Lawsuit says Park Ridge hospital’s negligence caused baby’s death
BY KIM JANSSEN Staff Reporter/kjanssen@suntimes.com
A Chicago couple filed a medical-malpractice lawsuit Tuesday blaming Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge for the death of their 6-week-old son, saying the hospital’s staff negligently gave little Genesis Burkett an intravenous bag containing “approximately 60 times the dose of sodium ordered by the physician.”
The bag initially was labelled correctly, noting the high level of sodium it contained, but at some point before a nurse administered it, a second label was placed over the first label, said attorney Patrick Salvi, the attorney for the boy’s parents, Fritzie and Cameron Burkett. The second label showed the correct amount of sodium that the doctor had ordered, so the nurse was unaware of the fatal dose, Salvi said.
Advocate Healthcare spokeswoman Kelly Jo Golson acknowledged an “error.”
“A hospital error led to the incorrect concentration of sodium in [Genesis’s] IV solution,” Golson said. “Our prayers continue to be with the family.”
Salvi said the boy’s parents “are devastated. They had a couple of failed pregnancies that ended in miscarriages in the early months, but this child was doing very, very well.”
He said they are seeking “full and fair compensation” for their loss.
“Genesis Burkett should be a happy and healthy 6-month-old boy at home with his family today,” Salvi said. “The innocent infant died of malpractice, plain and simple. And we intend on proving it in court,”
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