Over $17 Million Awarded to Brain Injured Police Officer
Posted on Dec 13, 2010 2:46pm PST
As reported in the Proviso Herald for Melrose Park, a former Stone Park police officer will receive $16.2 million in a settlement from the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center, and $1.5 million from a nursing agency, due to their negligent medical treatment.
George Nissen, 47, of Melrose Park, suffered a life-altering brain injury at the medical center.
The bulk of the settlement - due from the hospital - was approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. The multi-million dollar settlement now awaits the Circuit Court of Cook County for approval.
Nissen's attorneys, Steven M. Levin, Margaret P. Battersby and Louis Berns, allege that hospital staff didn't properly monitor Nissen's intracranial pressure during an external ventricular drain.
The result of their negligence caused Nissen to suffer a brain stem herniation - and now suffers from quadriplegia.
Nissen communicates with his family, friends and caregivers only via eye movements and head shaking. He can no longer eat or speak for himself.
Nissen, working for the Stone Park police department at the time, was injured during an arrest on February 13, 2005. Thought to have suffered a stroke, he was admitted to the neurosurgical intensive care unit of UIC. While there the doctors attempted to drain any excess fluid from his brain.
On February 21, doctors ordered nursing staff to clamp the drain to see if Nissen was stable enough to have it removed completely. But, as the lawsuit contends, the nurses failed to monitor what intracranial pressure the drain's removal might put on Nissen.
In the course of the night Nissen's intracranial pressure was at dangerously high levels. But during this time the nursing staff failed - not only for not understanding what was happening to their patient, but also to take the next step and alert a doctor.
Attorneys said that two UIC staff nurses, a healthcare staffing agency and an agency nurse working that night, are all named in the suit. The nurses were specifically sited for not reporting the changes in Nissen's health to a physician and, for not giving an accurate report to the agency nurse that took over when the nurse's shifts changed.
Attorneys for Nissen also contend that the agency nurse lacked any previous experience, or qualifications, in taking care of patients confined to the neurosurgical intensive care unit.
Attorney Steven Levin said, "As a result of a tragic and inexcusable comedy of errors, George's ICP level dangerously elevated, his neurological status declined, and his physicians were not notified until he had already suffered a catastrophic brain injury.
The settlement was reached on the eve of trial. Now that the board has approved the settlement, the family must wait for the court to approve the settlement order. This should occur in the coming weeks."
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