Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Complications during childbirth may lead to severe injuries if they are untreated or treated incorrectly. In a Chicago birth injury case, the family of a six year-old quadriplegic boy filed a lawsuit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, or FTCA, claiming that medical malpractice during childbirth was the reason the child contracted a bacterial infection that led to his brain damage.

Under FTCA, the United States is liable for injuries resulting from a federal employee’s negligence. The doctors who failed to correctly treat the infection were employees of the federally funded clinic, Erie Family Health Center and working at Northwestern Memorial Hospital when the child was born in May 2003.

The Illinois birth injury lawsuit falls under the FTCA even though Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where the child was treated, is a private company and not federally funded. This reason for this is because the doctors who allegedly committed the medical malpractice, and therefore were the ones the lawsuit was against, were federal employees at the time. So as long as a physician is employed by the federal government in any capacity, then your Illinois medical malpractice claim would be subject to FTCA rules, even if you are being treated at a non-federally funded hospital.

Continue reading "Chicago Birth Defects Result of Medical Malpractice: Claim Filed Under Federal Tort Claims Act" »

Posted by Robert Kreisman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Birth Injury , Brain Injury , Cerebral Palsy , Medical Malpractice

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A recent Chicago birth injury settlement provides an extreme example of Illinois surgical complications. The Cook County medical malpractice case was filed on behalf of a boy who was left with severe brain damage following his cardiac surgery at Loyola University Medical Center.

The minor plaintiff was eight months-old at the time the Chicago medical malpractice occurred. According to the details of the case, the little boy presented to Loyola University Medical Center for cardiac surgery. This surgery was necessary due to his congenital heart condition, but should not have resulted in severe brain damage.

However, both during and after the procedure there was a marked reduction in the oxygen flow to the plaintiff's brain, which in turn led to the unexpected brain injury. The minor plaintiff's brain injury was classified as a hypoxic brain injury versus an anoxic brain injury. The difference between the two types of brain injuries is that a hypoxic injury results when the brain does not receive enough oxygen to properly perform its functions, whereas an anoxic injury occurs when the brain does not receive any oxygen. However, both hypoxic and anoxic brain injuries can result in severe brain damage, which is exactly what occurred in this case.

Continue reading "Chicago Brain Injury Occurs During Cardiac Surgery" »

Posted by Robert Kreisman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury , Medical Malpractice

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Bleeding seems like a simple enough problem to correct. We've all had a cut or scrape that has resulted in some sort of bleed and we all know the proper way to stop the bleeding: apply pressure and elevate the area. However, when bleeding is internal it is a completely different matter and can result in severe medical complications or death.

This concept is illustrated by a recent Illinois wrongful death settlement where a hospital's failure to recognize a brain bleed in a timely manner resulted in this man's death. The decedent had presented to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital and was admitted to the hospital's surgical intensive care unit for neurological observation after he sustained a brain injury as a result of hitting his head in a fall. Upon his admission a CT scan showed a small hemorrhage in his brain, which is basically another way of saying he there was a small bleed in his brain.

The plaintiff’s family alleged that the healthcare providers were medically negligent in their failure to recognize the importance of subsequent signs that indicated that this brain bleed had progressed. Further, they alleged that the doctors should have known and acted on those signs in time to prevent permanent damage and death by ordering an operation that would have relieved the increased pressure in the decedent's brain.

Continue reading "Illinois Wrongful Death Case Brought by Family of Man Who Died of a Brain Injury When Brain Bleed Not Recognized" »

Posted by Robert Kreisman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury , Medical Malpractice , Wrongful Death

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A Cook County birth injury lawsuit that alleged a baby boy had suffered severe brain damage during a delay in his birth was settled. The medical malpractice lawsuit was against Northwest Community Hospital, a nurse midwife, and the midwife's employer. The case was settled and approved by a Cook County Circuit Court judge.

What was particularly interesting about the case was that the delivery was actually a waterbirth. A waterbirth is a birthing method wherein the mother is immersed in a small pool of warm water. Proponents of this method argue that it is safe and offers improved pain relief for the mother and less trauma for the baby.

In this particular Cook County birth injury case, the baby's shoulder became trapped during the end of the delivery. The plaintiff alleged that the nurse midwife and assisting nurses did not drain the birth tub quickly enough to use the standard birthing maneuvers to free the baby's shoulder, and that their actions delayed the baby's delivery. Any delay in delivery can result in harm to the baby, and in this case the plaintiff alleged that the delay resulted in oxygen deprivation and brain damage in the form of cerebral palsy.

Continue reading "Negligent Cook County Delivery Results in Brain Damage to the Child" »

Posted by Robert Kreisman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Birth Injury , Brain Injury , Cerebral Palsy , Medical Malpractice

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A Cook County medical malpractice case was settled for $9.5 million after an injured child's parents reached an agreement with his delivering obstetrician, Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, Elmhurst Clinic, LLC, and Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare. The Northern Trust Co. et al. v. Nirali Ghia, M.D., Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, et al., Case No. 04 L 7500, Circuit Court of Cook County.

In December, 2002, the now six year-old boy's mother arrived at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital to induce labor. However, the labor did not run smoothly, and after over four hours had elapsed the medical providers opted to perform a cesarean section. When the baby boy was delivered it was found that he had cerebral palsy.

