Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorney Blog

A Will County jury found in favor of a Wilmington, Illinois nursing home in a wrongful death lawsuit in which the decedent's family claimed the nursing home failed to provide adequate care. The not guilty verdict in Martin Donegan v. Embassy Care Center, 05 L 782 (Will County), came despite evidence that the nursing home had failed to perform a neurological exam following the resident's fall.

The Illinois nursing home malpractice suit involved 53 year-old Martin Donegan. Donegan was a resident at Embassy Care Center due to his paranoid schizophrenia diagnosis. In July 2005, the nursing staff found Donegan out of his bed and in another patient's room. While in that patient's room, Donegan had fallen and hit his head.

While the typical procedure following any sort of fall is to perform a neurological assessment, which could include assessing a patient's reflexes, gait, and general behavior, the nursing staff failed to do so. Instead, Donegan was simply returned to his own bed and a phone message was left for his treating physician. The treating physician failed to return that call and no further steps were taken following Donegan's fall.

Continue reading "Jury Holds For Nursing Home After Head Trauma Causes Fatal Injury - Donegan v. Embassy Care Center" »

Just as there is a difference between state laws and federal laws, so is there a difference between medical clinics who receive federal funding and those who don't. If a medical facility receives federal funding, its staff are considered federal employees and as such are subject to federal laws. This means that if a doctor at a federally-funded clinic commits medical malpractice then the corresponding medical malpractice claim will be handled by a federal court, not a state court.

The Seventh District of the Illinois Appellate Court recently reviewed whether a medical malpractice claim brought against federal employees was filed during the statute of limitations. If a claim is not brought during the appropriate statute of limitations, it is then barred from litigation, i.e., it cannot be filed or proceed to trial. However, the appellate court found that Arroyo v. United States, 10-2311 (7th Cir. 2011), had been brought during the appropriate time frame and therefore the $29.1 million verdict was upheld.

Arroyo was a birth injury lawsuit involving claims that the neonatal staff failed to recognize and treat baby Christian Arroyo's infection in a timely manner. Christian had contracted a bacterial infection from exposure to his mother's blood during his May 2003 birth. Generally, pregnant women undergo a variety of blood work tests during the month before their due date. However, because Arroyo was premature, his mother had not yet undergone these tests and therefore doctors were not aware that would have tested positive for Group B Streptococcus (GBS).

Because exposure to GBS can lead to permanent injuries in babies, doctors take several precautions when a mother has not undergone these prenatal tests. Most importantly, the medical staff must be on the lookout for any signs or symptoms of neonatal sepsis, i.e., an infection in the baby's bloodstream. If there is even a suspicion of neonatal sepsis, the standard of care for treating such infections is to administer antibiotics to begin fighting the suspected infection. If the sepsis is not treated immediately, it can lead to severe brain damage.

This is what happened in Arroyo's case. Despite signs and symptoms that Arroyo had contracted an infection, his doctors failed to administer antibiotics. As a result, Arroyo suffered from severe and permanent brain injuries, which include spastic quadriplegia, cerebral palsy, seizure disorder, communication deficits, the inability to swallow, incontinence, and permanent pain. It is likely that if Arroyo had received antibiotics in a timely manner that his injuries would have been drastically reduced.

However, the Arroyo family was not immediately aware that Christian Arroyo's brain damage could have been avoided. It was not until the mother gave birth to her second son in July 2004 that she became aware of the importance of neonatal antibiotics and began to understand that Christian's permanent brain injuries could have been avoided if not for the doctors' negligence. The family filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against those doctors a year and a half after becoming aware of the true cause of Christian's injuries.

Continue reading "Statute of Limitation Clarified by Court of Appeals - $29.1 Million Upheld in Arroyo v. United States" »

The use of medications to induce labor has become increasingly common over the last 50 years. Pitocin is one of the most well-known medications given to mothers to try and speed labor along. However, this drug does not come without its risks, which can include uterine rupture, more intense contractions, and fetal stress.

The Cook County birth injury lawsuit of Louis Montes, a minor, et al. v. West Suburban Hospital Medical Center, Inc., 05 L 14157, involves the use of Pitocin during a 2005 delivery. The baby's mother was given Pitocin in order to promote labor. However, she was given too much of the drug, which led to a hyperstimulated uterus and to fetal distress.

A review of the fetal heart tracings taken during this period clearly demonstrate that the baby was in distress. However, the West Suburban Medical Center nurses failed to alert the obstetrician of the baby's fetal distress. Because he was not aware of the problem, the doctor did not order a timely c-section to avoid injury to the baby.

