West Suburban Medical Center Malpractice & Violations

Quality hospitals prioritize patient well-being and ensure compassionate care. Federal and state agencies carefully monitor hospital systems to ensure they offer exceptional service to all community members.

However, poor ratings with healthcare agencies can suggest that doctors, nurses, and medical residents aren’t providing appropriate patient support. This can lead to medical negligence or malpractice, putting lives at risk.

If you’ve been the victim of negligent care at West Suburban Medical Center, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers will thoroughly investigate your case and negotiate with the facility on your behalf, ensuring you receive a fair settlement for your pain and suffering.

About West Suburban Medical Center

Overview

West Suburban Medical Center is a for-profit facility that serves the communities of Oak Park and River Forest near Chicago’s West Side. Its address is 3 Erie Court, Oak Park, IL 60302.

This 234-bed facility offers extensive services, including emergency medicine, general surgery procedures, obstetrics and gynecology, neurosurgical care, cardiovascular treatment, stroke care, and senior medical care.

The hospital positions itself as a leading community resource in healthcare education. For example, its community groups host educational events like “Embracing Change: Navigating Menopause Together.”

It also collaborated with West Side Pastors’ Coalition for AIDS and Inner City Health to host a Back to School Health & Resource Fair. This community event provided children with free backpacks and school supplies donated by employees and team members.

The hospital states that they hope to create life-long relationships with families and improve access to healthcare.

The West Suburban Medical Center has a family medicine residency program, currently ranked #2 in the state.

Ownership and Affiliations

West Suburban Medical Center is legally known as Resilience Healthcare—West Suburban Medical Center. Resilience Healthcare purchased it in 2022 after its previous owner, Pipeline Health began bankruptcy proceedings.

Resilience Healthcare owns West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, and River Forest Medical Campus, a satellite location of West Suburban Medical Center.

The River Forest campus hosts the women’s health center, which includes advanced mammography imaging. It is also the site for outpatient procedures like physical therapy and laboratory testing.

Reputation and Performance

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provides five-star ratings on all hospitals that accept government insurance. West Suburban Medical Center has a 1-star rating, which is much below average, and a 1-star patient survey rating [1].

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade gives West Suburban Medical Center a D, making it one of the lowest-ranking hospitals in the Chicagoland area [2].

US News and World Report ranks over 5,000 hospitals based on excellent quality and dedication to well-being, but West Suburban Medical Center did not rank in any of its specialties [3]. However, it does serve a diverse demographic, with non-white patients highly represented in its patient base.

After Resilience Healthcare acquired West Suburban Medical Center from Pipeline Health in 2022, resident doctors at the Oak Park facility requested that the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) investigate whether the residency program should continue [4].

They argued that the poorly funded program jeopardized patient safety, citing “disgraceful conditions” and misallocated resources. The ACGME voted to withdraw its accreditation for the internal medicine residency [5]. As of 2024, it has not been reinstated. However, West Suburban Medical Center still accepts residents for its family medicine program.

Notable Legal Actions Against West Suburban Medical Center

Medical Negligence Resulted in Fetal Brain Damage

In 2019, the case was presented by birth injury attorneys, and a jury ruled a record-breaking $101 million in damages against West Suburban Medical Center. Mother Tequila Snow came to the Oak Park obstetrics facility at 34 weeks pregnant, explaining that her unborn son was not moving as he usually did.

Despite her explicit request for help, the hospital failed to monitor the baby’s oxygen levels for 6 hours and never called a doctor. Because of their neglect, Gerald Sallis was born with severe brain damage. The child requires 24-hour care and never gained the ability to walk or talk [6].

Negligent Monitoring Resulted in Pain and Suffering for Mother and Child

Watson v. West Suburban Medical Center, filed in 2018, alleges that staff at West Suburban Medical Center ignored clear signs of fetal distress that resulted in brain damage. In 2008, Denise Leonard was 29 weeks pregnant when her amniotic sac ruptured. Doctors and residents entered her room but left without examining her.

