Personal Injury Law

County and Family Agree On $5.5 Million Medical Malpractice Settlement

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

When hearing the words ?medical malpractice,? many people immediately think of drawn out legal battles and high courtroom drama involving diagrams of complex medical performances and experts testifying about unique medical procedures. However, in reality, when medical malpractice occurs many parties often never step foot into a courtroom for a trial. Instead, with appropriate legal help to negotiate the dispute, the victims of these mistakes often receive their compensation as a settlement.

For example, a recent medical malpractice settlement explained in the Silicon Valley Mercury News highlights an amicable agreement that is often reached by victims of medical mistakes and the facility that made the error. Fifteen year old Elizabeth Nicks was performing a high-school cheerleading stunt when she fell. She was rushed to the nearby hospital where she was treated for bleeding on the brain. After five days of care the hospital released her. Unfortunately, she should have never been allowed to leave the close supervision of medical professionals at the hospitals. The very next day she was rushed back to the hospital. The complications were too much for the doctors to fix completely. She now suffers from permanent brain damage, retardation, and paralysis.

Elizabeth will need close medical care for the rest of her life because of the complications from the fall. In order to pay for that, her family has agreed to a $5.5 million dollar settlement with the county which operates the hospital that negligently released her too early. In that way, the Nicks family was able to receive the proper compensation for their suffering without having to go through the ordeal of a trail.

Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti have similarly negotiated countless settlements with victims of medical mistakes. In one case, we successfully negotiated a $5.35 million settlement against a hospital that had failed to diagnose postpartum cardiomyopathy that led to the death of an 18 year old first time mother.

Victims of harmful medical mistakes and their families typically want to receive equitable compensation for their losses in as timely and efficient manner as possible. That is where expert legal teams are vital. With the appropriate lawyers with settlement experience, injured victims are able to reach a fair conclusion to their ordeal without the burden and stress that prolonged legal battles bring.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on August 17, 2010 (boomark / email).