Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

Earlier this year we shared the story of the young Chicago infant who was killed when he was accidentally given a dose of sodium chloride that was 60 times more than needed. The baby was born prematurely had stabilized. His family expected him to transferred home but instead he died only 40 days after he was born. The victim’s parents filed an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit following the tragedy.

Today the Chicago Tribune explained how that medication error was likely caused by the use of an automated program to provide medical care. Specifically, the pharmacy technician accidentally typed the wrong information onto a programming screen which controlled the distribution of the drug. The mistake is an important reminder of the risks that run with increasing technology use in some areas of medical care.

Of course technological improvements often come with important advances in medical care that can help save lives. However, they also come with new safety risks. All medical providers must be aware of those risks and act accordingly to eliminate the chance that patients could be harmed because of the errors. Computer crashes may lead to lost information or jumbled data that cause physicians to have trouble finding what they need in a timely fashion.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicate that there have been at least 370 reported problems with health information systems in the last three years. Many of those mistakes led to patient injuries and death. That figure includes only self-reported, voluntary information, so the total number of errors is likely much higher.

Continue reading "Illinois Medical Malpractice Can Result From Computerized Systems" »

The Madison St. Clair Record is reporting that a woman sustained severe and debilitating injuries after a doctor did not attend to her spinal condition in a timely fashion. The medical malpractice lawsuit was filed in Madison County Circuit Court in Illinois. The woman claims that she went to the doctor on October 8, 2009 to receive a physical examination. At this visit, the doctor ordered an MRI of the woman’s lumbar spine. This MRI revealed that the victim was suffering from cauda equine syndrome. This is a syndrome that will cause a significant narrowing of the spinal canal that will compress nerve roots. If this is not treated, it can lead to a permanent loss of bowel and bladder control. It may also lead to paralysis of the legs.

After the doctor learned of this woman’s condition, he negligently failed to admit the victim in to the hospital in a timely fashion. The medical malpractice lawsuit also claims that he failed to conduct spinal surgery in a timely fashion thereby failing to treat her cauda equine syndrome quickly enough. Finally, the medical malpractice lawsuit claims that the doctor should have ordered the MRI on an emergent basis. The medical malpractice lawsuit seeks a judgment of more than $50,000. To read more about this medical error, please check out the link.

Failure to treat a medical condition in a timely manner is a common medical malpractice claim. If a doctor or a healthcare provider delays either your diagnosis or your treatment, he is putting your health at a great risk. A once treatable condition can now escalade into a serious condition. That is why it is imperative that all x-rays and test results are completed in a timely fashion. If you believe that your healthcare provider has committed a medical error by delaying your treatment, please consult a Chicago injury lawyer.

A 19-year-old went to Chicago’s Kennedy Medical Service Corporation for what she believed was a routine pelvic disease diagnosis. However, according to her recent medical malpractice lawsuit, she was raped by her physician while her legs were in stirrups. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the young victim broke down crying to nurse, who immediately called the police. She then went to South Shore Hospital to have a rape exam performed. She provided the police officers with a narrative of the rape. These officers later shared this testimony with the state agency responsible for licensing doctors.

According to the report, the victim felt violated by a person she believed she could trust. Testifying during a 2008 state hearing she stated that she hopes this never happens to someone she loves. However, this victim is not the only one. Two more of the doctor’s patients would claim he raped them and four others claimed sexual misconduct to law enforcement or the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. It took all seven complaints for someone to take action against these egregious interactions.

Many are alarmed at the gross negligence of the Illinois licensing board in the delay it took to punish the doctor. It took seven years after the first complaint was filed for them to seek any disciplinary action. Still there was another two years before the doctor was actually punished, leaving him able to practice medicine for nine years. It is unclear as to how many women were victims of sexual medical malpractice during that timeframe. He was finally disciplined for “unprofessional and immoral conduct.” In order to protect patients, it is essential for medical licensing boards to take quicker action to ensure that negligent and harmful physicians are not allowed to continue to practice if they have committed harms against patients. Action should be take to prevent providers from continuing to practice, thereby lessening the risk of further malpractice. To read more about this Chicago medical malpractice lawsuit, please click the link.

The Madison County Record reports that a man and his wife have claimed that a urologist removed the man’s kidney unnecessarily during surgery. The two filed the lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court against an Illinois doctor and the Urology Consultants. The doctor had negligently performed a radical nephrectomy on the victim. The medical malpractice lawsuit claims that the doctor should have attempted to perform an exploratory surgery or a partial nephrectomy. Instead, the doctor performed a surgery that fully removed the kidney.

As a result of this surgery, the medical malpractice victim is suffering permanent pain, mental anguish and disfigurement. He is also claiming economic losses of medical costs and lost wages. He also believes that he is prevented from attending to the usual duties and affairs of life. His wife is filing suit claiming that she lost her husband’s love, companionship, consortium and support because of the medical negligence. The victim is seeking a judgment of more than $300,000. To read more about this Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit, please click this link.

