Plaintiff Kathryn Howe-Vandelinder filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court in July 2012. She alleged the negligence of doctors in administering the medication led to her husband’s kidney failure and eventual death.

Michael Vandelinder, 56, traveled to Northwestern in July 2010. He sought treatment at the Chicago, Illinois, hospital for an infection he suffered after undergoing a bone marrow transplant for leukemia. During his hospital stay, doctors ordered Vandelinder be given the antiviral drug Foscarnet.

However, the lawsuit claimed the hospital administered 10 times more medication than was ordered. Vandelinder received 24,000 milligrams of Foscarnet, when the dosage was actually 2,400 milligrams. He was placed on dialysis for 12 days as his kidneys started to fail after the overdose. The Detroit resident died in August 2010.

The jury delivered the verdict on August 10, 2016 after deliberating for less than two hours. Northwestern admitted its pharmacy department’s negligence in dispensing and administering the Foscarnet overdose. However, the hospital denied the overdose caused Vandelinder’s death.

“Hospitals need to be vigilant when it comes to dispensing drugs,” the family’s attorney said in a statement. “There is no excuse for giving someone 24,000 milligrams when the order was supposed to be for 2,400 milligrams. There needs to be a better check-and-balance system, especially when you are talking about life-and-death circumstances.”

If you suffered an injury or illness as a result of a medication error due to negligence or medical malpractice, you should consult the medical malpractice attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

Maureen Obermeier sued Dr. Patrick McCarthy and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he is the head of cardiac surgery. Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation was also named a defendant in the suit. McCarthy invented the Myxo Ring, a cardiovascular device used to treat degenerative mitral valve disease. Obermeier alleged McCarthy inserted the ring into her heart without her permission during open heart surgery at the hospital around 10 years ago.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff claimed she suffered a heart attack in 2006 as a result of the device. She also now has a pacemaker, defibrillator and shorter life expectancy. Obermeier said she was unaware that McCarthy was the ring’s inventor and that he may have been financially motivated to test it on patients.

The case went to trial on March 14. Obermeier’s attorney Adrwin Boyer said, “It’s just about decency and telling the truth. If he [McCarthy] had followed Northwestern’s own in-house standards, we wouldn’t have a case here.” He alleged McCarthy was testing the device on patients without telling them.

McCarthy insisted there was nothing wrong with using the device. His attorney Jason Parson told the court the device was not riskier than other older ring models. The Myxo Ring was simply bent into a different shape. Northwestern Memorial Hospital released a statement to Digital Journal, saying there were “clear protocols and processes in place to ensure patients are properly informed that the device is being chosen and implanted as part of a clinical trial.”

LaKevia and Nigel Crawford filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court claiming that their son Nigel, Jr.’s death was caused by medical negligence. The lawsuit alleges that a doctor failed to properly diagnose and treat a disorder that results in blood clots. The suit also claims that the mother had an Antiphospholypid Syndrome (APS), and the doctor did not take that into account when treating her pregnancy.

In 2008, LaKevia Crawford was diagnosed with APS, which can cause blood clots and complications with pregnancy. According to the lawsuit, Nigel Jr. was born prematurely in October 2010. The lawsuit claims that the child had blood clots in his lungs and other medical issues before he died in April 2013.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital is an 894-bed facility in downtown Chicago with more than 1,600 physicians on staff. In the U.S. News & World Report publication America’s Best Hospitals, Northwestern is ranked as the best hospital in Illinois and the sixth best in the United States. A report by Sun-Times Media said that the hospital declined to comment on the pending litigation.

The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $200,000.

Bob Briskman is a Chicago malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.