Brain Damage Suffered At Evanston Hospital Leads To $50M Verdict

EVANSTON, IL — A jury decided Tuesday a 9-year-old boy suffered severe brain damage at birth due to negligence and errors by a doctor and nurse at Evanston Hospital and his family should be granted a $50.3 million judgement, according to attorneys and court records. The case was brought in 2014 by Aimee and David Flores with their son, Julien, against NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston Hospital and several doctors and nurses.

Jurors ruled against NorthShore, Dr. Armin Deschler and nurse Lisa Wegrzyn for their handling of Julien's delivery in 2009. Staff waited hours to perform an emergency cesarean section, marking drops in the baby's heart rate as routine and leading to him being born blue and lifeless, according to the family's attorneys. Court records show two other doctors were dismissed from the case in August.

”This injury never should have happened," lawyer Matthew Williams said in a release. "Julien’s doctor and nurses did not recognize the ominous signs of fetal distress and his brain injury occurred right before their eyes."

Julien has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and suffers from hearing loss, reduced motor skills and a limited vocabulary, according to the Evanston Review. The family said they decided to file the lawsuit when they realized he would need specialized care for the rest of his life.

According to the suit, NorthShore doctors exacerbated the baby's fetal distress by prescribing Pitocin, lawyers for the Florez family said. The medication is used to strengthens contractions and speed up contractions, and they said it further cut off oxygen to Julien while in still in the womb.

“Had Aimee never been given Pitocin and been administered a more timely C-section, Julien’s injury could have been prevented altogether. Medical records show Aimee was given Pitocin despite the warning signs that Julien may not be tolerating the stresses of labor," said lawyer Patrick Salvi. "Instead of letting her body figure it out, her doctors started a medicine that runs the risk of resulting in increased stress to the baby."

The judgement included $12 million for future medical expenses, $8.5 million for past and future emotional distress, $3 million for future lost income, $1.3 million for pain and suffering in the future and $20 million for the future loss of a "normal life," Pioneer Press reported. Citing a Law Bulletin Media publication, the family's attorneys said the verdict was the second-highest birth injury verdict on record in Illinois and the third-highest in a case of medical malpractice.

The family rejected an offer of a $10 million settlement to end the suit during the trial, according to their lawyers from the firm Salvia, Schostok & Pritchard. The attorneys said that amount would not have covered the family's medical expenses. NorthShore representatives said they plan to appeal the verdict.

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