The following is a list of some of the types of cases handled by Willoughby Doyle attorneys. The list represents a fraction of the cases handled by the Firm and focuses predominately on cases resolved within the past two years. Nothing contained in these summaries should be construed as a promise, guarantee, or warranty of obtaining any particular result in any case.

Medical Malpractice – Leg Amputation
$2,400,000 Settlement (June 2007)

Conal Doyle and Markus Willoughby obtained a two million four hundred thousand dollar recovery on behalf of a 33 year old man who broke his leg playing baseball and had it amputated at the knee two weeks later due to the defendants’ failure to timely diagnose and treat Compartment Syndrome.   Conal Doyle was lead counsel on this Georgia case, which resolved three weeks prior to trial after almost two years of litigation, which included more than forty depositions.  The value of the case was constrained by the two million dollar insurance policy limits of the target defendant and a conservative jurisdiction.

Insurance Bad Faith/Coverage
$645,000 Settlement (September 2007)
Conal Doyle obtained a settlement in this Florida case on behalf of a family of five whose house was severely damaged in an electrical fire. The suit alleged that the insurance company unreasonably failed to tender the value of the insurance policy and acted in bad faith. The recovery was more than three times the asserted value of the policy limits.  The settlement was achieved within a month of filing suit before the start of discovery.

Products Liability – Leg Amputation
Confidential Structured Settlement (March 2007)

Conal Doyle obtained a settlement on behalf of a 5 year old girl whose leg was amputated below the knee after she was backed over by a riding lawnmower. The Firm alleged that the mower was defectively designed as it did not have a safety mechanism to prevent the mower from mowing in reverse. The confidential settlement was reached with the lawnmower manufacturer and the plaintiff’s uncle, who was riding the lawnmower. The Firm was able to negotiate a structured settlement that provides for a lifetime recovery of several million dollars.  This case was litigated in North Carolina.

Civil Rights/Battery – Traumatic Brain Injury
$896,000 Jury Verdict

Bob Stoler and Conal Doyle obtained an $896,000 jury verdict in a federal lawsuit against a correctional officer who battered their mentally challenged client in County jail. At the time, the verdict was reported to be one of the largest ever against a Polk County, Florida correctional officer. The verdict was affirmed on appeal by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. After the insurance company denied coverage, a declaratory relief action was filed against the insurer to establish coverage. The plaintiff won the action and the insurance company paid the full amount of the judgment. The result of this case was reported in local newspapers and television..

Civil Rights/Medical Malpractice – Penis Amputation

Conal Doyle is lead counsel in Castaneda v. U.S.,  538 F.Supp.2d 1279 (C.D. Cal 2008), which is an action by an immigration detainee who suffered a penile amputation and subsequently died due to the United States’ failure to timely diagnose and treat penile cancer.  The case has received extensive international media coverage, with numerous stories published by the San Francisco Chronicle, L.A. Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Daily Journal, Univision, Telemundo, numerous other international media outlets, and 60 Minutes.

The case is factually compelling, prompting the District Court (Dean D. Pregerson) to characterize the government’s conduct as "beyond cruel and unusual."  The Court in one passage of the opinion stated the following:

"After all, Plaintiff has submitted powerful evidence that Defendants knew Castaneda needed a biopsy to rule out cancer, falsely stated that his doctors called the biopsy "elective," and let him suffer in extreme pain for almost one year while telling him to be "patient" and treating him with Ibuprofen, antihistamines, and extra pairs of boxer shorts. Everyone knows cancer is often deadly. Everyone knows that early diagnosis and treatment often saves lives. Everyone knows that if you deny someone the opportunity for an early diagnosis and treatment, you may be - literally - killing the person. Defendants' own records bespeak of conduct that transcends negligence by miles. It bespeaks of conduct that, if true, should be taught to every law student as conduct for which the moniker "cruel" is inadequate."

The case is legally significant. For the past 38 years, Courts around the country have uniformly held that Public Health Service (“PHS”) Doctors (like the ones that treated Castaneda) are immune from suit under 42 U.S.C. 233(a).  Castaneda is the first reported case to hold the opposite, that PHS doctors can be sued for constitutional violations under Bivens.  This is an extremely important decision in that it allows Plaintiffs to obtain full and fair compensation for catastrophic injuries, instead of being subject to a damage cap, which applies to med mal claims brought under the FTCA in California.

