On March 11, 2010 Judge William Maddux approved a 6 million dollar settlement on behalf of an 11 year old girl who suffered from cerebral palsy due to the defendant MacNeal Hospital’s failure to properly monitor the augmentation of labor with Pitocin.  As a result, the baby was deprived of oxygen during the mother’s excessive and inconsistent uterine contractions prior to her delivery by emergency Cesarean Section.  The lack of and deprivation of oxygen over a 4-5 hour period was a cause of the young girl’s cerebral palsy.

Nicholas J. Motherway and Don M. Sowers represented the plaintiff.

On January 27, 2010 Judge William Maddux approved a 1.35 million dollar settlement agreed upon prior to a lawsuit being filed for the death of a six day old boy whose death was caused by the failure of the residents and nursing staff of Rush Medical Center to properly monitor the fetal heart rate causing the mother’s uterus to rupture and the baby to be deprived of oxygen and ultimately brain death.

Don M. Sowers represented the plaintiffs.

There are more than 85,000 licensed attorneys in Illinois.  In a recent state-wide survey published in Leading Lawyers Network Magazine, partners Nick Motherway and Bob Napleton were named as among the top 100 consumer lawyers in the state.

When a three month old baby girl was being prepped for a heart test at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, she was covered by an electric heating pad which burned her right foot.  Multiple skin grafts were needed to treat the burn, resulting in a settlement achieved by Nicholas J. Motherway in the sum of $903,000.00.

The Illinois Supreme Court has re-appointed Nicholas J. Motherway to another three year term on the Court’s Rules Committee to December 31, 2012.  The Rules Committee recommends to the Court whether proposed changes to any of the rules which govern discovery, trials and appeals are needed and whether a given proposal is worthy of adoption.  Nicholas J. Motherway said:  “It is a great honor to once again be asked to serve on this very important committee”.

On December 23, 2007, Sigismunda Rizzo, age 86, walked across the street to her neighbor’s house to deliver a tray of Christmas cookies.  On her way back from her neighbor’s house she was struck by a vehicle driven by a Salvadore Guzman.  Ms. Rizzo was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where she remained as an inpatient in the intensive care unit until she died on February 5, 2008.   

Her family brought a claim against Salvadore Guzman and Northwestern Memorial Hospital for wrongful death.  As to plaintiff’s claim against Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Mrs. Rizzo’s family claims the nurses at Northwestern Memorial Hospital who cared for Sigismunda Rizzo did not appreciate that her tracheotomy tube had dislodged and failed to recognize the dislodgement in a timely manner.  Additionally, there is a substantial question as to whether the nurse or nurses who were bathing Sigismunda Rizzo at the time of the occurrence dislodged the tracheotomy tube by improperly moving the patient, Sigismunda Rizzo, in an abrupt manner. It was alleged the dislodgement of Sigismunda Rizzo’s tracheotomy tube resulted in a lack of oxygen and cardiac arrest, brain damage and eventually leading to the patient’s death on February 5, 2008.  

Mrs. Rizzo is survived by 5 adult children.  

Northwestern Memorial Hospital paid $1,000,000 and Salvadore Guzman paid $100,000 (his liability insurance policy limits), plus a $1,000 personal donation from Mr. Guzman personally to a local Catholic Church in Sigismunda Rizzo’s memory. 

Robert J. Napleton of Motherway & Napleton, LLP represented the family. 

The case number is 08 L 00435.

Dan Madigan was recently elected to the Assembly of the Illinois State Bar Association.  The ISBA Assembly is the policy making body of the Association.  Dan expects to be voting on a variety of important issues during his three year term.