Winters Salzetta O’Brien & Richardson, LLC, Client Receives $11 Million Settlement in Hospital Negligence Case

Girl Has Permanent Disabilities Stemming from Complications at Birth

A Chicago-area hospital agreed to pay an $11 million settlement to a plaintiff who filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital. The plaintiff claims that the hospital’s negligence during the baby girl’s birth has caused her to suffer permanent physical and cognitive disabilities.

Chicago attorney Timothy M. Richardson and Paul L. Salzetta of Winters Salzetta O’Brien & Richardson, LLC, represented the plaintiff in the lawsuit.

A 38-week-old girl was born with neonatal depression in November 2003. Attorney Richardson stated that the labor and delivery team was negligent in monitoring the girl’s fetal heart tracings and failed to properly interpret them. Additionally, Richardson stated that matters were made worse when the staff implemented the drug Pitocin, despite the adverse tracings. This resulted in birth hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and birth asphyxia. Richardson further stated that pretrial discovery showed that the hospital staff failed to follow many of their own policies concerning the use of Pitocin and monitoring of the fetal heart monitor strips.

The girl, now age 14, has cerebral palsy spastic quadriparesis, which prevents her from walking, speaking, or feeding herself. The family must use a gastrostomy tube to feed her.

The hospital denied that it was negligent in its treatment of the baby or that any of its actions were the cause of her current condition. Attorney Richardson further stated that the this was a terrible injustice to this mother and baby girl which did not need to happen. A timely cesarean section could have prevented her brain damage.

Attorney Timothy M. Richardson is a partner at Winters Salzetta O’Brien & Richardson, LLC, and practices personal injury law, including vehicle accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, and product liability. For further information about this case, call him at his office at 312-236-6324.

About Winters Salzetta O’Brien & Richardson, LLC:
Based in Chicago, Winters Salzetta O’Brien & Richardson, LLC, is among the premier personal injury law firms in Illinois. Peers have recognized the firm’s attorneys for their outstanding representation in the areas of motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, workplace injuries, civil rights violations, premises liability and safety, nursing home law, and wrongful death cases. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 312-236-6324 or visit https://www.wsorlaw.com/.