award Upheld
JANUARY 2008 - The $2 million jury verdict awarded to a Beecher, IL woman in April of 2006 was upheld last month by the Third District Illinois Appellate Court. Ms. Mary Smith was represented by Bill Kozol, partner of the Joliet, IL firm Rathbun, Cservenyak & Kozol, in a medical malpractice suit against Defendants Joy Marvin, M.D. and the Surgical Consultants of Joliet, Ltd. The lawsuit was brought based on of injuries stemming from a 2001 surgical procedure to remove a lump in the Plaintiff’s armpit. Plaintiff alleged that the surgeon removed an excessive amount of tissue when there was no indication of cancer, nor had the risks and alternatives to the surgery been explained to her. Post-procedure, Ms. Smith suffers from lymphedema and damage to her nervous system, leaving her with little use of her right arm.

The case was filed in Will County and came to trial before Judge James E. Garrison of Will County, culminating in a seven day trial that came to verdict on April 12, 2006. The Defendants appealed the verdict to the Illinois Appellate Court on the grounds that the trial court erred in giving certain jury instructions and that the evidence did not support the jury’s verdict or its award of lost earnings ($1 million) to the Plaintiff. However, the Appellate Court reaffirmed that the verdict was justified.

About Rathbun, Cservenyak & Kozol LLC
Rathbun, Cservenyak & Kozol LLC is a Will County-based law firm in the practice of civil litigation. The firm consists of thirteen (13) attorneys who provide aggressive legal services to industry, governments, insurance companies and individuals. The firm serves clients from Will County and surrounding counties both in state and federal court.