Carla and Scott Cooper gave birth to triplets, two boys and a girl, at Edward Hospital in Naperville on Jan. 13, 2003, according to a statement from the law firm Baizer Kolar & Lewis.
A statement from the hospital identified the girl as Rachel Cooper.
The girl was placed on an IV which was supposed to administer 4.5 cc per hour, attorneys said. But after two hours, someone replaced an empty fluid bag and reset the pump for 405 cc per hour, attorneys said.
The girl remained on the increased dosage for 46 minutes before anyone noticed, causing her blood volume to increase by 250 percent and her weight by 20 percent, attorneys said. By the time the mistake was noticed and corrected, the girl had suffered brain damage.
The family's lawyers claim the hospital was negligent in using an adult IV pump on an infant without programming in safeguards to prevent overdoses.
"We will never understand why Edward Hospital chose to use an adult pump, rather than a neonatal pump, and why they failed to program safety settings into it," attorney Robert Baizer said in the statement.
The girl is now 10 years old and has developmental delays that require placement in special education classes, attorneys said.
The hospital settled before the suit went to trial and agreed to pay the family $7 million, Baizer Kolar & Lewis said.
"This was an extremely unfortunate incident of medical error, which we deeply regret," Edward Hospital officials said in a statement.
"It was an isolated incident. We have continued our dedication and focus on improving the quality of care we deliver to all of our patients. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Rachel Cooper and her family," the hospital statement said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire - Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2013.)
