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$6.5 Million Awarded Over Deadly Infection From: Dean Huffman (dean@thehuffpeople.net) Sun Apr 28 06:53:59 2002 Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: Dr. John Provatopoulos B.Sc. M.D.C.M. F.R.S.C.: "Twins case part I" Previous message: Dr.Naseem Ahmad: "Re: atb in preterm rupture of membrane" Next in thread: DoctorJoe@aol.com: "Re: $6.5 Million Awarded Over Deadly Infection" Maybe reply: DoctorJoe@aol.com: "Re: $6.5 Million Awarded Over Deadly Infection" .. $6.5 million awarded over deadly infection -- A Cook County jury awarded $6.5 million Friday to the family of a 49-year-old woman who died in 1998 after suffering a "flesh-eating" infection in Northwestern Memorial Hospital following a tubal ligation. Doctors punctured Lynne Christopher's bladder during outpatient surgery and then failed to diagnose the ensuing infection until it was too late, said Terrence Lavin, the family's attorney. Lavin said Christopher suffered from necrotizing fasciitis, a rare and often fatal bacterial infection. A spokeswoman for Northwestern Memorial Hospital said they have seen only a "handful" of such cases of the disease over the past 15 to 20 years and all are reported to the Illinois Department of Public Health. She would not comment specifically on Christopher's case. The $6.5 million award was against two doctors, Nanette Rumsey and Julie Barton. Northwestern Memorial settled out of court last year for $350,000, Lavin said. Neither the doctors nor their attorney could be reached for comment. Christopher, an advertising executive, had moved to Miami from Chicago a year before the surgery but returned for the procedure. Christopher, who was divorced and had an adult son, had sought contraceptive advice from Rumsey, who offered tubal ligation as an option and Christopher consented, Lavin said. Doctors repaired her punctured bladder the day after the tubal ligation but it took them four more days to diagnose the bacterial infection, Lavin said. "Christopher died nine days after the tubal ligation. Next message: Dr. John Provatopoulos B.Sc. M.D.C.M. F.R.S.C.: "Twins case part I" Previous message: Dr.Naseem Ahmad: "Re: atb in preterm rupture of membrane" Next in thread: DoctorJoe@aol.com: "Re: $6.5 Million Awarded Over Deadly Infection" Maybe reply: DoctorJoe@aol.com: "Re: $6.5 Million Awarded Over Deadly Infection"

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