Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

A woman and her fiancé filed a federal medical malpractice lawsuit against two hospitals. They allege that they were ignored in a hospital emergency room so long that they returned home where the woman gave birth to a premature baby. The baby then died. The victims allege that their federal right to emergency medical treatment was violated. They seek unspecified damages for emotional distress. The two did not have medical insurance. There are current investigations as to whether the couple was ignored after the woman entered the hospital with severe abdominal pain. Federal law requires that most hospitals provide emergency attention to patients whether or not they have insurance. To ignore such a patient is medical malpractice. After visiting to two hospitals the couple went home. The mother gave birth to a breach baby and the 1-pound, 6 ounce baby girl was pronounced dead at the scene. This type of medical error goes hand in hand with health care reform. To read more about the birth injury, please click the link.

The FDA is currently in the process of investigating a series of medical cases in which over 270 patients were exposes to excess amounts of radiation. This occurred when the victim were undergoing CT brain perfusion scans. In October officials realized that patients in Los Angeles were exposed to 8 times the normal amount of radiation used in conducting these computed tomography scans. A 59-year-old woman reported having a bald strip on her head a few weeks after receiving a CT scan. She released through her medical records that she had been exposed to a higher degree of radiation than normal. High radiation can lead to hear loss and skin redness. The FDA will continue investigating the cause of the medical error with state and local health authorities. Radiation error is a common form of medical malpractice. To learn more about the radiation error, please click the link.

The daughter of a woman who died last year has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital claiming that hospital negligence caused her mother’s wrongful death. The medical malpractice lawsuit claims that the county “carelessly and negligently managed the care of” the victim which caused her wrongful death. The woman was checked into hospital exhibiting suicidal behavior. The woman was not checked for approximately 90 minutes when she was found slouched over without a pulse and not breathing. The medical malpractice lawsuit claims that the daughter was deprived of a kind and loving mother. To read more about the medical malpractice lawsuit, please click the link.

The family of a man has sued the drug store Rite Aide, alleging that a medical error at the pharmacy led to the victim’s premature and wrongful death. The medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that Rite Aid pharmacists were negligent when they issued a lethal dose of chemotherapy drug to the man, who developed malignant melanoma that had spread to his brain in 2007. The prescription instructed the man to take 14 capsules by mouth daily of the drug which was ten times the usual dose of the drug and almost double of what is known to be fatal. The man took the excessively high dose, which allowed his cancer to rapidly grow and led to his premature death. The actions of the pharmacist were grossly negligent. The doctor who issued the prescription admitted his medical error and settled with the family out of court. Mislabeling prescriptions is a common form of medical malpractice. To read more about the medical malpractice case, please click the link.

A victim has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit after piece of gauze allegedly left behind in a patient after surgery required a follow-up procedure to remove it. The victim filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital and two doctors. Also, the victim contends that she only learned through medical records this year while the gauze was left eight years ago. The woman underwent a surgical procedure on her liver in 2000. Two weeks later she was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of an intra-abdominal abscess. This is an infection inside the belly area. During that procedure, they found gauze under the connective tissue that runs throughout the body. She maintains she did not find out about the gauze until obtaining medical records from the hospital this year. Before she found the record, she had no reason to believe a foreign body had been in her abdomen. Disclosing medical errors is one of the biggest issues for medical malpractice reform. To read more about the gauze error, please click the link.

Recently two health care attorneys called for the Illinois Supreme Court to uphold legislation that placed caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. However, it is obvious that much of their argument consists of long-debunked myths and unsubstantiated claims. The attorneys claimed that doctors are fleeing Illinois due to the malpractice caps. However, the AMA’s own figures show the number of doctors in Illinois steadily increased over the last decade. The numbers also show that there are more doctors per capita in states without caps than those with them. Most importantly, the attorneys fail to speak to the heart of the lawsuit under contention. The victim was born with severe brain damage as the result of medical negligence. The attorneys writing the article forget that Abigaile is a real girl, with real problems. Medical malpractice cases cannot be simplified to a math equation that places an arbitrary value on human suffering. The laws regarding medical malpractice caps must be flexible enough to meet every victim’s needs. This article was published in the Law Bulletin.

