Medical Malpractice/Brain Injury: This case involved the failure to properly give oxygen or intubate and give oxygen to a 54-year-old-lady undergoing a bronchoscopic procedure and biopsy for possible tuberculosis which resulted in brain damage. This is the largest medical malpractice verdict in the history of the State of Illinois. Additionally, the loss of consortium of $15,000,000.00 to the husband is also the largest such award in the history of Illinois for that type of damage.

JURY VERDICT: $55,439,269.59

Offer prior to trial: $ 10,500,000.00

Offer prior to verdict: $ 13,500,000.00

S. v. Undisclosed Defendants

This medical malpractice case was the largest reported settlement in Cook County in 2016. The plaintiff was a 4-year-old child who suffered serious injuries after his physicians failed to diagnose and treat a bacterial infection. Mr. Bruce is continuing to pursue the case against the remaining defendants in this case. Not only is this the largest medical malpractice settlement for any case in 2016 in Cook County but one of the largest medical malpractice actions ever obtained.

M v. A Local Community Hospital

12-year-old girl presented to a Local Community Hospital on October 18, 2016. The employed hospitalists involved in her care and treatment failed to diagnose neck abscesses by CT scanning, failed to recognize her clinical deterioration and organ dysfunction due to infection and failed to timely transfer her to a children’s hospital. The employed interventional radiologist and otolaryngologist failed to perform a sedation assessment, failed to recognize a class IV airway, failed to recognize developing sepsis, failed to protect her airway before giving inappropriate sedation and failed to timely transfer her to a children’s hospital. These providers failed to recognize deep neck abscesses when treating mononucleosis and streptococcal infection leading to continued clinical deterioration. As a result, the minor suffered catastrophic irreversible neurologic injury due to a cardiorespiratory arrest. This is the largest settlement for a brain injured-minor in the history of the State of Illinois. Co-counsel with Joseph A. Power, Jr.

Medical Malpractice/Birth Injury: On December 18, 2011, the Plaintiff Mother presented to the hospital for labor and delivery. Pitocin was administered at 7:30 p.m. to augment labor contractions. Fetal heart rate monitoring began at 7:30 p.m. and was normal and reassuring through 10 p.m. Plaintiffs’ alleged that the fetal monitoring tracings became non-reassuring and abnormal after 10:00 p.m. through delivery at 12:28 a.m. the following morning. Plaintiffs contend that had Mom delivered between 10:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on December 18th, A. would have been neurologically normal. Because of the delay in delivering A., she suffered brain damage and resultant spastic quadriplegia, cerebral palsy and seizures. This settlement is a state record for a child injured at birth.

T v. Elmhurst Hospital, et al.

Medical Malpractice/Brain Injury: Minor plaintiff at three months of age was intubated by defendant physician. Plaintiff alleges that defendant doctor and undisclosed hospital were negligent in the failure to intubate Dalian causing subglottic stenosis. The subglottic stenosis subsequently required the plaintiff to have a tracheostomy. In September of 2006, the minor plaintiff was hospitalized at a separate hospital when the tracheostomy tube occluded and caused an anoxic event. Plaintiff did not receive proper oxygenation for approximately 12-15 minutes. Plaintiff alleged that the defendant failed to monitor the plaintiff while hospitalized.

As a result of the anoxic event, plaintiff sustained permanent damage and is a spastic quadriplegic. He suffers from cortical blindness and requires a gastrostomy tube.

This is one of the largest settlements in Illinois history.

K. vs. Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, et al.

Medical Malpractice: 46 year old male presents for a laparoscopic nephrectomy due to kidney cancer. During the procedure, aortic transection and ligation occurred with a stapling device which was not recognized by the healthcare practitioners until the patient’s transfer to an outside institution. Additionally, injuries to the right kidney were caused by a stapling device which had transected and ligated arteries to the right kidney. As a consequence, the Plaintiff is a paraplegic and requires permanent dialysis.

R.A v. A Local Hospital, et al.

(2024) Medical Malpractice: 35-year-old mother of 3 girls, all delivered vaginally, presents to hospital for labor and delivery of her first son.  Cessation of Pitocin over hours should have occurred due to tachysystole and/or Category II tracings to improve the tracings and if not, delivery by urgent c-section was needed.  Baby’s tracings were Category I for many hours previously, including on arrival.  The failure to stop Pitocin and notify physician(s) of continued Category II tracings without improvement resulted in fetal deterioration (Category III tracings) and uterine rupture of mom’s unscarred uterus.  Baby suffered total acute asphyxia and permanent neurologic injury.

L. L. v. A Chicago Academic Medical Center (Cook County)

(2023) Medical Malpractice: At 37 weeks, mom was diagnosed in clinic with pre-eclampsia. She was sent directly to a Chicago Academic Medical Center’s labor and delivery unit. The fetal heart tracing was Category I. Mom was allowed to labor. The tracings became Category II, but negligently Pitocin administration continued without tracing improvement, and Pitocin was later increased. Decelerations and worsening Category II tracings followed. At birth, baby experienced permanent neurologic devastation as a result of hypoxia and ischemia and will require 24/7 care and treatment. Co-counsel with Larry R. Rogers, Jr.

Larry R. Rogers, Jr. and Joseph W. Balesteri Y.D. v. A Local Academic Medical Center

(2024) Medical Malpractice: Mom presented to a Local Academic Medical Center for a scheduled induction at 38 weeks due to gestational diabetes. She has a history of a prior c-section and a subsequent vaginal delivery. The effort was again made to have mom deliver by vaginal birth after c-section for this pregnancy. Following Pitocin administration and clear amniotic fluid at rupture, Plaintiffs alleged fetal heart tracing changes occurred, which were not properly responded to by in-utero resuscitation of the fetus which should have included Pitocin cessation. The fetal heart tracings worsened and never improved. Fetal tachycardia and variable decelerations persisted without adjustment of Pitocin. Category II tracings progressed to Category III and ultimately a baby boy was born with Apgar’s of 0,0,3,3, and 3 and cord gases that were compatible with acute total asphyxia. The failure to timely deliver caused respiratory failure encephalopathy and severe neurologic injuries. Plaintiffs alleged this was avoidable with earlier delivery and proper care and treatment. Co-counsel with Larry Rogers. Jr.

J.G. v. Rockford Memorial Hospital, et al.

13-year-old female presented for back pain, then lower extremity sensory changes, and later lower extremity weakness over the course of two months including an admission to Rockford Memorial Hospital where she was negligently diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Plaintiff alleged a failure to obtain and review an MRI of her back in a timely fashion, which would have revealed spinal cord compression from an expanding intramedullary thoracic spinal lipoma (22 reported pediatric cases in the world’s literature) requiring debulking and decompression in order to avoid permanent neurologic deficits. This case was tried for 3 weeks in front of the Honorable Ronald Barch in Winnebago County from March 17th through April 4, 2025, when the case was finally dismissed in its entirety pursuant to settlement. Closing arguments had been scheduled for the next business day. This result is the largest reported result in Winnebago County’s history for an injury to a child/minor (paraplegia/incontinence).