Chicago Medical Malpractice and Injury Lawyers

Cirignani Heller & Harman LLP

150 South Wacker Drive
Suite 2600
Chicago, Illinois 60606
USA

(312) 346-8700

www.cirignani.com

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Cirignani Heller & Harman LLP, lawyers and doctors see clients every day whose confidence in medicine has been undermined. People who have been injured due to medical malpractice come into our office wondering, "Who can we trust now?" "Why should we trust you?" We understand that doctors and lawyers come under strict scrutiny and suspicion especially once your life has already been deeply affected by professional error.

We tell our clients that we do everything we can to be compassionate, to uncover the facts, and to tell them the truth. We stick with cases long after other medical malpractice attorneys have given up and called it quits. We can also tell you that none of our attorneys is overworked. We keep our caseloads low so that our lawyers can give each case the attention it requires.

Since some of our attorneys are also medical practitioners themselves, we know the accepted standards to which doctors and other licensed medical specialists are held by their own professions and by law. The reality is that it is difficult for medical professionals to admit when they make mistakes for two reasons: their careers are on the line, and their medical malpractice insurance carriers tell them to be quiet.

Our long years of experience have taught us how to uncover mistakes even when the doctor won't admit it. They have also helped us learn all the ways in which insurance companies attempt to keep facts covered up to limit their liability.

Languages: Spanish, English

Practice Areas

Additional Practice Areas: Cerebral Palsy, Erb's Palsy, Paraplegia, Quadriplegia, Anesthesia Complications, Anesthesia Injury, Bedsores, Verbal Abuse, Intimidation

Practice Areas Description

Cirignani Heller & Harman LLP, provides legal services and representation in:

- Birth Injury

For all parents, the birth of a child should be a joyous and a memorable moment. Just the thought of holding your child for the first time and witnessing its first smile is simply priceless. Unfortunately, there are many cases where the birth of a child can be a sad turn of events. In the United States, thousands of mothers suffer a complicated pregnancy and delivery that result in a child birth injury. Some of the most common birth injury cases include: Brain damage, Cerebral palsy, Fractured bones, Erb's palsy, Skin problems, Breathing problems.

- Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes a loss of functionality such as mobility or feeling. Spinal cord damage can be caused by trauma such as a car accident, a slip and fall or a gunshot. They can also be caused by diseases such as polio, spina bifida, and Friedreich's Ataxia. Spinal cord injuries can also be the result of a botched medical procedure or poor practice during physical training or exercise. If you have received a spinal cord injury it is essential to have a good Chicago medical malpractice attorney. The result of a spinal cord injury can be paralysis in the form of paraplegia or quadriplegia. Any form of paralysis is a life-altering condition. Modifications to lifestyle, housing and transportation are usually necessary. In addition, constant medical care may be required. All these changes can add up to large sums of money.

- Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is not a particular disease but is a term used to describe brain damage in babies found at birth or shortly thereafter. Many times cerebral palsy is due to genetic abnormalities or unavoidable injuries that occur during pregnancy but well before the onset of labor. However, about one third of cerebral palsy is caused by not enough oxygen getting to the baby during the labor process. It is negligent when nurses or doctors don't recognize in time that a baby is in trouble, or don't remove the baby promptly (usually by Caesarian section). Sometimes negligence happens when the medications used to increase contractions is used wrongly and deprives the baby of oxygen.

- Erb's Palsy

Erb's palsy is a birth injury caused by nerve damage to the brachial plexus, a large network of nerves running from the spinal cord to the arms and shoulders. Brachial plexus injuries usually occur during the birth process when one or both of the infant's shoulders are lodged behind the mother's pelvic bone during birth. This is called shoulder dystocia. The nerve injury is caused when the physician pulls on the baby's head while the shoulder is stuck in the birth canal. Erb's palsy can cause lifetime disability. Some children have difficulty using their arms. As with cerebral palsy, at Cirignani Heller & Harman LLP, we have found that sometimes the responsible physician and insurance company may tell the parents that the injury was caused by other reasons than medical malpractice.

- Brain Injuries / Traumatic Brain Damage

Physician malpractice can cause brain injuries in any number of ways. Brain injuries generally happen when the brain fails to get the oxygen it needs for a certain length of time. The results can be devastating: memory loss, paralysis, coma, persistent vegetative state (sometimes called brain death), and even death. At Cirignani Heller & Harman LLP, our doctor attorneys have handled numerous medical malpractice and wrongful death cases in which doctors-anesthesiologists and surgeons-ER staff, and other medical professionals have been responsible for patient brain damage. During our long years of handling personal injury and wrongful death cases, we have represented clients whose loved ones have suffered brain injury due to doctor and surgeon error in cases involving: Surgery, Anesthesia, Missed brain hemorrhage, and Inadequate stroke management.

