When he was 22 months old in 2000, Matthew Whiteford underwent a procedure called bilateral ureteral reimplantation to correct urine flow and avoid kidney infection.
Four days later, he suffered from ureteral obstruction that led to acute renal failure.
The lawsuit contended that Dr. L. Suzanne Flom and her medical group were negligent in deciding to perform the surgery, in the performance of the surgery and in the failure to diagnose acute renal failure and ureteral obstruction.
Over the following year, the boy spent 44 days in the hospital and underwent 20 surgical procedures.
He is now at risk of suffering end stage renal failure as an adult, which potentially will require a kidney transplant or permanent dialysis. The boy was represented by David A. Axelrod and Stacey L. Leinheiser of David A. Axelrod & Associates P.C.
Flom and her medical group were represented by Kevin Campbell of LaBarge, Campbell & Lyon LLC. He couldn't be reached for comment.
The settlement was reached on Wednesday after two days of trial before Cook County Circuit Judge Donald J. O'Brien Jr. Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge had previously settled for $1.275 million in 2005.
Matthew B. Whiteford, et al. v. L. Suzanne Flom M.D., et al. No. 06 L 013639.