Continue reading "Brain Damaged Child Receives $7.75 Million Settlement - Louis Montes, a minor, et al. v. West Suburban Hospital Medical Center, Inc." »

When undergoing a major surgery, as patients we tend to focus on the risks associated with the surgery itself: will the doctor cut something he shouldn't, will I have a bad reaction to anesthesia, or will my body reject the new heart. However, in some instances the period following the surgery can be just as risky as the surgery itself.

Take for example The Estate of Shamiran David v. Rush North Shore Medical Center, et al., 07 L 8444, an Illinois wrongful death lawsuit involving the death of fifty-nine year-old Shamiran David. Mrs. David presented to Rush North Shore Medical Center in July 2005 for an aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass surgery. While the complex surgery went well, Mrs. David's post-operative care was mismanaged, leading to her death less than six months later.

Following her heart surgery, Mrs. David was placed on Coumadin therapy, which is the common procedure following a mechanical aortic valve replacement. Coumadin is a drug that works to decrease your blood's clotting ability in order to prevent blood clots from forming. However, it is important for patients taking Coumadin to be on the right dosage. If too much Coumadin is given, a patient is at increased risk for bleeding; however, if too little is given, then the patient is at risk for getting blood clots.

Continue reading "Mismanaged Coumadin Therapy Leads to Woman's Death - $5 Million Settlement Reached in David v. Rush North Shore Medical Center" »

Second chances are rare in medicine. Oftentimes doctors and nurses have one chance to get something right, which means that medical providers need to monitor patients' reactions to different treatment modalities. When they see something that is not right, medical providers need to pick up on the warning signs and correct the problem because chances are they will only get one chance to do so.

However, in the case of Kerry Rupright, doctors missed their chance to prevent Kerry's permanent brain injury from happening. They missed the signs that should have alerted them that she was not reacting well to her various medications, instead opting to continue her treatment plan. The medical malpractice lawsuit of Estate of Kerry Rupright v. Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, et al., 05 L 9451, was filed in an effort to hold these doctors accountable for their lack of vigilance in monitoring Kerry's condition.

Kerry presented to Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago for treatment of her transverse myelitis, which is inflammation across one section of the spinal cord. Transverse myelitis is extremely painful, so Kerry was prescribed pain medications as part of her treatment plan. Specifically, Kerry was given a pain relief patch that contained Duragesic and Fentanyl, which can cause respiratory distress when taken with other medications.

Continue reading "Chicago Woman Dies After Doctors Ignore Warning Signs of Respiratory Distress - $3.75 Million Settlement Reached in Rupright v. Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago" »

A $14.9 million settlement was reached in an Illinois medical malpractice case that left the plaintiff with permanent brain damage. The lawsuit of Jennifer Lee v. Palos Community Hospital, et al., 09 L 7824, was brought against the hospital where the plaintiff was treated, as well as the individual doctors who treated the plaintiff.

In 2009, plaintiff, Jennifer Lee, presented to Palos Community Hospital with severe dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea. The typical treatment for dehydration is to pump the patient with IV fluids and monitor their electrolyte levels. When Ms. Lee presented to the hospital, her initial blood work showed an extremely high level of sodium. While normal sodium levels range from 135 mmol/L to 145 mmol/L, Ms. Lee's sodium level was at 165 mmol/L.

Typically, dehydration results in low sodium levels, not high sodium levels. Blood sodium levels can indicate whether there is an imbalance between the levels of sodium and water in your body. While Ms. Lee's initial sodium levels were critically high, it fluctuated between critically high and critically low during the course of her admission. In fact, it was this change from critically high, to critically low, then back to critically high that caused the plaintiff's brain damage and was the subject of her medical malpractice lawsuit.

Continue reading "Illinois Hospital's Failure to Monitor Patient Results in Permanent Brain Damage - $14.9 Million Settlement in Lee v. Palos Community Hospital" »

A Cook County medical malpractice settlement for $5 million was approved by Cook County Circuit Court Judge William B. Maddux, marking the close of the Illinois lawsuit of The Estate of Shamiran David v. Rush Northshore Medical Center, et al., No. 07 L 8444. The Chicago medical negligence lawsuit was brought by the family of a woman who suffered a brain injury in the days following her heart surgery at Rush Northshore Medical Center.

While Mrs. David's aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting performed at Rush Northshore Medical Center went well, it was the complications following the surgery that led to Mrs. David's brain injury and subsequent death. The case of Mrs. David can serve as a reminder to both patients and doctors that a successful surgery alone does not guarantee a positive outcome for a patient.

