Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

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An Illinois resident suffered respiratory failure after being prescribed a narcotic pain reliever following a minor motorcycle accident. The pain reliever also happened to be a respiratory suppressor, which, when coupled with his pre-existing history of sleep apnea, led to his untimely death as a result of the Illinois physician’s medical negligence.

Sleep apnea is a chronic disease that involves pauses in breathing while sleeping. The pauses can range anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes and can occur anywhere from five to fifty times in an hour. The decedent’s sleep apnea put him at increased risk for respiratory complications.

During the decedent’s hospital stay at Edward Hospital in Naperville, the defendant doctor allegedly prescribed the patient a dose of the narcotic pain reliever that exceeded the therapeutic levels in light of his pre-existing sleep apnea. This Illinois medication error directly affected his ability to breathe and led to his wrongful death on the fifth day of his hospitalization as a result of the medical malpractice.

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An Illinois mother was awarded $5 million by a Cook County jury for an unnecessary hysterectomy she received following the delivery of her first child. Because of the defendant obstetrician’s medical negligence the 31 year-old woman will not be able to have children in the future.

The mother arrived at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to have labor induced for her first child and underwent a Cesarean section. While the labor and delivery itself was relatively uncomplicated and did not result in any birth injury to the child, the mother did develop post-operative bleeding following the procedure.

Citing the post-operative bleeding, the defendant physician elected to perform a hysterectomy. The obstetrician claimed that there was not enough time to try an alternative method to stop the mother’s bleeding and that therefore the hysterectomy was necessary in order to save the plaintiff’s life and that it did not constitute Illinois medical malpractice.

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A Cook County medical malpractice case was settled for $9.5 million after an injured child’s parents reached an agreement with his delivering obstetrician, Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, Elmhurst Clinic, LLC, and Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare. The Northern Trust Co. et al. v. Nirali Ghia, M.D., Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, et al., Case No. 04 L 7500, Circuit Court of Cook County.

In December, 2002, the now six year-old boy’s mother arrived at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital to induce labor. However, the labor did not run smoothly, and after over four hours had elapsed the medical providers opted to perform a cesarean section. When the baby boy was delivered it was found that he had cerebral palsy.

The parents’ Cook County birth injury complaint alleged that the obstetrician had failed to adequately assess and recognize that the fetus was not tolerating the stress of labor. During labor and delivery it is imperative that the nursing and medical staff not only monitor the baby and mother’s condition, but also properly interrupts the information available.

The plaintiffs further alleged that a four hour delay in performing the cesarean section led to the child’s permanent brain injury. The baby boy now suffers from cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects muscle coordination and body movement.

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The family of a 39 year-old woman brought an Illinois wrongful death lawsuit against MacNeal Hospital and other medical professionals. The decedent had allegedly died as a result of medical negligence related to her gastric bypass surgery. A settlement of $3 million was reached between the decedent’s surviving sister and the hospital, nurses and resident physicians.

In the complaint, the decedent’s estate claimed that the medical providers had failed to recognize a leak at the surgical site in a timely manner, and that this failure constituted Illinois medical malpractice. Following the gastric bypass surgery, decedent developed a leak in the area that the small intestine had been sewn up. Before the leak was identified the Illinois resident developed sepsis.

The leak was not recognized until the decedent returned to the emergency room with signs and symptoms of sepsis. These symptoms could include rapid respiratory rate, elevated blood pressure, and elevated temperatures. She was taken to emergency exploratory surgery, where the leak was discovered and repaired. Yet by this time her situation had become grave. She died the next day from peritonitis and multi-system organ failure.

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In many Illinois medical malpractice cases time is of the essence and can make the difference between a positive or a negative outcome. A recent Chicago wrongful death case typifies this point. The case was brought against a suburban Chicago hospital for the death of a 22 year-old woman who developed sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

The Chicago lawsuit claimed that the hospital’s nursing staff discharged the patient despite her continued symptoms of nausea, severe abdominal pain, and faintness following surgery to treat her endometriosis. The woman returned to the hospital within less than 24 hours after her discharge, this time with complaints of extreme pain. She was prescribed an antibiotic, but it was not actually administered to her until 8 hours after it was ordered. Furthermore, the cause of her severe pain was not discovered for over 18 hours after she returned to the emergency room, depleting even more crucial hours in this woman’s care.

During exploratory surgery it was discovered that she had suffered a perforation in her small bowel, presumably during her recent surgery to treat her endometriosis. Even though surgeons were able to repair the perforated bowel, by this time it was too late. The patient’s condition worsened and she was dead by the following day.

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Recent studies have shown that the Emergency Room errors in diagnosing brain aneurysms could result in over 50% of cases going undiagnosed. Each year more than 30,000 Americans suffer from a ruptured brain aneurysm, a condition that carries the serious risks of developing a subarachnoid hemorrhage, i.e. bleeding around the brain.

In the case of brain aneurysms any delay in diagnosis can bring dire consequences and is often the difference between life and death. Therefore it is imperative that Chicago and Illinois Emergency Rooms errors in diagnosing brain aneurysms are minimized.

An aneurysm is similar to a ballooned pocket along the arteries and is thought to be caused by weak artery walls. Because most brain aneurysms appear among the large arteries at the brain’s base, when they rupture the blood leaks into the brain’s subarachnoid space, i.e. the area between the arachnoid membrane covering the brain and the pia mater surrounding the brain. From here the blood spreads to the cerebral spinal fluid that cushions the brain and spinal cord.

