The Finance Committee of the Cook County Board of Commissioners is poised to approve a $3 million settlement in a medical malpractice suit Wednesday to the family of a woman who died after surgery on her adrenal glands and kidney.
Jacqueline Brooks, 74, had an adrenalectomy in November 2015 after a surgeon at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital determined she likely had cancer due to a mass on her adrenal gland, an attorney for the family, Daniel Pylman, said.
Pylman said their position is that Brooks was not an appropriate candidate for the surgery because she didn’t have cancer and the doctor “rushed to judgment”— Brooks “was a healthy lady. … They made her think she was sick with adrenal cancer.”
Surgeons took out Brooks’ adrenal gland and kidney and in the process errors were made, Pylman said. The 74 year old bled out, losing about 80 percent of her blood.
Due to the loss of blood, Brooks suffered a lung disorder that allegedly meant that she could not be ventilated properly. Brooks ultimately died because of the surgery and the care she received, the lawyer said.
Brooks’ daughter, Vera, filed suit in April 2017.
A spokeswoman from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said they had no comment on the matter.
Commissioner and Chairman of the Finance Subcommittee on Litigation Peter Silvestri, R-Elmwood Park, said “we’re never happy when something goes wrong and unfortunately these cases were substantial because of the facts surrounding them. It’s certainly challenging when these things happen.”
Pylman said the settlement is “an excellent result” for the family despite the loss based upon past settlements in Cook County.
“They’re a wonderful family — a husband, two daughters and a son,” Pylman said. “She sounds like an amazing woman and the family clearly misses their mother very much. They didn’t get answers at the time of the surgery but they have them now.”
If approved by the Finance Committee, the settlements will advance to the full County Board on Thursday.
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