$15 Million Settlement Reached in Late Caesarean Section Procedure Leaving Mother with Profound Brain Damage

The mother, Doe, age 38, was 30 weeks into her pregnancy and considered in a high-risk pregnancy when she was admitted to the Roe Hospital due to preeclampsia. Several days later, during overnight hours, the fetal monitor showed severe late deceleration of her unborn baby, which continued for two hours. Despite orders for a STAT Caesarean section, the procedure was not performed until 90 minutes later.

Ms. Doe’s anesthesia wore off prematurely following the delivery. When the attending anesthesiologist attempted to intubate Doe, her abdomen filled with air. Doe subsequently coded and suffered profound brain damage. Ms. Doe lived in an institutional setting until she died almost six years later. She is survived by her husband and the baby who was delivered at that time and also suffered brain damage.

Ms. Doe’s sister, on behalf of her estate, her husband and her injured child, filed a lawsuit against the hospital and anesthesiologist claiming improper handling of fetal distress, late performance of the Cesarean section and negligent intubation.

The parties settled for Ms. Doe’s injuries and subsequent death for $15 million. The baby who suffered brain damage after delivery will receive $8 million and Ms. Doe’s estate, which is the rest of the claim, will receive $23 million.

The attorneys handling this tragic lawsuit so successfully were Eric Turkewitz and Dom Penson.

Doe v. Roe, (Confidential Docket and Settlement).

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling wrongful death cases, fetal distress and brain injury lawsuits, birth trauma injury cases, labor and delivery negligence lawsuits and traumatic brain injury cases for individuals, families and the loved ones who have been injured, harmed or killed by the negligence of a medical provider for more than 40 years, in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Long Grove, Palatine, Worth, Brookfield, St. Charles, Lockport, Kenilworth, Lincolnwood, Lisle, Geneva, Evergreen Park, Deerfield, Cicero, Chicago (Princeton Park, Printer’s Row, Pulaski Park, South Loop, University of Chicago, Wrigleyville, Kilbourn Park, Garfield Ridge, Edgewater (Central), DePaul University Area, Chinatown, Bucktown, Brighton Park, Avondale, Lincoln Park, Loyola Park, Lithuanian Plaza), Forest Park and Minooka, Ill.