Professional Negligence Law Reporter

Patterson v. Nw. Mem’l Hosp., No. 2018 L 000659 (Ill.Cir. Ct. Cook Cnty. Jan. 25, 2019).

Scot Patterson, 56, suffered hemorrhagic shock and respiratory failure after treatment for a pulmonary embolism. He was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital on a ventilator and underwent a tracheostomy, during which an 8-mm cannula was placed without complications. A tracheostomy exchange was scheduled for the following week.

This procedure was performed on the general medical floor by a surgical resident with no experience performing a tracheostomy exchange on a living person. Patterson suffered hypoxic brain damage during the procedure and has been diagnosed as having Lance-Adams syndrome, which impairs his motor skills and inhibits his ability to use his muscles without jerking. Patterson sued the hospital, alleging its resident negligently performed the tracheostomy exchange without using a medical device to maintain his airway during the exchange and without an attending physician present.

The plaintiff also asserted that the procedure should have been performed in the ICU, not a general medical floor, as he was identified as having an extremely difficult airway due to his large neck and the increased risk of a false passage being created between the outer layer of the neck and the trachea. Suit did not claim lost income.

The parties settled for $19.5 million.

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Patrick Salvi II, Patrick A. Salvi Sr., Thomas R. Mulroy III, and Carly E. Shannon, all of Chicago.