University of Illinois Hospital Malpractice & Violations

Hospital quality and safety standards are critical for protecting patient health. When facilities like the University of Illinois Hospital fail to meet these standards, patients may suffer serious harm through medical negligence or malpractice.

If you’ve experienced substandard care that has resulted in injury, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help you understand your legal rights and pursue fair compensation while holding healthcare providers accountable.

About the University of Illinois Hospital

Learn about this major Chicago medical center, quality measures, and compliance history to better understand how it compares to healthcare standards.

Overview

The University of Illinois Hospital, also known as UI Health or University of Illinois Medical Center, is a 451-bed general medical and surgical center located at 1740 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612.

This hospital is home to the Children’s Hospital of Illinois, dedicated to serving children in emergency and primary care. About half of the Children’s Hospital is its 55-bed NICU.

Additional services at The University of Illinois Hospital include a pharmacy, sports medicine center, neuropsychiatric institute, general and outpatient surgery, and community health center.

Ownership and Affiliations

Legally operating as UI Health, the hospital is an integral part of the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), a public university in downtown Chicago. As a teaching hospital and research center, UI Health maintains close ties with UIC’s Health Sciences Colleges, including the College of Nursing, Dentistry, and Applied Health Sciences.

The facility operates under the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, managing 11 locations around Chicago, including seven primary locations and four school-based health and wellness centers.

The hospital employs a community-based model of care that focuses on patient education, preventative medicine, and early child development care.

Reputation and Performance

US News and World Report ranks UI Health as high-performing in two adult specialties, including leukemia and heart attack treatment [1]. The report also shows that the hospital’s patient demographics are highly diverse and accurately reflect the local community.

However, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have given UI Health a 2-star rating, which is below average [2]. Its patient satisfaction rating is three stars, considered average [3].

Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade gave this medical center a C rating, suggesting that this research hospital is not prioritizing patient care [4].

Notable Legal Actions Against University of Illinois Hospital

Understanding past legal actions against UI Health provides insight into potential patient safety concerns and patterns of alleged negligence. The following cases highlight significant medical malpractice claims filed against the hospital.

Birth Injury Leading to Permanent Intellectual Disability

In 2023, following a lawsuit filed with the help of Chicago birth injury lawyers, a jury awarded $55.5 million to 20-year-old Shamond Butler, who suffered birth trauma that left him unable to speak, read, or care for himself. His mother, Shanette Slater, was admitted to the medical center but was not seen for over six hours.

When doctors finally treated her, they gave her Pitocin to cause contractions, but this cut off her son’s blood supply. Shamond Butler was delivered by emergency C-section the next day and had to be on life support for eight days, causing irreversible brain damage.

Neither of the doctors who treated Ms. Slater was Board-certified, and the University of Illinois Medical Center did not provide them with the supplies necessary to treat her condition effectively [5].

Delayed Diagnosis Leads to Lung Cancer Death

In 2020, a judge awarded the family of Mark James $7.5 million after a radiologist at the University of Illinois Hospital failed to disclose a spot on the man’s lung, which later metastasized into lung cancer.

Mark James had first been seen for potential kidney issues in 2017, where his scans showed a mass in his lungs. However, this discovery was never followed up. He returned to the hospital in May 2019, when the spot had turned into cancer, and he died later that year [6].

Inspection and Deficiency Reports at the University of Illinois Hospital

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, patients at UI Health spend 336 minutes in the emergency department before discharge, but the state average is only 178 minutes [7]. This timeline means people spend over two hours longer at the Illinois Medical Center than in comparable hospitals.

The University of Illinois Hospital has a high rate of MRSA infections, which are resistant to antibiotics and can be fatal. UI Health’s rate is 1.311, while the average performing hospital’s rate is only 0.793.

Patients at UI Health frequently suffer from harmful events like sepsis infections. This hospital has approximately 10.79 sepsis events per 1,000 patients, but the average-performing hospital only has 5.33 cases per 1,000 people [4].

Those undergoing surgery at this hospital are more likely to suffer breathing problems after treatment, which can lead to brain damage, coma, or even death.

In the most recent Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade report, UI Health had 16.24 cases of serious breathing issues per 1,000 people. In contrast, the average-performing care facility had only 9.19 instances of serious breathing difficulty per 1,000 people [4].

The University of Illinois Hospital has received complaints about cleanliness, which can harm public health. Only 59% of patient respondents said that their room and bathroom were always clean, which is low compared to the 73% national average and 72% Illinois average.

Understanding Medical Negligence and Your Rights

Medical negligence happens when doctors and other medical staff do not follow standards of care when treating patients, which can lead to injury or death.

Common examples of hospital negligence include:

• Improper Treatment – Before treating someone, doctors must consider the patient’s previous medical history and the risks of treatment and fully explain what will happen to them. Failure to do this is regarded as improper care.
• Failure to Diagnose – Sometimes, doctors dismiss a patient’s concerns or miss significant diagnostic results. For example, a doctor might claim that a child who is suffering from bone pain is just experiencing a growth spurt and then not run extensive tests for more severe conditions like leukemia.
• Medication Mistakes – These can include giving the wrong type of medication, ignoring warnings that a patient is allergic to a particular drug, or administering the wrong dose.
• Surgical Errors – Issues like accidentally cutting an artery or operating on the wrong body part can quickly become a medical emergency.

Those who have suffered medical negligence should seek help from a personal injury lawyer. An experienced lawyer will negotiate with UI Health for fair compensation and, if necessary, take the case to trial to hold the medical center accountable for its failures.

Secure Expert Legal Representation!

In Chicago, the statute of limitations for personal injury is two years from the date of injury, making it essential that medical malpractice victims act quickly.

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, our team of Chicago medical negligence attorneys works on a contingency fee basis, meaning you owe us nothing unless we can earn you compensation. We will thoroughly investigate your case and negotiate with the University of Illinois Hospital to ensure you receive the funds necessary to recuperate comfortably.

To schedule a free consultation, call (888) 424-5757 or complete our contact form.

References: [1] US News and World Report, [2] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, [3] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, [4] Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, [5] Becker’s Hospital Review, [6] Radiology Business, [7] 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.