Cook County jury awards $20.5 million to family of girl who died from toxic levels of morphine
A Cook County jury awarded more than $20 million in damages to the family of an 11-year-old girl who died from toxic levels of morphine.
In October 2020, Ava Wilson was recovering from leukemia when she went for a follow-up appointment at Advocate Children's Hospital. During her appointment, she was crying from pain, and had difficulty walking, according to her family's attorneys.
Lab tests revealed she had low platelet counts, low blood cell counts, high liver enzymes, and low blood pressure. She was discharged from Advocate Children's Hospital with instructions to take 15 milligrams of morphine every four hours, triple the amount of her previous prescriptions. A nurse practitioner also increased her gabapentin prescription.
Approximately 36 hours after getting home, she died in her sleep from acute drug toxicity of several substances, including lethal levels of morphine in her system at the time of her death.
Her family's attorneys said the hospital should have admitted Ava to the hospital to get her blood pressure under control and treat the cause of her pain, but simply sent her home with excessive pain medications.
"Ava's body was yelling out to these clinicians, 'help me!', and they just ignored it," attorney Matthew Williams said.
After a civil trial, a jury awarded her family $20.5 million in damages.
"While nothing will ease the depth of Ava's loved ones' pain, the family appreciates that the jury recognized that Ava's death was preventable and that she should still be with them today," attorney Aaron Boeder said.
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