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Peoria Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Peoria Illinois

When you or a loved one is hurt by a medical mistake, you want answers fast and steady support on the road to recovery. The Peoria medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti are here to listen, explain your options, and help you take the right next step.

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Central Illinois has a unique health care landscape, with patients from Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties often relying on regional providers and referral networks. That trust matters, so when care falls below accepted standards and causes harm, our firm steps in as experienced advocates for Peoria families, handling complex cases with care, clarity, and persistence.

If you have questions about what happened or what to do next, speak with a medical malpractice lawyer at Levin & Perconti. Call (312) 332-2872 for a free, confidential consultation.

Why Choose the Peoria Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Levin & Perconti?

For more than 30 years, our attorneys have focused on complex medical malpractice cases. Levin & Perconti has recovered over $2 billion in verdicts and settlements for injured clients, and we are nationally recognized for trial skill and client advocacy. Many of our cases come from peer referrals, including lawyers who trust our team with their most serious medical negligence matters.

Some of our notable medical malpractice lawsuit verdicts and settlements include:

When deciding which Peoria medical malpractice lawyer to trust, experience, resources, and proven outcomes matter.

We’ve all seen the commercials for law firms specializing in nursing home cases. When the time comes to choose one, how do you know which one will fight for you or your loved one? I was fortunate that my friend, who happens to be a lawyer, recommended Levin and Perconti. She told me, “Everyone uses them.” Our attorney, Daisy Ayllon, walked us through some difficult moments with compassion and understanding. Jacqueline Neri, Daisy’s assistant, was very helpful throughout the case. Jack Terran and Salma Lopez closed out our case in a way that my family could agree upon. We were lucky we had a word of mouth recommendation, and now we can see why everyone uses Levin & Perconti.
Laura D.
Laura D.
We were referred to Susan Novosad by my mom’s attorney when she was injured in a fall at a Chicago area hospital. All we wanted was to have my mom incur no expenses pursuant to her injury. Susan took over and put us on a cruise control as far as communication with the defendants and Medicare/Medicaid were concerned. A suitable settlement was reached. Everything was handled in a very professional manner with extremely personal and friendly attention. I would strongly recommend Counselor Novosad for thorough and complete representation with a congenial approach.
Gregory T. Messina
Gregory T. Messina
Mr. Levin, Mr. Perconti, and the firm handled a medical malpractice suit for my family. During that time, my family and I suffered the loss of my mother. Mr. Levin and Mr. Perconti were more than just our lawyers. Words can’t really express our gratitude. My family and I will always be grateful for the compassion that they showed us. I want to thank you for what you did for my family, and for always being there for us.
W.R
W.R

What Are the Most Common Types of Medical Malpractice Claims We Handle?

Medical negligence can happen in many forms and settings, often leading to serious injury or death for patients who trusted their healthcare providers. At Levin & Perconti, we handle a wide range of medical malpractice cases where healthcare providers fail to meet the expected standard of care, causing harm. We represent clients in various medical malpractice scenarios across Illinois.

Below are some of the most common types of medical malpractice claims we handle:

Anesthesiologist Error

Errors made during the administration of anesthesia can have severe consequences. These mistakes may include miscalculating the dosage of anesthesia, making intubation errors, or improperly monitoring a patient’s vital signs. Such errors can potentially lead to respiratory distress, brain damage, allergic reactions, or even death.

This occurs when a doctor incorrectly identifies a patient’s medical condition. It can result from inadequate medical histories, ignoring symptoms of serious conditions, or failing to order necessary tests. Misdiagnosis can lead to a lack of treatment, inappropriate or unnecessary treatments, and delayed intervention, potentially causing severe health complications. An estimated 12 million Americans experience a diagnostic error in primary care each year, and clinical misjudgment accounts for a significant percentage of these errors.

Cancer misdiagnosis is a specific and often devastating type of misdiagnosis. It represents a large portion of wrong diagnosis claims. Cases involve failure to properly read tests like Pap smears, leading to missed cervical cancer, or failure to biopsy tumors, delaying diagnosis and treatment.

Diagnosing heart attacks can be complex due to varied symptoms. Misdiagnosis can happen if symptoms are misinterpreted as less severe conditions like indigestion or anxiety, or if necessary tests like EKGs or blood tests are not conducted or are misread. Overlooking atypical symptoms in certain patient populations or failing to recognize silent heart attacks also contributes to these errors.

This involves a medical professional taking too long to identify a patient’s medical condition. The excessive delay in diagnosis can result in postponed treatment, reducing treatment options, and potentially leading to more severe health complications for the patient. Examples include delays in diagnosing conditions like lung cancer or postpartum issues based on ignored symptoms or test results.

A failure to diagnose occurs when a healthcare provider overlooks or misses a medical condition entirely. This lack of diagnosis means the patient does not receive the necessary treatment, which can have severe or fatal consequences. This can be caused by incomplete patient histories, neglecting symptoms, or failing to order appropriate diagnostic tests.

Healthcare providers are required to adequately inform patients about the potential benefits, risks, and alternatives of a medical procedure or treatment before proceeding. A lack of informed consent claim arises when a provider fails in this duty, and the patient suffers harm as a result of a procedure they did not fully understand or agree to.

