$5.5 Million Settlement for Child Who Suffered Brain Damage as a Result of Treatment Delay
October 13, 2003 - Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. announced today that a $5.5 million settlement was reached on behalf of a child who suffered brain damage as a result of a delay in treatment of Reyes Syndrome.
On February 8, 2001, the firm's client's son, who was two years old at the time, was admitted to a local Hospital for herpetic eczema, a viral infection that manifests itself as eczema. He was set to be released from the hospital four days later on February 12, 2001. At around noon that day, before he was discharged, the child vomited. This was witnessed by a nurse. Later that afternoon the child had two additional incidences of vomiting that were reported to the medical staff according to the child's mother. The medical staff denied being told about the vomiting after the noon incident. The child was discharged to go home with his mother at approximately 7:00 p.m. Once home, the vomiting continued, which did not alarm the mother because she claimed the doctor told her that the child probably picked up a virus at the hospital before being discharged. The mother brought the child back to the same hospital emergency room the next day. Liver function tests proved to be abnormal and the child was rushed to the University of Chicago Hospitals where a diagnosis of Reye's Syndrome, now exceedingly rare, was established. The delay in treatment for Reye's Syndrome was alleged to have contributed to intra-cranial pressure which led to damage to the child's brain.
The case was set for trial on October 24, 2003. It was settled at a mediation conference presided over by Donald O'Connell, former Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Law Division. Three of the firm's attorneys prosecuted the case, Jon C. Papin, who took the lead in the technical work up, Paul D. Richter who assisted with the damages work up, and David E. Rapoport who managed the case.
Mr. Rapoport explained: "This is a tragic case. This child will never be the same. There is no winning or losing a case like this. We negotiated a settlement that will guarantee that this boy's future health care needs will be taken care of. And since no one knows for sure if his condition would have been any better without the medical malpractice that we discovered and proved, we feel that we did the right thing by accepting the settlement. Judge O'Connell strongly agreed, and we have great respect for him."
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