Stacey Cischke Secures Defense Verdict for Chicagoland Hospital

Shareholder Stacey Cischke, who represented a Chicagoland hospital in Cook County Circuit Court, secured a successful verdict in April 2025. In the case, a 58-year-old woman was referred by her cardiologist for an elective procedure. Following the procedure, she began experiencing concerning symptoms in recovery and was brought back for a second procedure to diagnose the cause of her worsening condition. During the second procedure doctors found a new complication and attempted to stabilize the patient before a cardiac surgeon worked to repair the new complication. Ultimately the patient remained unconscious for two weeks before passing away. Stacey crafted a defense to show that (1) the physician performing the procedure was not the hospital client’s apparent agent, (2) the patient was an appropriate candidate for the procedure, and (3) the complications that developed are a known risk of the original procedure, and the doctor diagnosed the issues in a timely manner, attempted to stabilize the patient, and involved cardiac surgery to address the complication. At closing the plaintiff asked for $24 million. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defense. This was a big win and extremely favorable outcome for our client.