Sarah F. King, partner at Clifford Law Offices, led a team of lawyers at the firm obtained a verdict of $7.25 million on behalf of a 32-year-old woman who underwent a hysterectomy following negligent complications during the procedure and delayed recognition of a postpartum hemorrhage. David F. Jasinski, partner at the firm, and Devin J. Piper, associate, also tried the two-week-long case. The verdict is a record in Cook County for a hysterectomy case in Cook County., according to the Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter. The previous record was $5 million verdict held by Clifford Law Offices’ partner Keith A. Hebeisen set in 2009 for a 31-year-old woman.
The no-offer case decided was tried on Monday, April 20, 2026 before a jury of seven-men and five-women who deliberated six hours before returning a verdict for the plaintiff before Cook County Circuit Court Judge Bridget Mitchell at the Daley Center.
The case was on behalf of Haylie Carlson and her husband, Philip Griffin of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. During an unplanned cesarean section, a resident physician and her supervising fellow at the University of Illinois Hospital injured Haylie’s uterus during the surgery by damaging uterine vessels. The injury went unrecognized and unrepaired partially due to a shift change that occurred during the procedure. Following surgery despite manifesting signs of postpartum hemorrhage that met hospital criteria for calling a Red Alert, her bedside nurse failed to alert an OB attending to her condition causing a delay in treatment and transfusion. As a result, Haylie suffered a massive hemorrhage that ultimately required a hysterectomy, ovary and cervix removal to stop the bleeding. Haylie also had to undergo a ureteral reimplantation and bladder repair. These injuries will impact her for the rest of her life, King said.
“This case was very complex, but the jury listened intently to all the facts and came to a just result for this family,” King said following the verdict Monday afternoon. “It is tragic that this young woman can no longer have children due to the negligence of medical professionals that simply did not follow established guidelines and procedure for the recognition of postpartum hemorrhage.”
Plaintiffs successfully contended that part of the negligence was due to the defendants’ failure to follow the hospital’s established obstetric hemorrhage guidelines and massive transfusion protocol.
The verdict comes during National Infertility Awareness Week, April 19–25, that was founded by Resolve: The National Infertility Association aiming to empower those struggling with infertility.
“The outcome here is tragic for this young woman who has to suffer the rest of her life with the consequences of medical professionals who wronged her,” Jasinski said. “Newborn parents do not expect to go into a hospital for what should be the happiest day of their lives and, instead, find the medical team is unable to do their jobs.”
The verdict was against five doctors and a nurse with $6.75 million for Carlson that included pain, suffering, emotional distress and loss of a normal life. The jury awarded her husband $500,000 for loss of society and companionship.
“After a long and hard-fought trial, we are pleased to have obtained a just verdict for our clients whose lives are forever changed by this unfortunate and preventable event,” Piper said following the verdict.
For further information, contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).
pammenaker@cliffordlaw.com
www.CliffordLaw.com