October 01 2008
$4.1 Million Settlement, Highest Ever Reported in Bureau County
BUREAU COUNTY, IL – David J. Pritchard of Salvi Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. announced a $4.1 million medical malpractice settlement on behalf of a mother whose newborn child suffered brain damage as a result of the hospital’s alleged negligence.
On September 3, 1999 James Tornow was born to a mother who had undiagnosed Group Beta Strep colonization. It was alleged that, prior to discharge from the hospital, the baby developed problems feeding and a high bilirubin count; and that further investigation of these symptoms would have led to the diagnosis and successful treatment of early onset GBS infection. It was further alleged that in the middle of the night following discharge, the parents called the hospital because the baby had a fever and was crying uncontrollably. The parents claimed that they were improperly reassured that this was not abnormal for a newborn baby, and that they could see their pediatrician in the morning rather than returning to the hospital that night. Unfortunately, the next morning the infection had advanced so far into the brain that it could not be successfully treated.
