Malpractice Lawsuit Ends in $8M Settlement for Infant’s Wrongful Death

An Illinois couple will receive $8.3 million as a result of a medical malpractice lawsuit brought against a hospital, which allegedly killed their infant baby with an overdose of sodium. 

The complaint was filed by Fritzie and Cameron Burke, whose month-old baby, Genesis, died in 2010 in Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois. The infant’s death was caused by an incorrect concentration of sodium fed to the baby via an intravenous tube.

Genesis was born four months premature, weighing only one pound, eight ounces at birth. He was about 40 days old at death.

According to the wrongful death lawsuit, the infant died of excessive sodium due to a prescription error by a pharmacy technician.

The family alleged that the hospital initially attempted to hide the cause of the child’s death by covering up the original label on the IV bag, which showed the high amount of sodium, with a label that indicated the bag was filled with the proper mix. The family also indicated that doctors ignored a blood test showing the baby’s sodium was too high, assuming it was wrong, and ordered another round of blood tests. That second round of tests was never conducted.

The hospital admitted that the sodium overdose was the result of a data entry error made when the IV solution was formulated. The dose was 60 times higher than prescribed. The hospital says it has taken steps to ensure that the tragic error is not repeated in the future.

The agreement to settle the malpractice case was approved last week by a judge in Cook County, Illinois.