Imagine that your 12-year-old son cannot speak. He has a shortened life expectancy due to an injury he suffered at birth while in a top-notch metropolitan hospital. Because he cannot walk, you must carry him up and down the stairs of your home. He needs you to help him bathe, eat, and go to the bathroom.
For Lisa Ewing of Chicago, this is no imaginary experience. Lisa’s son, Isaiah, was born at the University of Chicago Medical Center in 2004. He will continue to suffer from significant neurological symptoms for his entire life.
It has been a long, hard road for Lisa and Isaiah. In 2013, Lisa filed a lawsuit against the hospital. A 2016 trial resulted in a jury verdict of $53 million, including $7.2 million for future medical expenses and $28.8 million for future caretaking expenses. This is a landmark verdict in Illinois, the highest birth injury verdict ever in Cook County, where Chicago is located.
Lisa’s lawsuit alleged that the hospital botched what should have been a routine delivery, mainly through failing to adequately monitor Lisa and Isaiah or to follow up on their care for 12 long hours. The complaint also alleged additional errors like these:
- failing to detect fetal distress due to inattention;
- failing to perform a C-section in a timely manner;
- failing to follow a proper chain of command;
- failing to accurately obtain measurements of umbilical cord gases; and
- failing to monitor vital signs, such as fetal heart rate, that would have indicated fetal distress.
In response, the hospital claimed that Lisa suffered from an infection during pregnancy that caused Isaiah to develop cerebral palsy, an argument the jury clearly didn’t buy.
Serious birth injuries affect families for life. If your child was injured at birth due to a medical or drug error, contact the attorneys at Alexander Law Group, LLP at 888.777.1776 for a free case consultation. Medical providers who irresponsibly harm others should be held accountable for their actions.
