Christopher T. Hurley, Attorney

Clark v. Children’s Memorial Hospital, 2011 IL 108656, 955 N.E.2d 1065 (2011). In Clark, the Illinois Supreme Court held that parents have a right to recover damages for their own emotional distress in a wrongful birth case where their child has a severe genetic disorder due to negligent genetic counseling. Frigo v. Silver Cross Hospital, 377 Ill.App.3d 43, 876 N.E.2d 697 (1st Dist. 2007). In Frigo, the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a jury’s $7,775,668.02 verdict for the plaintiff against a hospital, and held for the first time in Illinois that a plaintiff could pursue a claim against a hospital for negligent credentialing when an unqualified podiatrist’s foot surgery at the hospital resulted in infection and ultimately amputation of the plaintiff’s foot. Kunz v. Little Company of Mary Hospital, 373 Ill.App.3d 615, 869 N.E.2d 328 (1st Dist.2007). In Kunz, the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a jury’s $3,200,000 jury verdict for an 81 year-old woman whose suffered kidney failure due to a nurse’s medication error. The Appellate Court also held that the trial judge erroneously prevented plaintiff’s expert from testifying at trial regarding the plaintiff’s future medical expenses. The matter subsequently settled for $6,200,000