Possible Concerns Rush May Have If A Jury Hears This Case

For purposes of this part of the novel, "Rush" includes Rush University Medical Center "RUMC"), Rush Medical College "RMC") and Rush North Shore Medical Center ("RNSMC")

Rush's ad campaign tag line - "It's how medicine should be."

JA's death - It's how medicine really is at Rush.

Any person considering providing assistance might benefit from knowing that Rush is considered to be ahead of the curve in that it has a reputation for employing alternative dispute resolution solutions to malpractice suits.

Thus, there is a possibility that Rush would be willing to settle if you believe the following analysis to be credible.

A jury convinced that a problem occurred with JA’s hospitalization is not what Rush wants.

I suspect that they think that I can persuasively present a compelling case. They want to prevent this matter from going forward at all costs.

Whether this includes using its clout to persuade the Appellate Court to review the licensure matter is not for me to say. Per www.spoke.com,  Rush is a $1-5 BILLION company with 5,000-10,000 employees. Max D. Brown, its chief counsel, literally wrote the book on medical malpractice for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (he is the co-editor).

So, who knows? Personally, as an Illinois licensed attorney in good standing, I think not. Others, such as conspiracy theorists, may think differently.

If you are considering helping and need a simple litmus test of how tough it will be for Rush or some of the other defendants to prevail, just ask any doctor, resident, nurse, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or medical student the following question, "If you are informed that a patient under your care has an acute abdomen, is it standard of care to delay seeing the patient for hours?" 

You can follow-up with these questions, "In your opinion, is it standard of care for any doctor, resident, nurse, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or medical student to know that an acute abdomen left untreated will certainly result in death?" and "In your opinion, is it an intellectual or scholastic possibility for anyone who attended  medical or nursing school to not know that failure to treat an acute abdomen is a death sentence with certainty?"

There is arguably a lot of egg to go around on all the Rush faces. As possibilities, if a jury believes that something went wrong with JA's care at RNSMC, they would likely realize that some of the defendants in the civil case also work at RUMC, might teach students at RMC and train residents and fellows at Rush's hospitals. 

Possibly this is some of what Rush would prefer not to have a jury hear. There is more, but these are a few representative examples:

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for a patient to be admitted to its wards, lie in bed unseen and unexamined for 13 hours, even after collapsing and when finally seen, was immediately ordered to the Intensive Care Unit.

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for a Chief Resident, Dr. Osama Ahmed Ibrahim, to NEVER have examined a patient with sudden-onset diabetes, and abdominal findings, who collapsed and when finally seen by ANOTHER physician, was immediately ordered to the Intensive Care Unit.

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its medical, resident and nursing staffs, to ignore a patient about whom a licensed, board-certified medical doctor informed them had an acute abdomen.

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its Chief of Medicine, Dr. Lawrence Layfer, to let a patient with sudden-onset diabetes and about WHOM HE WAS INFORMED HAD AN ACUTE ABDOMEN to lie in bed unseen and unexamined for hours, even after collapsing, and when finally seen by him, was immediately ordered to the Intensive Care Unit.

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for a Chief Resident, Dr. Osama Ahmed Ibrahim, to let a patient with sudden-onset diabetes and about WHOM HE WAS INFORMED HAD AN ACUTE ABDOMEN to lie in bed unseen and unexamined, even after collapsing, and when seen by ANOTHER physician, was immediately ordered to the Intensive Care Unit.

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its NURSING STAFF to let a patient with sudden-onset diabetes and about WHOM THEY WERE INFORMED HAD AN ACUTE ABDOMEN to lie in bed, unseen and unexamined, and when seen by an MD, was immediately ordered to the Intensive Care Unit.

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its NURSING STAFF to let a patient, about WHOM THEY WERE INFORMED HAD AN ACUTE ABDOMEN, collapse without informing an MD at all.

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its ENDOCRINOLOGIST, Dr. Alan Reich, to manage a patient with sudden-onset diabetes and an acute abdomen, of which he was supposedly aware, from home and without any physical examination having been performed. (This becomes even tougher for Rush, as it runs ads in the Chicago media wherein one of its neurologists states that at Rush they don’t treat a test, they treat the patient.)

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its RADIOLOGISTS not to inform the clinical medical staff of an abnormal X-ray showing a condition associated with fatal conditions (“ileus”).

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its RADIOLOGISTS not to generate a report of an abnormal X-ray showing a condition associated with fatal conditions (“ileus”). (There was no x-ray report in the medical records requested over one month after JA died.)

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its Radiology Department and transportation staff to delay diagnostic testing for hours until a patient is too ill to be examined thereby preventing ordered testing from being done.

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its INTENSIVE CARE UNIT and its then Chief Resident, Dr. Emeka Eze, to have only a first-year resident examine a patient without any review or examination by an experienced physician. (In December, a first-year resident would only have been an MD for about 5 months and ICU patients are the sickest in the hospital.)

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its INTENSIVE CARE UNIT and its then Chief Resident, Dr. Emeka Eze, to not request a surgical consult for a patient of WHOM HE WAS INFORMED HAD AN ACUTE ABDOMEN.

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its Chief of Surgery, Dr. Jose Velasco, to have only a first-year resident, Dr. Rastatter, examine a patient with an acute abdomen and not either cause a review or examination by an experienced physician or care for the patient himself. (In December, a first-year resident would only have been an MD for about 5 months and ICU patients are the sickest in the hospital.)

Rush would have to claim and defend that it is standard of care for its Chief of Surgery, Dr. Jose Velasco, to diagnose a patient with dead bowel in his belly and let him lie in bed for hours to die instead of trying to save his life.

To see more of what Rush (and the other defendants) will have to claim and defend, click here to see the latest filed Complaint which sets forth the counts against the defendants in the civil case.

Further, Rush let Dr. Osama Ahmed Ibrahim  and Dr. Emeka Eze graduate from its programs, an express acknowledgement that they performed acceptably to Rush standards. And Rush let the others involved continue on staff as attending physicians, including as department heads. I cannot speak to the nurses at this point in time. I do not know if they are Rush nurses, agency nurses or some combination.

A jury hearing this would, in my opinion, be unsympathetic to Rush and the other defendants.

Remember, if you harbor any uncertainty about this, ask those litmus test questions posed earlier. I cannot imagine any expert with integrity testifying that this behavior was standard of care. If anyone you consult claims it was, then so be it.

As an aside, I would advise against having that person provide you with any care at all. Ever.