Mom claims race bias in brain-damaged baby suit

A former Carpentersville resident Thursday filed a federal lawsuit against the village and two fire department paramedics, claiming they did not take her baby to a hospital after a 911 call last year because he was Hispanic, and he suffered brain damage as a result.

The federal lawsuit said the village "had a practice and/or policy to limit emergency medical services to persons of Hispanic ancestry."

Gloria Lopez, 28, who now lives in Elgin, alleges paramedics Diane Graham and Martin Gruber acted with gross negligence and violated 4-month-old Osbiel Lopez's civil rights in failing to take him to a hospital after a 911 call in September 2006.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago claims the event was part of a villagewide effort to reduce services to Hispanics.

Village President Bill Sarto, village Manager Craig Anderson and Fire Chief John Schuldt all declined comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, on the advice of village attorney James Rhodes.

"It is premature to comment on a lawsuit that we have not received or reviewed yet," Anderson said.

Rhodes did not return repeated calls for comment Thursday.

The lawsuit says the infant was in distress and vomiting but was not taken to an emergency treatment facility, and that he suffered brain damage as a result.

The lawsuit seeks $30 million plus the costs of litigation from the defendants.

"I am mad because one day he was perfectly healthy and the next day he was terribly ill," Gloria Lopez said through a translator during a news conference Thursday outside the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago. "I want to know why this happened, why this happened to my baby."

According to the lawsuit, Osbiel Lopez's babysitter, Esther Carrera, called 911 at 10:21 a.m. Sept. 18, 2006, when the infant began to have trouble breathing and showed seizure movements.

The lawsuit says Graham and Gruber arrived at the home on Berkley Street about seven minutes after the 911 call, the lawsuit says.

While the paramedics were at the home, they saw Osbiel Lopez vomiting and in distress, the lawsuit says. About 26 minutes later, at 10:54 a.m., Graham and Gruber left the home, leaving the baby behind, the 12-page lawsuit claims.

Almost three hours later, at 1:39 p.m., the lawsuit says, Carrera again called 911 when Osbiel Lopez's condition worsened.

Carpentersville paramedics arrived at the home at 1:42 p.m., the lawsuit says.

Emergency medical technicians Christopher Scholl, Anthony Ferreiro and Howard Manka within four minutes took the infant to Sherman Hospital in Elgin.

Osbiel Lopez -- who now requires extensive medical treatment and care 18 hours a day -- had an infection that is typically treated with an antibiotic in the emergency room, said family attorney Theodore Karavidas of the Karavidas and Argionis law firm in Chicago.

If left untreated, the infection could lead a patient to become anoxic, depriving the brain of oxygen, Karavidas said.

"The paramedics didn't take the baby to hospital right away," Karavidas said of the defendants, who still are employees of the village. "Then three hours later, the baby had respiratory difficulties and as a result, suffered a brain injury. It was the paramedics' duty to transport him."

Gloria Lopez, who was working at the time of the incident, said her 16-month-old child is now fed through a tube, is unable to sit up and does not smile.

The proposed Illegal Alien Immigration Relief Act, a strict crackdown on village landlords and business owners who rent to or hire illegal immigrants, "whipped up a frenzy that allowed this tragedy to happen," said Mehrdad Azemun of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which is working on the family's behalf.

Although village trustees had not yet introduced the controversial proposal the day the boy got sick, a news release from the boy's lawyers said "anti-immigrant trustees and organizations" had been "part of a years-long campaign" advocating reduced services for Hispanics.

"Their campaign has created a climate where critical care was denied to a sick baby and the result is permanent brain damage." Azemun said.

Karavidas said trustees had been investigating why the village was unable to collect $372,000 in ambulance fees at least six months before the ordinance was introduced.

He referred to the May 16, 2006, village board meeting where trustees learned of difficulties, such as bad information, that forced the board to declare a large number of fees uncollectable.

Trustee Judy Sigwalt, who co-sponsored the crackdown proposal with Trustee Paul Humpfer, said she doubted there was any bias involved.

"The fire department has gone above and beyond for this village for years," Sigwalt said. "I don't see them doing something like this because of the issue."

Bob Sperlazzo, chairman of the Fox Valley Citizen's for Legal Immigration, a group formed in support of Humpfer and Sigwalt, said the lawsuit was "really stretching it."

"If she is an immigrant or Hispanic, that is really a moot point," Sperlazzo said. "The ordinance has nothing to do with immigrants. Some immigrants are not Hispanic. The two are unrelated. Race has nothing to do with this. Immigrants can be any nationality. Illegal immigrants can be any nationality."