Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

A jury recently awarded $8 million to a 5-year-old and his mother in a medical malpractice case against a midwife and a Medical Center. The personal injury lawsuit proved that the midwife and nurse committed medical malpractice when they failed to order a C-section when the baby experienced fetal distress. As a result, the baby was deprived of oxygen during birth, which led to cerebral palsy. The jury award will go to pay for the constant care that the boy will need for his entire life.

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The guardian of the child filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital, alleging that the hospital was administrating lethal doses of lithium. According to the plaintiff’s petition, the minor plaintiff was hospitalized for behavioral mental health problems. During the admissions process, the admitting nurse allegedly reported in error that the child was taking lithium carbonate 600 mg per day – twice the amount of the recommended dosage. Because of this medical malpractice, the child began receiving 1200 mg of lithium carbonate each day, continuing until his emergency transfer six days later.

By the child’s second day at the facility, the blood lab had flagged the child’s blood lithium level as abnormally high. However, no doctor initialed the lab report to indicate that it had been reviewed nor was any other corrective action taken. Six days later, a social worker brought the child to a hearing room. The child could hardly walk or hold his head up, was slurring his words, drooling, and covered with sweat. Nurses could not find the child’s pulse and he collapsed into a coma. The medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that the hospital breached the standard of care and was negligent in its treatment of the child.

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A recent study reviewed almost nine hundred medical malpractice claims to find that 27% of those cases involved errors by residents, interns, or fellows. The result of these errors frequently resulted in substantial personal injuries or death, despite the fact that many of the errors occurred in the outpatient setting.

Researchers also looked at how these errors by residents, interns, or fellows could have been prevented. They noted that errors in their judgment resulted in 72% of the medical malpractice claims. More than half of these medical trainees errors were due to a lack of supervision. The study concluded that there is a relationship between poor teamwork to preventable errors and quality of care.

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A family whose son was severely brain-damaged during a botched delivery at a teaching hospital recently received a $26.5 million jury verdict in their favor from a medical malpractice lawsuit. The son will never walk or talk due to the medical malpractice during his delivery. The son, now 10 years old, has cerebral palsy and requires round-the-clock care.

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The trial of a wrongful death lawsuit brought against a cardiologist and his team began recently. The plaintiff, the 91 year old father of the 65 year-old victim, sued the doctors, alleging medical malpractice during their care of his son in January 2005. The medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that the doctor failed to get an angiograph done in a timely manner despite repeated medical indications that it was needed immediately. The victim was sent to the cardiologist in December of 2004 after experiencing symptoms of a heart attack. By the time the doctor looked at the patient, it was too late because much of the victim’s heart muscle had been permanently damaged.

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The plaintiff’s wife died during the birth of their child four years ago. The victim died just moment’s after their son’s birth. The medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that the victim’s death was a result of improper steps taken by an anesthesiologist and his team. The lawsuit alleges that the doctor did not properly monitor the victim and gave her too much of one anesthetic and too little of another.

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An Illinois medical malpractice trial recently began involving a 57 year-old stroke victim. The 57 year-old Illinois victim in the case was a picture of health up until a stroke he endured in January 2003. In February 2003, the victim suffered a second stroke. Due to his strokes, the victim damaged the right side of his brain and caused permanent damage to the left side of his body. The Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit filed against the victim’s family physician alleges that the physician did not provide proper care for the victim after the first small stroke. The Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that the doctor incorrectly assumed that the victim simply had a brain tumor when he in fact had a mini-stroke that required immediate treatment. To date, the victim’s medical bills have topped $300,000 and the victim’s wife spends $22,000 annually for his in-home care.

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All patients being treated in hospitals, whether for serious surgery or routine procedures, should be made aware of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA), an infection acquired during hospitalization. 100,000 people die of MRSA annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one out of every 22 patients will acquire an infection during hospitalizations totaling 1.7 million patients a year. It is also estimated that out of that group, 99,000 would die. MRSA has recently been proven as avoidable in many cases. Pittsburgh Veterans Hospital has cracked down on doctor hygiene and hospital cleanliness, while taking other minor precautions and has noticed a decrease in MRSA infections. According to the hospital's chief of staff, "the infection control program cost about $500,000 a year, including test kits, salaries for 3 workers, and the $175-per-patient cost of gloves, gowns and hand sanitizer. The hospital... realized a net savings of nearly $900,000 when the number of infected patients fell." Hospitals should take note, especially since Medicare will no longer pay for "preventable" conditions induced by carelessness or medical malpractice in hospitals. One of the "preventable" categories is certain types of hospital-acquired infections. The hospitals themselves will have to cover these often enormous amounts.

