$20.65 million for woman who was left with permanent stoma after two car accidents, surgery

CHICAGO (November 21, 2019) – Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard won a $20.65 million settlement on behalf of a woman who sustained a life-changing injury after being involved in two car accidents and a surgical complication following the crashes.

On June 16, 2013, a 48-year-old woman was rear-ended in Lyons, Illinois. As a result of the accident, she suffered whiplash injuries to her neck and back that resolved in less than year with physical therapy.

On December 8, 2014, the Plaintiff was rear-ended a second time while she was sitting in traffic in McCook, Illinois by a truck owned by a major trucking company. As a result of the second accident, the Plaintiff suffered significant neck and back pain, leading to over two years of conservative treatment before she elected to undergo an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) procedure on her cervical spine.

During the ACDF procedure, the Plaintiff sustained an esophageal perforation that caused her to lose extensive tissue in her esophagus.  She underwent emergency surgery one week after her ACDF procedure to create a spit fistula and g-tube. The surgery left the Plaintiff with a permanent stoma in her neck, which allows saliva to exit onto her neck and chest area every time she swallows.  Due to her injury, she will never be able to consume any food or liquid by mouth again.

“Our client suffered a very unique and life changing injury that will require significant treatment throughout her lifetime as a result of this unfortunate sequence of events,” Plaintiff’s Attorney Brian L. Salvi said.

The two rear-end collisions were consolidated and the trucking company brought third party actions against the neurosurgeon and the hospital for their negligence related to the ACDF procedure and esophageal perforation.

During an October 2, 2019 mediation, Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard attorneys Patrick A. Salvi, Brian L. Salvi, Eirene N. Salvi and Heidi L. Wickstrom obtained a $20.65 million settlement on the Plaintiff’s behalf from all defendants and third-party defendants, collectively. The case was set to go to trial in Cook County Court on October 17, 2019.

“Our client has been stripped of any semblance of a normal life. The past five years of her life have been filled with endless doctors’ visits, hospital admissions and medical procedures. We hope that this settlement will allow her and her family to begin the healing process,” Patrick A. Salvi said.

For more information, please contact Marcie Mangan at (312) 327-1227 or mmangan@salvilaw.com.

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