CHICAGO - A Cook County jury reached a $7.5 million verdict against the UIC Medical Center in a fatal medical malpractice case today. A 49 year-old man died after a mistake in surgery.
Attorneys Ted McNabola and Ted Jennings of Cogan & McNabola represented the Fernandez family.
On January 5, 2007, Juan Fernandez, age 49, underwent a surgery to remove his spleen at UIC Medical Center and the surgeons used a new robot to perform the surgery called the DaVinic Robotic Surgical System. At that time, while taking his spleen out the surgeons caused two puncture holes in the duodenum which is an organ approximately one foot away from the spleen. Mr. Fernandez became extremely sick and eventually became brain damaged as a result of overwhelming infection.
On January 19, one of the defendants finally did another surgery and found the two holes, but it was too late and Mr. Fernandez died on February 8, 2007 as a result of the holes on the duodenum.
He is survived by his wife, Lenika, and his son, Jonathan, age 11.
The trial lasted for 3 weeks in front of Honorable James Flannery in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
The case was also featured in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and on WLS-TV local news webpage.
To speak to Ted McNabola please contact Maura Devine at 312 545 3995 or mdevine@cogan-mcnabola.com.
