Three partners at Clifford Law Offices obtained a verdict of $10.2 million on September 29, 2023, on behalf of a 49-year-old man whose right leg was amputated in September 2017 as a result of medical malpractice at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.
Keith A. Hebeisen, Sarah F. King, and Joseph T. Murphy obtained the verdict following a two-week trial in Cook County Circuit Court. Robert Madsen was involved in a motor vehicle accident on Sept. 5, 2017. He was taken to Northwest Community Hospital, where surgery was performed by Dr. Sapan Desai of the NCH Medical Group. The jury found the negligence of Desai led to the amputation of Madsen’s leg.
Specifically, it was found that Desai did not perform a preoperative angiogram, did not place an arterial shunt before the orthopedic portion of the procedure, did not perform an intraoperative completion angiogram, did not remove clots in the arteries of Madsen’s leg and did not return the patient to the operating room when he had no pulse, motor or sensation in the ICU. The patient’s blood flow was not restored, resulting in his right leg being amputated above the knee two days later.
“The jury took the time to evaluate the conflicting stories that the hospital and physician provided before and during the trial,” King said following the verdict. “It just didn’t add up. Clear malpractice occurred here and a man with many years left to live has been left with severe impairments. This verdict sends a message that physicians and hospitals should do everything required as quickly as possible to prevent catastrophes like this.”
The 11-person jury deliberated three hours in the courtroom of Cook County Circuit Court Judge Bridget Hughes before reaching its verdict late Friday.
“Desai was not forthright about what happened,” Hebeisen said. “It is important that physicians and all medical personnel be as transparent as possible in a person’s care so that the right decisions are made by everyone involved.”
Desai voluntarily inactivated his Illinois medical license approximately 2-1/2 years after this incident He currently has no license to practice medicine.
For further information, contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).