After a three-week trial, HeplerBroom attorneys Linda Hay and Susan Wagener secured a complete defense victory for their client, an internal medicine physician. (Co-defendant ManorCare of Elk Grove, a Chicago-area long-term care facility, was represented by McVey and Parsky and also received a not guilty verdict.) Trials involving both an individual physician, along with a long-term care facility, are rare, making this verdict particularly significant.

The case involved a 54-year-old man who had gone to ManorCare for rehabilitation after back surgery and subsequently died from a pulmonary embolism. Plaintiff’s attorney Matthew Baker of the Malman Law Firm asked for $17 million in damages but was unsuccessful in persuading jurors that neither the physician nor ManorCare were legally liable for the man’s death.

Hay, a partner in the firm, focuses her practice on the defense of professional liability cases. Wagener, an experienced associate and a nurse, focuses her practice on the defense of medical malpractice and health care professional licensure cases. Both attorneys are based in the firm’s Chicago office.