President Obama has recently stated that he would be open to suggestions about constraining lawsuits by the victims of medical malpractice. While many attack lawyers and lawsuits, many forget that civil lawsuits shine a spotlight on wrongdoing, call the offenders to account, deter future misbehavior and provide for the people who have been hurt. Studies have revealed that approximately 100,000 people die each year due to medical malpractice in U.S. hospitals. States normally only impose minor sanctions in these cases and the one fair outcome is a medical malpractice lawsuit. The family should not have to face an arbitrary cap on the amount of damages. Additionally there are many significant protections against frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits. First, if a lawsuit is devoid of merit, a judge can sanction the lawyer and dismiss the case. Also, a judge can reduce an award that is too large and appeals are an obvious possibility. If you would like to read more about from the medical malpractice essay, please click the link.

As a Christmas present to America, the Senate made history by voting 60-39 to pass comprehensive healthcare reform legislation. The resulting bill will provide relief to millions of struggling Americans. The bill does not contain any provisions that would limit an injured patient’s rights concerning medical negligence claims. This is a stunning victory for all those who opposed medical malpractice tort reform. The bills assurance of patient’s rights is just another wonderful aspect of the healthcare legislation. We thank all of you to all those who contacted their respective Senators. Additionally the AAJ’s 98,000 reasons campaign was very successful. To read more about the healthcare legislation, please check out the link.

Attorneys for the family of woman who froze to death on the roof of a hospital are asking a judge to sanction the state Health Department for refusing to turn over notes written by inspectors who found hospital errors after her death. The notes the family seeks were taken days after her wrongful death and resulted in a critical 22-page inspection report made public in January. The dispute reports stems from a rule change in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services enacted in late 2008. Attorneys say that the legislative changes deprive them of key evidence once available in wrongful death and negligence suits against hospitals and nursing homes. The rule has become a “substantial problem” across the country for attorneys pursuing claims against nursing homes and other heat facilities. This will make requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act drag out for years. To read more about the hindering legislation, please check out the link.

A jury found that two doctors at a hospital had caused the death of a 3-year-old Pennsylvania boy and voted to award his parents $15 million in medical malpractice damages. The actual damage award will be less because of an agreement reached by the parties before the verdict. He was born in July 2001 with a complex but usually treatable birth defect that affects the flow of blood through the heart. The defect was particularly serious and prevented his blood from carrying enough oxygen to his organs and limbs. The boy died in December 2004, a year and a half after undergoing a procedure at the hospital for a birth defect. The victims stated that he believed that the doctors lied about their actions when treating the victim. The boy went into the hospital “a playful and active little boy” and left by ambulance to a neurological rehabilitation facility. To read more about the wrongful death lawsuit, please click the link.

On Friday, December 18, a 44-year-old woman from Cerro Gordo, IL died after falling from a seventh floor window at Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana. An autopsy revealed that her death was a result of multiple injuries sustained in the fall. The article reports that the victim jumped from the window and landed on a roof five stories below. However, the article does not indicate if the victim was a patient, what led her to fall from the window, or if this was an incident of medical negligence. Read more about this Urbana hospital death.

In a case similar in nature, the medical malpractice attorneys of Levin & Perconti recently won a $1 million jury for the family of a nursing home resident who exited from a window at a Chicago area nursing home and fell to his death. The Cook County jury found the nursing home negligent in failing to prevent the resident from exiting through the window. To read about this jury verdict, follow the link.

The Illinois Supreme Court did not rule on whether the state’s four-year-old medical malpractice reform law will survive, as it was expected to. The next batch of Supreme Court opinions is expected in mid-January. The ruling could directly impact the constitutionality of damage caps for doctors and hospitals. It is being watched closely by the health care industry and employers who see caps on damages as a way to tame rising health care costs. Twice before in state history Illinois lawmakers have adopted caps, and both times the Illinois Supreme Court nixed them. Cook County Circuit Judge Diane Larsen decided that caps on malpractice awards violated the Illinois Constitution’s “separation of powers” clause, stating the legislation can’t interfere with the right of juries and judges to determine fair damages. The first case to test the law is that of a 13-month-year-old girl who suffered severe brain injury during birth. The lawsuit charged the hospital, her doctor and her nurse with medical negligence. Medical malpractice caps do nothing but further injure an already distraught victim. To learn more about the delayed ruling, please click the link.

The husband of a woman who died at a Long Island Hospital due to a misdiagnosed brain hemorrhage has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital and doctors who failed to properly treat her. The wrongful death lawsuit alleges that doctors failed to properly diagnose the victim’s brain hemorrhage which lead to her death. The victim was admitted to the hospital after complaining of vomiting and gastrointestinal pain, as well as a painful headache and pain in her left eye. The medical malpractice complaint stated that the victim had a history of ulcerative colitis. Usually a computed tomography (CT) scan will confirm a brain hemorrhage. If a brain hemorrhage is diagnosed properly, it can often by treated by radiology or microsurgical procedures. Since doctors did not perform these tests, their medical error led to the patient’s death. To examine the wrongful death suit more closely, please click the link.

