Breaking News:
$9 Million Wrongful Death Settlement on Behalf of the Family of a 61 Year Old Woman
Phillips Law Offices is incredibly pleased to report that attorney Stephen J. Phillips recently secured a $9,000,000 settlement for the wrongful death of a 61 year old woman who died during an elective medical procedure at a local Chicagoland Hospital.
Our client, a supervisor for 19 years at a government agency, had been recently diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. Her oncologist testified that the cancer was caught very early, such that she would likely have been completely cured and lived a normal life but for her untimely death. Our client underwent a mastectomy and was scheduled to begin chemotherapy shortly after her diagnosis. Her care providers made the decision to place a port – which is a type of medical device placed in the patient to facilitate the administration of IV medications during chemotherapy. Port placement surgery is usually performed on an outpatient basis and the patient can go home that day.
Our client arrived at the defendant hospital on the morning of the port placement for what was scheduled as a “routine” surgery. The surgeon performing the surgery was supposed to enter our client’s subclavian vein to place the port. The surgeon chose not to use a simple ultrasound – the best available technology – to see our client’s veins and arteries below the skin, but instead relied on “physical landmarks” to determine where he believed the vein and artery were located. This technique is referred to by some physicians as going in “blind.” Tellingly, the use of ultrasound for these procedures had been recommended by the American College of Surgeons, the largest surgical group in America, for over a decade before this incident. The defendant surgeon admitted he was trained to use ultrasound and it was available to him at his hospital, but he was “not required” to use it. He testified that a significant number of surgeons choose not to use ultrasound and thus it is not required under the standard of care.
During surgery, the surgeon negligently entered our client’s subclavian artery instead of her vein, causing massive blood loss and cardiac arrest. He attempted to “troubleshoot” the problem himself before calling a vascular surgeon for help, who had to drive in to assist from another hospital. Our client died shortly thereafter from blood loss.
The defendants defended the case for 3 years, first alleging that our client had an “anatomic abnormality” in her blood vessels that prevented the surgeon’s instruments from safely navigating her vein during surgery. The surgeon testified at his deposition that “the only way this happened” was because our client had abnormal anatomy and it could not have happened otherwise. He was 100% adamant that the anatomic abnormality was to blame for her death.
A few months later, Mr. Phillips deposed the independent pathologist who had performed the autopsy on our client – the pathologist testified unequivocally that our client did not have any anatomic abnormalities and instead had a completely normal heart and blood vessels. That “defense” was squarely rejected. Nonetheless, the hospital and surgeon continued to defend the case for almost two more years as the hospital repeatedly argued that it was not legally responsible for the conduct of the surgeon practicing in its operating room.
Mr. Phillips noted that “we went to court over 50 times on this case. We took over twenty depositions. We filed 9 different discovery motions or sanctions motions related to the defendant hospital’s non-compliance. Gaining compliance with discovery orders required a lot of time and effort and the hospital did everything it could to obfuscate and throw up obstacles to getting the necessary discovery to prove-up this case. It was incredibly rewarding for this case to settle for the substantial amount it did because it speaks volume for how egregious the conduct, and the defense was, in this case. It was clear from the beginning that this lady did not have any ‘anatomic abnormalities’ and that defense was completely invalid.”
Our client is survived by her two adult daughters. She was an incredibly dedicated mother and was also a staple in her community. “This woman was described by everyone we talked to as one of the kindest and most thoughtful human beings. Multiple witnesses told stories about how she would go around during the holidays passing out what she called “blessing bags” to the homeless. She would literally put together Ziploc bags filled with food, water, toothbrushes, warm socks, and other necessities, paid for with her own money, and give them out to the less fortunate,” Mr. Phillips stated. “She would help young men who were otherwise going down a troubled path put together resumes and get them prepared for job interviews. Many times, she didn’t really know these young people, she just wanted to make a difference. Her death left a big hole in the lives of her family and friends but also in her community. She was a really special person and she instilled good values in her daughters, who are both wonderful people as well.”
The case settled one month before trial after 3 years of litigation. Please contact Stephen J. Phillips at 312-346-4262 or [email protected] for more information.