Illinois police officer settles medical negligence lawsuit for $17 million
A Chicago medical malpractice lawsuit involving a former police officer against the nurses who treated them has been settled for $17.7 million by a Cook County judge. Represented through his brother by Chicago personal injury lawyers Steven M. Levin and Margaret P. Battersby, the settlement marks the end of a five year road after the Illinois police officer plaintiff suffered an injury that put him in the neurosurgical intensive care unit at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. The victim was taken to the UIC Medical Center after suffering a personal injury he received while on the job. He had hit his head on a curb after being thrown over a car while responding to a disturbance call outside of a local bar. Later, the victim suffered a stroke and was taken to the hospital. To drain excess fluid from the victim’s brain, physicians inserted an external ventricular drain. The nursing staff, however, failed to properly monitor the victim’s intracranial pressure during this period. The victim’s brain pressure rose to a dangerous level overnight and the staff failed to notify the physician on duty until the plaintiff victim had already suffered a major brain injury.
The plaintiff, a former police officer in Stone Park, Illinois, is now a quadriplegic and cannot communicate. He filed Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits against several nurses and a health-care staffing company alleging that their negligence caused the Illinois medical malpractice victim’s quadriplegia. It is a tragic fact that the former Stone Park police officer will never be the same again. While money will not make the victim whole by reversing his injuries of brain damage and quadriplegia, it will help to afford his care. Chicago medical malpractice lawyer Steve Levin reported that he was happy that the adverse parties were able to reach a medical malpractice settlement with the assistance of Cook County Circuit Court Judge. He stated, “I think it’s a very sad and tragic case that could have easily been avoided had basic nursing functions been performed properly.”
Read more about the Illinois medical malpractice settlement, visit the Chicago Law Bulletin.