Mrs. David was discharged from the hospital following her surgery and sent home. However, the 59 year-old Cook County resident began to develop complications from her cardiac surgery within a few days of her discharge. She presented to her primary care physician with complaints of difficulty breathing and chest pains.

Continue reading "Cook County Brain Injury Following Cardiac Arrest Leads to $5 Million Settlement – Estate of David v. Rush Northshore Hospital" »

The Illinois Appellate Court has found that a medical expert in a medical malpractice case may be impeached with the use of the physician’s §2-622 (Illinois Code of Civil Procedure) report as a prior inconsistent statement. This issue before the court was one of first impression in the state and was decided upon in Iaccino v. Anderson, No. 1-07-0207.

In the Iaccino birth injury lawsuit, the plaintiff's attorneys alleged that the defendant doctors and hospital were responsible for the brain damage that the minor plaintiff, Jonathan Iaccino, suffered as a result of oxygen deprivation during his birth. The plaintiff's attorneys alleged that the defendants' medical negligent occurred as a result of their failure to monitor Jonathan's fetal heart rate and their lack of response to the hyperstimulation of the uterus during his labor and delivery.

Gary Blake, M.D. provided a Illinois Code of Civil Procedure §2-622 affidavit as one of the plaintiff's medical experts in Iaccino. When Dr. Blake signed the §2-622 report he stated that the decelerations recorded on a fetal-monitor strip were “variable decelerations.” However, at the trial, Dr. Blake testified that these strips showed “late decelerations” or “variable decelerations with a late component.”

Continue reading "Impeachment of Medical Expert for Prior Inconsistent Statement in Section 2-622 Report Allowed By Illinois Appellate Court - Iaccino v. Anderson" »

The family of a woman who died during childbirth has settled an Illinois wrongful death case for $14 million. The medical malpractice case resulted not only in the mother's death, but also involved a child born with brain damage at Chicago's Advocate Trinity Hospital. The settlement was reached in Sidonia Lawson, etc. v. Advocate Health Hospitals Corp., Cannon Vernon, MD, Jamiere Y. Smith, MD, et al., No. 09 L 12090.

In 2007, the 32 year-old decedent, Sabrina Lawson, went to Advocate Trinity Hospital with labor contractions. While there, the staff induced her with medications to try and speed along her delivery. However, while receiving the labor medications, Lawson's baby began to show signs of fetal distress.

In such instances, the medical standard of care requires an emergency cesarean section; however, there was a delay of almost seven hours. By the time the baby was born, he had suffered from brain damage as a result of lack of oxygen and blood flow to his brain.

Continue reading "Chicago Advocate Hospital Settles for $14 Million in Childbirth Death of Mother - Lawson v. Advocate Health Hospitals Corp., et al." »

A Chicago medical malpractice verdict was reversed after an Illinois appellate court found that the testimony of the defendant's cardiology expert had violated an agreed order. Luis San Roman, et al. v. Children's Heart Center, Ltd., d/b/a Rush's Children's Heart Center, et al., No. 1-09-1217, will be remanded to the trial court for a retrial that will exclude the defendant's cardiology expert's testimony.

The case involves allegations of surgical errors during a procedure performed on plaintiff Luis San Roman when he was a baby. Luis was born with cyanosis and was referred to as a "blue baby" because he was born with transposition of the aorta, a congenital heart condition that deprives the body of oxygen. In addition to his congenital heart disease, Luis also had a condition of narrowing of the pulmonary artery.

In order to correct his congenital heart defects, a heart procedure was performed shortly after his birth. Chicago pediatric cardiologist Carlos Ruiz, recommended that Luis undergo a heart catheterization process which would insert a stent into Luis's left ventricle. This procedure was an alternative to open-heart surgery and was eventually performed at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Expert Physician Found to Have Conflict of Interest: New Trial Ordered in San Roman v. Children's Heart Center" »

Radiation therapy is a common treatment for a large range of cancers and has been responsible for saving, or at least extending, many peoples' lives. However, the basic premise of radiation therapy involves targeting and killing cancerous cells in one's body. And while properly administered radiation therapy can save lives, when hospitals and doctors administer too much radiation it can result in negative effects for the treating patient.

Overdoses of radiation is becoming more and more widespread amongst cancer patients. A recent report of Evanston's Northshore University HealthSystem, a Chicago-area hospital, provided one such example. A 50 year-old mother of three was administered dangerously high doses of radiation when the hospital staff made radiology errors involving the administration of her radiation doses. The young Illinois resident went from an active, vibrant person pre-radiation to a virtual invalid post-radiation and now resides in an Illinois nursing home.

