Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorney Blog

Medicine is a healing profession; as patients we look to our physicians to cure our ailments and relieve our pain. However, in order to heal us, doctors must first diagnose the problem - a quick and speedy diagnosis is often the key to a successful recovery. Likewise, when there is an unnecessary delay in diagnosis, oftentimes the outcome is not very favorable for the patient.

Take for instance the case of 76 year-old Shirley Cyborski, who died as a result of the failure to diagnose her colon cancer for over a year. The medical lawsuit resulting out of this misdiagnosis of cancer, Estate of Shirley Cyborski v. Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp., et al, No. 08 L 6447, was recently settled for $2.05 million.

In 2006, Shirley presented to Advocate South Suburban Hospital for a barium enema examination. This exam is typically performed when a patient experiences a change in bowel habits, has abdominal pain or rectal bleeding, or if there is a suspicion that the patient has diverticulitis or polyps. An x-ray of Shirley's colon was taken at the time of the barium enema exam, which showed a mass in her colon. However, the colon mass was not reported and therefore her cancer went undiagnosed.

Continue reading "Misdiagnosed Colon Cancer Leads to Illinois Woman's Death - $2.05 Million Settlement Reached in Estate of Cyborski v. Advocate South Suburban Hospital" »

A $4.5 million settlement was reached between Advocate Christ Hospital and Medical Center and the family of a man who died after his bladder ruptured at the Chicago hospital. The claims in the wrongful death case of The Estate of Krzysztof Bialas v. Advocate Christ Hospital and Medical Center, No. 07 L 12141, were that the decedent's death could have been avoided if the hospital's radiologist had correctly read a CT scan that would have identified the problem.

The decedent, Krzysztof Bialas, was a 42 year-old warehouse worker who presented to Oak Lawn's Christ Hospital with a fractured pelvis after being injured in a forklift accident at his job. Nursing notes from the hospital visit indicated that Bialas's scrotum was extremely swollen. In response to this observation, doctors ordered a CT scan of Bialas's abdomen and pelvis.

While Bialas's fractured pelvis was appropriately diagnosed by x-ray, the radiologist failed to recognize the presence of a large amount of fluid in Bialas's pelvic area. The medical malpractice complaint filed by the decedent's estate alleged that it was this radiology error that ultimately led to Bialas's death.

Continue reading "Illinois Wrongful Death Lawsuit Settled for $4.5 Million – Bialas v. Advocate Christ Hospital" »

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)" »

Several studies have recently investigated the dangers of different radiology scans and the possibility of radiation overexposure. While many of these radiology scans are important diagnostic tools, research has suggested that many physicians are unaware of the dangers of several different scans, or else are poorly informed about the inherent risks.

Radiology scans are an important tool in screening for breast cancer and allowed physicians to diagnose breast cancer much earlier, thereby increasing the cancer patient's hope of survival. However, depending on the type of radiology exam used the degree of radiation exposure varies drastically. For example, a typical mammogram increases a woman's risk of developing breast cancer by 1.3 times per every 1,000 women.

A mammogram is the standard diagnostic exam to diagnose breast cancer, however, there are additional radiology exams that doctors might order if the mammogram fails to provide a clear diagnosis. Of of these exams, the breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) increases a woman's risk of developing breast cancer by 20 to 30 times and the positron emissions mammography (PEM) increases the risk by 23 times. Also, while radiation exposure during a traditional mammograms only increases the risk of developing breast cancer, the BSGI and PEM also increase the risk of cancer in other major organs, i.e. the bladder, gallbladder, kidneys, etc.

Continue reading "Breast Cancer Screen Should Consider Breast Imaging Radiation Risks According to Medical Journals" »

Oftentimes cancerous tumors are recognized in the process of investigating another medical problem. For example, a woman presents complaining of weight loss and an exam reveals breast cancer. Because early diagnosis of cancer can drastically improve the patient's survival rate it is important that physicians capitalize on these opportunities.

