Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorney Blog

November 18, 2010

Cook County Breast Cancer Lawsuit Receives $1.5 Million Verdict – Estate of Lorraine Hollister v. Northwest Associates for Women’s Healthcare, P.C., et al.

A recent Cook County jury verdict of $1.5 million was granted in a failure to diagnose breast cancer lawsuit. The Illinois medical malpractice case was brought against a family doctor by the surviving family of a 32 year-old woman who died from metastatic breast cancer in Estate of Lorraine Hollister v. Northwest Associates for Women’s Healthcare, P.C., et al., 05 L 8872. Hollister’s estate alleged that the family practice physician had elected not to run tests that would have diagnosed the breast cancer three months earlier and that this delay decreased the effectiveness of its subsequent treatment.

While three months is typically a very short time in terms of a failure to diagnose breast cancer lawsuit, there were some special circumstances in Hollister . For one, Hollister first complained of pain and discharge from her breast when she was seven months pregnant. During that visit the defendant, Dr. Wener, did not actually perform an examination of her breasts. Instead he simply told her that changes in her breasts were common during pregnancy. No further examinations of her breasts were done during any of her further prenatal visits and her breast cancer was not found until her 6 week postpartum visit.

November 15, 2010

Illinois Jury Returns Verdict For Family of Woman Who Died of Chicken Pox – Estate of Koenig v. St. Mary’s Hospital, et al.

by Robert Kreisman

A Kankakee County, Illinois jury returned a $1.5 million medical malpractice jury verdict in favor of the family of a 20 year old woman who died of multi-organ failure connected to undiagnosed chicken pox. Michelle Koenig, who had a history of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, had been put on intravenous steroids and then prednisone, which generally suppressed her immune system. Estate of Koenig v. St. Mary’s Hospital, et al.,No. 07 L 18, focused on the emergency room’s negligence.

Koenig had chicken pox as a child, but the virus reactivated due to her suppressed immune system. She showed the chicken pox with a rash that her parents and friends commented, looked like chicken pox.

Koenig came to the emergency department at Provena St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee on February 19, 2006. The emergency room doctor, Timothy Moran did not diagnose the chicken pox even though it showed on her body and her liver enzymes were at levels above normal. She died within 30 hours of that visit.

At the trial, attorneys for Koenig argued that the emergency room negligence was a result of Dr. Moran’s choice not to rule out chicken pox as a potential ailment. Furthermore, Dr. Moran did not recognize that the elevated liver enzymes were an indication that the virus had invaded her liver.

November 12, 2010

Illinois Nursing Home Resident Dies After Being Left Outside

by Robert Kreisman

A 93 year-old nursing home resident, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and who was wheelchair bound, was sitting near the front door of the nursing home when a visitor wheeled him to the outside of the home and left him there unattended. No one noticed. Later, the 93 year-old gentleman rolled down a hill in his wheelchair and fell into a ditch near the side of the road. He wasn’t discovered until hours later. The Illinois nursing home negligence case resulting from this occurrence is Binning v. East Bank Center, Ill. Winnebago Co. Cir. No. 09 L 216 (June 2010)
Russell Binning, suffered fatal injuries as a result of his fall as a result of the nursing home’s negligence. He was survived by his wife and two adult sons.

The Binning family brought an Illinois nursing home malpractice lawsuit against the nursing home under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act where it was alleged that the nursing home facility had chosen not to

(1) properly monitor and supervise the nursing home resident; (2) had chosen not to properly control activity near the nursing home’s front entrance; and (3) chose not to warn others not to assist residents without permission.

November 9, 2010

Nursing Home Resident Develops Pressure Sores at Short-Term Rehabilitation Center – Rosenbloom v. Claremont Extended Healthcare

by Robert Kreisman

An 89 year-old man was admitted to a nursing home for short-term rehabilitation after undergoing a hip replacement surgery. The man developed Stage II sacral pressure sores in the nursing facility. Rosenbloom v. Claremont Extended Healthcare, et al., 08 L 3872.
A <a href="Rosenbloom v. Claremont Extended Healthcare, et al., 08 L 3872″>nursing home malpractice lawsuit was filed alleging that the defendant nursing home chose not to put in place a care plan, follow the wound care recommendations of a doctor and inaccurately access the resident’s wound, causing it to deteriorate to an infected Stage IV bed sore.

Many times in nursing homes, the residents are unable to move about on their own. In those cases, it is very common for these types of immobile residents to develop pressure sores from inactivity, in ability to change position and because of a lack of appropriate bedding.

November 3, 2010

Nursing Home Resident Wanders Off Struck by Car, Settlement Reached – Hannigan v. Aspire Illinois, Inc.

by Robert Kreisman

A nursing home resident, who suffered from Down syndrome, had wandered off the facility grounds in March 2006. During that time away, the man, age 47, was struck by a car. He suffered a fractured pelvis and traumatic injury to his sciatic nerve. Hannigan v. Aspire Illinois, Inc., 06 L 4612
Following surgery and a long hospital stay, the man was released, but permanently hampered by his injuries.

In the Illinois nursing home negligence lawsuit filed, it was claimed that a line-of-sight supervision was required at the nursing facility. Another claim of nursing home negligence was that a door alarm should have been placed in the nursing home. The man had previously left facility unattended and that event was noted in his chart.