Leonard then went to the University of Illinois-Chicago Medical Center, where doctors diagnosed her with a staph infection and sepsis. Her son, Marques Watson Jr, was born with meningitis and brain damage [7].

Missed Diagnosis Caused a Leg Amputation

The 2024 misdiagnosis lawsuit, Solorzano v. Magnani, was filed against West Suburban Medical Center by Shaina Solorzano, who had to have her right leg amputated from the pelvis after the doctor did not diagnose a cancerous tumor in time.

Solorzano was in a car accident in 2015 that broke both of her femur bones. She had pins inserted into both legs and then began to suffer from pain and swelling in her right leg.

After diagnostic tests, Dr. Victor Romano of West Suburban Medical Center told her that the lesion found on the scans was probably due to her previous car accident.

In reality, she had osteosarcoma. The delay in diagnosis and treatment allowed the cancer to spread until she needed a leg amputation [8].

Inspection and Deficiency Reports at West Suburban Medical Center

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rates this Oak Park, IL, hospital as 1-star. Only 24% of patients received appropriate treatment for sepsis at this hospital, compared to the 61% national average and 60% state average [9].

7% of patients left the emergency room department without being seen, much higher than the 3% national or 5% state average [10].

This may be due in part to very long wait times. The average patient has to spend 228 minutes in the hospital’s ER before being discharged, almost an hour longer than the national average of 170 minutes [11].

Only 42% of people surveyed would recommend West Suburban Medical Center, 24% less than the state average [12]. Additionally, only 36% of patients said that their aftercare instructions were explained to them before they left and that they knew what was happening with their health [13].

This hospital also has a poor track record of caring for women. 129 women out of 1,000 suffered obstetric trauma during instrument-assisted vaginal delivery [14].

Understanding Medical Negligence and Your Rights

Medical negligence is when a medical professional fails to uphold appropriate standards of care, which harms patients. This can include:

• Improper Care – Besides treating patients with respect, like remembering to announce themselves before entering a room, physicians must follow up with patients after appointments and explain any issues. They must also get informed consent before moving forward with any procedure. Failing to do so is considered improper care.
• Failure to Diagnose – Doctors and nurses should take symptoms seriously and order the proper tests to check for serious issues. If they don’t, this can lead to worsening health, unnecessary procedures, or even death.
• Medication Errors – Giving a patient the wrong medication can result in serious side effects or even death, depending on what type of drug was mistakenly provided.
• Surgical Errors – Doctors, medical residents, and nurses must carefully monitor a patient during surgery. Errors during surgical procedures can include operating on the wrong body part, cutting blood vessels, or leaving foreign objects inside the wound.

An experienced lawyer can hold hospitals like West Suburban Medical Center accountable for their employees’ failures and help negotiate a fair settlement.

Our legal team will thoroughly investigate the incident using photos, expert testimony, medical reports, and other resources. We will then negotiate with the hospital and insurer to secure compensation for your injuries.

Secure Expert Legal Representation!

The medical malpractice statute of limitations in Oak Park, IL, is only two years after the patient discovers the injury. Therefore, you should talk to a lawyer as soon as possible so that we can meet this deadline.

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers is a Chicago-based firm that proudly serves clients across Illinois and select cases nationwide. Our Chicago medical malpractice attorney team is here to help you navigate your case and fight for the compensation you deserve.

We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you pay nothing for our services unless we can secure a settlement.

To speak to a skilled attorney about legal action against West Suburban or its physicians, call us 24/7 at (888) 424-5757 or use our online consultation form.

References: [1] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, [2] Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, [3] US News and World Report, [4] Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest, [5] Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest, [6] CBS News, [7] Circuit Court of Cook County, [8] Circuit Court of Cook County, [9] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, [10] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, [11] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, [12] Illinois Hospital Report Card, [13] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, [14] 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.