Silver Cross Hospital Faces Rare Wrongful Death Lawsuit

NEW LENOX, IL - Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, which prides itself on delivering exceptional care to its patients, is facing a rare wrongful death lawsuit. The case was opened last week at the Will County Courthouse stemming from the October 21, 2015 death of Willie Walton. The suit names Silver Cross and eight medical doctors as codefendants. The plaintiff's lawyer, Peter Higgins of Lipkin & Higgins in Chicago, has requested a judgment of more than $100,000, plus legal fees, for bringing the lawsuit forward.

"Willie Walton left surviving as his next of kin, Ethel Walton, his wife and three adult children, who have sustained pecuniary loss as a result of decedent's wrongful death, and who have been deprived of decedent's affections, society and companionship as a result of decedent's wrongful death," Higgins wrote. The civil suit does not mention Walton's age at the time of his death.

Patch reached out to Silver Cross Hospital for comment last week. The hospital's marketing staff responded by saying that Silver Cross does not comment on pending litigation matters. It's worth noting that wrongful death lawsuits against Silver Cross are not common. Records at the Will County Courthouse indicate that 2015 may have been the last time Silver Cross was named as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit.

The eight Silver Cross doctors who are named in Ethel Walton's lawsuit are:

• Dr. Thomas Hurley of Silver Cross Boulevard, New Lenox

• Dr. Anas Elshafei of Lisle

• Dr. Anthony Murino of Homer Glen

• Dr. Kamena Mbekeani of Chicago

• Dr. Jared Hansen of Allied Anesthesia Associates in New Lenox

• Dr. Sherif Afifi of Chicago

• Dr. Boris Nulman of Allied Anesthesia Associates in New Lenox

• Dr. Adel Mouradi of Silver Cross Boulevard, New Lenox

The lawsuit accuses them of being negligent and careless, although Dr. Hurley's name is singled out on multiple instances, the court records reflect.

"On or about October 19, 2015 ... Willie Walton presented to Silver Cross for surgery on his lumbar spine by (Dr.) Hurley. Upon information and belief, on the evening of October 19, 2015, after the surgery, Willie Walton was confused, restless, irritable, thrashing in bed and pulling out his tubes while in the Intensive Care Unit," the lawsuit reads.

The next day, October 20, several doctors saw Willie Walton while he remained in ICU.

"Dr. Hurley gave an order for arterial blood gases and CT scan of the brain because the patient had been intermittently confused," the suit contends. "

However, as the day wore on, Willie Walton's "oxygen requirements increased and by 8 p.m. his (arterial blood gases) was markedly abnormal," the plaintiff lawyer wrote.

At 12:25 a.m. October 21, 2015, a nurse checked on Willie Walton. At that point, he was "stuporous, diaphoretic and cold to the touch."

Silver Cross Hospital staff called for anesthesia to be used on Willie Walton at 1:19 a.m., "but he subsequently lost blood pressure, a code blue was called and he died at 2:36 a.m."

The wrongful death lawsuit points out that Willie Walton was hospitalized at Silver Cross that October 19 until his death on October 21, 2015. The eight doctors identified by name in the lawsuit are accused of failing to properly monitor the breathing difficulties of Willie Walton, failing to take appropriate action related to his worsening arterial blood gases, failing to timely call a physician to assess his breathing difficulty and failing to assess whether his breathing problems were related to the narcotic medication he was given.

"The care and treatment rendered to ... Willie Walton did not meet the standard of care which could reasonably have been expected for a patient such as Plaintiff's decedent Willie Walton," attorney Peter Higgins informed the court.

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