Chicago Brain Injury Occurs During Cardiac Surgery

A recent Chicago birth injury settlement provides an extreme example of Illinois surgical complications. The Cook County medical malpractice case was filed on behalf of a boy who was left with severe brain damage following his cardiac surgery at Loyola University Medical Center.

The minor plaintiff was eight months-old at the time the Chicago medical malpractice occurred. According to the details of the case, the little boy presented to Loyola University Medical Center for cardiac surgery. This surgery was necessary due to his congenital heart condition, but should not have resulted in severe brain damage.

However, both during and after the procedure there was a marked reduction in the oxygen flow to the plaintiff’s brain, which in turn led to the unexpected brain injury. The minor plaintiff’s brain injury was classified as a hypoxic brain injury versus an anoxic brain injury. The difference between the two types of brain injuries is that a hypoxic injury results when the brain does not receive enough oxygen to properly perform its functions, whereas an anoxic injury occurs when the brain does not receive any oxygen. However, both hypoxic and anoxic brain injuries can result in severe brain damage, which is exactly what occurred in this case.

While there are understandable risks to any surgical procedure, when you are undergoing cardiac surgery it is not typically expected that it will result in brain damage. The facts in this case are huge red flags for medical negligence, mainly because the nature of the injury was both severe and unexpected.

The little boy is now 12 years-old and will continue to require medical care and treatment as a result of the severe brain injury he sustained over 10 years ago. The $8.25 million settlement will most likely go towards paying his past and future medical bills and ensuring that this boy receives appropriate care for the rest of his life.

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling Chicago brain injury lawsuits for over 30 years, serving those areas in and around Cook County, including Barrington, Lisle, Blue Island, and Hoffman Estates.