The Illinois Supreme Court is expected to release its opinion on the constitutionality of medical malpractice damage caps on Thursday morning. The Illinois Medical Malpractice Act of 2005, which capped non-economic damages such as pain and suffering to $500,000 doctors and $1 million for hospitals, came before the court in the case of Abigaile Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. In 2007, a Cook County Circuit Court Judge stated that the medical malpractice caps were unconstitutional. The law does not limit actual damages, including medical expenses and lost wages. To read more about the crucial upcoming case, please click the link.

It has been more than four years since medical malpractice reform was enacted in Illinois, and stakeholders are anxiously awaiting the Supreme Court decision on its constitutionality. Then-Governor Rod Blagojevich had signed the Illinois Medical Malpractice Act of 2005 into law on August 24, 2005. The bill would have automatically become law the next day had the governor not ceremoniously signed it before a large crowd of doctors and lawyers. The law caps non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, for physicians at $500,000 and hospitals at $1 million. The Illinois Supreme Court is expected to release its opinion in a challenge case that arose from Cook County. The case was Abigaile Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. An a against all odds-legislative victor for medical liability reform advocates set the stage for the historic bill signing in 2005. At the signing, Blagojevich told the overflow crowd that he was personally opposed to medical malpractice caps, but believed it was the right thing to do so that more people could have access to healthcare. Medical malpractice caps do nothing but injure victims of medical negligence. Hopefully, these caps will be found unconstitutional. To learn more about the pending case, please follow the link.

Ten years ago, the landmark study stated that medical mistakes kill up to 98,000 Americans a year. In 2005, the Illinois legislators decided to address this problem and passed a measure requiring hospitals to report the deadliest kind. However, the law has yet to be implemented into the Illinois legal system. State budget woes and foot-dragging by special interests are among the reasons cited for the long delay. Currently, there is hope that the legislation will pass. There was a recent launch of a related website that tracks hospital infection rates and staff levels. The law will require hospitals to publicly report so-called “never” mistakes. These are mostly preventable errors with potentially life-threatening consequences. When the medical error legislation is fully in place, hospitals will be required to report major medical errors within 30 days to the state’s public health department. One of the most common major errors is leaving surgical sponges inside patients. It is unlikely that the medical malpractice legislation won’t take effect until 2011. If you would like to learn more about the new health care legislation, please click the link.

An analysis of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and company annual statements shows malpractice insurer profits are 24 percent higher in states with caps. In the cap states, insurers took in 3.5 times more in premiums than they paid out in 2008. However, insurers in states without caps took in just over twice what they paid in claims. The findings show that there is no correlation between the cost of medical malpractice premiums and health insurance premiums. The American Association for Justice President Anthony Tarricone, stated that the data shows that tort reform is just another insurance company handout. While 98,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors, it makes no sense to limit patients’ rights to fill insurance company coffers.

To learn more about the health care debate, and how it affects victims, visit www.98000reasons.org. To take a look at the entire report, please click the link.

Those opposed to real health care and health insurance reform are now using tort reform as a scapegoat to achieving real health care. Tort reform will hurt innocent patients injured through no fault of their own. The American Association for Justice has recently released a new analysis report entitled “Five Myths About Medical Negligence.” The first myth is that there are too many “frivolous’ malpractice lawsuits. However, only one in eight people injured by medical negligence ever files a lawsuit. Also, malpractice claims do not drive up healthcare costs. In fact they consist of only .3 percent of health care costs. One popular myth is that doctors are fleeing due to medical malpractice, which is far from the truth. Likewise, medical malpractice claims do not drive up doctor’s premiums, like many pundits state. Finally, tort reform will not lower insurance rates. In the end, the most truthful statistic is that 98,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors. That, unfortunately, is not a myth. To read more myths about medical malpractice, please click the link.

A war veteran was denied a colonoscopy when he had a history of colon caner. This has caused him to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital because he did in fact have colon cancer. The veteran found out that the hospitals rejection may have put him in a situation where cancer may claim this man’s life. The man who has previously fought for our country is now fighting a new battle with colon cancel. The victim was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancers in the VA hospital. He stated that knowing he had a history of colon cancer in his family; he requested a colonoscopy and was denied several times. His prognosis states that he only had 26 months to live. He has filed the medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital. In order to learn more about the failure to diagnose, please click the link.

