In May 2001, Michael Hamilton was a worker at the Behr Process Corp. plant in Chicago Heights, Ill., when he began experiencing severe pain. He was taken by ambulance to St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights, Ill. At the hospital, Hamilton was met by Dr. Jose Almeida. Within a few…
Articles Posted in Wrongful Death
Alabama Supreme Court Upholds $3.2 Million Medical Malpractice Judgment Involving Hospital Negligence
An Alabama medical negligence case that found its way to the state supreme court, arose out of a jury’s verdict in the amount of $3.2 million. The verdict came in favor of the family of Lauree Ellison involving medical malpractice and hospital negligence at Baptist Medical Center East (BMCE). The…
Illinois Appellate Court Reverses Dismissal of Medical Negligence Case Based on Expert’s Testimony
A medical malpractice lawsuit was filed by Daniel R. Hemminger, who sued the defendants Jeffrey LeMay, M.D. and Sterling Rock Falls Clinic Ltd. for damages related to the death of his wife, Tina. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants, in choosing not to correctly diagnose and treat Tina’s cervical cancer…
$1.75 Million Settlement for Death of Premature Child Dislodged from Ventilator
A 15-month-old child who required 24-hour care as a result of his extreme prematurity was under the care of a home health care nurse. The nurse’s duties included keeping a watchful eye on the child to make sure he was properly ventilated. On the date of this incident, the child…
Illinois Jury Enters $1 Million Verdict in Wrongful Death Case
An 11-year-old lawsuit finally came to an end in St. Clair County, Ill., when the jury entered a $1 million verdict for the medical malpractice-wrongful death of 71-year-old Margaret Janet Brown. The case stemmed from a 2002 coronary artery bypass surgery that failed. In this case, the wrongful death-medical malpractice…
Medical Malpractice Jury Verdict for Doctors In Case Where Patient Died Hours After Cardiac Surgery
Ronald Cobb underwent surgery to insert an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill. When the procedure was completed on Feb. 3, 2009, Cobb was 51. Just two hours after the surgery, Cobb suffered a myocardial infarction in the recovery room and passed away.…
Illinois Jury Finds for Radiologist in Missed Brain Mass in CT Scan
In September 2007, 55-year-old Barbara Ann Drebek-Doyle underwent a CT scan of the sinuses due to her recurrent sinusitis condition. The test was performed at Advocate Condell Gurnee Outpatient Radiology Center. The scan was interpreted by the defendant Dr. David E. Foosaner, a radiologist. In a lawsuit that was filed by Ms.…
$2.5 Million Settlement for Doctor’s Failure to Follow Up on Signs and Symptoms of Lung Cancer
A confidential settlement was reached wherein a 63-year-old woman’s misdiagnosed lung cancer led to her untimely death. The woman, identified only as Doe, underwent a CT scan while she was hospitalized. This showed a lung lesion that the interpreting radiologist reported as possible cancer. A hospitalist reported these findings to Doe’s primary care physician. …
Medical Malpractice Injuries is the Problem, Not Litigation
It is estimated that 250,000 people die each year in the United States as a result of medical malpractice according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Approximately 80,000 Medicare patients suffer preventable adverse events that contribute to their deaths; as many as half of those deaths are…
$1.6 Million Jury Verdict for Fatal Brain Trauma in Hospital Room
South Korean immigrant Young Bahng, 60, was admitted to the University of Chicago Hospital on April 18, 2006. He was there to undergo a live-donor liver transplant from his son. Bahng was self-employed in the conveyor system business. He was suffering from end stage liver disease as a result of having hepatitis B…