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CVN cameras wrapped 2025 by covering a range of headline-making proceedings, including a pair of major medical malpractice trials, an eight-figure crash case, and more. Check out key moments from four of the most recent trials we’ve covered.
Georgia Jury Awards $48M in Med Mal Trial Over Disfiguring Skin Cancer
In December, a Georgia jury handed down a $48 million verdict for the skin cancer that cost a man most of his ear, his teeth, and his salivary glands, and left him with a host of complications.
The defendant dermatologist that treated the man claimed that he had met the standard of care with regard to performing a Mohs surgery to remove one skin cancer and a subsequent procedure to remove a growth he diagnosed as a cyst, prior to the invasive, disfiguring skin cancer being discovered. However, in openings of the trial’s liability phase, Bell Law Firm’s Lloyd Bell, representing the plaintiff, told jurors the dermatologist was negligent in failing to order a biopsy of the growth he had diagnosed as a cyst.
“If you cut it out, you send it out, especially with a high-risk cancer patient.”
$29.5 Million Verdict for Child’s Crash-Related TBI
In November, an asset recovery company was found partially responsible for the traumatic brain injury a child suffered when she was hit by one of the company’s tow trucks, as she was on her bicycle in a residential neighborhood. The Georgia jury apportioned 45 percent of fault to the company’s driver, likely reducing the $29.5 million award's post-verdict judgment to $13.275 million, before any attorney’s fees are added.
The company contended the child and her mother were at fault and the driver did not have enough time to react to avoid the crash. But in his closing on liability, Morgan & Morgan’s Keith Mitnik, representing the plaintiff, told jurors the driver was at fault for driving dangerously fast.
“The only reason we’re here talking about those last three seconds [before the crash] is that [the driver] failed to slow down.”
Heart Surgeon Cleared in Med Mal Trial Over Devastating Stroke
A Florida jury cleared a heart surgeon of responsibility for the ultimately fatal, stroke a patient suffered during an operation.
The patient’s wife claimed the surgeon was responsible for failing to ensure there were no blood clots in a cardiopulmonary machine, sometimes called a heart-lung bypass machine, before surgery began.
However, in his closing, Hester, Love & Pederson's Davis Love, representing the surgeon, walked jurors through the process of using the machine, which he said showed the surgeon acted appropriately under the circumstances.
“Based upon all the tools that the medical providers had at the time… that they were using appropriately, nothing put them on notice that this type of incident was about to occur, or even reasonably could occur.”
Florida Jurors Award $20 Million in Talc Trial Against J&J
Johnson & Johnson was found liable for the mesothelioma death of a Florida doctor who used the company’s talc-based Baby Powder for years, with jurors handing down a $20 million verdict in the case.
J&J contended the talc in the products the doctor used was safe. However, in his opening, Levin Papantonio's Christopher Tisi told jurors evidence would show the Baby Powder contained asbestos.
“We will show you that talc used in Johnson’s Baby Powder was not safe, and it never was.”
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
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