Downstate Lawyer Covered Up Client's Death, Lied About Consulting With Him: Complaint

A Downstate lawyer kept quiet about the death of a client in a lawsuit and then lied about discussing a settlement offer with him, according to a complaint filed by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.

Attorney Anthony Patrick Galbreth of Columbia was representing one-legged man Randy L. Robison in a lawsuit filed against Orthotic and Prosthetic Labs Inc., the complaint said. The lawsuit was filed in 2008 in St. Clair County Court and involved “matters related to injuries caused by a malfunction of Robison’s prosthetic leg.”

The lawsuit was still pending when Robison died in January 2013, the complaint said, but Galbreth kept quiet about it and continued on with the case even though “there was no plaintiff” for him to represent.

Galbreth kept the opposition in the dark because all of the lawsuit’s “eight counts contained allegations that Robison ‘will be hindered and prevented from attending to his usual and customary affairs,’ and ‘will continue to spend and become liable for large sums of money for medical care and services attempting to heal and cure his injuries,’” the complaint said.

Galbreth “withheld the fact of Robison’s death because he knew that Robison’s death would reduce the value of any claims for damages,” the complaint said.

Eight months after Robison died, an attorney for Orthotic and Prosthetic Labs offered to settle the case for $110,000, the complaint said. Galbreth replied in an email that “my client has instructed me to accept $110,000 in full and final settlement of this matter. Please provide an appropriate release and I will present it to my client for review and approval.”