Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC

Four DBMS Attorneys Recognized as Best Lawyers®: Ones to Watch in 2025 Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth is proud to announce that six of the firm’s attorneys have been included in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in 2025. Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch awards recognize extraordinary lawyers who have been in practice for less than ten years in the United States. Like traditional Best Lawyers awards, a Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch recognition is based entirely on an exhaustive peer-review process. The Donohue Brown attorneys who have been identified as Best Lawyers: One to Watch, and their recognized areas of practice, are: - David K. Duffey - Legal Malpractice Law, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants - Ashley E. Dus - Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants - Laura C. Ieremia - Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants - Scott J. Kater - Legal Malpractice Law and Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants Best Lawyers’ methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical region and legal practice area. Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services provided by attorneys recognized in the Best Lawyers publications. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.” David Duffey Scott Kater Ashley Dus Laura Coffey Ieremia

DBMS Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth is proud to announce that thirteen of the firm’s attorneys have been selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2025. Those thirteen attorneys, and their recognized areas of practice, are: -     Sherri M. Arrigo - Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants -     Stetson F. Atwood - Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants -     Michael J. Borree - Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants -     Mark H. Boyle - Product Liability Litigation – Defendants -     Donald J. Brown, Jr. - Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants -     Mark M. Burden - Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants -     Thomas W. Cushing - Product Liability Litigation – Defendants -     Karen K. DeGrand - Appellate Practice and Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants -     Richard H. Donohue - Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants -     Ed E. Fu - Product Liability Litigation – Defendants -     Timothy L. Hogan - Product Liability Litigation – Defendants -     J. Kent Mathewson - Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants -     Robert W. Smyth, Jr. - Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. More than 116,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and more than 17 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. For the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, more than 12.2 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 71,000 leading lawyers honored in the new edition. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

Mark M. Burden Receives the Best Lawyers® 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” Award Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth is proud to announce that Mark M. Burden has been honored as the Best Lawyers® 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” in Chicago for Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants. This prestigious award is given to the lawyer with the highest overall peer feedback in a specific practice area and geographic region. Only one lawyer per area of focus and location is recognized as "Lawyer of the Year," making this an exceptional achievement. Mark Burden

DBMS Obtains Defense Verdict in Cook County Kent Mathewson and Mike Lustig received a defense verdict following a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County where they represented an ophthalmologist who was alleged to have negligently treated a patient in the emergency department at a local hospital. The patient had a pre-existing significant visual impairment in his companion eye when he presented with sudden total vision loss in his good eye. The patient was correctly diagnosed with a central retinal artery occlusion. Plaintiff alleged the defendant ophthalmologist should have recommended the use of tPA to eliminate the occlusion and restore blood flow to the retina. Through expert testimony, the defense demonstrated that tPA was not proven effective, was not within the standard of care for an ophthalmologist, and it was unclear this patient would have been an appropriate candidate for tPA therapy. The plaintiff had requested $3.5 million in damages. Kent Mathewson Michael G. Lustig

DBMS Obtains a Not Guilty Verdict in Cook County On July 22, 2024, DBMS attorneys David Duffey, Mark Burden, and Mason Kienzle received a not guilty verdict in a medical malpractice case in Cook County. DBMS’ attorneys represented a local hospital. The patient, a 38-year-old male, filed suit after suffering a fall from a hospital bed. Plaintiff alleged that the care provided by nurses at the hospital fell below the standard of care and that the hospital failed to maintain adequate policies to address the risk of patient falls. The patient claimed that the fall caused an aggravation in physical and emotional/mental health problems. At trial, DBMS’ attorneys presented expert testimony demonstrating that the nurse providing care to the patient complied with the standard of care and that the hospital had appropriate policies to address the risk of patient falls. Additionally, DBMS’ attorneys presented expert testimony demonstrating that the patient's ongoing physical, emotional and mental health issues pre-existed and were not exacerbated by the fall from the bed. After plaintiff's attorney requested an award of $8.3 million, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the hospital in a little over one hour. Mark Burden David Duffey Mason Kienzle

