Record Verdict in a Case

Malpractice plaintiff seeking more after record judgment

(http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com )

June 14, 2007

By David Gialanella STAFF WRITER

A Kane County jury recently awarded $1.3 million in a malpractice case against Sherman Hospital in Elgin.

Lawyers said was it was a record-high verdict for this type of case in Kane County, but soon the plaintiff may be asking for much more.

Attorneys for Wendy Gossett, 34, of Elgin, are in the process of filing post-trial motions calling for a new trial and new damages for Gossett's medical expenses and loss of earning capacity, Chicago-based litigator John Power told The Courier News on Wednesday.

"Although it was a high amount, the verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence," Power said.

According to Gossett's attorneys, she checked into Sherman for a partial hysterectomy as a treatment for endometriosis -- a common but painful condition where tissue normally lining the uterus grows outside the uterus itself. A cotton sponge was left inside her body during the June 2000 surgery, causing a widespread infection. Several weeks after, Gossett had to have emergency surgery during which all of her internal sexual organs and a portion of her lower bowel were removed. She still suffers from chronic pain and had to have a morphine pump surgically implanted, lawyers said.

Sherman admitted liability in the case a day before the trial was set to begin. Defense lawyers then offered a $250,000 settlement and later during closing arguments offered between $600,000 and $700,000, according to Power.

Power along with co-counsel Michael Cogan originally sought nearly $8.5 million in damages and said he will ask for the same amount in a retrial. He said he doesn't expect Sherman to appeal the judgment.

"I believe that the defense was very pleased with the verdict in light of the evidence," Power said.

Marc Forkins, who represents the hospital, could not confirm his client's plans to fight the judgment.

"That has been discussed with my clients, and no decision has been made to date," Forkins said during a telephone interview Wednesday.

Sherman likely will file a number of post-trial motions also, Forkins said.

June 14, 2007 Volume: 153 Issue: 117
In the collar counties

A jury has returned the largest verdict in Kane County history for a case involving a surgical instrument being left in a patient's body after an operation, according to John Kirkton, editor of the Jury Verdict Reporter.

The jury awarded more than $1.3 million on June 6 to a woman who had a cotton sponge left inside her after a partial hysterectomy to treat endometriosis. The woman, who was 27 at the time of the surgery in 2000, suffered a loss of fallopian tubes and ovaries and will undergo hormone replacement therapy for the rest of her life. In addition, she was implanted with a morphine pump to treat abdominal visceral neuropathic pain.

John M. Power and Michael Paul Cogan of Cogan & McNabola P.C. represented the plaintiff. James ''Marc'' M. Forkins Jr. of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP represented the defendant. Wendy Gossett v. Sherman Hospital, No. 01 LK 204.

KANE COUNTY CHRONICLE

Patient awarded more than $1.3 million in case

By KATE THAYER - kthayer@kcchronicle.com

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GENEVA – Although a former Elgin woman’s attorney is pleased with a jury awarding her more than $1.3 million in a negligence lawsuit against a hospital, they will appeal for more.

The Kane County jury last week arrived at the $1.305 million verdict for Wendy Gossett for pain and suffering that she endured after a sponge was left in her after undergoing a partial hysterectomy in June 2000 at Sherman Hospital in Elgin.

A hospital spokeswoman did not return phone calls Wednesday.

Gossett’s attorney, John Power, said that although jurors awarded a record amount in cases of involving surgical instruments, he would appeal for more money. He is hoping for $1.47 million to $1.57 million in addition to the money already awarded.

That money should cover future lost earnings and medical expenses, he said.

Of the verdict, $210,000 was for past medical expenses, and nothing was awarded for medical upkeep and future lost wages, Power said.

“I think [jurors] recognized the fact that Wendy’s life is severely altered because of this incident,” he said. “But, we’re puzzled by the fact they didn’t award her any money to pay for [future medical expenses].

”Gossett, who grew up in Elgin and has lived throughout the suburbs, was 27 when she underwent the surgery to relieve pain from endometriosis, Power said. She now lives in Missouri.

After post-surgery pain, Gossett returned to her doctor, but it wasn’t until an August 2000 emergency room visit that a test revealed that a sponge was left behind during surgery, Power said.

Gossett underwent a second surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes because of an abscess that had formed and caused infection, he said.

The now 34-year-old single mother has difficulty retaining employment because she needs a morphine pump because of permanent nerve damage, Power said, adding that she cannot sit or stand for more than 45 minutes at a time.

One day before the May 29 trial, hospital officials admitted negligence and her doctor – Jae Eun Han – was dropped from the lawsuit, Power said, adding that the nursing staff was responsible for the mistake.