Our Record of Success

DBS Obtains Directed Verdict

On June 1, 2026, Justin Evans and Katie Trucco obtained a directed verdict in favor of their hospital client in a wrongful death case tried in Cook County. Plaintiff alleged that the hospital, through the conduct of certain internal medicine providers, negligently failed to monitor and inform the plaintiff’s decedent regarding her risk of radiation exposure when she underwent a series of radiology imaging studies while admitted to defendant hospital for two weeks to treat pneumonia, collapsed lung, and empyema. Plaintiff claimed that as a result of the defendant’s negligence, the decedent developed acute lymphoblastic leukemia due to excessive radiation exposure. At the close of plaintiff’s case, DBS attorneys moved for a directed verdict based on a lack of necessary evidence specifying which provider deviated from the standard of care, a lack of competent expert testimony linking the claimed deviations from the standard of care to the claimed injuries, and a lack of evidence to demonstrate that any of the negligent providers were employees or agents of the defendant hospital. The trial court granted the motion for directed verdict, noting that the evidence was insufficient to submit the case to the jury or support a jury’s finding in favor of the plaintiff, if awarded.