Hayes Lorenzen Lawyers, PLC frequently works with other attorneys who refer their clients to this law firm for legal representation in personal injury cases. Please take time to review this web site and familiarize yourself with all of the firm’s practice areas, including:

• Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
• Medical Malpractice
• Product Liability
• Motor Vehicle/Auto Accidents
• Nursing Home Neglect & Abuse
• Birth Injuries
• Surgical Errors
• Brain & Spinal Cord Injuries

As you browse through this web site, there is the expectation that you will come to appreciate the type of professional relationship and association you can anticipate while working with Hayes Lorenzen Lawyers, PLC.

Hayes Lorenzen Lawyers, PLC believes that professional associations are mutually beneficial and present a distinct advantage for clients who will reap the rewards generated by this association. Furthermore, they believe it demonstrates, on some fundamental level, a mark of trust by one professional in the practice of another.

For an added convenience, this page also contains case summaries that are reflective of the practice of Hayes Lorenzen Lawyers, PLC.

Case Summaries

Iowa City, Iowa       

The Speed case was Jim Hayes’ first medical malpractice case and the first successful medical malpractice case against the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and the State of Iowa.

James R. Speed v. State of Iowa, 240 N.W.2d 901 (1976), changed medical malpractice law in the state of Iowa as it had been known.  Cases were difficult to pursue before Speed because the injured person had to find an Iowa doctor to testify against the defendant doctor.  It all changed with Speed, with the court allowing similarly trained and experienced doctors from across the country to testify as to standard of care.   

James Speed was an outstanding junior college basketball player who enrolled at the University of Iowa on a full scholarship in 1970.  Throughout the summer and fall, he experienced sinus infections for which he was treated by athletic department personnel.  The day following Thanksgiving, Jim asked to see a dentist for a toothache.  Two molars were extracted.  He returned two times to the on-call oral surgeon for extreme head pain, vomiting and malaise.  At the last visit he was given placebos.  His coach sent him to student health.  There the elderly team physician, who suffered from cataracts, examined Jim, ordered no tests, but had the impression of septicemia, brain abscess or mononucleosis.  He prescribed bufferin.  A few hours later, Jim had expulsive vomiting.  A physician gave him medication for pain and to stop the vomiting. 

Later that night, Jim found his way to a lavatory and could see his eyes were swollen almost completely shut.  He asked for help.  The physician on call said to the nurse, “Marie, Jim Speed has sore eyes, give him Seconal and call me tomorrow.”  Jim became meningeal and totally blind.  He was rushed to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for surgery where he was diagnosed with cavernous sinus thrombosis.  Later, experts for Speed testified that as long as he could see light, intense antibiotic therapy would have saved his sight.   After a four-week trial, Jim was awarded significant damages. 

The Iowa Supreme Court ruling changed the law in Iowa in respect to expert witnesses, from the local rule to a national rule.  This allowed experts from outside Iowa, similarly educated and experienced, to testify in cases in Iowa, thus opening up the area of medical malpractice.         

Muscatine, Iowa       

Debbie Ross was a country-western singer, single parent, and mother of a young daughter. Debbie’s doctor treated her for agoraphobia (fear of leaving the safety of home). One day, Debbie came in with a bad cold. The doctor prescribed and over-the-counter medication which, when combined with her agoraphobia medications, is known to cause strokes. Debbie in fact suffered a disabling stroke. The doctor’s insurance company relied on an expert who said Debbie was at greater risk for her outcome because of her low socio-economic status. The jury did not find this defense credible and awarded damages to Debbie for her losses.

Dewitt / Davenport, Iowa       

Amy Sater, age 17, presented for a laparoscopic appendectomy. The surgeon severed blood vessels during the procedure and failed to repair this injury. Amy bled out over a period of several hours, as the doctor and nurse anesthetist insisted everything was okay. Finally, Amy was air-lifted to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where the injuries were repaired and her life was saved. Unfortunately, Amy suffered a stroke and brain damage because of the severe blood loss, and she is wheelchair bound for life. A court, for the first time in Iowa, allowed a claim of negligent credentialing against the hospital that gave surgical privileges to the offending doctor. The doctor’s license to practice medicine was revoked and the doctor, nurse-anesthetist and hospital system were held responsible.

Fort Dodge, Iowa       

Kelsey Sampson was a 15 year-old young lady who had painful urination. She was treated with various medications and regimens for a period of time by her urologist. One day, the urologist decided to use Capsaicin, a substance made out of chili peppers which was not FDA approved for the use he made of it, injecting it into Kelsey’s bladder. The hospital pharmacy was involved in this procedure as well, ordering the substance for the urologist and giving him reassurance about its proposed use. Because of the poisonous nature of the substance, Kelsey lost both kidneys and her bladder and has undergone kidney transplant and reconstruction of a new bladder using part of her intestines. Kelsey continues to fight infection, and additional transplants are likely in her future. The urologist and personnel of the pharmacy were held responsible.

Waukon, Iowa       

Curt Weipert, age 16, was riding a motorcycle--contrary to his grandmother’s wishes--when a woman in a car sideswiped him on a narrow bridge. The crash resulted in a broken femur for Curt. A local surgeon decided to put a rod in Curt’s leg. During the operation, the doctor asked the nurse anesthetist for assistance in holding Curt on the table as the doctor drove the rod into the big bone. During this process, the oxygen tube came out of Curt’s mouth, the alarm on the anesthesia machine failed and, for 8-1/2 minutes, no one noticed that Curt was without oxygen. As a result of oxygen deprivation, Curt is a wheelchair-bound spastic quadriplegic, blind, and has difficulty speaking. The anesthesia machine company, the nurse anesthetist, and the surgeon were held responsible.

Iowa City, Iowa       

Alysia Haman, 12 years old, was a bright and active little girl who fell while ice skating. Her upper arm was X-rayed and a fracture was seen. The fracture went through an area of "honeycombing" of the bone. This condition is easily corrected in a procedure by which an orthopedist uses one large needle to draw fluid from the "honeycombing" and another to inject steroid to promote bone growth. The surgeon encountered some clotting of blood, which closed the opening of the first needle. For some reason he could not explain, rather than replacing the needle, he injected 60cc of air to clear the needle. In doing so, the air went directly through the bloodstream to Alysia’s heart and stopped it for many minutes. The anesthesiologist could not understand why her young patient was not breathing. The surgeon said nothing and stood back while the anesthesiologist worked frantically to save Alysia’s life. Due to lack of oxygen, Alysia is a spastic quadriplegic who has difficulty speaking. She retains her level of intelligence, but is dependent for her daily cares. The surgeon was held responsible.

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