A 20-year-old new mother identified as Ms. Doe collapsed at her home a week after delivering her baby prematurely. Two paramedics employed by Capital Health System Inc. arrived at her home. A student paramedic was training with the paramedics and was allowed to establish and monitor Ms. Doe’s airway before…
Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice
$15.9 Million Jury Verdict for the Negligent Handling of Acute Vasculitis Resulting in Amputations
Stephanie Hollingsworth, 26, suffered from lupus and bilateral arm and leg pain. She was admitted to a hospital’s cardiac care unit where she was diagnosed as having acute vasculitis secondary to Sjogren’s syndrome, an immune system disorder. The rheumatologist assigned to her care was Dr. Yvonne Sherrer, who ordered a…
Illinois Appellate Court Examines Expert Witnesses in Refiled Case
Under the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure Section 2-1009, an Illinois plaintiff is allowed to voluntarily dismiss all or part of a claim without prejudice before a trial or a hearing begins. The statute allows this process upon payment of costs. Related to Section 2-1009 is Illinois Supreme Court Rule…
State Appellate Court Finds That Orthopedic Resident Not Liable For Patient Injured During Knee Replacement Surgery
The New York State Appellate Court has ruled that an orthopedic resident was not liable to a patient injured during a knee replacement surgery. In this case, Carol Blendowski underwent a knee replacement surgery that was performed by Dr. Michael Wiese and Dr. Marc O’Donnell, who was a third-year orthopedic…
$6.71 Million Jury Verdict for the Death of a Fifteen-Year-Old From Negligence in Handling Pulmonary Emboli
Nicole Incrocci was just 15 when she was bitten by a poisonous snake on her lower left leg. Her leg continued to swell over the next month. When she developed right flank pain, coughing and vomiting, she went to a hospital emergency room where a doctor diagnosed pneumonia, prescribed an…
Illinois Appellate Court Interprets Rules on Naming New Experts in Refiled Medical Malpractice Case
In this case of medical malpractice, the trial court refused to allow the plaintiff to name a pediatric oncologist as one of her expert witnesses. The plaintiff, Kelli Boehle, used what is called a “strategic voluntary dismissal” in order to name a new additional expert. Right after refiling the case…
Surgery to Remove a Malignant Tumor in Colon Causes Twisted Small Bowel-Jury Verdict
Carson Sofro, 33, was diagnosed with having a malignant tumor in his colon. He underwent a resection performed by a colorectal surgeon, Dr. Benjamin Karsten at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center. After removing the tumor, Dr. Karsten connected the colon and small bowel. Sofro suffered a variety of symptoms after…
Illinois Appellate Court Reduces Jury Verdict from $22.1 Million to $7.1 Million After Plaintiff Died the Night Before the Jury’s Verdict
A lawsuit arising from the death of Jeannette Turner first resulted in a jury verdict of $22.1 million in this medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit. Sadly, Turner died the night before the jury’s verdict. According to the report of this Illinois Appellate Court case, her death transformed her medical…
Illinois Appellate Court Rules That Amended Complaint in Medical Malpractice Case Was Not Timed-Barred
The Illinois Appellate Court has ruled that Judith Simpkins’s amended complaint against St. Elizabeth’s Hospital was not timed-barred. The Illinois Appellate Court denounced discovery that includes the series of “routine practices” including boilerplate objections and “dump truck disclosures” as amounting to a “misuse of the discovery process” that “should not…
Illinois Appellate Court Affirms $7.9 Million Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Where a Jury Returns a General Verdict
The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a jury’s $7.9 million general verdict against a physician, Dr. Yasser Alhaj-Hussein, who did a celiac plexus block procedure on one of his patients, Kathy Arient. The procedure was performed at Orland Park Surgical Center. After the procedure, Arient experienced numbness in her legs and…