Overview
Theodore J. Leopold as the lead trial attorney in Chipps v. Humana, represented a family in this managed care abuse case after Humana wrongfully denied physical and occupational therapy for a 6-year-old child with cerebral palsy.
After six years of litigation and a four-week jury trial examining Humana’s internal documents and abrupt termination of its managed care program for 100 catastrophically ill children in Florida in complete violation of its own policies and procedures, the jury awarded the Chipps family more than $1.03 million in compensatory and $78.5 million in punitive damages, which is the largest punitive damage award on behalf of an individual in Florida history.. This landmark lawsuit uncovered widespread fraud at Humana, including the payment of bonuses to physicians and nurses based on the number of medical claims they denied each month.
The American Association for Justice lists Chipps v. Humana as one of the top “Cases That Made a Difference” for healthcare. Mr. Leopold was nominated by the Public Justice Foundation as “Trial Lawyer of the Year” for his leadership in this ground-breaking litigation against the managed care industry. The case was also featured in the National Law Journal’s Top Verdicts of the Year.