November 20, 2013
Attorneys at Clifford Law Offices late yesterday (Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013) obtained an $885,193 verdict on behalf of a man who was the victim of medical malpractice at a medical clinic in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood.
Bradley Cosgrove, partner at Clifford Law Offices, obtained the verdict following a week-long trial before Cook County Circuit Court Judge Gregory J. Wojkowski at the Daley Center.
The case at Clifford Law Offices was one of dozens that were part of a merge with The Law Office of Kenneth C. Chessick, M.D., of Arlington Heights that finalized just days before the trial started.
Karol Stawarz, 69, saw Dr. Victor Forys on March 5, 2010, with complaints of severe abdominal pain. Dr. Forys sent him home. The following day the pain was so great Stawarz went to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a perforated appendix. It was removed in an emergency surgery, but complications arose whereby he ultimately needed 10 inches of his colon removed. The verdict was against Dr. Forys and Forys-Birn & Associates, P.C., d/b/a Central Medical Clinic at 5605 W. Gunnison on Chicago’s far northwest side. The jury of four men and eight women deliberated three hours before reaching its verdict late Tuesday.
“The defendants did not make an offer in this case,” Cosgrove said after the verdict. “We are most gratified that the jury saw the clear negligence in this case and found for this couple who have suffered for many years and will continue to suffer for the rest of their lives. This is a first-generation Polish couple who don’t speak English, and for them to see how the American justice system works was such a joy for them.” The Stawarz’s testified at trial on the witness stand through an interpreter.
The verdict for Karol Stawarz totaled $660,193 and his wife, Elzbieta, received $225,000 for loss of consortium.
The defendant, Dr. Forys, has appeared frequently on Chicago Polish radio stations. Dr. Forys ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2009 for the seat vacated by Mayor Rahm Emanuel when Emanuel left for the Obama White House.
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For further information, please contact Bradley Cosgrove at 312-899-9090 or Clifford Law Offices’ Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-251-4877 or 847-721-0909.
Attorney for Defendants: Donald O’Meara and Belle Katubig
Pretzel & Stouffer, Chartered
1 S. Wacker Dr., Suite 2500
Chicago, IL 60606
312-578-7485/312-578-7410