Our Legal Blog

Emergency departments in Illinois and around the country deal with countless traumas each day. Life-or-death situations are common, and decisions regarding care and treatment must be made quickly. While many visits to an emergency room are handled effectively, hospital errors can still occur. Health care experts suggest that many of these errors could be…

Giving birth should be one of the most joyous occasions for Illinois families and others around the country. If something catastrophic should happen and a newborn baby dies, the parents would be understandably devastated. The tragedy would be compounded if a family believed that the baby’s death occurred because of hospital negligence. Recently, a…

Many Illinois residents and others around the nation have accidents that require them to go to the emergency room for treatment. Physicians and other medical personnel provide care and perform procedures as necessary, depending on the diagnosis. Patients expect a certain level of care and assume that their condition will improve after receiving treatment….

Burnout can be a common complaint for many workers in Illinois and all around the country, regardless of the occupation. Stress and exhaustion on the job can lead to a loss of focus and possible mistakes. For the majority of jobs, an error may cause delays or monetary losses. However, in the medical profession,…

Most parents here in Illinois and elsewhere want their children to live long, happy lives well beyond their own. Sadly, some parents’ children suffer either illnesses or injuries that ultimately take their lives. When a parent believes that death occurred due to a failure to diagnose by medical personnel, litigation could follow as a…

Prescription medication can play a vital role in treating and managing a variety of serious conditions. However, their efficacy can have a negative impact in the case of incorrect use. Unfortunately, several types of prescription errors continue to result in suffering and even permanent health effects for patients throughout the United States. The results…

We recently settled a difficult liability case against a hospital, a medical corporation that employed a neurologist, and other parties. Our client suffered a spinal cord injury. Her future needs will be provided for and she is well pleased with the settlement. Matthew Ports and the firm’s staff worked very hard on the case…

N.B. What follows is the text of a pamphlet authored for JCAHO. We have reproduced it with our comment that this is good advice, whether coming from a health organization or a law firm. Healthcare settings can be dangerous and mis-information can lead to tragic consequences. Please do your best to communicate clearly with…

We are currently prosecuting a case against Osco for negligently failing to warn a patient and the prescribing doctor that the drug Reglan should not be taken for more than 12 weeks “except in rare cases.” The doctor prescribed and the pharmacy dispensed Reglan to our client for more than 6 years. He acquired…

Matthew D. Ports of Pfaff, Gill & Ports, Ltd. recently negotiated a $1.8 million settlement for the wrongful death of a newborn, survived by his loving mother and father. We claimed that the delivering physician and the nurses failed to identify the baby’s deteriorating condition as could be seen on the fetal monitoring strips….