Silver Cross Hospital Reaches $8M Settlement In Wrongful Death Lawsuit

NEW LENOX, IL — Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox has agreed to pay $8 million to settle a medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit that was pending in Cook County Circuit Court, according to a news release from Levin and Perconti, the law firm representing the family of the woman who died at the hospital.

The lawsuit alleged that in April 2017 a 61-year-old woman from Joliet sought treatment at Silver Cross for an infected kidney and kidney stone, according to the law firm representing the woman's family. The plaintiffs claimed that the team of 10 medical professionals who treated the woman at the hospital allowed her to slowly deteriorate from an undiagnosed infection that turned septic, while the doctors and nurses waited for the stone to pass.

Within two hours of the woman's admission to the hospital, medical records made it clear that she had an infected kidney and a kidney stone that was blocking her from passing urine, according to Levin and Perconti. Records also showed the woman was born with just one kidney, something the plaintiffs claimed she was not aware of, the law firm said.

The settlement was reached Oct. 11, the same day jury selection in the trial was set to begin, according to the news release.

Silver Cross Hospital's Director of Marketing and Communications, Debra Robbins, issued the following statement to Patch Monday:

"A settlement has been reached between the parties involved; Silver Cross Hospital does not otherwise comment on pending litigation. Thank you."