A New York Times article described a family that encountered a common family problem: What to do with our aging mother, living alone, who doesn’t want to move into a nearby nursing home? Dr. Socorrito Baez-Page, a general practitioner in Alexandria, Va., moved her parents first into a nursing home.…
Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorney Blog
$4.7 Million Jury Verdict for Negligence in Choosing Not to Detect Misplaced Catheter
Connie Lockhart was hospitalized after overdosing on medication. She was 58 years old at the time of this incident. An emergency room physician inserted a central line femoral catheter in her right leg. However, this was misplaced into her femoral artery instead of her femoral vein. Lockhart was transferred to…
$12.25 Million Jury Verdict for Negligent Examination of Prostate Specimens
Rickie Lee Hewitt consulted a urologist at The Iowa Clinic after receiving his prostate cancer screening results. He was 65 years old at the time. The urologist ordered a biopsy, which was sent to the clinic’s anatomical laboratory for interpretation. Pathologist Dr. Joy Trueblood, the laboratory’s director, examined Hewitt’s slides…
$3 Million Jury Verdict for Late Diagnosis of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, Blindness
Melina Greer, 25, went to a hospital emergency room complaining of a severe headache, neck pain and decreased and blurred vision. She received a neurological consultation from neurology resident, Dr. Basad Essa, who noted that she was having difficulty performing an optic fundus examination. An emergency physician later discharged Greer…
$2.7 Million Jury Verdict for the Radiology Error of Misreading CT Scan Leading to Death in Lung Cancer Case
Gail Ingram went to a hospital emergency room complaining of abdominal pain. She underwent a CT scan, which was interpreted by a radiologist, Dr. Barbara Blanco, as showing possible pancreatitis, a gallstone, and no acute bowel findings. Ingram was 61 years old at that time. After a four-day hospitalization, she…
Illinois Appellate Court Reverses Defense Verdict in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
The Illinois Appellate Court reversed the Will County associate judge’s April 2017 decision to deny plaintiff Susan Steed’s post-trial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. In this case, Steed’s husband, Glenn Steed, suffered an Achilles tendon injury playing basketball. After the Feb. 17, 2009 injury, his right leg and ankle…
Illinois Supreme Court Ruled That Plaintiff in Medical Malpractice Case Can Refile Voluntarily Dismissed Lawsuit
The Illinois Supreme Court unanimously ruled res judicata did not bar Gerald Ward from refiling his voluntarily dismissed lawsuit against Decatur Memorial Hospital. Although the decision of the Supreme Court was unanimous, it was split on the rationale. Ward was refiling a medical-malpractice lawsuit against Decatur Memorial Hospital for negligence…
$1.39 Million Jury Verdict for Negligence in Choosing Not to Assess Patient’s Surgical Incision
Six days after undergoing hip replacement surgery and rehabilitation, Alice Underwood, 82, was admitted to Victor Valley Global Medical Center for treatment of a urinary tract infection and dehydration. She suffered a surgical site infection while she was hospitalized, which caused her incision to separate. Underwood underwent surgery to remove…
Illinois Appellate Court Reverses $1 Million Jury Verdict Because of Confusing and Ambiguous Special Interrogatory
Michelle Morrison, a senior account representative in the Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital’s billing department, sent a woman referred to here as “Jane Doe” and others “vile and shocking” letters on the hospital’s letterhead. Morrison was fired in July 2010 for using the hospital’s computer system for personal searches. After…
U.S. Court of Appeals Affirms Dismissal of Medical Malpractice Case for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies Under Federal Tort Claims Act
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago has affirmed the dismissal of a Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit sounding in medical malpractice filed by plaintiff Anna Chronis. She claimed that in June 2015, when she visited the University of Illinois Mile Square Health Center for her…