A mother of five young children was killed when she was struck by a vehicle which had been struck by a Chicago Fire Department ambulance during the course of an emergency call. The city of Chicago employees failed to follow procedure in approaching an intersection and hit a vehicle which then struck the decedent. The city of Chicago settled this case for $4,000,000.00 for the benefit of the minor children.

Robert Stewart, a 79 year old family man with four adult children, suffered severe injuries last September when he was struck by a Chicago Transit Authority bus. A retiree, Mr. Stewart, was out doing his grocery shopping during the daylight hours when the bus driver ran the red light and hit Mr. Stewart with the bus, causing serious injuries. Mr. Stewart was taken by ambulance to Cook County Hospital where he died approximately one month later from his injuries. He is survived by his children and many grandchildren.

On March 1, 2002, following a 6 day trial before the Honorable Maureen Durkin Roy in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, Glenn Glifford, As Special Administrator of the Estate of Howard Gifford, Deceased, for the benefit of Howard’s two sons, in the amount of $950,000 for the loss of society of their father and against neurosurgeon, Dr. Wesley Yapor, for the wrongful death of Howard due to a head injury while under the care and treatment of Dr. Yapor. The case was tried by Kevin McQuillan of Susan E. Loggans & Associates, P.C., with contributions by everyone in the office.

The decedent, a 53-year-old widower and father of two sons, ages 26 and 27, was brought to the hospital with a head injury and alcohol intoxication. He was admitted by the Emergency Room physician to the Intensive Care Unit following a CAT scan that showed intercerebral hemorrhage and contusions. The ER doctor and the resident on call also recorded the oral report of the radiologist on call of a subdural hematoma. The defendant neurosurgeon accepted the admission as the attending physician. The defendant examined the decedent in the ICU, and while confirming the diagnosis of head injury, ordered the decedent removed from the ICU and monitored less frequently, primarily for the alcohol issue. The defendant neurosurgeon did not examine the decendent the following day, nor did he order a follow up CAT scan to be done the following day. The decedent was found unresponsive in the early morning hours of the second day following admission and died that morning due to an increased mass effect from the intracranial bleeding and the subdural hematoma that caused secondary brainstem hemorrhages which caused his death.

Plaintiff claimed and offered expert testimony of two neurosurgeons that the defendant neurosurgeon was negligent for removing the decedent from the ICU, for not examining him the following day and for not ordering a repeat CAT scan to be performed the following day. These experts testified that had the defendant done one or more of these services, the decedent’s deteriorating condition would have been diagnosed in sufficient time to save his life.

Although the hospital had settled previously and there had been no evidence disclosed before the trial by the defendant claiming the conduct of the hospital was the sole proximate cause of the decedent’s death, the Court allowed the defense to introduce evidence and argue that the sole proximate cause of Mr. Gifford’s death was the failure of the nursing staff of the hospital, as well as two consulting physicians, to advise the defendant doctor of changes in the decedent’s neurological condition that occurred during the day on which the defendant did not come in and examine the decedent.

The defense also contended and introduced testimony through the defendant and their medical expert that because the decedent was an alcoholic, alcoholics have a propensity to bleed suddenly and unexpectedly due to their chronic alcoholism. It was the defense position that the increased intercraneal pressure was due to a sudden bleeding from which the decedent could not be saved.

It was also the defense position that there was no subdural hematoma upon admission and that it occurred as part of the sudden bleed. This was contradicted by a note of the ER doctor, a note of the resident on call, which note was countersigned by the defendant, and a discharge summary, which was written by the defendant 6 years after the death, during the course of the litigation. This summary had not been produced but instead inserted into the hospital records after the records had been already subpoenaed and produced. The summary was discovered at the beginning of the trial by Mr. McQuillan since the original hospital records had been subpoenaed for use at trial, a standard practice of the Loggans’ firm which provided an additional benefit for this trial.

HMO pays $16,000,000.00 cash to settle medical malpractice case. Believed to be the largest recovery of any kind in a medical malpractice case reported in the State of Illinois, and perhaps, the largest recovery against an HMO in the nation, a local man who is a quadriplegic with “locked in” syndrome agreed to a settlement whereby he will collect $16,000,000.00 from his HMO who decided to settle a medical malpractice case against them after the case was called for trial.

According to the Plaintiff’s Attorney, Susan E. Loggans, as part of the settlement, the HMO required that its name and the name of the injured man be kept a secret. However, the Plaintiff (John Doe) retained his right to inform the public of what happened.

The Plaintiff (John Doe) is a 44 year old man who is a quadriplegic with “locked in” syndrome. He is only able to communicate through the use of an alphabet board and by blinking his eyes. However, his mind is completely lucid. He is essentially a prisoner in a useless body.

In late May of 1992, he began to exhibit the classic signs of a stroke. At the time, he was a participant in an HMO. After calling the HMO, he was given the name of a family practice physician. That doctor referred John Doe to a neurosurgeon who ordered an MRI brain scan which indicated a possible stroke. The neurosurgeon decided John Doe needed emergency treatment in a more elaborate university setting and told John Doe to get a referral from the family practice doctor. The family practice doctor read the MRI brain scan report but failed to read the entire report, which suggested a stroke. After calling the HMO for approved neurosurgeons names, the primary care doctor referred John Doe to a second neurosurgeon, but failed to take any action to expedite the Plaintiff’s care and treatment. Instead, he had John Doe make his own appointment. In the interim period between the Plaintiff’s treatment with the primary care doctor and his self-made appointment with a university neurosurgeon, he suffered a catastrophic brain stem stroke resulting in his present condition.

In this case, the plaintiff contended the HMO held the first doctor out as its agent, even though it attempted to define their relationship as an independent contractor agreement. The Plaintiff was given referrals on the HMO’s letterhead from that doctor and assurances by the HMO that he would receive “high quality” health care. The Plaintiff testified that he relied on the HMO’s representations about the quality of care that the first doctor would render and asserted that the HMO became responsible for that doctor’s negligence.

This case was filed in 1994 by the nationally known attorney Susan E. Loggans. At that time, cases against HMO’s were relatively unknown.

Ms. Loggans believed that if an HMO led people to believe that these were their doctors, then the HMO should be responsible to make sure reasonable medical care was provided.

After this case was filed, the HMO removed it from the State Court in Illinois to a Federal District Court contending that since the Plaintiff received his insurance through work, it was governed by a Federal Law called “ERISSA”. Had the HMO been successful, the Plaintiff would have been blocked from recovering any substantial damages. This case went to appeal in the Federal Appellate Court where the Plaintiff won. Then the case was returned to the State Court. Just as the attorneys were about to pick the jury, the HMO settled.

Ms. Loggans also holds the record for the highest medical malpractice verdict in Will County, 6.5 million in 1996. The first neurosurgeon had settled out of court, previously for $600,000.00. The total recovery in the case was $16,600,000.00.