Despite battling anxiety and understanding that every surgery comes with risks, Illinois residents who are told that they require a delicate surgery will most likely accept those risks and consent to the surgery. If surgical mistakes are made, which are often outside the disclosed risks, the patient can become permanently disabled or even die. The medical personnel believed to be responsible could be held accountable.
Accountability is what one out-of-state woman wants after a botched surgical procedure left her paralyzed. She is only able to speak a few words, cannot walk or control her bowels, among other things. She did not have these issues prior to the surgery. In fact, her only complaint was hearing loss, which was traced to two benign tumors (meningiomas) near brain and cervical spine.
During the procedure to remove the meningiomas, the surgeon cut the woman’s middle cerebral artery. The brain is supplied with blood by three main arteries — one of which is the one that the surgeon cut. The lack of blood, and thus oxygen, to her brain caused the woman to have a stroke, which resulted in the permanent disabilities she now suffers.
Due to the surgical mistakes made during the procedure, the woman now needs care 24 hours a day. This is not expected to change at any time in the future. As anyone in this woman’s position here in Illinois might do, a lawsuit was filed against the parties believed to be responsible for her condition. She is seeking approximately $15 million in damages. If the court rules that medical malpractice occurred, she could receive some or all of the damages she requested.
Source: thegazette.com, “Linn County woman files $15 million medical malpractice claim against UIHC“, Trish Mehaffey, March 15, 2016