Lodowski Verdict Restored
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruled this past week in Barnes v. Greater Baltimore Medical Center. According to the Maryland Daily Record, the Court reinstated a $1.1 million dollar verdict. The trial judge, Hon. Ruth Ann Jakubwoski, had granted a defense motion for a judgement notwithstanding the verdict and Barnes appealed.
For you laypeople … A judgement notwithstanding the verdict or JNOV simply means the trial judge has the power to overrule what the jury did. The judge must, in making this decision, view the evidence in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. If the judge still believes the defendant should have won, she can simply make it so.
The trial attorney in this medical malpractice case was Christian Lodowski. The appellate attorney was Andrew Baida. While the Injury Lawyer Database does not keep appellate statistics, Baida is known to be an excellent appellate litigator. Likewise, Lodowski has a good reputation. ILD shows Lodowski as having 49 closed cases and 10 open cases, of which Barnes is one. With the exception of some motor tort (car accident) cases, the majority of Christian Lodowski’s cases are medical malpractice or other professional malpractice. Other tort cases, of which Lodowski has quite a few, are often med mal matters. Stips and settlements make up a large percentage of his results, with only a few cases listed as going to verdict.
Defendant GBMC has had numerous matters. Being a large Baltimore area hospital, the cases are, not surprisingly, nearly all malpractice matters.