In Washington, President Obama stated that he would be open to suggestions about constraining medical malpractice lawsuits. However, repeated studies have shown that approximately 100,000 people die each year due to medical malpractice in our nation’s hospitals. These occur because physicians or hospitals fail to meet the normal standard of care. For example, say a hospital allows an expectant mother to lie in one of its labor rooms, fails to notice for several hours that the fetal monitor shows the fetus in distress, and the child is born severely brain damages. Should that hospital be insulated from a medical malpractice lawsuit? If so, who will pay for the lifetime care of the child? Rumors that medical malpractice lawsuits are consistently rising are completely false. In the state of New York, medical malpractice lawsuits have decreased by 30%. Since plaintiffs lawyers work on a contingent basis, frivolous lawsuits are not filed. If you want to reduce the number of medical malpractice cases, reduce negligent behavior that causes victims to sue. Please click the link to learn more about tort myths.

The family of a former Harvard student who committed suicide two years ago has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university and two medical professionals at the school’s health services. The young man was a 19-year-old sophomore when he died. A nurse practitioner prescribed the victim a mixture of medicines, some of which where known to increase the risk of suicide. The supervising doctor committed medical malpractice by failing to properly monitor the nurse practitioner who prescribed the drugs. The man’s father contends that his son did not have prior health problems. Psychiatric malpractice is a common form of medical malpractice. To find out more about the medical malpractice, please click the link.

The family of a man who died after brain surgery has sued the neurosurgeon who performed the operation, saying the doctor was legally blind and unfit to operate. The man was quoted in newspaper reports at that time as saying he needed to step down because glaucoma “limits my abilities of a surgeon.” The surgeon stated that he had peripheral vision loss in his right eye, but it had not affected his ability to do surgery. The surgery involves inserting electrical wires deep into the brain to control involuntary movements. The medical malpractice lawsuit claims that the surgeon was legally blind and unfit to operate when he removed a brain tumor from her son. The 28-year-old man died two days later. The wrongful-death lawsuit also claims hospital negligence. The plaintiff does not believe that the doctor should have been given privileges to operate. The hospital is counter-claiming that the doctor also owes them more than $1 million for support he received to open a neurosurgery practice. To read more about the medical malpractice, please click the link.

The family of a 62-year-old woman who died is suing a hospital and her doctor for their roles in her death. The woman went to the hospital suffering from headache and shortness of breath. She was not admitted to the hospital for further treatment and was discharged. The medical malpractice lawsuit claims that the doctor and his staff failed to diagnose the cardiac arrest and chronic heart failure. The woman died the day she was discharged. The plaintiff is asking for more than $25,000 in damages with interest for the medical malpractice. This wrongful-death lawsuit was the first for the hospital. To explore the medical malpractice lawsuit in depth, please click the link.

Recently Illinois Senator Dick Durbin gave a speech on the senate floor in defense of medical malpractice victims. He reminded the Senate that medical malpractice claims and lawsuit payouts are decreasing in America. Only one percent of doctors are being charged with medical malpractice and paying each year. In addition only two to three percent of medical negligence incidents actually lead to malpractice claims. Senator Durbin also cited a study that found that a 10-percent reduction in costs related to medical malpractice liability would increase the nation’s overall death rate by .2 percent. That amounts to 4,853 more American deaths per year. He asked Congress if they were willing to use so many lives to medical mistake in order to save some money. He focused on the fact that 98,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors. In monetary terms, these medical mistakes cost an extra $9.3 billion a year. Durbin spoke candidly that medical malpractice insurance companies are making more and more money each year, yet complaining that malpractice is the reason for high health care costs. He suggested reducing the cost of medical malpractice insurance and most importantly reducing medical errors. The medical malpractice attorneys of Levin & Perconti applaud Senator Durbin’s efforts to protect patient’s rights. Please visit the CSPAN-2 website in order to view the speech.

As the Senate prepares to vote on healthcare reform, the American Association of Justice has launched new advertisements around Capitol Hill to draw attention to victims of medical malpractice. The ad campaign uses statistics and victim's stories to illustrate why it is crucial for Congress to protect the legal rights of victims. This week, ads were placed throughout Union Station, a major thoroughfare for Capitol Hill workers. The ads draw attention to the fact that every year, 98,000 patients are killed by preventable medical errors. The AAJ also took out a one page ad in Roll Call to gain the attention of congressional workers. As the Senate vote on healthcare reform draws near, please contact your U.S. Senators to ask them to protect patients rights by voting no on any measures designed to limit the legal rights of injured patients.