Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Medical malpractice (more correctly referred to as medical negligence) occurs when a healthcare provider, in acting or failing to act, does not comply with the standard of care in the pertinent medical field. It includes misdiagnosis, the failure to provide appropriate treatment or a delay of treatment. For example, medical malpractice may happen when a patient is not properly taken care of during surgery, when a doctor fails to read test results, when medicine is improperly prescribed, or when a patient is not adequately monitored while in the hospital.

The standard of care required in medical malpractice cases often depends on the state in which the malpractice occurred and the area of medicine. As a result, it is best to consult a medical malpractice attorney that is qualified, experienced, and successful to determine if you have a meritorious case.

For more than 70 years, the Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Corboy & Demetrio have represented hundreds of individuals injured and families of those killed as the result of negligent treatment by doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other health-care individuals and facilities. Our medical malpractice team consists of five highly experienced and successful attorneys and an experienced registered nurse dedicated exclusively to the evaluation, preparation and trial of these cases.

Our success in representing victims in personal injury and wrongful death cases has been exceptional - we have acquired more than $5 billion in settlements and verdicts, of which nearly 600 were in excess of $1 million.

Our Record of Success in Medical Malpractice:

• A record-setting $22 million verdict for the surviving family of a young mother who died after giving birth when the doctor and nurse failed to properly treat her high blood pressure.
• A settlement of $19.5 million for the failure of Evanston Hospital to properly treat a stroke.
• After an eight-day jury trial in Lake County, Illinois, a record-setting $6 million verdict for the wrongful death of a woman who died while receiving anesthesia.
• A $16.5 million record verdict - the highest jury award in an obstetric medical malpractice case in Cook County at the time it was rendered - on behalf of a young girl who suffered brain damage at birth due to the negligence of a suburban Chicago hospital and obstetrician.
• Two multi-million settlements achieved right before final arguments to the jury - $17.5 million for a young woman who suffered a hemorrhagic stroke when a large aneurysm ruptured after an emergency room physician failed to diagnose a "warning leak" and $20 million for permanent brachial plexus nerve injuries suffered by a baby during delivery.

To consult with the Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Corboy & Demetrio, call 312.346.3191. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

COVID-19 and Nursing Homes:  Protecting Nursing Home Residents at Risk

More than 170,000 nursing home residents in the U.S. have died as a result of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, peaking at 6000 in a single week in December 2020.

Nursing homes should have implemented safeguards during the pandemic for their patients and their employees, which may have included separating COVID-19 residents from the healthy residents; providing adequate PPEs to residents and staff; providing checkpoints for all who entered the facility; halting group resident activities and restricting visitors and non-healthcare employees.    

In addition to safeguards, some facilities disclosed to residents’ families when COVID-19 was present.  But others did not, leaving families without the opportunity to remove their loved ones before the virus spread to them.  

How We Can Help

Corboy & Demetrio will investigate whether your loved one’s nursing home or long-term care facility should have done more to prevent their COVID-19 death. 

We offer free consultations and work on a contingency fee, which means you pay only if we win.

Nursing Home Regulations

With the staggering number of COVID-19 deaths comes evolving guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), along with a patchwork of regulations for nursing homes and long-term care facilities to follow.

Generally, nursing homes in Illinois are licensed, regulated, inspected and/or certified by a number of public and private agencies at the state and federal levels, including the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). These agencies have separate -- yet sometimes overlapping – jurisdictions.

In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC has issued guidelines for states to follow, including upgraded COVID-19 testing for nursing home residents and employees., moving them into the highest priority for coronavirus testing on April 27, 2020.  Read the CDC announcement.

The CDC has also issued more stringent guidelines for long-term care facilities (LTCF) of which nursing homes are included, acknowledging that “given the high risk of spread once COVID-19 enters a LTCF, facilities must act immediately to protect residents, families, and staff from serious illness, complications, and death.” 

They include restricting all volunteers and non-essential healthcare personnel and actively screening everyone who enters the facility.  The CDC also recommends facilities to send ill personnel home and implement sick leave policies that are flexible and non-punitive.  Read about the CDC’s most recent  Strategies for Long-term Care Facilities.

In addition to COVID-19-related nursing home negligence, our representation includes but is not limited to the following areas:

Professionals

Successes

Multimedia