Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

Tabe v. Ausman, No. 1-07-0703 (2-9-09) is an Illinois decision that found that the trial court erred when it granted plaintiff a new trial after jury returned medical malpractice verdict in favor of all defendants. Because there was adequate testimony for jury to conclude that defendants did not breach standard of care when they relied on neuroradiologist report, which did not show any compression of the spinal cord after laminectomy, when deciding not to perform nerve decompression procedure, and because plaintiff did not tender any special interrogatories to the jury, any error associated with giving the long form proximate cause instruction could not be grounds for new trial. Further, there was no error in giving long form IPI 12.04, because there was evidence that sole proximate cause was the failure of the absent neuroradiologist to report decompression. This case will have a profound effect on medical malpractice cases.

According to Robert Oshel, former associate director of the Division of Practitioner Data Banks at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, doctors need to worry more about limiting malpractice claims and not damage awards in order to prevent medical malpractice insurance premiums from rising. This is in response to doctors who wish to limit awarded damages in order to decrease insurance premiums. He counters, stating studies show “that the majority of dollars paid out for malpractice result from the negligent actions of the very small portion of physicians who face multiple malpractice payments.” He suggests his state should “restrict or revoke the licenses of physicians with a record of multiple malpractice awards.”

Read more about Oshel’s opinion on limiting medical malpractice.

Over-the-counter and prescription errors account for many medical emergencies. The article gives tips on how to avoid prescription and over-the-counter errors with your children. Read labels carefully and if you need help call the Regional Poison Control Center in your area. Supervise your children when medications are out. Also, lock medications away when not in use.

Read more on how to prevent medication error here.

A medical malpractice suit was filed on behalf of a man who died after having his wisdom teeth removed. According to the article, the plaintiffs claim both the dentist and the oral surgeon knew the young man suffered from an immune deficiency disease “that caused parts of his body to swell after trauma.” Both of the doctors blame each other and the young man for his death.

Read more about the death from oral surgery here.

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed on behalf of a man who was found hanging in his hospital room two years ago. The lawsuit claims the negligent medical staff could have prevented the man’s suicide. The man was known to suffer from depression, mental illness, and posed a danger to himself. According to the man’s family, they claim the hospital knew he was at risk of committing suicide but did not put him on suicide watch.

Read more about the alleged hospital negligence here.

A Veteran’s Administration clinic has warned patients they may be susceptible to a possible contaminant exposure if they were given colonoscopies in the previous years. This has sparked VA clinics nationwide to review their own procedures. The patients may have been exposed to “infectious bodily fluids” from other patients that have also received colonoscopies. Another VA clinic has now warned their patients there may have been a problem with their ear, nose and throat clinic.

Read more about the contaminant exposure here.

After an intensive surgery, a boy was left brain dead which led to a wrongful death complaint against the surgeon. The Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision is also providing its own independent investigation of the surgeon but will not explain for what reason. According to the article, the doctor “has been named as a defendant in at least a dozen civil lawsuits claiming medical negligence since June 2007.”

Read more about the young boy’s case of medical maltreatment here.

A lawyer won $7.5 million for her client whose doctor “failed to correctly diagnose and treat a hospital infection that led to gangrene in both his arms and legs.” The patient originally went to the hospital for ulcer treatment but then had to have his limbs amputated from his doctor’s negligence. The infection the patient had contracted was methicillin - resistant Staphylcoccus Aureus which is a common infection found in hospitals. Although the patient informed the doctors at the hospital of his symptoms that were clearly MRSA signs, they failed to diagnose him.

Read more about the lawsuit here.

Indictments for fraud and reckless endangerment come two years after a doctor was allegedly found writing “excessive and/or medically unnecessary prescriptions”. According to the article, those prescriptions could have placed the patients in “imminent danger of death or target="_blank"serious bodily injury.” The doctor has since then retired.

Read more about the doctor’s allegations here.

