During decades of trial practice, Mr. Bentley has consistently obtained substantial recoveries for his clients. Many of his cases have resulted in jury verdicts and settlements in excess of a million dollars.
During the 1980s Mr. Bentley and his former law partner, Robert “Bo” Glenn, Jr., won jury verdicts in Durham County of $400,000 for slander against a major manufacturer of hospital instruments, $1.19 million for malicious prosecution against an academic medical center, and more than $1 million for a Durham plastics manufacture in an unfair and deceptive trade practices case against a fortune 500 company.
Mr. Bentley’s first medical malpractice case resulted in a recovery of $1.5 million during jury selection. In 1987 Mr. Bentley was retained by the mother of a six-year-old girl who had all four limbs amputated due to a delayed diagnosis of meningococcemia. The case was settled in 1990 for $9 million with a projected total lifetime pay-out to the child and her mother of $54 million. The media reported that it was the largest payment for a medical malpractice case in North Carolina history at that time.
During 1999-2004, Bentley Law Offices worked with five other law firms from North Carolina, New York, and Georgia on several national class action cases on behalf of consumers against mortgage insurance companies. The cases resulted in combined recoveries of more than $75 million and injunctive relief correcting certain practices in the industry. Mr. Bentley maintains an interest in consumer and commercial issues and serves as Vice-President of the Financial Protection Law Center that represents consumers in cases of over-reaching, predatory lending, and fraud.
In January of 2017, Mr. Bentley and co-counsel Allan Brown and Joseph McGowin obtained a $2 million jury verdict in a testicular torsion case in Mobile, Alabama. This verdict is believed to be one of the largest verdicts in the United States for the loss of a testicle when there are no resulting fertility issues. Mr. Bentley and co-counsel Joe McLeod settled a negligent security case in Hoke County, North Carolina, for $6.25 million during the third week of trial while the jury was deliberating. The following year, Mr. Bentley settled a medical malpractice case in North Carolina for $5.5 million shortly before trial. Other notable results include numerous settlements in excess of $1 million.
Colleen Janssen, a gifted and experienced trial attorney, joined Bentley Law Offices, P.A. in May of 2017. Since then, Mr. Bentley and Ms. Janssen have continued to achieve noteworthy results for the firm’s clients. Significant recoveries in medical malpractice cases have included $3.5 million, $2.7 million, $1.1 million, and other settlements in excess of $1 million.
The cases mentioned here are illustrative of the matters handled by Mr. Bentley and his firm. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Not all results are provided here, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.