Recently in Medical Malpractice Category

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit against Heart Check America accusing the company of fraud. In her lawsuit, the Attorney General alleges that Heart Check America engaged in deceptive business practices by manipulating thousands of patients into buying pricey, and oftentimes unnecessary, medical body scans.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Heart Check America is a medical imaging company that makes its money by convincing customers to buy 10-year medical screening contracts costing up to $7,000 each.

However, hundreds of Heart Check America customers filed complaints with the Attorney General’s office, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Better Business Bureau accusing the company of fraudulent practices like giving inaccurate tests and giving tests of no medical significance.

U.S. researchers say nearly one in three people in the country will likely face some sort of blunder while staying in a hospital, based on a new tool used to calculate hospital mistakes. According to Reuters, the results indicate that much work is still needed to improve the quality of healthcare in the United States, including Chicago.

Medical errors can range from objects left in a patient's body after surgery, to bedsores and severe staph infections, which can lead to a potential medical malpractice suit. "We've seen improvements in health care over the past decade ... but overall progress has been agonizingly slow," said Editor-in-chief Susan Dentzer of Health Affairs, which published some studies on patient safety.

Chicago couple Fritzie and Cameron Burkett filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against Park Ridge's Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, accusing its staff of negligence for the death of their 6-week-old son, Genesis Burkett.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Genesis died one month and nine days after he was born at the hospital. The parents alleged that Lutheran General's workers had carelessly given their infant an intravenous bag with "approximately 60 times the dose of sodium ordered by the physician."

An American Medical Association report on malpractice suits pointed out that 61 percent of doctors 55 and older have been sued at least once, as reported on the AMA's Web site. The report also finds that men are twice as likely as women to be sued and doctors in specialty practices are sued more often than those in multispecialty practices.

Former AMA President Dr. J. James Rohack, MD, said he believes the data supports the view that reforms are needed at the federal and state levels to reign in the high volume of medical malpractice suits:

"This litigious climate hurts patients' access to physician care at a time when the nation is working to reduce unnecessary health care costs."

A recent Chicago Tribune article chronicles a battle between patients' rights advocates and the medical lobby surrounding the online posting of physicians' detailed histories, including malpractice records.   

The state posted such information online for two years ending in February. Patients could see whether a given doctor was convicted of a crime, fired by a medical institution or held liable for malpractice within a five-year window.

A man and his wife, aided by a Chicago attorney, allegedly swindled the man's father out of his home, according to the Chicago Tribune. Alleged victim Angelo Biondo, a decorated World War II veteran, filed a lawsuit against the attorney who drafted the legal documents but no criminal charges have been filed.

His Illinois injury attorney was not cited in the article; the lawsuit accuses attorney Gary R. Williams of legal malpractice.

Two years after the death of comedian and Chicago native Bernie Mac, surviving wife Rhonda McCullough has filed a wrongful death malpractice suit against the doctor who last treated him, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.   

South Side dermatologist Rene M. Earles kept Bernie Mac at his clinic for nine hours instead of calling an ambulance, even though his vital signs showed a need for urgent care, the suit alleges. He died in a hospital two weeks later from complications related to pneumonia.

Chicago injury lawyers representing Rhonda McCullough did not return reporters' calls.

Pro sport physicians claim that fear of malpractice suits make it harder for them to practice medicine.

Former Chicago Bears running back Merril Hoge was awarded a $1.55 million jury verdict after suing Bears team physician Dr. John Munsell, according to the New York Times. He suffered a concussion, as is common in pro football, but blamed the doctor for mistreatment that led to more serious injuries.

Merril Hoge's Chicago accident attorney may have done wonders for his client, but critics say an uptick in malpractice suits are driving qualified physicians away from the once-prestigious job.

In fact, a whole slew of concussion-related lawsuits are being filed against team doctors of professional football teams. In many of the cases, though, the doctors claim they often warn against playing in games or practicing until after symptoms have cleared.

The Sherman Hospital in Elgin, along with a doctor, and a nurse midwife's employer, will pay a $9.5 million settlement to end a lawsuit linked to the 1996 birth of a boy who developed cerebral palsy, the Chicago Tribune reported. The settlement reportedly was reached through the alternative dispute resolution format known as mediation.

Retired Cook County Judge and mediator Daniel Localla told reporters he agreed to the settlement on April 15:

"I thought it was a good settlement for both sides. There was a lot of money at stake but at the same time, the jury could have found the hospital not guilty."

The possibility of medical malpractice causing serious, irreversible injuries of a newborn child is every new parent's worst nightmare. That nightmare became a reality for the Gurnee-based Arroyo family in 2003, whose son became a quadriplegic as a result of medical malpractice during his delivery, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Stories of medical malpractice like this one makes any parent worry about their own children's safety.

Seven difficult years and countless court proceedings later, the Arroyos have been awarded $22.6 million dollars by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve; on top of a $6.5 million dollar settlement reached with the hospital in 2009.