Man Dies After Treatment Refused at University Hospital - $250,000 settlement in Federal EMTALA case involving the wrongful death of a 50 year old man who had a 25 year history of severe drug and alcohol addiction and was refused treatment by the emergency room at University Hospital in Augusta, Georgia. (U. S. District Court, Southern District of Georgia, Augusta Division 2008.)

Tractor Trailer Crashes into Bicyclist - Mr. Neal's client suffered permanent brain damage, permanent leg damage, and lower back damage when he was struck by an 18 wheeler owned by USA Trucks, Inc. that veered off the roadway and ran into his bicycle as he was riding to work early in the morning on February 16, 2006. The Truck driver was cited by the South Carolina Highway Patrol for causing the wreck and for falsifying his driver’ s log book. Mr. Neal’s client had surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain, had two surgeries on his left leg, and three draining procedures of a large blood filled hematoma on his lower back.  He is totally disabled and can not work anymore.  The case went to trial in Federal Court on January 22, 2007 and, after a four day jury trial, Mr. Neal obtained a $3,000,000 Jury Verdict on Mr. Hill’s behalf.  (2007 WL 1574545 (D. S.C. 2007) - U. S. District Court of South Carolina, Anderson Division, 2007.)

Radiologist Fails to Diagnose Brain Aneurysm  $1,530,000 structured settlement for two surviving minor children against the Medical College of Georgia for failure to diagnose and treat a cerebral brain aneurysm of their 27 year old mother who had just received her Master’s Degree to be a Teacher. The radiologist misinterpreted the MRI/MRA, which clearly showed an aneurysm, and the attending doctor sent the mother home. She returned five times over the course of a month complaining of excruciating headaches, the worst of her life, but was sent home each time with no further treatment. The sixth time she arrived at MCG was in an ambulance, where was she was pronounced dead of a re-rupture of the aneurysm. She left behind a 3 year old daughter and a 7 year old son. (Richmond County Superior Court, Georgia 2003).

Drunk Driver Crashes Head On Into Pregnant Woman and Friend - Mr. Neal's client lost her spleen, part of her intestine, suffered a chest wall separation, a collapsed lung, and serious disfigurement to her body and her pregnant friend will require surgery to her knee for injuries sustained when a town drunk, Anil Sharma, crossed the center line at a high rate of speed and struck them head on. Mr. Sharma has had 3 DUI's. He is 32 years old and lives with his parents, who knowingly provided him with a car and insurance to drive despite knowing he has a 12 year history of alcoholism and drunk driving. Mr. Neal's clients have already incurred over $100,000 in medical expenses and will have life long injuries.

I-20 Road Defect Kills Woman - $1,050,000 cash settlement in favor of a 50 year old wife, mother, grandmother, and worker who was driving to work in the rain on September 7, 2004 was killed when she hit a patch of standing water and hydroplaned into several trees in the median. (Aiken County, South Carolina Court of Common Pleas, 2006).

Justice for Innocent Driver- $90,000 cash settlement in favor of a totally innocent driver who injured her left shoulder and left hip in a car wreck involving two negligent drivers. We filed suit against both negligent drivers after both refused to accept responsibility. We proved they both caused the wreck. Client had surgery on her left shoulder less than a year after the wreck. Case settled after it appeared on the trial calendar. (Richmond County Superior Court).

Drunk Driver Crashes Into Innocent Girls  - Mr. Neal's client lost her spleen, part of her intestine, suffered a chest wall separation, a collapsed lung, and serious disfigurement to her body and her pregnant friend suffered knee damage when a town drunk, Anil Sharma, crossed the center line at a high rate of speed and struck them head on. Mr. Sharma has had 3 DUI's. He is 32 years old and lives with his parents, who knowingly provided him with a car and insurance to drive despite knowing he has a 12 year history of alcoholism and drunk driving. Mr. Neal's client incurred over $100,000 in medical expenses and will have life long injuries.  $275,000 Settlement.  (Superior Court of Columbia County, Georgia 2006).

Nurses Overdose Semi-Comatose Child - $175,000 cash settlement in favor of a permanently injured four year old boy. The child was previously neurologically devastated when he nearly drowned in a mop bucket at a daycare center. When he was discharged from the hospital, LPN’s working for Pediatric Services of America, Inc. negligently overdosed him with Dilantin, Potassium Chloride, and Cholace. Negligence was clear in this case but treating doctors did not believe the child suffered permanent damage from the overdosages. (Superior Court of Columbia County, Georgia 2004).

Back Surgery Results in Retained Sponges - $50,000 cash settlement against Aiken Regional Medical Center in favor of patient who had lumbar surgery. Two weeks later, x-rays revealed the presence of two Ray-Tec sponges that had been negligently left in her back due to an improper sponge count by the hospital nurses. (2004 Out of Court Settlement).

Children Get Justice for Mother’s Death - $1,530,000 structured settlement for two surviving minor children against the Medical College of Georgia for failure to diagnose and treat a cerebral brain aneurysm of their 27 year old mother who had just received her Master’s Degree to be a Teacher. The radiologist misinterpreted the MRI/MRA, which clearly showed an aneurysm, and the attending doctor sent the mother home. She returned five times over the course of a month complaining of excruciating headaches, the worst of her life, but was sent home each time with no further treatment. The sixth time she arrived at MCG was in an ambulance, where was she was pronounced dead of a re-rupture of the aneurysm. She left behind a 3 year old daughter and a 7 year old son. (2003 Settlement. Richmond County Superior Court).