October 29, 2010

Mother Whose Daughter Died Due to Medical Malpractice Becomes Advocate for Patient Safety

by Robert Kreisman

Nine years ago Josie King lost her 18-month-old daughter as a result of medical negligence. She has since turned this tragedy into something positive, as she has become a major advocate in the prevention of further medical negligence. King has used her own personal experiences to become a voice in the fight for better communication among hospitals and doctors.

King’s daughter was being treated at John Hopkins Hospital for severe burns when she received a methadone shot that resulted in her brain death. The medical negligence in King’s case was due to the fact that her daughter was not meant to get the shot – the doctor had cancelled the order for it, but a nurse gave it to King’s daughter anyway.

The King family brought a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital and have used the settlement they received to start the Josie King Foundation in memory of their daughter. This foundation focuses on increasing patient safety programs in hospitals and doctor offices.

October 26, 2010

DuPage County, Illinois Mother Recieves $11 Million Jury Verdict for Death of Unborn Child

by Robert Kreisman

A recent Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit received an $11.5 million award from a DuPage County jury. The Illinois medical negligence case included a birth injury claim regarding the demise of the plaintiff mother’s unborn child and an additional medical negligence claim regarding the loss of the mother’s small intestine. The negligence lawsuit against Naperville’s Edward Hospital was filed in DuPage County.

The Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit began when Sabine Miller, the plaintiff mother, presented to Edward Hospital at 14 weeks pregnant complaining of abdominal pains. Despite being in the second trimester of her pregnancy Miller was admitted to the hospital’s postpartum unit, which typically manages the care and treatment of mothers after the child has already been born.

The medical issues involved during the prenatal period versus the postpartum period are drastically different and require different types of care and treatment. The most drastic difference being that during the prenatal period the baby is still inside the mother and therefore cannot be monitored by way of external monitoring. Instead, during the prenatal period the infant’s condition is typically assessed using fetal heart monitoring strips, which record both baby’s heart rate, the mother’s contractions, if any, and typically include notations of the mother’s vital signs.

October 20, 2010

Spinal Infection Leads To Paraplegia – $8 Million Medical Malpractice Verdict in Maldonado v. United States of America, et al.

by Robert Kreisman

A Chicago federal judge entered a Chicago medical malpractice verdict in the amount of $8,8330,182 against the United States following a bench trial. In July 2004, Ernesto Maldonado was a patient at Chicago’s Mount Sinai Hospital. He was admitted because of pneumonia. A few days after the admission, a CT scan was done of Maldonado’s chest and back. The scans revealed destruction of a vertebral body in the mid-thoracic spine (T-7). Maldonado v. United States of America, et al., 06 C 4149 (January 2010).

The radiology report stated that the vertebra was destroyed. But neither Maldonado’s treating doctor, interventional radiologist, nor infectious disease physician ever followed up with treatment. The patient was never referred to an orthopedic surgeon or for a neurosurgery consultation. Five days later Mr. Maldonado was discharged and antibiotics were discontinued.

The plaintiff, Mr. Maldonado then attempted to see his attending physician at his office. But this doctor refused to see him. By August 14, 2004 the plaintiff had lost sensation in his low legs and he became urine incontinent.

October 12, 2010

Cook County Nursing Home Negligence and Wrongful Death Case Settled for Resident’s Death After Fall Leads To Bone Infection-Moffett v. Mercy Health Care

by Robert Kreisman

A Chicago area nursing home has settled an Illinois nursing home negligence case brought by the family of an 87 year old Illinois woman who developed bone infection after her skin broke down. She died six months later. Alberta Jones had been a resident at the Mercy Health Care Rehabilitation Center in Homewood, Illinois. Moffett v. Mercy Health Care Rehabilitation Center, 06 L 11430 Circuit Court of Cook County, 2010)
Ms. Jones was in the nursing home because she had a stroke. She was a known fall risk which required her to be assisted for her daily living. That would mean a Mercy Health Care employee would help Ms. Jones to the bathroom, to her wheel chair, to her meals and to her physical therapy sessions.

During her stay at Mercy, Ms. Jones fractured her femur when she fell unattended. During the bone’s healing process, she was fitted with a brace. Because of the tight fit, her skin began to break down when the device rubbed against her leg. Over a period of time, Ms. Jones developed osteomyelitis, or a bone infection. Her health declined and then she died, leaving an adult daughter surviving her.

October 6, 2010

Illinois Nursing Home Fails to Develop Skin Care Plan to Prevent Bed Sores and Decubitus Ulcers- Settlement Reached in Clapman v. Manorcare Health Services, Inc.

by Robert Kreisman

A recent Illinois nursing home negligence settlement deals with a recurring issue in many Chicago nursing home abuse cases – the development of pressure sores, also known as bed sores or decubitus ulcers. In Clapman v. Manorcare Health Services, Inc., the plaintiff brought a claim against an Illinois nursing home after she developed a large sacral pressure ulcer. The Illinois nursing home abuse case settled for $650,000 prior to trial.

In Clapman, the plaintiff alleged that the nursing home failed to develop a plan of care to prevent the plaintiff from developing pressure ulcers. Essentially, whenever a patient is recognized as being at risk for developing pressure sores, or any other type of skin breakdown, the medical providers have a responsibility to develop a plan, referred to as a plan of care, to try and prevent the at risk issue from occurring.

While the nursing staff at Manorcare did develop a plan of care for the plaintiff, it failed to include any provisions to prevent the development of pressure sores. This lack of a prevention plan was the main issue in Clapman and was what the plaintiff attributed her eventual osteomyelitis to.