$10 Million Judgment for Failure to Diagnose and Treat Dehydration

Madaline Pitkin, 26, was booked into the Washington County jail after being arrested for unlawful possession of heroin. For the next week, Pitkin, while alone in her jail cell, suffered from opioid withdrawal resulting in vomiting, diarrhea, and limited eating and drinking.

The jail staff came to her cell but did not respond to her four requests for medical care. She was not transferred to a hospital as she requested. Pitkin later died of a cardiac event in her jail cell. She is survived by her parent and sibling.

Pitkin’s estate filed a lawsuit against Corizon Health Inc., the county, and several healthcare staff members, claiming they chose not to diagnose and treat dehydration. The Pitkin family argued that she required transfer to a hospital and intravenous saline treatment in light of her symptoms.

In addition, the Pitkin estate argued that the medical staff had failed to obtain a valid blood pressure reading the day before Pitkin’s death. The lawsuit also maintained an alleged deliberate indifference toward the county’s policy and custom of ignoring the needs of detainees who are suffering from opioid withdrawal. The Pitkin estate accepted the defendants’ offer of judgment of $10 million.

The attorneys successfully handling this tragic case were Tim Jones and John Coletti.
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The experts who were engaged by the Pitkin estate were in the field of practice of addiction medicine, emergency medicine and correctional health.

The defendants engaged experts in pathology, correctional health, pharmacology and addiction medicine.

Pitkin v. Corizon Health Inc., No. 3:16-cv-02235-AA (D. Or.).

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling medical malpractice lawsuits, wrongful death cases, birth trauma injury lawsuits, brain injury cases and hospital negligence lawsuits for individuals, families and loved ones who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 40 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Elmhurst, Franklin Park, Oak Park, Cicero, Bedford Park, Rosemont, Northbrook, North Chicago, Waukegan, Round Lake, Crystal Lake, Barrington Hills, Hanover Park, Warrenville, Chicago Ridge, Hickory Hills, Orland Park, Tinley Park, Country Club Hills, Chicago Heights, South Holland, Blue Island, Lansing, Sauk Village, University Park, Beecher, Chicago (Southside, Back of the Yards, Little Village, Hyde Park, South Shore, South Chicago, Auburn, Gresham, Washington Heights, Beverly, Morgan Park, West Pullman, Mount Greenwood, South Deering), Evergreen Park, Burr Ridge, LaGrange, Western Springs, Westmont and Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.