$2 Million Settlement for Failure to Transfer Urgent Care Patient to Hospital

Ms. Doe, 47 years old, suffered from multiple sclerosis and used a walker. After visiting an urgent care clinic, she became tired and tried to sit down on her walker. The walker flipped over and Ms. Doe hit her head on the pavement. A physician’s assistant at the clinic palpated the injury and stitched Ms. Doe’s wound before discharging her with verbal instructions.

Ms. Doe fell into a coma approximately five hours later. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital where testing revealed a skull fracture and intracranial hemorrhage with midline shift. Despite undergoing neurosurgery, Ms. Doe now suffers from severe cognitive issues and requires 24-hour-per-day care.

Ms. Doe sued the urgent care clinic, alleging that it chose not to transfer her to a hospital emergency room after the fall in light of her neurological symptoms, including one-sided weakness. The lawsuit also alleged that the urgent care clinic should have sent Ms. Doe home with written, not verbal instructions.

The defendant asserted that Ms. Doe did not present with focal neurological deficits that would have warranted transfer to a hospital.

Before trial, the parties settled for $2 million.

The attorney representing Ms. Doe was Eric S. Rossman.

The experts engaged by Ms. Doe’s attorney were in the areas of emergency medicine, neuroradiology, nursing, lifecare planning, neurosurgery, neurology and economics.

Doe v. Roe Urgent Care, Undisclosed Docket.

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling medical negligence lawsuits, misdiagnosis lawsuits, urgent care negligence cases, wrongful death lawsuits, traumatic brain injury cases and birth trauma injury lawsuits 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 40 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Mt. Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Northbrook, Northfield, Glencoe, Glenview, Palatine, Palos Hills, Riverside, Maywood, Forest Park, Summit, Hickory Hills, Palos Heights, Chicago Ridge, Crestwood, Orland Park, Chicago (Brighton Park, Englewood, Marquette Park, Rosehill, Pullman, South Deering, Avalon Park, Grand Crossing, Wood Lawn, Jackson Park, Washington Park, Pilsen, West Town, Goose Island, Old Town, Near North, Edgewater, Lincoln Square, Irving Park, Ravenswood, Edgebrook, Edison Park, Norwood Park), Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Vernon Hills, Winnetka and Homewood, Ill.

Related blog posts:

$200,000 Jury Verdict for Nursing Home’s Failure to Diagnose Orthopedic Injuries to Resident

$7.38 Million Jury Verdict for Late Diagnosis of Metastatic Brain Cancer

$14 Million Jury Verdict for Error in Misreading CT Scan