Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorney Blog

In a recent $2.62 million Cook County medical malpractice verdict, the jury found in favor of the patient who suffered a permanent brain injury after his brain infection went undiagnosed for two weeks. The delay in diagnosis resulted in the permanent brain injury after a brain infection spread to the frontal lobe of the patient's brain. As a result of the brain injury, the Illinois patient needed numerous brain surgeries, one of which resulted in the removal of a portion of his skull.

The man's permanent brain injury could have been avoided if not for the Illinois medical malpractice of an Illinois radiologist. After having a seizure, the Illinois plaintiff presented to the emergency room at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital. In order to rule out the cause of the seizure, a MRI of the patient's brain was ordered. Up to this point the patient's care was appropriate and the treating physicians were meeting the appropriate standard of care.

The standard of care for medical professionals is defined as the level of care that a reasonable person, in this case a doctor, would exercise in similar circumstances. If a doctor or hospital chose not to satisfy the standard of care in some method of treatment resulting in an injury or death to the patient, then a a case for medical malpractice could be brought.

Continue reading " Cook County Undiagnosed Brain Injury Verdict Reached By Jury " »

Whether or not you have children, most people are familiar with warning labels on children's toys. These warning labels could include anything from lead content in painted toys, choking hazards from small parts, or potential injuries from sharp objects. Yet while there are ample warnings for children's toys, there are no warning labels itemizing the dangers to children from eating certain foods.

We typically don't think of food as being dangerous to children, yet one horrific episode involves a 23 month-old child who died after a piece of popcorn she was eating became lodged in her lung and bronchial tubes. Her parents, like the majority of the general public, had no idea that popcorn was unsafe for their 2 year-old.

In an effort to increase awareness and prevent the recurrence of episodes like the one described, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is advocating for food warning labels. The AAP, based out of Elk Grove Village, Illinois, is one of the nation's leading pediatric groups. It is lobbying for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require warning labels on foods that are known choking hazards.

According to a 2008 study, the ten foods that pose the highest choking hazards for young children are hot dogs, peanuts, carrots, boned chicken, candy, meat, popcorn, fish with bones, sunflower seeds and apples.

Continue reading " Doctors Urge Warning Labeling for Food That Can Choke Children " »

Recently the Illinois Supreme Court reversed a ruling by the Illinois Appellate Court Fifth District regarding the enforcement of a nursing home operator’s arbitration agreement. In Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Co., LLC, No. 106511 (4/15/10), the Special Administrator of the Estate of Joyce Gott brought a nursing home and wrongful death claim against the nursing home operator.

Many nursing homes in Illinois and nationwide have initiated the practice of including mandatory arbitration clauses in their admission documents in an attempt to force patients and their families to arbitrate a potential Illinois nursing home abuse case rather than bringing an Illinois nursing home malpractice lawsuit. However, other states, such as the Missouri Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Beverly Manor, 2009 WL 77897 (Mo. Jan 13, 2009), have ruled that these mandatory arbitration agreements are not enforceable and that nursing home residents and their families can bring a lawsuit even if an arbitration agreement was signed.

Prior to the current case of Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Co., LLC, Illinois courts had not yet ruled on the whether or not nursing homes were allowed to enforce these arbitration agreements. Therefore, this case has special significance for the future of Illinois nursing abuse lawsuits.

Continue reading " Illinois Nursing Home Mandatory Arbitration Clauses Reviewed by Illinois Supreme Court " »

A settlement was reached in the amount of $1.25 million in the case of a 75 year old man who allegedly contracted a severe digestive disorder because his dentist unnecessarily prescribed an antibiotic known to cause the condition in some patients. The settlement is reported to be the highest in Illinois for dental malpractice cases not involving death.

It was alleged that the plaintiff, a retired owner of a men’s retail clothing store, contracted clostridium difficile after taking Clindamycin, an antibiotic prescribed by the dentist during an office visit in 2005. The dentist prescribed the antibiotic when the plaintiff was paying a visit to his office for a regular cleaning. A crown had been put in place three weeks before. The patient then informed the dentist that the crown still bothered him and the dentist determined that it needed a root canal.

The plaintiff’s attorney contended there was no reason to prescribe an antibiotic because there was no infection. The plaintiff developed bleeding, diarrhea and then went for treatment with a gastroenterologist. An ileostomy surgical procedure was performed on the plaintiff but failed. Ileostomy can be temporary or permanent. An ileostomy is a surgically created opening in the small intestine, usually at the end of the ileum. It is the exit of the small intestine to the skin surface. It then was reversed leaving the man incontinent.

Continue reading " Illinois Dental Malpractice Case Settles for $1.25 Million " »

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago reversed a district court jury verdict on the grounds that the lower court did not separate the damages for a husband and wife on plaintiffs' jury verdict forms. Based on the lack of separate jury verdict forms, a new trial was ordered in Happel v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 07-2264.

Happel is an Illinois prescription error case filed by a husband and wife, Kent and Heidi Happel, against a Wal-Mart pharmacy that filled a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory prescription for the plaintiff wife even though it was aware she was allergic to it. As a result of taking the medication, Heidi Happel went into anaphylactic shock. She required emergent hospitalization and ventilation as a result of the Illinois prescription error. She continues to suffer from memory loss, incontinence, seizures, nightmares, and depression.

The Illinois prescription error claim alleged that the pharmacy was aware of plaintiff's drug allergy. The Wal-Mart pharmacist had been warned about Heidi’s allergy and actually received an electronic alert that the drug was contraindicated for her. In addition, every time Heidi filled her past prescriptions at this pharmacy she advised the pharmacist of her allergy, which was something her husband, Kent, also did when he filled the prescription at issue in this case. However, despite these warnings the pharmacist went ahead and filled the prescription, which in turn caused Heidi's injuries.

Continue reading " Failure to Separate Plaintiffs' Damages on Illinois Jury Verdict Forms Leads to Reversal By Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Happel v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. " »

Decisions made during labor and delivery can change your life forever. For example, your baby's heart rate may drop during labor, which is often a sign of distress. The way your doctor and nurses respond to this sign directly impacts the final result. If they respond right away and everything goes smoothly then chances are you will leave the delivery room with a healthy baby. But if the medical team does not respond and fails to appreciate the gravity of the situation, then you might have a drastically different outcome.

Unfortunately, Illinois birth injury attorneys only hear about the second outcome, when things do not go well and some form of Illinois medical malpractice occurs during labor and delivery. And because of the nature of these cases, birth injury lawsuits are oftentimes the most heartbreaking of any type of medical malpractice.

Consider a recent Illinois birth injury case against a nurse midwife, a sponsoring obstetrician, and a Chicago-area hospital that was recently settled with the now 13 year-old boy's family. The boy sustained a brain injury as a result of hypoxia (low noxygen levels) at birth which resulted in cerebral palsy.

Continue reading " Illinois Birth Injury Occurred During Nurse Midwife Delivery " »