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The wife of an Illinois man who bled to death after routine surgery at Downstate VA Hospital in southern Illinois recently began filing a lawsuit against the US Department of Veteran Affairs. A surgeon, who was barred from practicing in another state, was the doctor caring for that Illinois patient. The doctor had been accused of causing life-threatening complications and deaths by providing "grossly substandard care" and making repeated medical mistakes. Downstate VA Hospital in southern Illinois suspended inpatient surgeries shortly after the man bled to death in response to an increasing amount of post-surgical deaths. The hospital serves veterans in southern Illinois and other nearby areas in other states. The surgeon who spurred the chain of events had been linked to deaths all over the country. A surgical error caused a death after the doctor caused a blood infection and respiratory failure by allowing a stitch to dislodge in a man's esophagus. On another occasion he mistakenly put stitches in a patient's bladder during a hernia repair causing years of pain. He made misdiagnoses, delayed diagnoses, and used improper surgical methods, all leading to unnecessary surgeries, pain, and hospitalizations. The list does not stop there. The State of Illinois continued his license after learning it was revoked in another state. It was not difficult to find his record status even if the state hadn't been alerted. The Illinois VA hospital was responsible for a mortality rate over four times the normal amount. The barred surgeon was involved in all of them.

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Chicago attorneys John J. Perconti and Patricia M. Gifford settled a medical malpractice lawsuit in the wrongful death of a 70-year old woman at University of Chicago Hospital for $950,000. On November 7, 2003, the Illinois woman’s children were told that doctors suspected a possible abnormal connection between her arteries and veins. In order to investigate, University of Chicago doctors recommended that she undergo an interventional radiological procedure involving placing a catheter into her artery to look for and clear any blockages. The Illinois woman’s family was shocked to learn that complications during the procedure lead to their mother’s death.

An autopsy revealed that the Illinois woman’s surgeon had perforated her right ventricle with a guide wire during the procedure which caused internal bleeding and death. The surgical error occurred during what Illinois attorney John Perconti described as a routine procedure: “It is unfortunate and sad that Vera had to die from a relatively simple and non-invasive procedure. Our client was leading a full and active life and her children never got a chance to say goodbye to her.”

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A medical malpractice lawsuit was recently settled for over $1.5 million on behalf of the family of a 37-year-old Illinois man who died of a heart problem resulting from the negligence of his doctor. The man died only days before a follow-up appointment was scheduled with his doctor. Unfortunately, during previous visits the doctor failed to perform the necessary tests to monitor the health of the man, who suffered from cardiac sarcoidosis. The tests the doctor should have performed include a Holter monitor test, an echocardiogram and a Thallium stress test. The doctor also failed to properly treat the patient, by neglecting to install an implantable defibrillator to regulate the man's heart rhythm.

In an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit, a DuPage County jury recently awarded $12 million to a Warrenville, Illinois couple whose 7 year-old son became disabled at birth. The 7 year-old cannot speak and has no control over his limbs due to a medical malpractice birth injury. During the delivery, there was a forty-five minute delay during the unplanned C-section while waiting for an operating room. During that time, the son was deprived of an adequate amount of oxygen. He is now a first grader and has normal intelligence. The money will be used for his continued medical care.

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A woman who had both breasts removed in error because of a biopsy result that was later found not to be hers appeared on Good Morning America and told her story. Due to a lab mixup, the 35 year-old woman had a double mastectomy. The 35 year-old’s biopsy sample had been mislabeled at the laboratory. The victim has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the laboratory.

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A 19 year-old sophomore at Howard University recently sued George Washington University Hospital and Howard University Hospital after being denied proper care. According to the medical malpractice lawsuit complaint, the plaintiff was given a date-rape drug at an off-campus party and was then denied a rape kit at several hospitals because she allegedly appeared intoxicated.

According to the medical malpractice lawsuit complaint, the plaintiff was given a date-rape drug that rendered her semiconscious. She was then assaulted. Immediately after the assault, she sought medical assistance at Howard University Hospital accompanied by two witnesses. She was denied treatment because she appeared intoxicated, was drifting in and out of consciousness, and was vomiting. The police were also informed and said that a rape kit was unnecessary.

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A Cook County, Illinois jury recently awarded the family of a victim of medical malpractice $7,000,000. The victim died of a pulmonary embolism after knee surgery at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. The man's wife alleged that the negligence of a doctor and a physician's assistant caused the untimely death of her husband. The health care providers failed to review the patient's records, overlooking a medical history of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. As a result, the Illinois man was not administered the proper medication in a timely manner, allowing the formation of blood clots and allowing other blood clots to continue growing. This medical mistake ultimately led to the patient's wrongful death.

A jury verdict of $1.03 million awarded to a 10-year old girl in a birth injury lawsuit in 2006 was upheld last week by the Illinois First District Appellate Court. Attorney Jeffrey E. Martin of Chicago-based injury law firm Levin & Perconti, was able to give his 10-year old client good news: she will receive the medical care she needs to regain function in her right arm and shoulder.

In July 2006, a Cook County jury found that the defendant obstetrician failed to use appropriate maneuvers in delivering the child, permanently damaging the nerves in her right brachial plexus, and finding for the Illinois plaintiff in the medical malpractice lawsuit.

On appeal, the defendants argued that the trail court improperly barred the testimony of a defense expert. The Illinois appellate court disagreed, finding that the defense expert’s methodology, using a computer-based mathematical model to evaluate the delivery, did not meet the requirements of Frye v. United States, the standard required of testifying experts. The Illinois court further held that the expert’s testimony was cumulative, or the same as, another expert testifying for the defense. Thus, the Illinois appellate court decided, the trial court’s barring of the defense expert was not a ground for reversal.

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Click here for the opinion of the Appellate Court of Illinois First Judicial District