Illinois residents suffering from an illness, injury or other ailment go to the hospital expecting to leave in better condition than when they arrived. A lot of faith is placed in the doctors and other medical staff to diagnose and treat whatever ails them. Few expect that going to the hospital will involve an element of unnecessary risk, or that patients could become the victim of hospital negligence.
According to a man from southern Illinois, his wife died from a bowel obstruction on March 1, 2007. He claims his wife’s death was due to medical error. The woman was a registered nurse, and she and her husband did not realize they were risking her life when she went into the hospital. After 24 years of marriage, the husband unexpectedly became a widower.
He has spent the last six years fighting for justice on behalf of his deceased wife. He felt that her death was avoidable, and a jury seems to have agreed with him. On Nov. 18, the jury deliberated just two hours before returning a verdit in excess of $2.4 million. However, the case was not just about money. It was about holding the hospital accountable for its mistake and to highlight the fact that medical errors can and do occur.
Many hospitals, doctors and staff have admirably dedicated their lives to helping others. Nevertheless, hospital negligence still occurs far too often. When a patient suffers harm or dies as a result of a medical mistake, the patient — or a deceased patient’s family — may file a medical malpractice claim in an attempt to recover financial losses sustained due to the negligence of the patient’s caregivers.
Source: kfvs12.com, Jury awards $2.4 million verdict for medical malpractice death, Amber Ruch, Nov. 21, 2013
