Cook County Medical Negligence Lawsuit Results in $20.5M Verdict

[00:00:15.11] - Eirene N. Salvi
Ava Wilson was an 11-year-old girl living in Crown Point, Indiana, with her parents and her three younger siblings. She had just gone into remission from a childhood leukemia and was going to follow up appointments for further treatment at the Advocate Pediatric Cancer Clinic.

[00:00:31.16] - Matthew L. Williams
When she got there that day, her blood pressure was really low. It was actually the lowest it's ever been. And her heart rate was really high. It was actually the highest it was ever recorded. She was in a lot of pain. And instead of admitting her and monitoring her and have her be seen by doctors in a hospital setting, instead, they discharged her home. And not only did they discharge her home, but they also increased her morphine prescription. In the past, she had only been receiving 5 milligrams of morphine. They increased it to 15 milligrams of morphine as needed, and they also increased other medication that she was taking. As a result, those medications in combination with each other caused the lethal level of morphine to develop in her body, and ultimately, she passed away 36 hours after leaving the clinic that day.

[00:01:20.12] - Eirene N. Salvi
Her parents had been alternating, sleeping on Ava's floor to make sure that she was never by herself overnight. On the morning of October 31st, 2020, her father had the unimaginable experience of trying to wake her up, and she was cold.

[00:01:36.14] - Matthew L. Williams
In this particular case, it was unclear whether or not the clinic had a firm policy as it relates to prescribing very powerful pain medication like morphine, not only by itself, but in combination with other medication that can make morphine stronger. When you combine those two things, the low blood pressure and giving medication that can actually cause that blood pressure to go lower, the jury recognized that that never should have happened.

[00:02:03.14] - Eirene N. Salvi
There was no question as to what more likely than not caused Ava's death. It was combined drug toxicity due to excessive levels of morphine and gabapentin. Ava's parents, and we at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, took the case to trial. The Cook County jury heard evidence from Ava's parents, numerous doctors from both sides, and in the end, rendered a verdict in Ava's favor of $20. 5 million to reflect the insurmountable loss that her family experienced as a result of Ava's death.

[00:02:38.12] - Matthew L. Williams
When the judge read the jury's verdict, I could feel Pam Wilson squeezing my hand really strong, and There was a great sense of relief. There was a great sense that justice was served for her daughter, Ava, and the emotions were something that I'll probably never feel again in my career, given the facts of this case. They're very powerful. One of the roles of medical malpractice cases is to try to improve patient safety. That is one of the benefits of being able to present a case like this and hold a hospital or physicians accountable. If we are not given that opportunity, if we cannot seek justice on behalf of our clients, it's very possible that the hospital and the doctors involved won't recognize that the care under these circumstances was not at the level it should be. And hopefully, we hope under some circumstances that other family members and other children won't suffer the same consequences as Ava.