Robert Clifford and Timothy Tomasik, an associate at Clifford Law Offices, settled a case today (Sept. 4) for $5.5 million against Loyola University Medical Center on behalf of a northwest suburban woman who was paralyzed after undergoing kidney surgery.

                Marie Italiano, 67, of Buffalo Grove, was admitted to the hospital in March, 1999, for a malfunctioning kidney.  Sometime between undergoing anesthesia and the morning following surgery she had sustained a spinal cord injury.  She was paralyzed from the waist down and is incontinent.  She requires round-the-clock care and is now wheelchair bound.

                Robert Clifford and Keith Hebeisen, a partner at Clifford Law Offices, settled a case against Evanston Hospital for $13 million on behalf of an infant who suffered severe brain damage as a result of an improperly mixed intravenous solution.

                Jahkari Newsom was born prematurely but was progressing well with no long-term affects when hospital personnel gave him a solution of sodium chloride when he was three weeks old.  Jahkari suffers from cerebral palsy, quadriparesis and spastic muscles.  His hips are deformed and his eyesight is not normal.  Jahkari cannot sit or stand unassisted and must be fed primarily through a tube.  He has the cognitive ability of a one year old, although he is now four.

                “It is a terrible tragedy for this young infant who could have led a normal life had it not been for the negligence of the pharmacy at Evanston Hospital,” Hebeisen said.  “The settlement money will allow this young boy to receive the round-the-clock care he will need for the rest of his life.”