Two weeks after Baby Doe’s premature birth, she developed signs of jaundice. Seven hours later, a check of her bilirubin revealed a severely elevated level of 29. The attending doctor ordered retesting of the bilirubin level but did not order any treatment. Hours later, when a second bilirubin test showed…
Chicago Birth Injury Lawyers Blog
$40.26 Million Jury Verdict for Paralyzed Infant Following Negligent Breech Delivery
Grayson Charlton, a twin, was in the breech position at the time of her delivery at Delaware County Memorial Hospital. The treating obstetrician, Dr. Steven Troy, allegedly applied traction to deliver Grayson, resulting in a popping sound. After the delivery, Grayson was diagnosed as having suffered a spinal cord injury…
$11.35 Million Jury Verdict for the Brain Injury Suffered by Newborn Alleged to Have Been Caused by Negligent Forceps at Delivery
In this lawsuit, the mother identified as Ms. Doe was admitted to a hospital to deliver her first child. Although the labor and delivery were prolonged, the treating obstetrician, Dr. Laura Fortner, advised Doe to keep pushing for another 30 minutes. The obstetrician returned an hour later and used forceps…
Recent Study Shows That Medical Malpractice Non-economic Damage Caps Do Not Affect the Number of Cesarean Section Deliveries
Illinois is not one of the many states that have enacted non-economic damage caps on medical malpractice lawsuits. However, Illinois lawmakers have three times voted to enact such laws; each was found unconstitutional for a variety of reasons. According to a paper completed by Rutgers Law School Professor Sabrina Safrin,…
$5 Million Confidential Settlement for Birth Injury in Failure to Treat Group B Strep Infection
In this confidential settlement, the case arose after Ms. Doe was admitted to a hospital in pre-term labor at 29 weeks gestation. During her 39-hour admission, she received medication to prevent a premature delivery. The hospital staff then discharged her. One day later, laboratory results revealed that she had an…
Illinois Jury Finds for Obstetrician in Birth Injury Lawsuit Claiming Cesarean Section Should Have Been Done
On July 8, 2003, Madison Drake was delivered by obstetrician Dr. Timothy Durkee at Swedish American Hospital in Rockford, Ill. During the vaginal delivery of this newborn, a shoulder dystocia was encountered. Essentially that means that the baby’s shoulder was caught or stuck on the mother’s pubic bone. Dr. Durkee…
Illinois Appellate Court Reverses Dismissal of Lawsuit Alleging Birth Defects In Utero Caused by Father’s Exposure to Toxic Chemicals
Sarina Finzer and Jeremy Hardison were born with severe birth defects. Their disabilities were claimed to have been caused in utero by their fathers’ exposure to toxic chemical fumes and airborne substances during their employment at Motorola Inc.’s semiconductor manufacturing plants in Arizona and Texas. The parents of these children…
$23.13 Million Verdict Entered for Brain Damage Caused by Untimely Blood Transfusion to Newborn
Rebecca Kerrins, 38, was admitted to Palos Community Hospital in the Chicago suburb to deliver her second child. Following labor, she reported feeling a gush of blood. This was later diagnosed as a placental abruption. Because of the placental abruption, her daughter lost up to 60% of her blood supply…
$42 Million Medical Malpractice Birth Injury Lawsuit to be Paid by Government
The United States government has withdrawn its appeal after a U.S. District Court judge in Pennsylvania signed a judgment order in the amount of $42 million for the parents of a young boy who was disabled from brain injuries apparently caused by the use of forceps during his birth. Regan…
$4 Million Jury Verdict for Mother’s Postpartum Hemorrhage
Maria Gabriel-Gelin, 35, was admitted to a hospital to deliver her fourth baby by Cesarean section. During labor and delivery, the treating obstetrician noted that she had an atonic uterus and a hole in her small bowel, which needed to be surgically repaired. She also suffered from anemia. She lost…