An Illinois appellate court recently confirmed a $45 million verdict in a medical malpractice lawsuit, shrugging off the claims that the “patchwork” verdict violated the defendants’ entitlement to a unanimous decision. This decision validated that Cook County Circuit Judge Robert E. Senechalle provided apt instructions to jurors on assessing whether any of four alleged actions or oversights of the accused entities, Advocate Health and Hospital Corp. and emergency room physician Dr. Michael Soo-Young Joo. These alleged actions were related to their failure in maintaining the standard of care during the intubation process that involved plaintiff Steven Butts.
In his ruling on behalf of the panel, Justice Michael B. Hyman articulated that, when it comes to Dr. Joo’s actions or omissions, these individual factors are not to be evaluated as distinct elements of the claim. As long as jurors are in unison regarding his failure in upholding the standard of care, which subsequently led to Butt’s injuries, the individual allegations are not crucial for attaining unanimity in the verdict.
Here’s additional information on the case.