Lurie Children’s Hospital Ratings & Violations

Parents seeking superior pediatric care rely on ratings by government and nonprofit agencies to choose the right Illinois pediatric hospital. A history of violations or low ratings can lead to medical negligence or malpractice, putting children at risk of serious complications or death.

If your child has suffered negligence at Lurie Children’s Hospital, a Chicago personal injury attorney can help hold the hospital, university, and individual doctors accountable for negligence. We assist in recovering compensation through careful investigation and negotiation.

About Lurie Children’s Hospital

Overview

Ann & Robert H Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is on the Northwestern Memorial Hospital campus at 225 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611. Located in the heart of downtown Chicago in the Streeterville community, this 364-bed facility serves pediatric patients throughout the community.

The Anne & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago was the country’s first free-standing pediatric hospital. It is known for its family-friendly design and its focus on pediatric medical research. At 23 stories, it is also the world’s tallest children’s hospital or health center.

This Chicago Ave hospital provides emergency, primary care, and specialty care services, including neonatology, pediatric neurosurgery, behavioral health, oncology, orthopedics, gastroenterology, rehabilitation, and a sports medicine department.

In addition to an emergency department, it offers a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with specialized ventilators for ill neonates.

Lurie Children’s is designated as a Level 1 Pediatric Surgery center, the first children’s hospital in the region to achieve this status. The facility claims its patients receive the latest benefits from their pediatric research.

Ownership and Affiliations

The legal name of this hospital is Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. It is the primary pediatric teaching hospital for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, one of the top medical universities in the country. The hospital is adjoined to the Prentice Women’s Hospital, and Lurie doctors serve neonate patients in both buildings.

Recently, the hospital chose to join forces with Rush University Medical Center. This new clinical affiliation improves access to pediatric health services across Chicago.

The Illinois hospital is associated with the Ronald McDonald Hospital House, which provides charity stays to families whose kids require long-term hospitalization.

The hospital is home to the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute. This Illinois research institute works with children’s hospitals to provide innovative treatments and cutting-edge technology. The facility receives research grants to help with funding.

Lurie Children’s relies on individual, corporate, and nonprofit donations to supplement its funding from Northwestern University. Although Lurie Children’s relies heavily on donations, it also receives government grants and holds fundraisers. It is managed by the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Foundation.

Reputation and Performance

US News and World Report rankings list Lurie Children’s Hospital as one of the best children’s hospitals in the United States; it is nationally ranked in 11 specialties and regionally ranked as the best children’s hospital in Illinois [1].

The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition program also recognized the health center five times. This program recognizes centers of excellence in nursing services, such as those that provide the latest innovations in medical technology. Lurie Children’s is the only hospital in Illinois to receive five awards [2].

However, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has no star or patient survey rating with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) [3]. This happens when a hospital does not participate in the inpatient and outpatient quality reporting measures.

Notable Legal Actions Against Lurie Children’s Hospital

Negligent Medical Record Protections

A federal class action lawsuit was filed against Lurie Children’s in July 2024 due to a significant cybersecurity breach that exposed data for over 792,000 people, primarily children.

Despite knowing about the cyberattack, the Chicago Il hospital waited five months before contacting parents and provided them with only 24 free months of an identity fraud monitoring service. The plaintiffs evaluate the damage at over $5 million [4].

Far from stealing personal information, the January 2024 cyberattack took the Chicago hospital’s IT systems offline, including its phone system and medical charts, for 5 days. Because staff had to chart manually and could not quickly call between departments, patient care was severely compromised, putting them at risk of medical errors and negligence [5].

Failure to Diagnose a Kidney Resulting in a Transplant

On January 8, 2019, Isabella McDougall and her family filed a lawsuit against physician Jerome C. Lane and Ann and Robert H Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, alleging negligence in diagnosis and treatment. McDougall was under Lane’s care from 2006 to 2012, during which time he treated her for chronic kidney failure.

With the help of a Chicago misdiagnosis attorney, McDougall alleges that Lane failed to perform proper diagnostic tests and did not refer her to the appropriate specialist. She was later diagnosed with urinary reflux and had to receive a kidney transplant in 2014 [6].

False Child Abuse Allegation Leading to a Mother Losing Custody

Elisa Giacomelli filed a lawsuit against Ann & Robert H Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and two physicians on September 11, 2018, alleging medical malpractice. The two doctors reported Giacomelli for child abuse after falsely claiming that she caused a bruise on her daughter’s leg.

Because of their allegations, Giacomelli lost custody of her child from March to November 2015, though state investigators eventually determined that there was no evidence of child abuse [7].

