Page 6 - Katten 2021 Pro Bono Annual Review

Settlement Negotiated on Behalf of Prisoner Who Filed Lawsuit

In a civil rights case, Katten took on the case of a Illinois had previously found triable issues of fact
prisoner in need of legal assistance in negotiating a with respect to the client’s claims of failure to pro-
settlement. tect and deliberate indifference, the lawsuit was
headed to trial when Katten was appointed.
The negotiation, referred through the Settlement
Assistance Program of the Chicago Lawyers’ After several months of negotiations involving the
Committee for Civil Rights, was handled by Insurance client and the Illinois Attorney General, preparing a
and Health Care Fraud Litigation partner John Reale. settlement demand on the client’s behalf, and partic-
ipating in a settlement conference before the magis-
In Houston, John’s client filed a lawsuit against
trate judge overseeing the proceedings, John was
prison officials because he was allegedly assaulted
ultimately able to assist the client in reaching a confi-
by another prisoner while incarcerated at Stateville
dential settlement agreement with the Illinois
Correctional Center. Because the district court in
Attorney General’s Office.

Seriously Injured Prisoner Wins

Civil Rights Settlement

A prisoner who was severely injured while incarcerated in
Illinois secured a settlement after a years-long civil rights case.

In 2015, Litigation senior counsel Ted Helwig was appointed by
the US Court for the Northern District of Illinois to represent a
prisoner who filed a civil right complaint against the DuPage
County Correctional Facility and the psychiatrist at the facility.

During a suicidal episode, the client walked out of his second-
floor cell and jumped head first onto the first floor, which ren-
dered him paraplegic. The complaint alleged that the jail and the
psychiatrist were aware of the client’s mental health issues but
continued to house him in a dangerous second-floor cell and did
It’s too bad the English language falls not provide any other precautions.
short when we want to express how
Katten attorneys took and defended numerous depositions,
thankful we are and saying thank you
and defeated two motions for summary judgment over the
is all we have, but thank you! Being course of the case. Ultimately, Litigation partner David Stagman,
grateful means there are actions to Litigation associate Shannon Gross, and Financial Markets
Litigation and Enforcement associate Anna Porter negotiated a
being thankful, and I promise to do
substantial settlement in February 2021.
everything I can to make the world

a better place.” During the course of the litigation, 16 Katten attorneys and
numerous paralegals and summer associates worked on the case.
PRO BONO CLIENT IN A
PRISONER RIGHTS SUIT

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