Bosco v. Janowitz, No. 1-07-0617 (2-10-09), is an Illinois First District decision which affirmed that in the medical malpractice trial of defendant, physicians, for failure to set up and follow proper cancer detection and prevention plan after plaintiff's decedent was diagnosed with ulcerated colitis, evidence presented by defense that defendants did not breach standard of care at time of alleged malpractice is sufficient to withstand motion for judgment nov after jury verdict in favor of defendants. Further, it was not error to submit long version of IPI 12.04 and 12.05 based on evidence that sole proximate cause of plaintiff's death was the malpractice of the surgeon who perforated decedent's colon. In addition, it was not error to allow evidence that plaintiff's decedent failed to up with testing when requested to do so. This decision will greatly impact medical malpractice cases.

Siwa v. Koch, No. 1-06-3552 (2-10-09), affirmed a decision which stated that the defendant, a radiologist, is entitled to summary judgment dismissing plaintiff's cause of action for wrongful death after plaintiff's decedent volunteered to participate in a test of new CT equipment and software at the hospital where he was employed and defendant, after accidentally coming across scan, repeatedly warned plaintiff's decedent to see a cardiologist immediately, and plaintiff's decedent suffered a fatal heart attack while playing basketball. Not only did plaintiff fail to show a physician patient relationship, he also failed to prove any proximate cause between the alleged failure to make a proper medical record and plaintiff's fatal heart attack. This decision will greatly impact both wrongful death suits and medical malpractice lawsuits.

Old practices such as handwritten medical records transferred between hospitals will not support the health reform America needs today. Medical errors result “in thousands of unnecessary deaths and excess costs.” The authors feel medical malpractice would be reduced if doctors and hospitals updated their patient data exchange with each other. They think this will lead to better decision making and less negligence on the doctors’ parts.

Read more about the author’s health reform here.

A doctor accused of molesting female patients during medical procedures was told to suspend practice and turn in his license, according to the news article. The cosmetic surgeon was charged with sexual battery by fraud, sexual battery, and rape by a foreign object. Most of the women complainants were under anesthesia when molested. The doctor had also been accused of medical negligence . That patient claimed the doctor never reviewed a cancerous cyst removed from the patient.

Read more about the doctor’s legal battles here.

A patient was being treated for the skin disease psoriasis when he suffered first and second degree burns from allegedly his doctor’s mistreatment. A medical panel conducted in October found the doctor took appropriate care when treating the patient, but the patient is now suing the doctor. The doctor has allegedly been involved in numerous medical malpractice cases.

Read more about the medical malpractice suit here.

Giles v. Wyeth, Inc., No. 07-3149 (2/12/09) found that in a wrongful death action against defendant-manufacturer of anti-depressant drug Effexor in which jury found in favor of defendant, Dist. Ct. did not abuse its discretion in excluding warnings with respect to risk of suicide in younger persons that accompanied Effexor following plaintiff-decedent's death by suicide two days after taking said drug. Record failed to show that defendant knew or should have known information contained in warnings at time of plaintiff's death, and warnings otherwise did not pertain to individuals in decedent's age group. This seventh circuit decision will have a great effect on Illinois lawyers trying medical malpractice cases.

Walton v. Dirkes, No. 1-08-0461 (1-27-09) decided that the trial court erred when it entered judgment nov after jury returned verdict in wrongful death complaint for medical malpractice. Plaintiff presented sufficient evidence of proximate cause through experts' testimony that defendant's failure to order CBC resulted in missed opportunity to diagnose and treat plaintiff's decedent's leukemia. However, since trial court specifically refused to consider defendant's motion for a new trial, waiver rule will not be applied to bar defendant from pursuing that motion on remand. This case will impact Illinois lawyers trying medical malpractice cases.

A jury found a doctor’s misdiagnosis of cancer led to the death of a young woman. If not for the delay in treatment, the woman’s survival chances were strong. The 24-year old woman had rectal and colon cancer that went undiagnosed for seven months by her doctor. The family brought a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor in which they were awarded $2.5 million dollars by the jury.

Read more about the misdiagnosis story here.

