On March 25, 2019, a jury empaneled in a Cook County courtroom presided by Judge Lorna E. Propes announced a $23.5 million verdict against Presence St. Joseph Hospital in favor of the plaintiff’s brain-damaged child. Fieger Law’s Geoffrey Fieger represented the plaintiff, with assistance from Matthew Patterson and Jack Beam from Beam Legal Team, LLC as co-counsel.
On December 19, 2014, fetal monitor strips indicated that the plaintiff’s child, Amirah Whiten, was in fetal distress, necessitating an immediate C-section. However, the doctors at St. Joseph Hospital waited for over three hours to perform the C-section. By the time the procedure was complete, the baby had suffered severe brain damage due to hypoxia (lack of oxygen).
Under Illinois law, a health care provider is liable for injuries that result from conduct that fails to rise to the applicable medical standard of care. After two days in deliberation, the Cook County jury returned a verdict finding that the hospital was liable under medical malpractice for the plaintiff’s child’s injuries.
“This verdict is one of the largest malpractice verdicts in Chicago this year,” Mr. Fieger commented. “Presence St. Joseph, through its attorneys, for years have refused to take responsibility for Amirah’s brain damage. The facts showed that after birth, the baby needed brain cooling, and the doctor assigned to care for Amirah did not even know that the hospital had the ability to perform such cooling. I asked for justice for Amirah, and the jury gave it.”
If you or one of your loved ones has been injured under the care of a medical professional due to substandard conduct, you might be entitled to a legal remedy. At the offices of Fieger Law, we are dedicated to helping people find justice for suffering wrongfully or negligently inflicted injuries at the hands of another person – including hospitals.
To explore your legal options regarding your potential personal injury claim, call Fieger Law at (800) 294-6637 or contact us online today.