In Tariq v. Naperville Radiologist, S.C., et al., 09 L 156, the plaintiff brought an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit against Edward Hospital and its radiologist for failure to diagnose cancer. The plaintiff claimed that the radiologist had failed to comment on an area of abnormality in her abdominal area on a chest CT scan. The CT scan was being taken as part of the plaintiff's screening for TB and was not told anything about the abnormal results.

Over the course of the next year the plaintiff began to experience weight loss and became fatigued. She returned for further workup, at which point a CT showed a 16 cm. abdominal tumor. In addition, the tumor had metastasized to other organs, including the spleen, stomach, pancreas, and colon.

Continue reading "Illinois Radiologist Error Results in $1.7 Million Settlement - Tariq v. Naperville Radiologist, S.C., et al." »

A recently published government report has sparked additional concerns regarding the risk of overexposure to radiation from unnecessary radiology scans. The results of the national report on medical imaging practices shows that Illinois hospitals provide double chest CT scans almost twice as often as other hospitals nationwide. A double chest CT scan is when a study is ordered both with and without contrast, which requires it to be done twice thereby exposing the patient to twice as much radiation.

One of the main hospitals cited in the report as potentially giving "patients a double scan when a single scan is all they need" is Edward Hospital, located in Naperville, Illinois. Edward Hospital officials were reportedly surprised to learn that their CT scans exceeded the national average and have since launched an investigation into its radiology department policies and procedures.

The new government reports on Edward Hospital and other medical institutions nationwide can be found at the government-run website Hospital Compare. This informative website allows patients to search different hospitals by region and compare the quality of care provided by each. Medical information websites like Hospital Compare allow patients to be their own medical advocate and make informed decisions about their care and treatment.

Continue reading "Illinois Hospitals' Double CT Scans Exceed National Average for Rate of Usage - Raises Concerns for Overexposure to Radiation" »

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" »

Even those of us who know little about cancer know that the earlier your cancer is diagnosed the better your chances. So if this is common knowledge then we would expect that it would be almost a rule in the medical community: rule out cancer whenever possible in order to insure the best outcome possible. Yet all too often we hear stories about patients whose cancer was either misdiagnosed as something else or undiagnosed all together. When the misdiagnosis of cancer leads to a far worse outcome for the cancer patient there is often a case of medical malpractice.

Consider the case of a recent Illinois wrongful death settlement that was approved by a Cook County judge. The widow received $1.59 million from her deceased husband's treating urologist and his physician group after he failed to diagnose her husband's bladder cancer in a timely manner. The plaintiff-decedent's undiagnosed cancer spread over a two-year period and was the ultimate cause of his death.

The facts of the Illinois wrongful death case are as follows. Over the span of two years the man presented to his urologist for CT scans of his abdomen and pelvis. The scans showed two enlarged lymph nodes, which can be a sign that cancer has metastasized to other areas of the body. However, the urologist took no action to investigate the enlarged lymph nodes for cancer.

Continue reading "Cook County Undiagnosed Cancer Malpractice Case Settled: Urologist Failed to Pursue Abnormal Masses on CT" »

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is working with other entities to launch The Initiative to Reduce Unnecessary Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging. The purpose of the initiative is to promote safer use of all relevant medical imaging devices, to support and increase the degree of clinical decision making, and to further patient awareness.

This initiative is part of a growing movement to increase the safety of life-saving diagnostic and therapeutic radiation and prevent Illinois radiology errors from occurring. The FDA has promised to take steps towards increasing its regulatory supervision of some of the more powerful forms of medical radiation, including fluoroscopy, CT scans, and nuclear medicine.

Some of these forms of radiology can deliver enough radiation in one exposure to equal almost 400 chest x-rays. Obviously with scans this powerful it is important that the medical community is making informative decisions as to the appropriateness of their use and practicing safe administration of these tests.

Continue reading "Medical Radiation From Radiology Scans to be More Stringently Regulated Per New FDA Requirements" »