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The Chicago Transit Authority’s Blue Line was disrupted early Thursday morning when a car travelling on the Eisenhower Expressway jumped the retaining wall and landed on the railroad tracks, where it was struck by an oncoming train.

The driver of the car was able to exit the vehicle before it was hit by the oncoming CTA train. Seven of the thirty passengers riding in the train were injured. Two passengers in another vehicle involved in the collision were also injured and treated at local hospitals.

Blue line service was shut down for more then three hours during the morning’s rush hour service, the CTA is reporting.

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On June 5, 2009, the First District Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Chicago affirming a trial court ruling by Judge Daniel M. Locallo clarifying certain issues related to the Illinois Supreme Court’s 1993 ruling in Gilbert v. Sycamore Memorial Hospital,156 Ill.2d 511, 622 N.E.2d 788 (1993).  The opinion is captioned Spiegelman v. Victory Memorial Hospital, 1-07-3195 (1st Dist. June 5, 2009).

In 1993 the Illinois Supreme Court recognized that a hospital can be held vicariously liable for the conduct of a non employee doctor provided that the hospital 1) acted in a manner that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the individual who was alleged to be negligent was an employee or agent of the hospital; 2) created an appearance of authority and 3) the plaintiff acted in reliance upon the conduct of the hospital or its agent.  Gilbert v. Sycamore Memorial Hospital,156 Ill.2d 511, 622 N.E.2d 788 (1993).  

Now, the First District Appellate Court, which covers Chicago and Cook County, has decided another apparent agency case, Spiegelman v. Victory Memorial Hospital, 1-07-3195 (1st Dist. June 5, 2009), further clarifying the higher court’s earlier apparent agency rulings.  The court ruled that the mere existence of a release signed by the plaintiff identifying its physicians as independent contractors does not, in and of itself, create an insurmountable hurdle to the holding out element.  The court reasoned that based on the totality of facts and the ambiguity of the consent form, a jury could reasonably conclude that the consent was ambiguous and therefore did not adequately inform the plaintiff of her doctor’s independent status.

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In an amazing report in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago obstetrician Dr. Peter Rosi blames parents for the deaths of their children.  Dr. Rosi believes that 80% of complications in childbirth are psychological and that babies can be killed by their mother’s “attitudes.”  He is proud of the fact that he practices obstetrics the way it was done 50 and 100 years ago.  Dr. Rosi has been named as a defendant in at least 10 medical malpractice cases in Cook County, Illinois and was accused of negligent homicide based on his conduct during childbirth in Sitka, Alaska in 1980, a charge of which he was eventually aquitted.

If it is true that Dr. Rosi is proud to practice obstetrics the way it was practiced 50 or 100 years ago, then his patients should be concerned.  In the past 50 years obstetrics has been revolutionized by fetal heart monitoring, ultrasound, advanced genetic screening and profoundly less invasive procedures which protect maternal and fetal well-being.  Fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality have been greatly reduced throught the use of these advance medical techniques which are now commonplace.

Dr. Rosi, age 73, practices at the Homefirst Clinic with offices in Rolling Meadows, Orland Park and Naperville, Illinois.  Homefirst is led by controversial physician, Mayer Eisenstein, who advocates physician attended home birthing.  Dr. Eisenstein also claims to be able to reverse or cure children who are suffering from Autism.

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On March 26, 2009 we reported on the efforts of one family to have the Feres doctrine legislatively overturned.  If you recall the Feres doctrine prohibits an active member of the United States military from suing the an Army hospital for medical malpractice.  This prohibition on medical malpractice suits brought by members of the armed services has long been an unfair bar to the legitimate claims of our nation’s heroes.

We are glad to announce that a House Judiciary subcommittee recently approved legislation to correct the injustice that is the Feres doctrine.  This new bill would allow servicemen and their families to hold the military accountable for medical malpractice.  The Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act of 2009 is sponsored by Rep. Maurice hinchey (D-NY) and is named after serviceman Carmelo Rodriguez who died in 2007 after his cancer was misdiagnosed by military doctors.  Below is a CBS news report about the late Sgt. Rodriguez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5l7BObKkb5Q

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A Wisconsin jury awarded $2.1 million to a Chicago, Illinois man who was the victim of medical malpractice in southern Wisconsin.  49 year old Daniel Nelson was injured in a motorcycle accident near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin almost nine years ago.

While rehabbing in a Burlington, Wisconsin hospital after the accident, Nelson’s tracheotomy tube became obstructed.  Doctors waited too long before calling for an emergency team skilled in airway management to clear the tube.  As a result, he nearly died and was in a coma for weeks.  Nelson has since partially recovered, and now suffers from significant speech and memory problems.

Wisconsin.jpgThe jury awarded Nelson $994,716 in medical expenses, $1 million for pain, suffering and disability, $50,000 to Nelson’s wife for loss of consortium and $65,000 to Nelson’s son,  Nelson has had multiple surgeries since the medical malpractice occured and is now confined to a wheelchair.

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The Chicago Tribune is reporting that a 14 year old suburban Chicago girl is in critical condition after the atv she was operating collided with another driven by her eleven year old brother.  While the children were wearing helmets, the girl was injured when the two vehicles collided in suburban Wadsworth.

The child has been hospitalized with a head injury.  Her brother escaped major injury with cuts and bruises.  All terrain vehicles have been the subject matter of extensive litigation surrounding their safety.

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The number of swine flu cases reported in Illinois has risen to 41 as of Thursday, April 30, 2009 according to the Chicago Sun-Times.  11 of those cases are being reported in the Chicago Area.  109 cases of swine flu have been confirmed nationwide.

Chicago area schools are closing in the face of what may be a pandemic outbreak of the virus.  State and local officials anticipate the number of confirmed cases in Chicago, Illinois to rise in the days and weeks ahead.

If you or a loved one has symptoms which may be swine flu please call your local doctor or hospital before you go to the office or emergency room.

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A Tennessee jury awarded a 33 year old woman $12 million dollars yesterday in what is being reported as one of the states largest ever jury awards.  The jury returned the verdict against a local gastroenterologist who left the girl brain damaged after a procedure that was meant to diagnose bowel problems.

The injury occured when the plaintiff suffered a tear in her small intestine during an edoscopic exam.  The doctor defended himself by trying to blame the victim for not going to the emergency room quickly enough once she began to experience symptoms of the tear.

Goldberg & Goldberg is a Chicago, Illinois law firm representing the victims of medical malpractice and other serious personal injury matters for over forty years.

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A bus full of tourists visiting California crashed on a highway south of San Francisco leaving four dead and dozens injured.  The crash occured on the popular US 101 highway which travels north-south along the California coast.  The bus apparently struck a center divider ejecting and killing several passengers.

Thirty-two passengers are believed to be injured.  Passengers were taken by bus and helicopter to area hospitals.  The bus tour originated in San Francisco and was headed south to Santa Barbara for a wine tasting tour.  Identities and  the origins of the victims of this tragedy are not currently being reported.

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The plastic surgeon who treated Kanye West’s mother the day before she died has given up his medical license in California.  Donda West, the longtime Chicago, Illinois resident and mother of rap artist Kanye West, died the day after cosmetic surgery at the hands of Dr. Jan Adams.

Adams has had a host of legal and personal problems since 2001, including four malpractice judgments, two DUI arrests and convictions and allegations that he failed to pay child support.  Rather then fight proceedings against him, he voluntarily gave up his medical license.

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