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Recent Illinois Medical Malpractice Decisions

The following are summaries of cases that were recently decided in Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits. This page is frequently updated so please check back.

Young woman with multiple sclerosis dies when a virus is undetected.

A 20-year-old woman died when a virus that was not diagnosed by emergency room physicians attacked her liver. She had gone to the emergency room complaining of a rash and back pain. The treatment and diagnosis did not take into account the fact that she had a recent diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, and that steroids were being used to treat her. Because of this, her immune system was affected, and a serious virus developed which eventually led to her death. Failure to properly diagnose and treat this virus caused it to spread to her organs. The jury awarded $1,500,000.

Police officer suffers a debilitating brain injury when neurological conditions were not recognized.

A 41-year-old police officer suffered a stroke during the course of making an arrest. A procedure was begun to remove excess fluid from his brain, by inserting a drain. Nurses were directed to perform a test regarding the drain. During this test, neurological changes went undetected, and caused severe brain injury. As a result, the officer is unable to eat or speak. The case was settled for $17,757,000.

Nursing home neglect may have led to death.

A nursing home patient died after suffering brain damage following a hypoglycemic coma. It was alleged that the nursing home staff failed to properly monitor and control the man’s blood glucose levels, leading to this condition. There was a settlement of $400,000.

Improper medication decision caused a condition permanently affecting a child’s bones.

A medication generally prescribed for osteoporosis patients was prescribed and administered to a young boy from age 8 to 11, though he had no signs of bone disease. The use of this medication caused bone disease which resulted in bone deformity. Now an adult, his physical activities are limited because of the risk of bone fracture. A settlement of $3,350,000 was reached in the case.

Fatal injury was caused by doctor during cyst removal surgery.

During laparoscopic surgery to remove an ovarian cyst, a 40-year-old woman suffered a fatal injury. Her intestines were perforated, and the resulting bowel injuries were not detected and treated. Despite her constant abdominal pain and other symptoms, this situation continued and ultimately led to her death. The case was settled for $2,500,000.

Mother’s missed cancer diagnosis reduced her survival rate.

A single mother with a young child had a CT-scan which indicated the possibility of lung cancer. A lung biopsy was not ordered to confirm or deny the existence of cancer. By the time she was eventually diagnosed with lung cancer, it had advanced from Stage I to Stage IV, with a markedly reduced survival rate. The case was settled for $850,000.

Mother claimed that newborn’s brain injury was caused by nurses’ error.

A mother believed that she was given too much pitocin during labor and delivery, and that the nurses failed to monitor signs of fetal distress and alert the physicians. The baby was born with brain injuries that resulted in cerebral palsy and cognitive impairment. A settlement of $7,750,000 was reached in the case.

Chemotherapy port was not timely removed and led to woman’s death.

A 50-year-old woman had a chemotherapy port to receive her treatments. The port showed signs of dysfunction, yet it was not removed at that time. The result was a separation of the port causing a fragment to remain, which led to complications ultimately resulting in death. The case settled for $3,300,000.

Woman bled to death because of erroneous belief that there was no blood supply.

A 36-year-old woman was hemorrhaging following delivery of her baby. No intervention was taken because it was mistakenly believed that there was no appropriate blood supply. The woman bled to death, though the blood was readily available, and may have saved her life. The jury verdict with regard to the hospital was $4,623,924.

Septic shock of pregnant woman resulted in death of fetus and injury.

A woman who was 14 weeks pregnant was brought to the hospital with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. Her blood pressure was allegedly not monitored properly, and she went into septic shock. As a result, the baby died and the woman needed a transplant of her small intestines. The jury reached a verdict of $11,500,000 against the hospital.

Emergency room’s diagnosis missed condition that led to death.

A man was taken by ambulance to an emergency room complaining of severe chest pain, sweating, dizziness, and nausea. He was later sent home with a diagnosis and instructions relating only to abdominal pain. There was no diagnosis of an aortic dissection, which actually led to his death. It was claimed that potentially life-saving tests such as a CT scan were not undertaken. The jury returned a verdict of $3,767,792.

Ophthalmologist’s errors during eye surgery cause serious eye injury.

Following surgery by an ophthalmologist to correct nearsightedness, a 19-year-old woman, now a schoolteacher, suffered severe complications. The procedure left her with damage to her eye that caused severe vision problems, and headaches from driving and reading. The jury verdict was for $1,000,000.

Risk factors not assessed and man dies.

After suffering a fall, a 66-year-old man was evaluated at a hospital. He later died from a pulmonary embolism. It was alleged that the risk factors were not assessed, and the signs and symptoms were not properly monitored; all of which could potentially have been life-saving. An $800,000 settlement was reached.

Tumor in colon was identified but not diagnosed.

A 76-year-old woman had a mass in her colon which was identified during an examination, but was not reported. By the time it was diagnosed as cancer in the following year, it had metastasized to her liver, and she later died. The case was settled for $2,050,000.

Permanent injury resulted from failure to properly treat a bone fracture.

A football injury of an 8-year-old boy caused a fracture to his forearm. The injury was not properly treated, and the result was that he developed nerve damage and an infection. He continues to have difficulty with range of motion and strength in his forearm, and his injured arm is shorter than the other. The parties reached a settlement of $1,750,000.

Child dies from sepsis after inaction by physicians.

No referral to pediatric intensive care was made regarding the condition of a 4-year-old boy. He was also not properly treated with antibiotics. He developed sepsis and died. The case settled for $1,850,000.

Series of events at hospital caused respiratory problems which caused brain damage.

Emergency room diagnosed man with a condition that compromised his airway, and made it more difficult to place a breathing tube. He was placed on a regular hospital floor, and later went into respiratory distress. A long period of time transpired trying to place a tube to open the airway. He suffered permanent brain damage. The case was settled for $1,750,000.

Delay in delivery caused injury.

Newborn suffered injuries as a result of not being delivered in a timely manner. There were signs that the delivery needed to be imminent, such as bleeding, failure of labor to progress, and results of fetal monitoring. There had been a previous settlement in the case, and an additional $1,000,000 settlement was reached with regard to the physician.

Treatment by nurse after fall at state facility hindered survival chances.

A mentally disabled resident of a state-run facility fell and hit his head. After the fall a nurse did not recognize the severity of the man’s injuries, and did not call 911 for 2 hours. She also had him moved without immobilizing him. While not the sole cause of his death, these failures aggravated the condition and hindered his chance of survival. A verdict was returned against the nurse for $400,000.

In-home nursing care failed to detect worsening condition which led to amputation.

Following hip replacement surgery, a man received in-home nursing care to treat a heel ulcer. His condition worsened, and he developed an infection. The nurses did not diagnose the increasing condition and reduced the frequency of their visits. They did not notify any of the physicians of the condition, or instruct the patient about infections. His condition progressed to the point where he required an amputation of part of his leg. The jury reached a verdict of $793,644.

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