An Illinois man died weeks after having brain surgery five years ago at Mayo Clinic. His widow filed a medical malpractice suit against both Mayo and the neurosurgeon who performed the surgery. The widow’s attorney claims they will be aiming for over 4.5 million dollars in damages. The widow alleges there was a cerebral spinal leak during surgery which caused her husband infection, meningitis, and ultimately death. She alleges through the neurosurgeon failure to take proper precautions to prevent the complications.

For the full story, click here.

Doctors are asking for a bill that would lower their medical malpractice insurance in Hawaii in order to provide incentives for physicians to stay within the state. This would hurt patients seeking damages under medical malpractice claims because the bill would “limit compensation for non-economic damages like pain and suffering.” The bill comes from patients who fear they have a shortage of doctors in their state. In contrast, medical malpractice attorneys claim there has been an increase of doctors within the state in recent years, not decrease.

For the full story, click here.

Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital is located on a 140 plus acre campus a dozen miles west of Chicago’s downtown. “Hines” is not only houses 483 beds but also acts a major Veterans Health Administration hub for pathology, radiology, and radiation therapy. Data on the frequency of medical malpractice at Hines VA Hospital is unavailable at this time. For information on veteran-patients rights or filing a Federal Tort Claim Act lawsuit against Hines VA Hospital, please contact Illinois Lawyers Levin & Perconti. To read more about Hines VA Hospital, please click here.

Jesse Brown Medical Center is located in the heart of the Illinois Medical District in downtown Chicago. Jesse Brown serves as the major veteran medical provider of Cook County serving an estimated 58,000 veterans and employing over 1700 Chicagoans. Medical malpractice at Jesse Brown is actionable through the Federal Tort Claims Act and those injured as a result of Jesse Brown medical negligence should contact Levin & Perconti. To read more about the facts of Jesse Brown Medical Center, please click here.

After reviewing 5 cases of soldier suicides, an article discusses similarities found amongst the men. The article determines there was “a failure to diagnose or properly treat combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or brain injuries, despite clear symptoms” and overmedication resulting from these stresses and injuries that may have contributed to the death of these soliders.

For the full story, click here.

A state medical board listed 33 doctors being disciplined for various problems. Some of the allegations included medical malpractice, failure to review an x-ray, failure to diagnose patients, failure to meet the standard of care for surgery patients to name a few. The medical board ordered continuing education for most of the doctors as a penalty for their failures. Some also had to pay an administrative penalty.

For the full story, click here.

Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique was found guilty by the Board of Medicine for medical malpractice after delivering a live baby in a “botched abortion case.” The teenage patient waited hours for the doctor to arrive after she was given drugs to dilate her cervix. While waiting the teen gave birth to a 23 week term baby which was then discarded in the trash.

For the full story, click here.

Over 2,000 diabetes patients may be at risk for a blood-borne illness due to an improper medical procedure. The reusable insulin pen system was implemented to allow patients to use the same pen over multiple times to inject insulin, but instead the pens were used multiple times on different patients.

For the full story, click here.

A family hires Levin & Perconti to represent them in a medical malpractice lawsuit against a suburban Chicago hospital for improper treatment and early discharge. After the woman tried to commit suicide, she stayed at the hospital for seven days. Instead of keeping the woman under psychiatric supervision, they discharged her. Two weeks later the woman was readmitted for different medical reasons but visibly suffered from depression and psychosis of which the hospital did not treat. After three days of stay, the hospital released her with the claim they could no longer treat her. Two weeks after her last stay at the hospital, she tried to commit suicide. The family will ask for at least $50,000. "She suffered very serious injuries and the family is seeking fair and comparable compensation," claimed the family's attorney, Steven Levin.

For the full story, click here.

An 11-year old girl files a medical malpractice Chicago suburban hospital for facial burns she received during surgery. Allegedly, the medical team was medically negligent and failed to follow safety guidelines during the operation. Supplemental oxygen on the child’s face ignited during the performance of the surgery. The girl suffered from severe facial burns and disfigurement of her face.

For the full story, click here.