Thank you to our sponsors for the 28th Annual WBAI Golf Outing on Friday, August 2, 2024. We appreciate your generous support! 💫WBAI Premiere Sustaining Partner💫 Clifford Law Offices 💫WBAI Prestige Sustaining Partners💫 Cassiday Schade LLP Romanucci & Blandin, LLC Wallace Miller 💫Exclusive All Cart Sponsor💫 Veritext Legal Solutions 💫Cocktails and Awards Reception Sponsor💫 Stout 💫Course Beverage Sponsor💫 Rothrock Settlement Consulting 💫Beverage Cart Sponsors💫 Cogan & Power, P.C. Waterville Advisors 💫Golden Tee Lunch Sponsor💫 Milestone 💫Mulligan Sponsor💫 U.S. Legal Support 💫Warm Up, Wine Down Game Sponsor💫 Planet Depos 💫Exclusive Hole Sponsors💫 Magna Legal Services Prindable Settlements Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, LLC 💫Hole Sponsors💫 ADR Systems Advocus National Title Insurance Company Decalogue Society of Lawyers Deposition Crew Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC Expert Institute FindLaw Gomolinksi Mediation Kaveny + Kroll Trial Lawyers Lexitas Mammas Goldberg Vanderporten McCorkle Litigation Services, Inc. National Record Retrieval, LLC Robert Half Schroeder MD Regenerative Orthopedics (SRO) Tully & Associates Ltd. U.S. Legal Support 💫Print Sponsor💫 Verity Group #WBAI #golfouting #WBAIGolfOuting2024 #glenviewparkgolfclub

Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC is pleased to announce that Ejulius (EJ) Adorno has joined the firm as an associate. Mr. Adorno graduated from the University of Iowa in 2018 and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Before joining DBMS, Mr. Adorno served as an associate at a Chicago-based law firm, where he gained extensive experience defending commercial personal injury actions. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Adorno spent four years as a Cook County State’s Attorney.

DBMS Obtains Not Guilty Verdict in Cook County On July 3, 2024, DBMS partner Rob Smyth and associate Scott Kater received a ‘Not Guilty’ verdict in a medical malpractice case in Cook County.  DBMS’ attorneys represented a general surgeon. The patient, a 50-year-old male, had chronic painful and bleeding hemorrhoids.  The surgeon first attempted conservative treatment that failed.  The surgeon performed a hemorrhoidectomy to remove the painful external hemorrhoids and destroy the bleeding internal hemorrhoids using electrocautery.  Post-operatively, the patient developed a spontaneous anal fissure, which was plagued by problems with non-healing.  The patient saw numerous subsequent providers and ultimately underwent anal reconstructive surgery.  At trial, DBMS attorneys presented expert testimony demonstrating that the defendant surgeon performed the hemorrhoidectomy appropriately and did not cause the subsequent fissure.  After plaintiffs’ attorney requested an award of $61 million, the jury returned a verdict in favor of DBMS’ client and the co-defendant hospital. 

DBMS Obtains a Not Guilty Verdict in Cook County On June 25, 2024, DBMS partner Michael Borree and senior counsel Brian O’Kane received a ‘not guilty’ verdict in a medical malpractice case tried in Cook County.  DBMS’ attorneys represented an interventional cardiologist and a general cardiologist.  The patient, a 67-year-old male, had a long-standing relationship with the general cardiologist given a prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery.  In early October 2018, the patient had an acute episode of chest pain and was hospitalized for one night.  All tests performed during the hospital admission did not demonstrate any concerns for a cardiac condition.  During an office visit following the brief hospital admission, the general cardiologist ordered an angiogram, which was performed and interpreted by the interventional cardiologist.  Both the interventional cardiologist and general cardiologist concurred that the angiogram showed severe disease in the vein graft placed during the patient’s prior surgery.  The two physicians determined to refer the patient to a surgeon for consideration of a re-do coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The surgery was performed, and at conclusion of the procedure, the patient could not be taken off the heart-lung bypass machine. The patient never recovered, and he died one month later. The patient was survived by his wife and two adult children.  Plaintiff claimed that the angiogram was misinterpreted, that the referral for a re-do coronary artery bypass graft surgery was misguided, and that a percutaneous intervention in the vein graft should have been performed (as opposed to a re-do surgery).    DBMS’ attorneys presented testimony from experts which demonstrated that the angiogram interpretation was within the standard of care, and that the only way to successfully treat the diseased vein graft was through a surgery.  After plaintiff’s attorneys requested an award between $5 million and $10 million during closing arguments, the jury returned a verdict in favor of DBMS’ clients in two hours.