Neighbors Sue City and Win - $105,000 cash jury verdict for two neighbors’ damages, attorney’s fees, and expenses of litigation awarded against the City of Waynesboro, Georgia for repeatedly failing to repair a defective sewage lift station that caused sewage to overflow into the neighbors’ homes on several occasions. (2003 Verdict. Superior Court of Burke County, Georgia).

Back to top

Baby Comes Out, Sponge Goes In - $135,000 cash settlement in favor of a mother against Dr. Ravinder Jerath and University Hospital for negligently leaving a large sponge inside their patient after a c-section baby delivery. The patient complained of abdominal pain for several months afterwards until an ultrasound revealed a large object inside her uterus. Surgery was performed and revealed a large sponge that had grown attached to her large intestine and had to be removed by perforating the intestine several times. (2002 Out of Court Settlement).

Bad Driver Kills Elderly Mother – $125,000 cash settlement for the estate of a 94 year old mother of five who was killed in a wreck caused by a driver with a history of causing wrecks. The negligent driver darted out in front of the elderly mother’s family van to get a pack of cigarettes at a convenience store. She was blinded in her right eye and died four months later. The case settled for insurance policy limits. (2002 Settlement. Aiken County Court of Common Pleas).

Drunk Driver Injures Passenger - $125,000 cash settlement in favor of young woman who nearly went through the windshield after a head on collision caused by her driver and another vehicle that turned left in front of the drunk driver. Case settled for the insurance policy limits. Plaintiff suffered permanent scarring and damage to her teeth. (2001 Settlement. Superior Court of Richmond County).

City Sewage Discharges Into Homes- $105,000 cash Jury Verdict for two neighbors’ damages, attorney’s fees, and expenses of litigation awarded against the City of Waynesboro, Georgia for repeatedly failing to repair a defective sewage lift station that caused sewage to overflow into the neighbors’ homes on several occasions. (2003 Verdict. Superior Court of Burke County, Georgia).

Back to top

Heart Valve Damage From Fen-Phen Diet Drug - $350,000 cash settlement for South Carolina wife who took the drug Fen-Phen for several years and suffered heart valve damage that did not require surgery. The case was filed in association with the Ness, Motley law firm in Barnwell, S. C. and was litigated against the huge pharmaceutical company American Home Products, now Wyeth. (U. S. District Court of South Carolina, Aiken Division, 2001).

Allergic Reaction to Dilantin - $237,000 cash settlement against the Medical College of Georgia in favor of 79 year old woman who was rendered an invalid and died 6 months later after being negligently prescribed the anti-seizure drug Dilantin. MCG records proved that she had been diagnosed with an allergic reaction to Dilantin back in 1969 and MCG’s records contained this information for over 20 years, but thereafter the warning negligently disappeared. Dr. Meador failed to adequately check the patient’s known drug allergy history and negligently prescribed her Dilantin instead of her usual medicine, Phenobarbital. (Superior Court of Richmond County, Georgia, 2000).

Convicted Murderer Gets Acquitted in Retrial – upon retrial of the State v. Lindsey Murder case, Joseph R. Neal, Jr. defeated the State of Georgia with a compelling defense based on lack of evidence. The jury unanimously agreed the State failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and acquitted Mr. Lindsey on all counts. Mr. Lindsey was immediately freed from jail after serving 3 and ½ years of a life plus 25 year sentence. (Superior Court of Richmond County, Georgia, 2000 Jury Verdict).

Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction – the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously reversed Lorenzo Dexter Lindsey’s Murder conviction and life plus 25 year sentence after an appeal briefed and orally argued by Joseph R. Neal, Jr.. The Justices ruled 7-0 in the Defendant’s favor that Judge Bernard Mulherin’s illegal admission of incriminating hearsay evidence deprived the Defendant of a fair trial and ordered a retrial of the case. (Supreme Court of Georgia Opinion, 2000).

Back to top

Hospital Fails to Diagnose Colon Cancer - $777,000 cash/structured settlement for a wife and two children against several doctors of the Medical College of Georgia for failure to diagnose and treat colon cancer of one of its landscaping employees who presented 11 times over the course of 6 months with symptoms suggestive of colo-rectal cancer. Husband saw a different doctor every time and was sent back home after each visit with no diagnostic tests having been done. He was finally diagnosed with colon cancer, but not until his wife broke down in tears and begged the head doctor in charge to “please do something.” By the time it was diagnosed, his colon cancer was inoperable and he died an excruciating painful death over the next six months. (Richmond County Superior Court, Georgia 1999).

Dance Company Defrauds Lonely Widow - $500,000 Jury Verdict for compensatory and punitive damages in favor of elderly woman who signed up for ballroom dance lessons. The owners took her money and never gave her the ballroom lessons and out of town dance contest trips she paid for. The company had been doing this on a national basis and its owners were eventually prosecuted criminally in Georgia and Kentucky for fraud and racketeering. (Superior Court of Richmond County, 2000). 

Movie Star Rapes Woman - $$$$$$ Confidential cash settlement in favor of 30 year old woman who was raped by comedian and actor Tommy Davidson, star of the movie “Booty Call,” in a hotel room after his performance at a local comedy club.  (U. S. District Court of Georgia, Southern District, 1997).

Back to top