$14.75 Million Jury Verdict in the Negligent Handling of Maternal Hemorrhage

Doe, 24, underwent a cesarean section to deliver her twins. After the delivery, the on-call obstetrician, Dr. Mohannad Rajjoub, attempted to remove the placenta.

Doe, who suffered from placenta accreta, experienced massive hemorrhaging that required a blood transfusion, which was done approximately 30 minutes later.

A placenta accreta is a very serious pregnancy condition. It occurs when the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall. Often times, the placenta in these cases detaches from the uterine wall after childbirth. This can cause severe blood loss after the delivery, which happened in the case of the birth of the twins.

Despite the attempt to stop the hemorrhaging, Doe suffered hypoxic brain damage. She now has the intellectual capacity of a 3-year-old and requires 24-hour care.

Doe, through a corporate representative, sued the hospital and its operator, alleging negligent credentialling and improper policies as to the maternal hemorrhaging.

The plaintiff also maintained that she did not receive proper resuscitative care by the anesthesiologist and that there was no blood available in the operating room, which resulted in delayed blood transfusion. That certainly could have attributed to the resulting hypoxic brain damage.

The defendants argued that the obstetrician and treating anesthesiologist were not the hospital’s agents but that they had acted within the standard of care. It appears that the hospital argued, as many do, that physicians working in it are not its employees but independent contractors and thus the hospitals have no responsibility for their negligence. That argument failed, as the doctors held themselves out to the public and Doe as employees or agents of the hospital.

The jury signed a verdict for more than $14.75 million.

The attorneys handling this tragic case for Doe and her family were Donald J. Nolan, Thomas P. Routh\ and Timothy I. McArdle, all of Chicago, Ill.

CIBC National Trust Co. v. Presence Hosp. PRV, No. 15 L 19 (Ill. Cir. Ct. Vermilion County).

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling maternal injury lawsuits, maternal death cases, labor and delivery negligence lawsuits, birth trauma injury lawsuits, and wrongful death cases for individuals, families and loved ones who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 45 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Park Ridge, North Riverside, Cicero, Joliet, Bolingbrook, Downers Grove, Butterfield, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Villa Park, Addison, Stickney, Worth, Orland Park, Glenview, Chicago (Garfield Ridge, Gage Park, Woodlawn, Hyde Park, Calumet Heights, Auburn Gresham, Irving Park, Lakeview, Edgewater, West Ridge, Edison Park), Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Rolling Meadows and Palatine, Ill.

Robert D. Kreisman has been an active member of the Illinois and Missouri bars since 1976.