Lake County Lawyer Finds $2.3 Million in Autopsy

On September 17, 2019, the Circuit Court of Cook County approved a $2.3 million settlement against a Chicago hospital in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a woman who died during routine gallbladder surgery. Attorneys Sean Burke, Stephen Phalen, and David Bawcum represent the family of the 49-year-old woman who worked at the hospital where she died. The assistant Cook County medical examiner who performed the autopsy mistakenly attributed the woman’s death to natural causes when, in fact, she died due to surgical negligence. This mistake raises further concerns about errors emanating from the Cook County coroner’s office where there is currently an ongoing review of more than 200 cases conducted by one of its now dismissed pathologists, who missed a murder and erred in multiple death examinations.

“There were two errors that never should have happened. The surgeon should never have inserted the gas inflation needle into the woman’s liver. The assistant medical examiner should never have missed the real cause of this woman’s tragic death. The expert doctors we retained closely examined the operative records and autopsy report. They found that she died from a gas bubble lodged in the heart, a carbon dioxide gas embolism caused by the surgeon. Without these experts’ work, the surgeon’s error would never have been exposed. There would be no accountability,” explained Burke, whose practice is in Lake Forest. “The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office blamed this woman’s death on a heart arrythmia, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with her heart. The assistant medical examiner flat out missed the actual cause of death – a gas embolism.”

The lawyers for the woman’s family gathered a team of highly regarded medical experts to prove that the gas embolism that took her life was caused by medical negligence. Dr. Howard Yeaton, a general surgeon, reviewed the records and found that a gas embolism was the only possible explanation for this woman’s death, rejecting the assistant medical examiner’s conclusion. Pathologist Dr. Michael Kaufman reviewed the autopsy slides, which revealed liver injury, and tissue slides that showed evidence of gas bubbles in the lungs. Kaufman also found that embolism was the only possible cause of death. Dr. George Vilos, an internationally recognized expert in laparoscopic surgery, found that the surgeon negligently used a blind entry technique with the needle used to inflate her abdomen with carbon dioxide gas - even though the woman had prior surgical scars and an enlarged liver. Vilos explained that an “open” technique in which the surgeon can see where the needle enters the abdomen was necessary, under the circumstances.

Kaufman noted that the assistant medical examiner was not aware of how a gas embolism can occur in the operating room and did not read or consider the surgical records before coming to his mistaken conclusion. “The autopsy has to answer the following questions,” explained Kaufman. “Why did this person die? Why did they die at that particular point in time? And what were the constellation of events which became incompatible with life? The only way you can do that is to take the records of the hospitalization and see what went on that ultimately led to that person’s death. That was not done in this case.”

The attorneys for the surgeon and hospital argued that the blind entry technique satisfied the standard of care, but this negligent decision was the direct cause of the patient’s death. When the surgeon blindly inserted the needle, he struck the woman’s liver and injected it with high pressure carbon dioxide gas which formed a bubble or “embolism” that traveled to the heart and cut off the flow of blood to the lungs. The surgeon called a Code Blue, but declared his patient dead on the operating room table after 90 minutes of attempted resuscitation.

The deceased woman is survived by her elderly parents, whom she housed and supported financially, and three adult sisters and their families. “This woman was the center of her family. Her parents and sisters are devastated by her death and they deserved compensation for this awful and preventable loss,” stated Burke. “This tragedy should have never happened. While no surgery is ever routine, there are basic decisions that doctors must make to protect their patients’ safety during an operation. Sadly, in this case, the patient suffered the ultimate loss due to bad decisions by those entrusted with her care.”

About Sean Burke Law, LLC

Sean Burke, principal attorney at Sean Burke Law, LLC, is a plaintiff's personal injury lawyer with more than 20 years of trial experience. Sean has won large verdicts and settlements in difficult cases involving personal injury, medical malpractice and workplace negligence. He has previously worked for the Lake County State's Attorney's Office in Waukegan and a highly regarded personal injury firm in Chicago. Burke has received Martindale Hubbell's AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating, the highest rating available, been named an Illinois Super Lawyer each year since 2012 and is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Visit SeanBurkeLaw.com.

About the Law Offices of Stephen S. Phalen

Stephen Phalen has practiced as a trial lawyer representing injured patients and workers since 1985. Stephen has obtained mutli-million-dollar medical malpractice and workplace negligence settlements and verdicts for his clients in Chicago and surrounding counties. Stephen is a long-time member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and has received Martindale Hubbell's AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating. Visit PhalenLaw.com

About David J. Bawcum of Soffietti, Johnson, Teegen, Argueta & Bawcum

David Bawcum, a partner at Soffietti, Johnson, Teegen, Argueta & Bawcum since 2013, specializes in catastrophic injury cases and major accidents. He leads both the personal injury and worker’s compensation practice at the firm and has produced millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients. Visit sjtpolaw.com.