Bland Richter, LLP

$11.5M

Legal Malpractice, Breach of Fiduciary Duty

After four years of contested litigation, Bland Richter, along with their co-counsel, settled a legal malpractice/breach of fiduciary duty case for claims against all of the law firms involved for a total of $11,500,000. Bland Richter was a part of the team of attorneys involved in this protracted litigation matter.

$5.5M

Legal Malpractice

After two years of contested litigation, Bland Richter obtained a jury verdict totaling $5,508,000 from a Richland County jury on all but one of the causes of action which were submitted to the jury for their consideration against the law firm of Nexsen Pruet Jacobs & Pollard, LLP and some of its individual attorneys. The core issue of the litigation was whether our client, the Plaintiff, received an incorrect patent opinion from the Defendants, which he relied upon in conducting his business affairs after he left employment with his former employer and later caused him to be sued. The jury verdict is believed to be one of the top three legal malpractice jury verdicts in South Carolina history. Following post-trial motions, the verdict was reduced to approximately $4,900,000 before the matter was ultimately appealed by our clients and the defendants.

$3M

Medical Malpractice

Bland Richter is pleased to announce a $3,000,000.00 confidential settlement of a medical malpractice case involving a physician who had allegedly failed to diagnose and manage a patient who suffered a debilitating stroke due to high and unregulated blood pressure following surgery.

$2.1M

Federal Civil Rights, Wrongful Death, Police Misconduct

On March 29, 2016, Bland Richter settled a Federal Court civil rights action involving a police officer related shooting resulting in death for the sum of $2,150,000.00 that garnered worldwide attention. On July 26, 2015, Zachary Hammond was shot and killed by Seneca, South Carolina police officer, Mark Tiller, in the parking lot of a Hardee’s restaurant while unarmed. Zach had driven to the restaurant with his date, Tori Morton. When it was suspected that Ms. Morton was going to make a drug transaction at the Hardee’s restaurant, the Seneca Police Department set up a sting operation in the parking lot. When Zachary attempted to leave the restaurant, Officer Tiller rushed toward the Hammond vehicle with his weapon drawn. After yelling “I will shoot your f***ing ass,” Tiller fired two shots into the open driver side window of the car, striking Zachary in the back and flank. Zachary died of his injuries at the scene. He was 19 years old and unarmed at the time of his death. Zachary’s death prompted changes by several police departments in connection with their use of excessive and deadly force policies and encouraged the South Carolina legislature to enact legislation regarding the use of body and audio cameras by officers and the release of dash cam videos.

$2

Medical Malpractice

The family of a woman who remains in a coma after giving birth in a Columbia hospital in 2018 has settled a lawsuit against the treating hospital and the University of South Carolina for $2.1 million, her attorneys report. Jodie Roberts had a high-risk pregnancy before being admitted to Prisma Hospital to give birth to her son. She was in labor for 36 hours, during which her blood pressure became “dangerously high” and she suffered from hypoxia, or shortness of breath. Roberts suffered a stroke and was rushed for an emergency C-section to deliver the baby. She went without oxygen for about 18 minutes before she was intubated. The baby was delivered, but Roberts suffered significant injuries including severe anoxic brain impairment. She remained at Prisma hospital for about six months before she was discharged and has remained bedridden and in a coma since. The baby was in an induced coma for about three weeks, and it is too soon to tell whether he will suffer from cognitive defects. In the lawsuit, Roberts’ guardian and uncle, Burrell Kelly, alleged that the hospital failed to supervise the medical residents from the University of South Carolina who were primarily responsible for treating and monitoring Roberts and failed to alter the medical plan in place to deal with her elevated blood pressure. Bland said the residents at the hospital were scared to change Robert’s medical care plan and there should have been a doctor available to take charge and make that call. Given Roberts’ pre-existing health conditions, such as obesity and diabetes, Prisma knew the risks the pregnancy presented to her, including the risk of a stroke, which heightened the need to monitor and manage her blood pressure, the complaint alleged. Roberts, now 37, is in a persistent vegetative state and lives with her uncle and grandmother, who provide care for her 24 hours a day, Bland said. She requires a respiratory therapist and an occupational therapist for treatment in the hopes that she will regain some sort of movement in the future, although doctors say that her prognosis is grim. A life care plan by Sarah Lustig of Mt. Pleasant said that because of the extensive brain injuries, the cost of future health and related costs are more than $20 million, but South Carolina law caps such damages at $1.2 million for each occurrence for charitable and non-profit hospitals. The attorneys said that one of the hardest aspects of the case was trying to get Roberts’ family to understand why the settlement was capped. “If this was a private medical provider, then the cap would only have been $1.2 million for pain and suffering, but there would be no cap for the economic damage,” Bland said. “The tort law damages caps are completely arbitrary and there needs to be an exception for cases of catastrophic injuries where there is need for ongoing costly medical treatment.” The attorneys for the defendants, Murrell Smith of Smith Robinson in Columbia who represented Prisma Hospital, George Beighley of Richardson Plowden in Columbia, who represented the medical residents, and Kay Crowe of Barnes Alford Stork & Johnson in Columbia, who represented the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, could not be reached for comment, but Bland said that they contended that the hospital had followed standard practices of care.

$1.7M

Estate Litigation, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Self Dealing

After two years of contested litigation, Bland Richter obtained a settlement totaling $1,700,000 for their three clients. Bland Richter represented three of the four vested beneficiaries of an inter-vivos trust in a lawsuit against a former trustee where claims were asserted for breach of fiduciary duty and self dealing, among other causes of action.