$7.5 Cook County Medical Malpractice Settlement Reached in Illinois Wrongful Death of Woman Who Was Overradiated 17 Times
Patricia Quirk was just 60 when she died in 2004 from a perforated bowel following treatment for stage three endometrial cancer. Now, her family has agreed to a $7.5 million Cook County medical malpractice settlement for her Illinois wrongful death.
Quirk began undergoing radiation therapy at Little Company of Mary in Evergreen Park on March 26, 2003. After 11 uneventful treatments, she was overradiated 17 times. This caused Quirk's to bowel to become perforated. She became septic and then died.
Little Company of Mary, Radiation Oncology S.C, and Dr. Vera Petras, are the defendants that were named in the Cook County wrongful death complaint. According to the plaintiffs' Chicago medical malpractice lawyer, Quirk was supposed to be treated with 180 centigrays of radiation. Instead, she was given a 50% overdose of 270 centigrays. The Illinois wrongful death lawsuit claims the defendants neglected to properly supervise the patient’s care and failed to make sure there were no radiation dosage errors.
Radiation treatments take enough of a physical toll on a patient. No one wants to suffer from cancer—especially if the illness has progressed to the point that she/he has to undergo this type of rigorous therapy. Radiation overdoses can lead to serious health complications, including tissue irritation, anemia, hair loss, bleeding, infections, and cancer.
It can be devastating to discover that the treatment you hoped would help cure you instead caused your condition to grow worse. You may have grounds for filing a Chicago, Illinois medical malpractice complaint.
Medical negligence suit nets family $7.5M, Chicago Sun-Times, January 14, 2010
In Circuit Court, Chicago Daily Bulletin, January 14, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Little Company of Mary
Stage three endometrial cancer, Cancer.org