The parents' Cook County birth injury complaint alleged that the obstetrician had failed to adequately assess and recognize that the fetus was not tolerating the stress of labor. During labor and delivery it is imperative that the nursing and medical staff not only monitor the baby and mother's condition, but also properly interrupts the information available.

The plaintiffs further alleged that a four hour delay in performing the cesarean section led to the child's permanent brain injury. The baby boy now suffers from cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects muscle coordination and body movement.

Continue reading "Cook County Birth Injury Settlement Reached in Illinois Cerebral Palsy Case" »

Posted by Robert Kreisman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Birth Injury , Brain Injury , Cerebral Palsy , Medical Malpractice

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A mother whose daughter was born mentally disabled and prone to seizures received $6 million in settlement from the University of Chicago Medical Center. Chicago birth injury lawsuit claimed that a Cesarean should have been ordered 35 minutes earlier and that because of the late delivery the child suffered brain damage due to lack of oxygen.

The mother in this Illinois medical negligence case was admitted to the University of Chicago Medical Center to have labor induced. At her admission two tests were done that could not establish the fetal well-being. While labor was being induced the fetal heart rate was not showing accelerations even though it should. Over the next two hours the fetal heart rate steadily declined.

The plaintiffs argued that due to that heart rate trend a Cesarean section should have been ordered immediately. The doctors waited until the baby’s heart rate fell between 100 and 105 beats per minute to order an urgent Cesarean section surgery. The baby was delivered about 30 minutes from the time the procedure was ordered. That baby is now an adult and is mentally disabled.

Continue reading "Chicago Hospitals Pays $6 Million to Settle Birth Injury Lawsuit for Late Delivery of Child" »

Posted by Robert Kreisman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Birth Injury , Brain Injury , Cerebral Palsy , Medical Malpractice

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For decades scientists have been interested in the migration patterns of salmon. Recently scientists have discovered that alterations in salmon swimming patterns from the re-direction of streams and rivers has led to an increase in bruising on the fish. In fact, these salmon are found to have signs of brain injury.

The symptoms of brain injury were discovered when scientists began monitoring the effects of dams along salmon runs to detect the amount of force it put on the migrating fish. Scientists used everything from dummy fish containing accelerometers to even embedding sensors in live fish. These methods allowed scientists to detect brain injury in salmon.

This is important for the medical community because it mirrors the way that traumatic brain injury is detected in humans. Several years ago a researcher at the University of Florida experimented with testing for evidence of the breakdown of proteins found in cell membranes in order to assess traumatic brain injury in soldiers. The theory behind this method is that cell damage releases enzymes that break this specific protein into small compounds.

So when testing for traumatic brain injury in salmon the researchers applied a similar nonlethal test to the one used in humans that would examine spinal fluid for evidence of the breakdown products. Although more challenging in fish, the results are positive in the medical detection of traumatic brain injuries in both humans and salmon.

Continue reading "Detecting Traumatic Brain Injury In Salmon" »

Posted by Robert Kreisman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury

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A Cook County jury verdict was entered in favor of the University of Chicago Hospitals in a 2005 trial and was upheld on appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court (Kashief Weathers et al. v. University of Chicago Hospitals, et al., No. 1-061726). In the case, several doctors were accused of causing brain damage to an infant born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. The plaintiff child now suffers from cerebral palsy and severe brain damage.

The baby's mother brought an Illinois birth injury malpractice claim against University of Chicago Hospital alleging that defendant doctors failed to relieve the trauma caused by his umbilical cord during his birth in October 1988. There were also allegations that the doctors didn't timely treat the baby's seizures after his birth.

The plaintiffs’ obstetric expert testified that the defendant doctors deviated from the standard of care by not performing a cesarean section, which would have sped up the delivery. The expert felt that a quick delivery could have changed the child's outcome because the brain damage likely occurred at some time during labor.

But the defense expert, a pediatric neurologist, disagreed. He felt that a cesarean section would not have made a difference because in his opinion the baby was injured at least one day prior to his birth. So by the time his mother was in labor there was nothing the doctors could have done to alter his outcome.

The trial jury sided with the defense and entered a verdict in favor of the University of Chicago Hospitals. The plaintiff brought the case for appeal on several counts.

Continue reading "Illinois Appellate Court Upholds Verdict Over Expert Qualifications" »

Posted by Robert Kreisman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Birth Injury , Brain Injury , Cerebral Palsy , Medical Malpractice

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A $2.1 Million settlement was reached against the hospital and doctors in an Illinois medical negligence lawsuit involving the wrongful death of a woman from brain herniation after being discharged from a hospital. She was discharged with complaints of headaches despite a diagnosis of a brain tumor.

Mary, a 50 year-old female, was diagnosed at South Suburban Hospital with a right frontal lobe meningioma in early September, 2003, at which time she was discharged from the hospital with a referral to a University of Chicago neurosurgeon. However, before seeing the neurosurgeon she presented back to South Suburban Hospital two days later complaining of headaches and vomiting.

She is given some pain medication and sent home. Early the next morning she is found unresponsive by her husband. She was taken by ambulance back to South Suburban, but died later that day. An autopsy revealed that the cause of the Illinois woman's wrongful death was excessive fluid building up around her tumor causing her brain to shift to the left and down through the brain stem, putting extreme pressure on her brain, resulting in brain herniation.

Continue reading "Medical Negligence Settlement by Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Robert Kreisman for Death of Patient" »

Posted by Robert Kreisman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury , Emergency Room Errors , Firm News , Medical Malpractice , Wrongful Death

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