The family of a sportscaster who died of a heart problem after his doctor allegedly failed to perform tests has settled his lawsuit against the doctor and the hospital where the doctor’s office was located for more than $1.5 million dollars.

Darrian Chapman, 37, died in 2002, a few days before a follow-up appointment with his doctor, who had failed to conduct a Holter monitor test, an echocardiogram and a Thallium stress test, the lawsuit said. The doctor also didn’t install an implantable defibrillator to regulate heart rhythm for Chapman, who suffered from cardiac sarcoidosis.

He is survived by his wife and two children, now 16 and 14, from a previous marriage.

Dr. Stuart Greenfield and his employer, Northwestern Cardiology and Internal Medicine, S.C., paid $990,000 of his $1 million dollar policy limits.

The family sued Northwestern Memorial Hospital , on whose campus Greenfield had an office, as the principal and Greenfield as its apparent agent. The hospital paid $550,000.

Robert J. Napleton of Motherway & Napleton, LLP represented the family.

Cook County Circuit Judge Thomas L. Hogan approved the settlement on October 1, 2007 .

The case number is 03 L 3491.

The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Bob Napleton as the Chairman of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions in Civil Cases. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Mr. Napleton to a 3 year term expiring on December 31, 2010 . This important committee studies and recommends new jury instructions for civil cases or modification to existing instructions. These instructions are read and given to every jury in the entire state of Illinois deciding a civil lawsuit.

A three million dollar settlement has been reached on behalf of a four year boy who, at 2 weeks of age, suffered a cardiac arrest in the intensive care nursery at the University of Chicago Hospital ten days after he had undergone surgery to correct a congenital heart defect. Just before the arrest, a physician’s assistant had pulled a right atrial line from the heart. The following week the infant was diagnosed to have suffered a stroke. He now lives with his parents, is enrolled in school, but has some developmental delay and is on anti-seizure medication. Nicholas J. Motherway had prepared the case for trial, negotiated the settlement on behalf of the boy and his parents. Circuit Court of Cook County Case 04 L 11116.

Robert J. Napleton has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in America .

The induction ceremony at which Robert J. Napleton became a Fellow took place recently before an audience of 810 persons during the recent 2007 Spring Meeting of the College in La Quinta, California .

Founded in 1950, the College is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada . Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only and only after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Lawyers must have a minimum of fifteen years trial experience before they can be considered for Fellowship.

Membership in the College cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or providence. There are currently approximately 5,610 members in the United States and Canada , including active Fellows, Emeritus Fellows, Judicial Fellows (those who ascended to the bench after their induction) and Honorary Fellows.

The College strives to improve and elevate the standards of trial practice, the administration of justice and the ethics of the trial profession. Qualified lawyers are called to Fellowship in the college from all branches of trial practice. They are carefully selected from among those who customarily represent plaintiffs in civil cases and those who customarily represent defendants, whose who prosecute accused of crime and those who defend them. The College is thus able to speak with a balanced voice on important issues affecting the legal profession and the administration of justice.

Robert J. Napleton is a partner in the firm of Motherway & Napleton, LLP and has been practicing in this city for 18 years. The newly inducted Fellow is an alumnus of Loyola Law School.