Honors and Awards:

• John E. Suthers was named one of the top 100 attorneys in the State of Georgia by Law & Politics, the publisher of the 2008 edition of Georgia Super Lawyers.  In 2011, John E. Suthers was named Savannah’s Lawyer of the Year in the field of Personal Injury Litigation by Best Lawyers, one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications in the legal profession. Best Lawyers compiles its list of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-reviewed surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. Only a single lawyer in each practice area in each community was honored as the “Lawyer of the Year” for 2011. As reported in Best Lawyers, “The selected lawyers have earned a high level of respect among other leading lawyers in the same communities in the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism, and their integrity.”

Verdicts and Settlements:

• Type of Case: Automobile Accident Case Description: Court of Common Pleas of Aiken County, South Carolina / Single car accident involving a driver who lost control of his automobile when it hydroplaned after hitting excessive water that had pooled onto the highway from an adjacent property. The driver suffered a complete spinal cord injury and was rendered a paraplegic. Result: $4,200,000 Type of Case: Asbestos Case Description: State Court of Chatham County, Georgia / Victim died after suffering from mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs, caused by asbestos exposure. Result: $2,500,000 Type of Case: Nursing Home Malpractice Case Description: State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia / Elderly victim suffered falls, malnutrition and dehydration, contractures and multiple pressure sores while residing in a Georgia nursing home. The jury's verdict included an award of punitive damages. Result: $2,200,000 Type of Case: Railroad Crossing Accident Case Description: State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia /18 year old victim was killed when a car in which he was a passenger was struck by a train at a railroad crossing. The jury returned a verdict against the city where the crossing was located. Result: $2,000,000 Type of Case: Premises Liability Case Description: State Court of Chatham County, Georgia /victim suffered a crushed pelvis and related injuries when struck by a Caterpillar motor grader at a construction site. Result: $2,000,000 Type of Case: Medical Malpractice Case Description: Court of Common Pleas of Kershaw County, South Carolina / Newborn suffered brain damage as a result of the physician's delay in performing a Caesarian section. Result: $1,600,000 Type of Case: Medical Malpractice Case Description: Court of Common Pleas of Anderson County, South Carolina / Victim suffered loss of vision as a result of the physician's failure to diagnose cryptococcal meningitis. Result: $1,040,000 Type of Case: Construction Accident Case Description: State Court of Fulton County, Georgia / Employees of a subcontractor were using a crane and sling to lift and transport an oxygen tank across the construction site. Construction worker was struck on the head and fatally injured when the tank fell from the sling. Result: $1,000,000, Type of Case: Trucking Accident Case Description: Victim suffered multiple injuries, including three crushed vertebrae, as a result of an automobile collision with a large delivery truck. The wreck occurred in the State of Maine. Result: $832,500 Type of Case: Nursing Home Malpractice Case Description: While a resident in an Atlanta, Georgia nursing home, the elderly victim suffered multiple pressure sores and gangrene in both feet and legs, resulting in bilateral, above the knee amputations. Result: $800,000 Type of Case: Nursing Home Malpractice Case Description: While a resident in an Atlanta, Georgia nursing home, the elderly victim suffered from sepsis resulting from multiple pressure sores on and around her sacral area, which became infected and caused her death. Result: $800,000 Type of Case: Railroad (FELA) Case Description: Court of Common Pleas of Hampton County, South Carolina / Locomotive engineer suffered a neck injury on the job and had to undergo surgery. Result: $742,000 Type of Case: Dental Malpractice Case Description: Elderly victim from Savannah, Georgia developed subacute bacterial endocarditis, suffered a stroke and died as a result of the dentist's failure to prescribe prophylactic antibiotic therapy before extracting teeth. Result: $600,000 Type of Case: Railroad (FELA) Case Description: United States District Court - Columbia, South Carolina / Railroad worker suffered a neck injury on the job and had to undergo surgery. Result: $575,000 Type of Case: Automobile Accident Case Description: The victim, a passenger in a van transporting student athletes, suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured pelvis, when the driver lost control and ran off the road in Thomasville, Georgia. Result: $575,000 Type of Case: Breach of Contract Case Description: An insurance company wrongfully terminated disability benefits that were owed to a Savannah, Georgia physician who was temporarily disabled. Result: $497,270 Type of Case: Medical Malpractice Case Description: State Court of Coweta County, Georgia / Surgeon severed the common bile duct during a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, resulting in further medical complications and additional surgery. Result: $475,000 Type of Case: Nursing Home Malpractice Case Description: Superior Court of Burke County, Georgia / Elderly victim suffered multiple pressure sores and gangrene on her feet and lower legs, while recuperating in a Georgia nursing home, resulting in an above the knee amputation. Result: $425,000 Type of Case: Railroad (FELA) Case Description: State Court of Bibb County, Georgia / Trainman-conductor suffered a knee injury on the job and had to undergo surgery. Result: $400,000 Type of Case: Railroad (FELA) Case Description: Superior Court of Chatham County, Georgia / Trainman-conductor suffered permanent, noise- induced hearing loss while working on the railroad. Result: $350,000 Type of Case: Nursing Home Malpractice Case Description: While residing in an Atlanta, Georgia nursing home, elderly victim suffered multiple falls, culminating in a fractured hip, developed a Stage IV pressure sore on her coccyx which became infected, and developed sepsis, resulting in her death. Result: $350,000 Type of Case: Nursing Home Malpractice Case Description: Court of Common Pleas of Aiken County, South Carolina / Elderly victim developed a massive, Stage IV pressure sore on her tail bone, which became infected and contributed to the cause of her death. Result: $350,000 Type of Case: Nursing Home Malpractice Case Description: Superior Court of Bulloch County, Georgia / Elderly victim suffered malnutrition, which resulted in substantial weight loss and compromised his condition, while residing in a Georgia nursing home. Result: $325,000 Type of Case: Optometric Malpractice Case Description: State Court of Chatham County, Georgia / Victim suffered substantial loss of vision in one eye as a result of the optometrists and staff at a national vision center failing to diagnose glaucoma. Result: $312,500 Type of Case: Nursing Home Malpractice Case Description: State Court of Fulton County, Georgia / While a resident in a Georgia nursing home, victim with multiple sclerosis was dropped by one of the defendant's employees and suffered a fractured leg. Subsequently, he developed multiple pressure sores on his sacrum, resulting in life-threatening infections. Result: $300,000 Type of Case: Nursing Home Malpractice Case Description: State Court of Fulton County, Georgia / While residing in a Georgia nursing home, elderly victim fell in her bathroom and struck her head on a large, exposed metal object, resulting in a subdural hematoma and grand mal seizures. Result: $250,000 Professional ethics and common sense prohibit us from guaranteeing results in any case. This list is simply provided as an illustration of results that we have obtained for some of our clients over the years. This is not an exhaustive list, as many substantial settlement agreements were conditioned upon the settlements and amounts being kept confidential. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Each case is different and must stand on its own facts and circumstances. Please contact us today at 1-800-320-2384 for further information.