This woman was just one of three oncology patients who received an overdose of radiation at Evanston Hospital. All three instances of the radiation errors were allegedly the result of faulty linear particle accelerators. These accelerators are used to focus the radiation on the cancerous cells and are commonly used for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS).

Continue reading "Evanston Hospital Over-Radiation Leads to Severe Brain Damage: The Hidden Dangers of Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)" »

As a Chicago medical malpractice attorney I have seen all sides of human nature - the good, the bad, and the ugly. However, on a rare occasion I am inspired by clients' reactions to a personal tragedy. The Mary E. Smith family are just such clients. They responded to their mother's unnecessary death due to medical negligence by setting up a foundation to raise brain tumor awareness and honor their mother's memory.

In addition to providing the public with health information regarding brain tumors, the Mary E. Smith Foundation awards several annual scholarships. The Mary E. Smith Foundation is now adding to their community outreach goals with its 1st Annual Mary E. Smith Tumor Awareness Walk. The walk details are as follows:

When: Saturday, August 14, 2010. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., with the walk starting at 9:00 a.m.

Where: The Community Walk Path, 4200 W. 183rd St., Country Club Hills, IL 60478. (Next to the Farmer's Market at the Country Club Hills Theater)

Cost: $10 for 1-mile walk and free T-shirt (children under 12 free)

Continue reading "Raising Brain Tumor Awareness: Former Clients Turn Family Tragedy Into Something Positive with 1st Annual Mary E. Smith Walk" »

In a recent $2.62 million Cook County medical malpractice verdict, the jury found in favor of the patient who suffered a permanent brain injury after his brain infection went undiagnosed for two weeks. The delay in diagnosis resulted in the permanent brain injury after a brain infection spread to the frontal lobe of the patient's brain. As a result of the brain injury, the Illinois patient needed numerous brain surgeries, one of which resulted in the removal of a portion of his skull.

The man's permanent brain injury could have been avoided if not for the Illinois medical malpractice of an Illinois radiologist. After having a seizure, the Illinois plaintiff presented to the emergency room at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital. In order to rule out the cause of the seizure, a MRI of the patient's brain was ordered. Up to this point the patient's care was appropriate and the treating physicians were meeting the appropriate standard of care.

The standard of care for medical professionals is defined as the level of care that a reasonable person, in this case a doctor, would exercise in similar circumstances. If a doctor or hospital chose not to satisfy the standard of care in some method of treatment resulting in an injury or death to the patient, then a a case for medical malpractice could be brought.

Continue reading "Cook County Undiagnosed Brain Injury Verdict Reached By Jury" »

Decisions made during labor and delivery can change your life forever. For example, your baby's heart rate may drop during labor, which is often a sign of distress. The way your doctor and nurses respond to this sign directly impacts the final result. If they respond right away and everything goes smoothly then chances are you will leave the delivery room with a healthy baby. But if the medical team does not respond and fails to appreciate the gravity of the situation, then you might have a drastically different outcome.

Unfortunately, Illinois birth injury attorneys only hear about the second outcome, when things do not go well and some form of Illinois medical malpractice occurs during labor and delivery. And because of the nature of these cases, birth injury lawsuits are oftentimes the most heartbreaking of any type of medical malpractice.

Consider a recent Illinois birth injury case against a nurse midwife, a sponsoring obstetrician, and a Chicago-area hospital that was recently settled with the now 13 year-old boy's family. The boy sustained a brain injury as a result of hypoxia (low noxygen levels) at birth which resulted in cerebral palsy.

Continue reading "Illinois Birth Injury Occurred During Nurse Midwife Delivery" »

A recent Cook County jury awarded a positive verdict to a 20 year-old man for severe brain damage that he sustained as a result of a Cook County birth injury. Given that a plaintiff has 8 years from the date of injury to file an Illinois birth injury claim, typically we see these lawsuits filed and settled well before the injured child reaches adulthood.

And while the age of the injured child at the time of the Cook County verdict might be unusual for a Cook County birth injury lawsuit, the case facts are fairly typical of an Illinois birth injury.

The Illinois birth injury lawsuit was brought by the plaintiff's mother, who claimed that her son was born with severe brain damage as a result of negligence on behalf of Cook County Hospital. The plaintiff's defense rested on claims that a delay on behalf of the hospital staff in delivering the baby was the cause of his subsequent brain damage.

Continue reading "Chicago Jury Finds in Favor of a Severely Brain Damaged Child" »