Plaintiff Kirk Hild, as administrator of Dean Hild’s estate, appealed the dismissal of Dean Hild’s complaint against defendants Lakeshore Infectious Disease Associates, LTD. and James Sullivan, M.D. Plaintiff alleged that defendants were negligent in treating his Cushing syndrome. The issue on appeal was whether the trial court erred in dismissing the case as time-barred.
Background Facts
In 1988, Dean Hild was diagnosed as HIV-positive. As part of his treatment for his HIV infection, Hild was prescribed Norvir. Nearly 30 years later, in October 2017, Hild visited Head & Neck and Cosmetic Surgery Associates, Ltd., also known as Chicago ENT. Chicago ENT required Hild to fill out several documents, including a form asking about current medications. Hild left this section blank but provided an after-visit summary that listed his current medications. Dr. Adam Levy, an otolaryngologist with Chicago ENT, prescribed Hild fluticasone, a corticosteroid nasal spray used to treat asthma and allergy symptoms. Three weeks later, in early November, Hild was seen by another physician at Chicago ENT, Dr. Payal Patel. Dr. Patel prescribed Breo Ellipta, another fluticasone aerosol powder inhalation medication, in addition to the fluticasone that Hild was already taking. Fluticasone, when taken with Norvir, is known to cause Exogenous Cushing syndrome.
At the same time, Hild was being seen by defendants Lakeshore Infectious Disease Associates Ltd. and Dr. James Sullivan. As early as November or December 2017, Dr. Sullivan was aware that Hild was taking both Breo Ellipta and Norvir. Then, on May 1, 2018, Hild presented to Dr. Sullivan with “Cushingoid face,” a symptom of Cushing syndrome. In June of 2018, Hild stopped taking the inhalants he had been prescribed by Chicago ENT. From May until December
of that year, Dr. Sullivan treated Hild’s adverse reaction to the drugs by monitoring his cortisol levels until they returned to normal.
On July 12, 2022, Hild brought suit against defendants, alleging that they provided him with negligent treatment. The circuit court dismissed the claims as untimely. See 735 ILCS 5/2-619(a)(5) (West 2022). On November 16, 2022, Hild died and his brother Kirk Hild was appointed as special administrator of his estate and became the plaintiff in the case. A timely appeal was filed.
Illinois Statute Of Repose
The Code of Civil Procedure requires litigants to bring malpractice actions against physicians within “4 years after the date on which occurred the act or omission ***” giving rise to the suit. 735 ILCS 5/13-212(a) (West 2022). This statute of repose bars suits even if a plaintiff has not yet discovered that he has been injured. However, a plaintiff may pursue a cause of action even if the suit comes more than four years after the inciting negligent act if he can demonstrate that there was an ongoing course of continuous negligent medical treatment. This requires a plaintiff to demonstrate: (1) that there was a continuous and unbroken course of negligent treatment, and (2) that the treatment was so related as to constitute one continuing wrong.
The Appellate Court of Illinois First Judicial District Fifth Division stated in its Order filed on March 22, 2024: “at best, the complaint alleges that defendants acted negligently from November or December 2017 until June 2018, when plaintiff stopped taking Breo Ellipta. The fact that plaintiff stopped taking the medication of his own volition does not affect the statute of repose analysis because, from June 2018 on, the complaint alleges no negligent act or omission by
defendants. Additionally, while it may have been negligent for defendants to fail to monitor plaintiff’s cortisol and ACTH levels, once defendants started monitoring these levels in May of 2018, their treatment was no longer negligent. And a physician’s nonnegligent treatment of an injured patient after providing negligent treatment does not toll the statute of repose … Therefore, the statute of repose began to run in May 2018, and plaintiff’s July 2022 complaint is beyond the four-year repose period. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in dismissing the complaint as time-barred.”
Source Hild v. Lakeshore Infectious Disease Associates, LTD., 2024 IL App (1st) 230417-U.
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of medical negligence in Illinois or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find an Illinois medical malpractice attorney, or a medical malpractice attorney in your state, who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
Click here to visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find medical malpractice lawyers in your state who may assist you.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.
