Illinois Jury Delivers $38.4 Million Product Liability Verdict Over Defective Hospital Boom

A Sangamon County jury has returned a $38.4 million product liability verdict against Hill-Rom Company, Inc., a division of Baxter Healthcare, after finding that a defective operating room boom collapsed and permanently injured a surgical technologist. The May 12, 2026 verdict in Springfield, Illinois awarded plaintiffs Stacey Brown and her husband Roger Brown $4.6 million in compensatory damages and added $33.8 million in punitive damages for what jurors concluded was a corporate decision to ignore a known safety defect. The Browns were represented by Amy Collignon Gunn and Erica B. Slater of Gunn | Slater in Clayton, Missouri.

Case at a Glance

• Verdict: $38,400,000 ($4.6M compensatory, $33.8M punitive)
• Case Type: Product Liability
• Court: Seventh Judicial Circuit, Sangamon County, Illinois
• Verdict Date: May 12, 2026
• Plaintiffs: Stacey Brown and Roger Brown
• Defendant: Hill-Rom Company, Inc. (a division of Baxter Healthcare)
• Plaintiff Attorneys: Amy Collignon Gunn and Erica B. Slater, Gunn | Slater

What Happened in Operating Room 16?

Stacey Brown had worked overnight shifts as a surgical technologist at HSHS St. John's Hospital for roughly 15 years. On January 31, 2022, she was alone in Operating Room 16, preparing for an upcoming procedure, when an overhead TruPort medical boom collapsed without warning.

The boom pinned her to the floor and caused injuries across the right side of her body. According to court filings, the equipment failed because Hillrom had installed bolts that were shorter than the design specifications required at load-bearing connections, a concealed defect that could not be caught through routine inspection or preventive maintenance.

The boom was manufactured and installed by Hillrom, which markets the TruPort system to hospitals as overhead support for surgical equipment and lighting.

Why Did the Jury Award $33.8 Million in Punitive Damages?

The punitive award, nearly nine times the compensatory figure, reflected the jury's view of how long Hillrom had known about the risk. Evidence presented at trial indicated the company was aware of a bolt mix-up affecting the load-bearing capacity of its booms since at least 2018, and that a similar assembly defect had surfaced at its German manufacturing plant as early as 2014.

The plaintiffs argued that Hillrom's response was driven by complaints rather than safety. "They had knowledge that these bolts were getting mixed up at these load bearing connections," counsel told the jury, and the company chose "to not take further action because no one had gotten hurt."

Trial evidence also showed Hillrom's own risk analysis had rated the potential harm from a complete boom collapse as "catastrophic." The company eventually performed a worldwide field retrofit in 2022 at a cost of roughly $800,000, an action the plaintiffs said could have been taken years earlier.

What Injuries Did Stacey Brown Suffer?

The collapse caused permanent injuries to Brown's dominant right arm, requiring two major shoulder surgeries. She also sustained ongoing injuries to her neck, right leg, right foot, and right wrist, along with head and brain injuries.

Of the $4.6 million in compensatory damages, the jury awarded $3.85 million to Stacey Brown and $750,000 to Roger Brown for loss of consortium. The $33.8 million punitive award went to Stacey Brown.

Why This Illinois Product Liability Verdict Matters

The verdict is a reminder that product liability law reaches beyond consumer goods and into the specialized equipment that hospitals rely on every day. When a manufacturer learns that a load-bearing component can fail and chooses to wait for an injury before acting, juries can impose punitive damages well above the actual harm.

For Gunn | Slater, the result marked the firm's third jury verdict and second punitive damages award within 15 months of opening. Hillrom has stated that it intends to "vigorously appeal," so the award is not yet final.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are punitive damages in a product liability case?

Punitive damages are awarded on top of compensatory damages to punish a defendant for especially reckless or willful conduct and to deter similar behavior. In this case, the jury added $33.8 million in punitive damages after concluding that Hillrom knew about the bolt defect for years and failed to act, far exceeding the $4.6 million awarded for the plaintiffs' actual losses.

Q: What made the operating room boom legally defective?

The plaintiffs alleged that Hillrom installed bolts shorter than the design specifications required at load-bearing connections, a hidden defect that routine inspection could not detect. A product can be considered defective when it fails to perform as safely as intended because of a manufacturing or installation error, especially when the manufacturer knew of the problem and did not warn users.

Q: Is the $38.4 million verdict final?

No. Hillrom has stated that it intends to appeal the verdict. A jury award can be reduced, upheld, or sent back for a new trial during the appeals process, so the final amount the plaintiffs recover may differ from the figure the jury announced.