On March 27, 2019, Vermilion County awarded more than $4.8 million to the family of a woman who died in November 2016, seven years after a surgical error.
According to the court records, the woman underwent a surgical procedure on February 18, 2009, to remove an abdominal cyst. During the surgery, a portion of her right ureter was cut and removed by the doctor. Attorneys representing the family stated that this surgical error resulted in permanent injuries and the loss of her right kidney. She filed a lawsuit against the doctor who performed the surgery and Danville Polyclinic in the 5th Judicial Circuit on November 2, 2010. She died seven years after the surgical error following which her family continued to fight her case.
The lawsuit went to trial before a Vermilion County jury on March 18, 2019. During the trial, attorneys representing the woman's family argued that the doctor should not have cut the ureter as he had not identified it during the procedure. However, the doctor’s attorneys claimed that proper clinical judgment was carried out prior to the procedure. The trial ended with the jury awarding the estate of the woman for medical expenses; pain and suffering; loss of normal life expected, and emotional distress.
