Last year, a woman called my office to see if she had an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit regarding the death of her mom. At first I did not think it was much of a case. Her mom was in her 80’s. Any attorney will tell you that making a recovery for the death of someone that age is not easy. She also died of a brain bleed, but was not originally seen for that. In other words, if you go in to the hospital with leg pain, you can’t typically sue them if they don’t diagnose a head injury.
So here we are now and the case recently settled for close to $1 million dollars. How did that happen when my initial instinct was to reject the case?
How A Malpractice Case That Seemed Like Nothing Became Worth A Million Dollars?
The caller, who has no medical background, is really the one who made the case happened. She looked into how her mom got a brain bleed. What she discovered is that she was given two medications that are not supposed to be given together. One of the risks when you take both of those drugs at the same time is, you guessed it, a brain bleed.
Given the age of her mom and the fact that she had other health problems, most attorneys we know (and us included) would not have taken the time to get the medical records because the case seemed very defendable. The chances of anything turning up were really low.
But the caller was her own best advocate. She came armed with information and facts. She was able to paint a full picture. She was able to create a good theory of the case. It didn’t make the case a slam dunk. Every Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit will be fought by the insurance company.
What she did was she got the case going and gave us leverage. That information led to the attorney we recommended for her spending the money it takes to hire an expert to review the medical records and confirm in writing that medical malpractice occurred. You need an opinion from an expert before you can file an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit. Those experts are expensive. No law firm will spend their money to have your case reviewed if there isn’t a strong theory as to what the malpractice was.
Does this mean that sometimes medical providers get away with harming patients? It does. But it is also more the reason why in any case you need to be your own biggest advocate. Ask hard questions. Don’t just accept something that doesn’t make sense.
And this continues even after you hire an attorney. If they tell you that they will contact you in 30 days once they’ve reviewed records, if you hit 45 days, that is a huge red flag. You should call them out on it. If they tell you they will update you on a call they are having with the defense attorney, if they don’t you should call them out on it.
This particular client did an amazing job. Not only is she getting some justice for her mother, but she probably saved other lives. The lawsuit will lead to a change in protocols to protect other patients.
If you have any questions about a case or are looking for a referral to an attorney, please contact us any time at 312-346-5320. We help everywhere in Illinois.
