Family of man left alone in ER after asthma attack wins $7M judgment
BY LISA DONOVAN Cook County Reporter ldonovan@suntimes.com August 1, 2012 8:26PM
A Cook County jury has awarded $7 million to the family of a Chicago man who was being treated for an asthma attack but was left alone in a local hospital emergency room where he suffered brain and other injuries that eventually killed him.
The award, delivered Tuesday, came after a three-week trial stemming from the wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit Michael Bell’s wife filed after his 2006 death.
Bell, a longtime asthmatic, suffered an attack at his Southwest Side home on July 14, 2002, said Kevin Burke, the lawyer for wife Barbara Bell. Alone at the time, Michael Bell dialed 911, and Chicago Fire Department paramedics took him to nearby Holy Cross Hospital.
Family of man left alone in ER after asthma attack wins $7M judgment