- Anesthesia Complications and Injuries

Anesthesia complications arise in a number of different situations. Some are caused by the anesthesiologists. Others occur when other healthcare providers are negligent.

- Wrongful Death

Missed diagnoses of fatal medical conditions are by far the largest cause of wrongful death medical malpractice personal injury cases. At Cirignani Heller & Harman LLP, we are often called on to represent family members of patients whose medical conditions were different or worse than the illness diagnosed by their physicians. In most cases the error occurs for the most basic of reasons: 1) the doctor does not ask the right questions or doesn't listen to the patient; 2) the doctor doesn't do an adequate examination; or 3) the doctor jumps to a conclusion without adequately considering all the possibilities.

- Nursing Home Neglect

When you place a loved one in the care of a nursing home, you expect the best living conditions, treatment, and care from the nursing staff. Unfortunately, too many cases of nursing home neglect happen daily throughout the country. Nursing home negligence can result in serious injuries and sometime even death. Some of the injuries that can occur from negligence include: Unexplained bruises, cuts, or burns; Bedsores or frozen joints; Rapid weight loss or weight gain; Frequent falls; Improper medication; and Physical neglect.

- Nursing Home Abuse

In Chicago, as people age or require extra medical assistance, they may opt to entrust a nursing care facility or nursing home for their care. Nursing care facilities are supposed to be a safe haven that provides a relaxing home environment combined with healthcare management. This allows a patient to live onsite and have a nursing care provider onsite to assist them 24 hours a day. In either case, the caregivers are supposed to be there to provide the needed attention and care that your loved one may need. If your loved one has suffered any of the following while in the care of a nursing home in Chicago, they may be a victim of nursing home abuse.

- Paralysis Injuries

Like wrongful death, paralysis injuries can be caused by medical malpractice. Paralysis occurs when either the brain or spinal cord is injured. There are several ways in which medical malpractice can cause such injuries: A disease or injury is ignored or misdiagnosed until it leads to brain or spinal cord damage.
Surgery on the brain or spine is done negligently, or post-operative complications are not recognized and treated promptly; Surgery, particularly on the heart or aorta, interrupts the blood supply to the spinal cord or brain; A patient does not get adequate amounts of oxygen (due to negligent monitoring for example) during general anesthesia or conscious or deep sedation; Spinal anesthesia is performed improperly (wrong kind or too much medication is used for example).

- Surgical Errors

In medical parlance, a surgical instrument or other foreign object, like a sponge, left in the patient's body after closing the surgical wound is called "retained" as if the patients themselves purposely kept something as a memento from their surgery. This type of manipulation of the language is one way that the medical profession and the insurance industry is able to shift the focus of medical and surgical errors away from the those who commit medical malpractice. At Cirignani Heller & Harman LLP, because our attorneys have a background in medicine as well as law, we cannot be manipulated in this way, and we don't allow our clients to be manipulated either. Other surgical errors include: Failure to recognize and treat surgical complications; Failure to operate; Unnecessary surgery; and Misidentified patients and parts.

- Medication Errors

Medication errors account for a good percentage of medical malpractice cases in Illinois and elsewhere. So much medication is prescribed for patients in nursing homes, hospitals, and doctors clinics that it is somewhat surprising that even more people are not adversely affected by medication errors. Medical malpractice involving medication errors can happen in all kinds of ways: Negligent dosing, Wrong drug, Drug interactions, Allergic reactions, and Side effects.

- Missed Diagnoses

In the various stages of nearly every illness or disorder, different symptoms will present themselves. One of the first things that doctors learn in medical school is the art of differential diagnosis - the practice of determining all the different diagnoses that could be causing the patient's symptoms and systematically ruling out the most dangerous. At Cirignani Heller & Harman LLP, we have found that the proper diagnosis of a patient's condition is most often missed because the doctor didn't consider all of the alternatives and "jumped to a conclusion" prematurely. By then the patient has suffered serious complications or even death. Not all these cases amount to medical malpractice, of course. However, very often a malpractice lawsuit is warranted, especially in cases of obvious negligence when the physician has missed diagnosing an especially virulent or impairing disease.

Attorneys

	Ms. Deborah Alroth Attorney Medical Malpractice		Mr. William A. Cirignani Partner Litigation, Medical Malpractice
	Mr. James C. Harman Partner Litigation, Medical Malpractice		Dr. Stanley J. Heller Partner Litigation, Medical Malpractice
	Dr. Stu Perlik Attorney Medical Malpractice