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While spending a morning attempting to play Devil's Advocate over John Edwards' legal career, I stumbled upon this groovy page which outlines some of his major cases and links to public opinion pieces that attempt to determine whether he is an "advocate for the little guy," or an "ambulance chasing scion of evil." Fascinating. One stop shopping for all your John Edwards needs!

Major Cases Litigated by John Edwards:

The charts below contain a selection of the multi-million dollar cases litigated by John Edwards during his legal career, including personal injury & product liability cases, medical malpractice cases, and motor vehicle injury cases.

PERSONAL INJURY & PRODUCT LIABILITY CASES Beyond representing clients in routine personal injury cases, Edwards developed a specialty in swimming pool injury cases. In one case involving a 5-year-old girl who was disemboweled by suction from a pool drain, the jury awarded her $25M, the highest personal injury award in North Carolina history at the time.
Case	Summary of Facts	Case Type	Result
Lakey v. Sta-Rite Industries (Wake Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1996)	5-year-old girl was disemboweled, but survived, after being caught and suctioned by wading pool's defective drain. Despite 12 prior suits with similar claims, manufacturer continued to make and sell drain covers lacking warnings.	Product Liability	$25M settlement
Passe v. General Transport Systems, Inc. (Wake Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1997)	850-lb. box delivered to attorney's home, fell on him breaking his back, causing paraplegia, and confinement to wheelchair.	Negligence	$4M settlement
Weckbacher v. J.B. Hunt Transport Servs., Inc. (U.S. Dist. Ct., E.D.N.C. 1997)	33-year-old died during rescue attempt after head-on pickup–tractor-trailer collision. Settlement included worker's comp claim.	Wrongful Death	$3M settlement
Buck v. Atlantic Veneer Corp. (Carteret Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1987)	Worker fractured both ankles, jaw, and skull after fall from 24-foot scaffold in defendant's plywood plant.	Premises Liability	$2.3M verdict
Morgan v. Southeast Jurisdictional Admin. Council, Inc. (Wake Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1988)	14-year-old girl rendered quadriplegic from neck injury resulting from improperly supervised dive into shallow end of defendants' pool.	Premises Liability	$875K settlement

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES Another specialty Edwards developed was in medical malpractice cases involving problems during births of babies. According to the New York Times, after Edwards won a $6.5M verdict for a baby born with cerbral-palsy, he filed at least 20 similar lawsuits against doctors and hospitals in deliveries gone wrong, winning verdicts and settlements of more than $60M.
Case	Summary of Facts	Case Type	Result
Griffin v. Teague, et al. (Mecklenburg Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1997)	Application of abdominal pressure and delay in performing c-section caused brain damage to infant and resulted in child having cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia. Verdict set record for malpractice award.	Medical Malpractice	$23.25M verdict
Campbell v. Pitt County Memorial Hosp. (Pitt County, NC, 1985)	Infant born with cerebral palsy after breech birth via vaginal delivery, rather than cesarean. Established North Carolina precedent of physician and hospital liability for failing to determine if patient understood risks of particular procedure.	Medical Malpractice	$5.75M settlement
Wiggs v. Glover, et al.	Plaintiff alleged infant's severe cerebral palsy was caused by negligent administration of pitocin, failure to use fetal monitor, or timely intervening in baby's fetal distress.	Medical Malpractice	2.5M settlement
Cooper v. Craven Regional Med. Ctr., et al.	Infant suffered severe brain damage after obstetrician failed to moderate use of Picotin after baby displayed clear fetal distress.	Medical Malpractice	$2.5M settlement
Dixon v. Pitt County Memorial Hospital (Pitt County, NC)	Birth-related injuries including cerebral palsy and mental retardation allegedly caused by obstetrician's failure to diagnose fetal distress, including umbilical cord wrapped around baby's neck prior to delivery.	Medical Malpractice	2.4M settlement
Sawyer v. St. Joseph's Hospital	Doctor prescribed drug overdose of anti-alcoholism drug Antabuse, resulting in permanent brain and nerve damage.	Medical Malpractice	$3.7M verdict
Estate of Fuller v. Mazzaglia	38-year-old female committed suicide after psychiatrist discontinued suicide watch.	Medical Malpractice	$2.3M verdict
Allen v. Bostic (Forsyth Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1991)	Doctor's delay and failure to properrly treat 45-year-old's severely lacerated foot ultimately required amputation of foot three years later.	Medical Malpractice	$.6M settlement

MOTOR VEHICLE INJURY CASES Another specialty Edwards developed was in motor vehicle accident and injury cases involving tractor-trailers.
Howard v. Collins & Aikman Corp. (NC Superior Ct., 1990)	Suit against trucking company by estate of man killed by company driver, arguing that company acted recklessly in paying drivers by the mile, thereby encouraging unsafe conduct.	Truck Accident	$6.5M verdict
Kim v. Poling & Bacon Construction Co., Inc. (Wake Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1992)	Head-on car-truck collision injured 5 in car, including 7-year-old who suffered fractured skull and massive brain injury	Truck Accident	$5.9M settlement
Casey, et al. v. Fredrickson Motor Exp. Corp. (Buncombe Co. Superior Ct., NC, 1991)	Part-time employee suffered severe brain damage after vehicle collided with defendant's semi-truck.	Truck Accident	$4.5M verdict

Newsmaker Profile:

As a veteran trial lawyer, John Edwards brings to his Vice Presidential
candidacy years of legal experience honed in personal injury cases in
state and federal courts. Until he graduated law school at the University
of North Carolina, he explains in his autobiography The Four Trials, "[t]here
were no lawyers in my extended family. There were millworkers, grocery
clerks, ministers, Marines, boxers - but not lawyers." When he was eleven
years old, Edwards wrote that he wanted to be a lawyer "to protect innocent
people from blind justice the best I can." Edwards pursed this vision
trying to live his life by righting wrongs, captivated by television shows
like The Fugitive and Perry Mason. Twenty-seven years after he passed
the bar exam, Edwards' track record as a litigator remains remarkable:
according to North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, he obtained verdicts and settlements
for his clients totaling more than $175 million over his career.

Click for Full Profile

News and Commentary:

From FindLaw's Writ:

Should Doctors Vote Against John Edwards?
The Reasons Why Critiques of His Medical Malpractice Litigation Record Are Wrong

by Anthony J. Sebok (July 26, 2004)
Issues of Civil Justice and Tort Reform
What Role Will They Play in the Democratic Primaries?

by Anthony J. Sebok (Jan. 26, 2004)

Political Commentary:

Edwards should own up to his slimy work

by Mike Malin, The Kansas City Star (Aug. 7, 2004)
John Edwards: No Reason to Condemn all class-action lawyers

by Emily Bazelon, The Miami Herald (Aug. 4, 2004)
John Edwards and the Damsel in Distress

A guide to understanding what makes the vice presidential candidate tick.

by William Tucker, The Weekly Standard (July 29, 2004)
Kate’s Take: Crossing Over

by Kate O'Beirne, The National Review Online (Feb. 05, 2004)