Failure to Diagnose a Condition Resulting in Esophageal Damage

Gina Magana filed a lawsuit against Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago on May 10, 2017, after her son swallowed a battery. Doctors at the hospital failed to recognize that it was a battery, resulting in the child suffering vocal cord damage and esophageal injuries.

Magana argued that the hospital should have been able to differentiate the battery from other potential swallowing hazards, which could have reduced the vocal cord damage [8].

Inspection and Deficiency Reports at Lurie Children’s Hospital

Children’s hospitals are not held to the same reporting standards as general hospitals.

For example, Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade cannot report grades on free-standing pediatric care facilities like Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s because they are not required to submit certain metrics [9]. This can make it challenging for parents to determine the best children’s hospitals for their needs.

However, a number of other reports suggest that patients at this hospital stay longer and spend more than at comparable children’s hospitals. Children being treated at the inpatient facility for digestive disorders spent 3 days in the hospital and were charged $41,084.76. However, the state average is only 2 days at $26,183 [10].

Children being treated inpatient for septicemia spent five days at the hospital at a charge of $87,738.48. This is the same length of stay as the state average, but patients statewide spent only an average of $55,050 [11].

In 2022, Lurie Children’s had 57 Clostridiodes difficile infections for a 2.15 Standard Infection Ratio (SIR) [12]. Clostridiodes difficile is a bacterial overgrowth in the colon that can lead to severe dehydration or even death in vulnerable patients. This rate was significantly worse than the state average, suggesting poor sanitation controls.

The hospital’s Clostridiodes difficile infection rate in 2023 was 1.21, which matched the state average. However, 36 children suffered from this dangerous infection while under the hospital’s care [13].

In 2023, the Chicago, IL, pediatric hospital had a 28.7% NICU nurse vacancy rate, much higher than its 2020 vacancy rate of just 3% [14]. Dangerously low staffing levels in this area can put preemie babies at serious risk of complications or death.

According to the Illinois Hospital Report Card, this facility did not release details about the number of vaccinated staff members against influenza despite providing details on infection rates [15].

Because the hospital works with such a vulnerable population, failing to report on their immunization efforts can make it challenging for parents to assess the potential risk of bringing their children here.

Understanding Medical Negligence and Your Rights

Medical negligence occurs when hospitals, doctors, and nurses fail to provide care in line with best practices in their area.

While Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago continues to rank well in numerous specialties, negligence can occur even at the best children’s hospitals. Chicago continues to see negligence in many hospitals throughout the community.

Negligence at a pediatric hospital can include:

• Medication Errors – A medication error in hospitals could involve giving children medicine meant for adults or failing to check a patient’s chart for allergies.
• Improper Care – Staff in hospitals may fail to contact a child’s guardian before performing a health procedure, not teach patients about their condition, or not involve kids in their own treatment.
• Surgical Errors – Surgeons in hospitals must carefully check a patient’s chart before operating to learn about any potential allergic reactions and ensure they work on the appropriate body part. Nicking an artery, leaving foreign objects in an incision, or failing to monitor a patient’s condition can lead to serious consequences.
• Failure to Diagnose – With children, doctors in hospitals may dismiss symptoms as “growing pains” or assume they are too young to develop certain conditions. This can lead to delayed treatment and long-term health complications.

Families who experience medical negligence at children’s hospitals should speak to Chicago medical negligence and malpractice lawyers. We aim to secure compensation through negotiation with the hospital and hold staff accountable for medical errors.

Before beginning negotiations, we’ll learn about the incident through medical records, photos, and consultations with medical experts.

In many cases, we can settle out of court. However, if Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago refuses to negotiate, we will file a lawsuit and present your case before a judge and jury.

Secure Expert Legal Representation!

The medical negligence statute of limitations in Chicago, IL, is two years from the date of the injury. Because this is a short period, patients and their families must contact a lawyer immediately.

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers is a leading personal injury law firm that has secured millions in compensation for medical malpractice victims nationwide. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you owe us nothing unless we recover compensation.

To schedule your free consultation with a skilled medical malpractice attorney, call us 24/7 at (888) 424-5757 or use our online consultation request form.

References: [1] US News and World Report, [2] Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, [3] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, [4] Courthouse News Service, [5] HIPAA Journal, [6] Cook County Record, [7] Cook County Record, [8] Cook County Record, [9] Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, [10] Illinois Hospital Report Card, [11] Illinois Hospital Report Card, [12] Illinois Hospital Report Card, [13] Illinois Hospital Report Card, [14] Illinois Hospital Report Card, [15] Illinois Hospital Report Card

All content undergoes thorough legal review by experienced attorneys, including Jonathan Rosenfeld. With 25 years of experience in personal injury law and over 100 years of combined legal expertise within our team, we ensure that every article is legally accurate, compliant, and reflects current legal standards.