According to Answers.com, radical nephrectomy involves removing the entire kidney, a section of the tube leading to the bladder, the gland that sits atop the kidney and the fatty tissue surrounding the kidney. On the other hand in a partial nephrectomy, only the diseased or infected portion of the kidney is removed. In this case, the medical malpractice victim would have benefited from a closer examination to determine which procedure was right for him. If you believe that you or a loved one suffered serious harms as a result of a medical provider's mistakes, consult a Chicago medical malpractice attorney to discuss your potential claim and legal options.

The family of a medical negligence victim is blaming nurses at an Illinois hospital for the victim’s death. They believe that these nurses were guilty of a number of negligent acts. The woman was first admitted to the Illinois hospital with signs and symptoms of respiratory infection. The victim had told nurses that she was just getting over an upper respiratory infection. Nurses found that her oxygen level had steadily decreased from 97 percent when she was admitted to 92 percent four days later. The medical malpractice lawsuit then states that the woman began coughing up blood and was too fatigued to perform physical therapy. She constantly complained of feeling ill and developed a temperature. Her husband was repeating her need for aide to the nurses.

However, despite all the indications of lung failure the nursing staff negligently failed to test her blood oxygen saturation and did not report her symptoms to her treating physicians. The Record reported that the nurses were ignoring the symptoms of her Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and additionally failed to treat such disease. It is the duty of the medical personnel to adequately assess all problems. Nurses should be in constant contact with doctors concerning a patient’s health. The victim wrongfully died at Memorial Hospital 18 days after being admitted. The man has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit claiming a loss of love, affection companionship, services and support. He has named specific nurses in the compliant and is seeking compensatory damages. If you believe you have been a victim of medical negligence, please contact a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer. To read more about the medical malpractice lawsuit, please click the link.

According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, a woman who battled against malaria has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the first hospital where she received treatment. The lawsuit contends that the hospital allowed her condition to deteriorate so thoroughly that her arms and legs had to be amputated. The 34-year old victim had traveled to Ghana in February of 2008 and was bitten by a mosquito carrying the malaria parasite. At the time, she was not taking anti-malarial medication and when she returned to Chicago, she suffered increasingly severe headaches and fatigue.

This prompted her to visit the emergency room at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital. While the hospital did diagnose the victim with malaria, they did not treat it aggressively enough in the early stages. Instead they treated her as if she had non-complicated malaria, despite evidence that it was far more advanced. Her condition continued to worsen and she lost circulation to her extremities. After six days at Northwestern Memorial, she was transferred to the burn unit at the University of Chicago Medical Center where a surgeon had to amputate her arms and legs. The medical malpractice lawsuit has since been filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

Doctors have a duty to aggressively treat all diseases to their best ability. If diseases are not properly diagnosed, drastic effects may ensue such as the amputation in this case. If you believe that you did not receive adequate treatment at a Chicago hospital, contact a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer. To read the article on the medical malpractice case, please click the link.

According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, an Illinois man lost his wife to medical negligence after she suffered a perforated bowel. The retired police office and his sons settled a wrongful-death lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against the Little Company of Mary Hospital in Chicago and two other entities. The $7.5 million settlement with the hospital set a Cook County record for a settlement in a wrongful death of an adult without minor children.

The victim was chairperson of ten community mental health advisory boards in Chicago. She was diagnosed with stage three endometrial cancers and began radiation therapy at the Chicago hospital. There, she was over-radiated, causing a perforated bowel and a bacterial infection in her blood. This medical mistake ultimately caused her wrongful death. According to the family's medical malpractice lawyer, the victim received and overdose in radiation. To read about the landmark Chicago medical malpractice , settlement 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.

A Chicago doctor, is being sued “for allegedly botching a circumcision of a 1-day-old baby and cutting off a portion of the infant’s penis,” according to a Chicago news article. The infant had to have emergency surgery to correct the medical error. The infant’s father is suing the Northwestern Memorial doctor for medical malpractice.

Read more about the Chicago medical malpractice suit here.

Chicago medical malpractice lawyer Steven Levin recently settled a case for $1 million on behalf of a Chicago boy who suffered brain damage and hearing loss when a doctor failed to diagnose his meningitis. The boy, now 10 years old, was only 8 months old when the injury occurred. His parents took him to the pediatrician twice and on both visits the doctor failed to recognize that he had pneumococcal meningitis. It was not until he had multiple seizures and was taken to the emergency room that doctors diagnosed his condition. As a result of this delayed diagnosis, he suffered brain damage and hearing loss. Since the boy was so young at the time of his injury, his attorneys had to wait for his medical conditions to develop so that they could truly understand the effects of this mistake. A Cook County judge ordered the medical malpractice settlement on April 15, 2009.