A Cook County jury on April 20, 2026 awarded Haylie Carlson and her husband Philip Griffin $7.25 million in a medical malpractice case arising from complications during an unplanned cesarean section. The award includes $6.75 million to Carlson and $500,000 to Griffin. After a two-week trial before Judge Bridget Mitchell, the jury of seven men and five women deliberated for about six hours before returning its verdict. Carlson was represented by Sarah F. King, David F. Jasinski, and Devin J. Piper of Clifford Law Offices. The award is reported as a record Cook County verdict in a hysterectomy case, topping a $5 million verdict from 2009.
Case at a Glance
- Verdict: $7.25 million ($6.75M to Haylie Carlson; $500,000 to Philip Griffin)
- Case Type: Medical Malpractice
- Court: Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois (Case No. 2021 L 010206)
- Verdict Date: April 20, 2026
- Plaintiffs: Haylie Carlson and Philip Griffin
- Defendants: Monique Sutherland, M.D.; Joanna Izewski, M.D.; Gian Diaz Rodriguez, M.D.; Anya Raskin, M.D.; Brian Huntington, M.D.; Iesha Waters, R.N.
- Plaintiff Attorneys: Sarah F. King, David F. Jasinski, and Devin J. Piper (Clifford Law Offices)
- Defense Counsel: Sherri Arrigo, Erin S. Davis, and Allie Ewert (Donohue Brown Smyth)
- Judge: Hon. Bridget Mitchell
- Trial / Deliberation: Two weeks / six hours
What Happened During the C-Section?
According to Clifford Law Offices, Carlson underwent an unplanned cesarean delivery. During the surgery, a resident physician and supervising fellow damaged her uterine vessels. That vascular injury was not recognized in the operating room. A shift change followed, and the original team handed off care before the bleeding was identified or controlled.
In the hours after delivery, Carlson began showing signs of postpartum hemorrhage. Her bedside nurse did not alert the attending physician, which delayed both diagnosis and the blood transfusion that should have followed. By the time surgeons returned to the operating room, the extent of the injuries forced them to perform a hysterectomy, remove her ovaries and cervix, reimplant a ureter, and repair her bladder. Carlson permanently lost the ability to have biological children.
Why Did the Jury Find the Medical Team Liable?
The plaintiff's theory centered on two failures stacked on top of each other. First, the surgical team injured uterine vessels during the C-section and did not recognize the injury before handing off care. Second, the postoperative team failed to act on hemorrhage warning signs in time to prevent irreversible harm.
Central to that theory was the hospital's own protocol. Plaintiffs alleged the defendants failed to follow the facility's established obstetric hemorrhage guidelines and its massive transfusion protocol, two internal safety standards specifically written to catch and treat the exact emergency Carlson suffered.
After the verdict, lead attorney Sarah F. King said, "This case was very complex, but the jury listened intently to all the facts and came to a just result for this family."
King also noted that the case was tried to verdict with no settlement offer on the table.
What Is a Massive Transfusion Protocol and Why Did It Matter Here?
A massive transfusion protocol, or MTP, is a pre-written hospital procedure that activates when a patient is losing blood faster than conventional transfusions can replace it. Once triggered, it coordinates delivery of packed red blood cells, plasma, and platelets in predetermined ratios, along with escalating involvement of surgeons, anesthesiologists, and blood-bank staff.
Obstetric hemorrhage guidelines serve a similar function for postpartum patients. They list the clinical signs that should prompt escalation, including vital-sign changes, blood-loss benchmarks, and drops in hematocrit or hemoglobin. Plaintiffs argued those trip-wires were activated in Carlson's case and ignored.
When a jury hears that a hospital wrote the rulebook for its own staff and the staff did not follow it, the causation question becomes very hard for the defense to win. That dynamic is reflected in the size of this verdict.
Why This Verdict Is Significant in Cook County
The $7.25 million award is reported as a record Cook County result in a medical-malpractice hysterectomy case, topping a $5 million verdict from 2009. Illinois has no statutory cap on non-economic medical malpractice damages following the Illinois Supreme Court's decision in Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, which means jury awards like this one are not subject to automatic reduction.
For plaintiff attorneys handling obstetric injury claims, the verdict shows the power of protocol-based liability. When the defense cannot explain why clinicians did not follow the hospital's own written emergency response, juries tend to find for the plaintiff, and tend to do so generously. A catalog of similar outcomes is maintained in the personal injury verdict news hub.
Bottom Line
The Carlson verdict shows what a Cook County jury does when the facts point to a preventable obstetric emergency that unfolded exactly as the hospital's own protocols were written to prevent. Verdicts like this one deserve to be seen. Major Verdict is the only platform where plaintiff attorneys can publicly display their trial results and settlements, for free. Create your profile today and let your record speak for itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is postpartum hemorrhage?
Postpartum hemorrhage is abnormal bleeding after childbirth, typically defined as blood loss of 1,000 mL or more in the first 24 hours. It is one of the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Most hospitals have written escalation protocols that are supposed to be triggered by specific vital-sign and blood-loss thresholds.
Q: Can a patient sue a hospital in Illinois for a failed C-section?
Yes. Illinois recognizes medical malpractice claims against physicians, residents, fellows, nurses, and hospitals when care falls below the accepted standard and causes injury. Cases involving residents and supervising attendings often turn on whether the hospital's supervision, handoff, and escalation rules were followed. Illinois requires plaintiffs to file a certificate of merit from a qualified health professional at the outset of the case.
Q: Does Illinois cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases?
No. The Illinois Supreme Court struck down the state's cap on non-economic medical-malpractice damages in Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital (2010). Juries may award whatever amount the evidence supports for pain, suffering, loss of a normal life, and loss of consortium. More context is available in the Illinois personal injury public resources.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2026 Major Verdict, LLC. All rights reserved. For more information visit our reuse and editorial standards information.
