IN THE NEWS

Chicago Tribune - March 16, 2000

Child's Estate Awarded $2.1 Million in Hospital Case

A jury has awarded $2.1 million to the estate of a child who allegedly received the wrong medication as an infant when she was treated at Cook County Hospital in March 1996, attorneys in the case said Wednesday.

Attorneys for Kewaina Sole had alleged that the child mistakenly received a powerful chemotherapy drug when she was admitted to the hospital running a low fever. Kewaina, her attorneys said, suffered severe brain damage and lives in a long-term care facility.

"This was a healthy child in their emergency room that the jury believed was given a chemotherapy drug by mistake," said Kathleen Zellner, who represented Kewaina's estate.

Judy Mondello Wick, supervisor of medical litigation for the Cook County state's attorney's office, said a decision had not yet been made on whether to appeal the award.