Man gets $2.9 million in hospital settlement
A Gurnee man has been awarded $2.9 million in the settlement of a lawsuit he brought after being injured at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Evanston.
Michael Schostok, a partner in the Waukegan firm of Slavi, Schostok and Pritchard, said John Scholtz was admitted to the hospital on Sept. 4, 2000.
At the time, Scholtz was suffering from a life-threatening lung condition brought on by deep vein thrombosis he suffered during a long overseas flight a few weeks before.
His condition worsened after Scholtz was given too large a dose of a clot-busting medication and tests were ordered to determine the extent of the damage.
But those tests were never performed, and Scholtz was left with permanent physical and cognitive disabilities caused by intracranial bleeding.
"One and a half million people are harmed by medication errors in hospitals every year," Schostok said. "This case shows how multiple errors can happen even in large, well-respected hospitals."
Schostok secured the settlement from in Cook County Circuit Court attorneys representing the hospital, Dr. David Green and the Northwestern Faculty Foundation.
Drug unit grant:ŒState's Attorney Michael Waller's office had been awarded more than $204,000 to keep his drug prosecution unit in business for another year.
The unit is comprised of four assistant state's attorney's, two secretaries, a paralegal and an investigator and was responsible for 629 prosecutions initiated last year.
The group also coordinates efforts of local police departments with those of state and federal agencies and conducts training seminars.
The Illinois Criminal Justice Authority is contributing $204,858 in federal funds toward the unit's $692,227 budget for 2008.
Seminar set:ŒThe Family Violence Coordinating Council of the 19th Judicial Circuit and the College of Lake County are sponsoring a seminar Oct. 18 at CLC's Grayslake campus.
Entitled "Family Violence and Mental Health -- A Collaborative Community Response," the seminar will cover a host of topics related to mental health and violence.
The keynote speaker will be Carole Warshaw, the director of the national Domestic Violence and Mental Health Policy Initiative.
The seminar is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. and there is a registration fee of $20.
For more information, call (847) 543-2315.