$3.2 million Awarded to Woman in Hospital Malpractice Case

By Daniel Hawn

Published on October 31, 2005

On June 7, 2000, 76-year-old Betty Kunz went to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park to have an infection in her knee treated. There, she was administered an intravenous antibiotic that, for health reasons, is only supposed to be used for a few days.

Three days after she was admitted to the hospital, Kunz was transferred to another facility. According to her attorney, Christopher Hurley, Kunz' medication should have been discontinued at this time. However, a form from Little Company of Mary instructed caretakers at the new facility to continue administering the antibiotic, Hurley said.

She received the medication until June 14, the lawsuit states. Hurley argued in court that this resulted in kidney damage, as a test conducted the next day showed that Kunz suffered from kidney failure.

The jury held that a nurse at Little Company of Mary was responsible for the error over the medication. A spokesperson for the hospital said that an appeal of the jury's decision is being considered on the grounds that the mistaken administration of the antibiotic did not take place at their facility, but at the hospital where Kunz' was transferred after she was discharged.

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