The individual PHS Defendants have filed an interlocutory appeal of this ruling to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  The United States admitted liability on the Plaintiffs’ claim of medical malpractice within weeks of Mr. Doyle taking the first deposition in the case.

A May 11, 2008 story by The Washington Post revealed that the Defendants have been purposefully withholding extremely prejudicial documents that Plaintiffs have been seeking for more than a year.  One physician assistant emailed another, asking him to “patch up” a medical record so that it would not draw attention from auditors.  Plaintiffs are currently preparing a Motion to Strike the Defendants Pleadings for this discovery violation.

Products Liability – Wrongful Death
Confidential Structured Settlement

Conal Doyle obtained a settlement on behalf of a 14 year old girl whose father fell to his death off a defective scaffolding system. The confidential settlement was reached with the manufacturer and retailer of the scaffolding system, which was not designed according to OSHA regulations.  This case was litigated in Pinellas County, Florida.

Automobile Accident – Traumatic Brain Injury
Confidential Settlement

Markus Willoughby and Conal Doyle obtained a settlement for a 50 year old attorney who was broadsided in an intersection and sustained a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. The Plaintiff, a medical malpractice defense attorney, was unable to continue in her job and made a substantial claim for future lost wages. The confidential settlement was reached with the driver that hit her and her Underinsured Motorist Carrier.

Toxic Mold/Housing Violations
Confidential Settlement

Markus Willoughby obtained a settlement on behalf of a family that was forced to live in deplorable housing conditions, which included the presence of toxic mold. A settlement was reached with the property management company and property owner.

Battery – Nose Surgery
$87,500 Settlement (February 2007)

Conal Doyle obtained a settlement on behalf of a thirty one year old financial analyst who was battered in an unprovoked attack after a Cold Play concert in 2006. The Plaintiff sustained a deviated septum which required nose surgery.  The settlement reached at mediation exceeded the plaintiff’s pre-suit demand and was more than forty times the past economic loss.

Civil Rights/Battery
Confidential Settlement

Conal Doyle obtained a settlement with the City of Susanville, California, after one of its police officers battered his client with pepper spray while he was asleep in the front seat of his car after a car accident. The settlement was significant considering the Plaintiff did not suffer any economic loss or permanent physical injury..

Medical Malpractice – Wrongful Death
Confidential Settlement

Markus Willoughby obtained settlement on behalf of a young couple who lost their child after a physician refused to place a sickle cell anemic child on prophylactic antibiotics.  The 16 month old child contracted bacterial meningitis and died on Christmas morning.  The physician who refused to order antibiotics stated she did so because she didn’t think the parents would follow physician orders.  The confidential settlement was reached with the child’s physician.

Elder Abuse – Failure to Provide Care
Confidential Settlement

Markus Willoughby obtained settlement on behalf of a 78 year old male who fell at a nursing home and broke his hip.  The managers of the nursing home picked him up and placed him in his bed.  Although he could no longer walk and was in severe pain, no one at the nursing home told his family or primary medical doctor about the incident, and did not themselves seek care for the patient for 10 days.  A confidential settlement was reached with the nursing home owners.

Medical Malpractice – Wrongful Death of Infant

Markus Willoughby is pursing a claim in State Court against a University of California Hospital for failure to diagnose and properly treat Hirschsprung’s Disease.  This disease lead to enterocolitis, sepsis and, ultimately, the death of a 38 day old infant.  The infant was hospitalized for 5 days with a severely distended abdomen, though no studies were done to find out why.  The baby died a week later.  This case is still pending.    

Medical Malpractice – Overdose of Chemotherapy
Confidential Settlement

Markus Willoughby obtained settlement on behalf of a 28 year old woman who contracted glioblastoma multiforme, a rare form of brain cancer associated with a high mortality rate.  After surgery and chemotherapy, her oncologist prescribed prophylactic chemotherapy medication in an amount which was 3 times normal.  As a result, the woman became immunosuppressed, lost her eyesight and was hospitalized for several weeks, at a time when her life expectancy was measured in months.  Court preference was obtained because of her life expectancy.  A confidential settlement was reached with the physician who prescribed the medication and the pharmacy who filled the prescription.