Botched procedure at Provena St. Joseph left Elgin woman in a near-vegetative state
By Adam Kovac
Daily Herald Staff Writer (Illinois, USA)
Posted Thursday, July 13, 2006
Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin must pay about $24.7 million to a man whose wife has been in a near-vegetative condition after a nurse botched a routine procedure, attorneys said Wednesday.
Narin Bun suffered a heart attack and stroke June 8, 2002, after a Provena nurse allowed air to enter an intravenous tube used to administer antibiotics, said Pete Flowers, a Geneva attorney for the family.
Bun’s husband, Sipho, sued the hospital for damages so he could remove his wife from an Elgin-area nursing facility and have her cared for at home, with her three young children, Flowers said.
“She doesn’t even speak, and no one can even tell if she can comprehend what’s going on,” he said. “Hopefully, this will let her make some improvements.”
The judgment, thought to be a record in Kane County, was awarded after a jury deliberated for about 2¨ hours at the end of a civil trial on the lawsuit, which began in late April before Judge F. Keith Brown.
Hospital President and CEO William Brown, in a statement, apologized for the events that led to Bun’s condition.
“We at Provena St. Joseph Hospital extend our deepest sympathies to Narin Bun for the tragic circumstances of 2002,” he wrote. “Though this situation occurred more than four years ago, I can assure you the Bun family is in the thoughts and prayers of the entire Provena community at this time.”
Narin and Sipho Bun both had fled Cambodia with their families before moving to Elgin, where they have children ages 6, 7, and 9.
Sipho Bun said he was overjoyed with the verdict and plans to find a bigger house and design it accommodate the specialized care Narin will require for the rest of her life.
Donald Shapiro, a Chicago attorney who also represented Sipho Bun in the lawsuit, said Narin Bun was admitted to Provena in May 2002, suffering from toxic shock syndrome and nearly died.
Part of her care at the hospital included taking antibiotics through a tube in her shoulder.
At the time she suffered the heart attack, which caused the stroke, the nurse was preparing to remove the tube because Narin Bun was scheduled to be released soon, Shapiro said.
“It’s a very sad case because the doctors saved her life, and then this terrible tragedy occurred,” Shapiro said.
akovac@dailyherald.com
By Adam Kovac
Daily Herald Staff Writer (Illinois, USA)
Posted Thursday, July 13, 2006
Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin must pay about $24.7 million to a man whose wife has been in a near-vegetative condition after a nurse botched a routine procedure, attorneys said Wednesday.
Narin Bun suffered a heart attack and stroke June 8, 2002, after a Provena nurse allowed air to enter an intravenous tube used to administer antibiotics, said Pete Flowers, a Geneva attorney for the family.
Bun’s husband, Sipho, sued the hospital for damages so he could remove his wife from an Elgin-area nursing facility and have her cared for at home, with her three young children, Flowers said.
“She doesn’t even speak, and no one can even tell if she can comprehend what’s going on,” he said. “Hopefully, this will let her make some improvements.”
The judgment, thought to be a record in Kane County, was awarded after a jury deliberated for about 2¨ hours at the end of a civil trial on the lawsuit, which began in late April before Judge F. Keith Brown.
Hospital President and CEO William Brown, in a statement, apologized for the events that led to Bun’s condition.
“We at Provena St. Joseph Hospital extend our deepest sympathies to Narin Bun for the tragic circumstances of 2002,” he wrote. “Though this situation occurred more than four years ago, I can assure you the Bun family is in the thoughts and prayers of the entire Provena community at this time.”
Narin and Sipho Bun both had fled Cambodia with their families before moving to Elgin, where they have children ages 6, 7, and 9.
Sipho Bun said he was overjoyed with the verdict and plans to find a bigger house and design it accommodate the specialized care Narin will require for the rest of her life.
Donald Shapiro, a Chicago attorney who also represented Sipho Bun in the lawsuit, said Narin Bun was admitted to Provena in May 2002, suffering from toxic shock syndrome and nearly died.
Part of her care at the hospital included taking antibiotics through a tube in her shoulder.
At the time she suffered the heart attack, which caused the stroke, the nurse was preparing to remove the tube because Narin Bun was scheduled to be released soon, Shapiro said.
“It’s a very sad case because the doctors saved her life, and then this terrible tragedy occurred,” Shapiro said.
akovac@dailyherald.com
1 comment:
Mrs. Bun, we pray for your health. You are deserved for a bitter life caused by a neglect nurse. We think you rather have your healthy life than 24 millions USD minus 45% lawyer fee.
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