The sudden bleed results in a sudden increase in intracranial pressure that can present itself as an explosive headache. Almost 20% of patients reporting “the worst headache of my life”, or similar symptoms, are found to have ruptured aneurysms associated with physical exertion. However, too many of these patients are discharged from the Emergency Room with the wrong diagnosis and without necessary medical treatment, which can be a form of medical negligence.

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Whether you’re an Illinois resident or reside in another state you have experienced the frustration of having only a few precious minutes to explain your ailments to your doctor. When we feel rushed it is easy to forget to mention specifics, or dismiss our complaints as unimportant. Yet when we don’t speak up for ourselves our health can suffer. We suggest a few tips to ensure that you get the most out of your medical visit and make sure you are getting the best care possible.

One suggestion is to come to your doctor’s appointment prepared, which means writing down any medical questions or concerns you may have. This will ensure that you don’t leave the doctor’s office and later remember you wanted to know if you should be concerned about the new mark on your upper arm, or if your frequent headaches should be addressed.

It is most important that patients are always honest and forthright with their doctors. Too often, patients withhold critical information because the truth is embarrassing or because they don’t want to disappoint the doctor by admitting that they did not follow the advice or the treatment plan that was laid out for the patient.

If you have been diagnosed with a new disease or health problem, consider doing a bit of research on it prior to your doctor’s visit. This will help you become more familiar with the topic and be a better informed patient. However, doctors suggest that sometimes over searching can be problematic and that it is important to remember that each case is different so your care might not necessarily follow what you found online. It is just as important to listen as it is to do your research.

However, if you have trouble remembering the speedy conversation that takes place in your physician’s office it might be a good idea to keep a record of it. For example, you could ask your doctor in advance whether you can record your conversations. it is not uncommon for family members to bring video cameras to their visits, but make sure that you get your doctor’s permission first. Otherwise, taking some notes during the visit itself is also a good idea.

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An Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit was decided by Chicago Federal District Court Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr., who awarded $3.75 million to the child’s surviving family. The case had been brought in federal court versus an Illinois state court because the defendant physician was employed by a government operated facility, which brought the case under federal jurisdiction.

The case involved a 13 year-old girl who had presented to her physician with sinusitis, which the physician failed to diagnose. Following the bench trial, Judge Dow concluded that had the sinusitis been diagnosed that it probably would not have developed into bacterial meningitis, which would have increased her chance of survival.

Prior to seeing her physician, the girl had been seen at a hospital emergency room. However, the defendant physician failed to review these records when treating the girl, which the judge found to be a breach of the required standard of care. Furthermore, the physician failed to question the decedent as to the degree of her headaches, which would have been a key piece of information in diagnosing the severity of her symptoms. No antibiotics were prescribed to the girl to aid her in fighting off her infections.

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The Illinois First District Appellate Court affirmed a Chicago jury verdict, thereby reaffirming its interpretation of apparent authority. The Cook County lawsuit involved a woman who was treated by an emergency room doctor who was not employed by the hospital, but was instead employed by Emergency Specialists of Illinois, P.C. Yet both the trial and appellate courts felt that there was sufficient evidence in the medical malpractice lawsuit to prove that the plaintiff had believed the ER physician was employed by the hospital and therefore that the hospital was also liable for the Illinois emergency room errors. Spiegelman v. Victory Memorial Hospital, No. 1-07-3915.

The plaintiff presented to the Victory Memorial Hospital ER complaining of headaches, pain in her left ear, congestion, a sense of dizziness when turning her head, nausea, and occasional double vision. Upon her arrival she informed the ER nurse that she had a medical history of sinusitis, was allergic to penicillin, and had previously been smoking about 2 ½ packs of cigarettes a day.

The plaintiff was examined by a doctor and diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, sinusitis, and an eardrum infection. An x-ray of her sinuses was ordered and she was discharged with instructions to follow up with her primary physician the following day. However, before the patient even left the hospital she became unable to walk straight and had to lean against a wall to support herself.

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The current standard for labor and delivery practices is to use electric fetal monitoring (EFM) to evaluate a baby’s status. Physicians and nurses will review the EFM readings in order to reduce the risks of a birth injury, such as erb’s palsy or cerebral palsy (CP), and death as a result of inadequate oxygen to the fetal brain. However, there is some concern regarding whether the EFM does more harm than good due to inconsistent interpretations of the EFM strips by both physicians and nurses.

EFM has been used in the labor and delivery setting since the early 1970s. Essentially the EFM monitors the fetal heart rate and reproduces the fetal heart tracings on both a screen and paper to enable the medical staff to determine when a baby is distressed. The readings are ultimately used to determine if the baby needs to be delivered surgically by Cesarean section or can be delivered vaginally.

However, unlike a basic medical marker like temperature or blood pressure which is not subject to interpretation, the EFM tracings can be interpreted differently by different doctors. Depending how the individual physician interprets a monitoring strip there can be a difference in opinion about the proper course of action. Recent information has show an increase in the number of c-section deliveries. For example, in Chicago almost 40 percent of deliveries are done via Cesarean.

Some critics say that this rise in c-section deliveries is the result of an increased fear among labor and delivery physicians of potential medical malpractice litigation. While a Cesarean is not necessarily a dangerous option, it still carries risks for both the mother and infant and is much more expensive than a simple vaginal delivery.

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