Hall Prangle Attorneys Secure Defense Verdict in Lake County

Chicago
October 8, 2026

Hall Prangle attorneys Krista Luzio and Benjamin Cohen obtained a defense verdict for Vista Medical Center East in a Lake County medical malpractice wrongful death trial. The co-defendant obstetrician also received a defense verdict.

On March 30, 2019, Plaintiff, a 41-year-old woman who was approximately 32-33 weeks pregnant, came to the hospital with epigastric pain. She had a history of severe preeclampsia / HELLP syndrome in a prior pregnancy, as well as a remote history of hepatitis B. Her history of preeclampsia and increased risk was appreciated by the Defendant OB/GYN, who admitted her for a preeclampsia workup. Over a day and a half, she underwent serial BP monitoring, laboratory testing, fetal monitoring, and ultrasounds. Her labs showed elevated liver enzymes (consistent with her hepatitis B history), and her blood pressures were mostly normal with some elevated pressures. All fetal testing was reassuring. After about 36 hours of observation, she was discharged with instructions to follow up with her prenatal provider that week.

The next evening (~24 hours post-discharge), Plaintiff suddenly developed severe abdominal pain and was taken back to Vista Medical Center via ambulance. Fetal heart tones could not be found, and an emergency cesarean section was performed, revealing a complete placental abruption. The baby girl was delivered stillborn due to a complete placental abruption in the setting of preeclampsia.

Plaintiff claimed that the patient should have been diagnosed with severe preeclampsia/HELLP syndrome and kept in the hospital for continued monitoring, which would have allowed delivery before the abruption. Additionally, Plaintiff argued a lost chance for survival had the abruption occurred while the mother was hospitalized. The defense successfully argued that the patient received a thorough workup and did not meet the diagnostic criteria for preeclampsia or HELLP syndrome at the time of discharge. Defendants also argued that even with a preeclampsia diagnosis, delivery would not have been indicated before 34 weeks in a stable patient. Moreover, a complete placental abruption is a sudden, unpredictable event that continued hospitalization would not have prevented; and, even if the plaintiff had remained in-patient, a complete abruption at 33wks would have led to the same outcome.

Plaintiff asked the jury for $8 million in damages. The jury deliberated for about one hour and returned a verdict in favor of all defendants.

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