A Cook County jury has ordered Advocate Trinity Hospital to shell out a hefty $23 million in damages to the family of Na'Jai Johnson, a 7-year-old girl who suffers from brain damage and cerebral palsy, stemming from a botched delivery back in 2017. The lawsuit, which highlighted alleged medical negligence during the child's birth, concluded after a two-and-a-half-week trial, according to a statement by the child's legal team, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The court found that the hospital's staff failed to act swiftly despite clear signs of fetal distress, with Na'Jai's heart rate plummeting just 25 minutes before her delivery and not recovering, resulting in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage, Newswire.com detailed in their coverage of the ruling, the jury unanimously determined a nurse and two obstetricians were negligent for not performing a timely cesarean section that could have averted the tragic outcome.
Law firm Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch, and Norman, who represented Johnson’s family pointed out that the sizeable award would be earmarked primarily to cover ongoing medical expenses for Na'Jai. "It is significant for her family and I think it’s also significant because I think any time these cases occur and information is brought to light about negligence, I would hope, in some way, it helps to improve medical care across the board," attorney Mary Koch told the Chicago Tribune.
While Advocate Trinity Hospital expressed its sympathies, stating, "Our hearts go out to this family. We believe that our clinicians provided excellent care," the hospital is also restrained from commenting further due to privacy laws and the pending litigation. However, the verdict underscores the potential ramifications for hospitals in the realm of medical malpractice, an advocacy echoed by the plaintiffs' legal team. "These are hard, complex cases for the jury to hear and deliberate. Their dedication and diligence in understanding the details of this case ultimately led to Na'Jai and her family getting justice." attorney Mary M. Koch said according to Newswire.com,
The representation for the plaintiffs included well-versed trial attorneys Mary Koch and Dave Grzechowiak, alongside the Chicago trial team of John LaMantia, Soobin Lee, and Joseph Konrad of Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman, LLC, highlighting the heavy artillery brought in to fight for the Johnsons. On the other side defending Advocate Trinity were Dominic Saviaino and Betsy Grover of Nielsen, Zehe & Antas, PC of Chicago. The awarded amount is a clear message on the value of diligent prosecutorial efforts and the legal system’s ability to provide substantial restitution for victims of medical negligence, as elaborated by Koch and her team.