These cases involve harm sustained by either the mother or the child during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or shortly after birth due to trauma or medical errors. Birth injuries can result from various mistakes, such as the improper use of birthing tools, failure to detect fetal distress, or delays in performing a necessary C-section. Common outcomes include brain injuries like cerebral palsy or brachial plexus injuries.

This broad category encompasses mistakes made by any medical professional, including doctors, nurses, technicians, and hospital staff, who fail to meet the standard of care. These errors can manifest in numerous ways, such as misdiagnoses, incorrect medication dosages, surgical mistakes, or failures in communication or charting. Overworked staff, inadequate training, or poor hospital protocols can contribute to these errors.

Errors in interpreting diagnostic imaging and test results are a significant cause of medical malpractice. A radiologist misreading an X-ray, a pathologist misinterpreting lab slides, or a technician misreading an ultrasound can lead to a missed or incorrect diagnosis of serious conditions like cancer or tumors, delaying critical treatment.

These claims involve injuries or death caused by defective medical devices. Defects can stem from the device’s design, manufacturing process, or marketing information. When commonly used devices like pacemakers or hip replacements malfunction, patients can suffer severe complications, leading to product liability claims against manufacturers or hospitals.

Healthcare Management Organizations (HMOs) or their affiliated doctors can be held liable for misconduct that leads to patient harm. This can include instances where an HMO doctor fails to diagnose a condition or disregards patient complaints, resulting in delayed or improper care and subsequent injury or death.

These preventable errors occur when healthcare professionals fail to follow best practices in prescribing, dispensing, or administering medications. Mistakes can include giving the wrong medication or dosage, administering it incorrectly, or overlooking dangerous drug interactions. Such errors can cause severe harm, including hospitalization, permanent injury, or death.

Medical negligence can result in severe and permanent spinal cord injuries. Cases may involve surgeons causing damage during procedures, or healthcare providers failing to recognize worsening neurological symptoms and delaying necessary intervention to relieve spinal cord compression. These injuries often lead to permanent disability or paralysis.

Residents in nursing homes can suffer harm due to the negligence or intentional acts of staff. This can include medication mismanagement, falls, neglect leading to infections like MRSA, or other failures to provide appropriate care based on the standard of care for vulnerable residents.

Mistakes made during surgery are preventable errors that can cause significant patient injury or death. These errors range from operating on the wrong site or patient to damaging nerves or organs, performing the incorrect procedure, or leaving foreign objects inside the body cavity.

Patients can acquire serious infections, such as Staph infections (like MRSA), while in a hospital or healthcare facility. If these infections are contracted or worsen due to negligent care, such as poor sanitation or failure to properly treat an existing infection, the hospital or staff may be liable for the resulting complications and harm.

Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB-GYN) malpractice involves negligence in care related to women’s health, including pregnancy, labor, delivery, and gynecological procedures. Errors can range from mismanaging labor and delivery, leading to birth injuries, to failing to diagnose critical conditions during pregnancy or performing unnecessary surgical procedures.

How Common is Medical Malpractice in Peoria?

Illinois medical malpractice statistics show that medical malpractice is a real issue for patients in Peoria. Illinois ranks fifth in the nation for total malpractice payments, with $318.86 million paid in 2023 to resolve claims. From January 1, 2020, to September 30, 2024, Illinois providers were named in 1,801 medical malpractice payment reports, highlighting harms that can occur in the institutions we trust.

Local Hospitals and Medical Centers Involved in Medical Malpractice and Patient-Safety Claims

Below are medical centers in or around Peoria that have recently been named in lawsuits or news coverage related to patient safety.

  • Carle Health Methodist Hospital: Wrongful death in 2023, in which the family alleged negligent care and inadequate steps on behalf of the facility to prevent the patient from leaving.
  • OSF Healthcare Saint Francis Medical Center: Paid $41 million in a malpractice case involving Coumadin management and a subsequent stroke.

These examples provide local context and serve as a reminder that when care falls short, accountability matters. Hospitals and insurers defend these cases vigorously, and facts are contested. Getting a medical malpractice attorney to take your case can help ease the stress of filing a claim and protect your right to compensation.

What Compensation Can You Recover in a Peoria Medical Malpractice Case?

Victims of medical negligence may be entitled to several types of compensation, including recovering economic and non-economic damages. The exact value of a case depends on the facts, severity of the injury, long-term impact, and available evidence. In Illinois, there are no caps on damages in medical malpractice cases, but outcomes still rely on the specifics of the case.

Economic damages account for financial losses, including past and future medical bills, rehabilitation and in-home care, reduced earning capacity, and, in wrongful death cases, lost financial support. Non-economic damages account for human losses, such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional distress.

Average Medical Malpractice Settlement Amounts

In 2024, the average settlement for a medical malpractice lawsuit in Illinois was $646,921. While some cases resolve for tens of thousands, others can reach eight figures. Results vary based on the type of error, extent of permanent harm, evidence, available insurance coverage, and expert testimony.

The Medical Malpractice Claims Process in Illinois

Achieving a successful medical malpractice verdict or settlement takes careful groundwork and time, but our attorneys will guide you through every step:

  1. Consultation and case evaluation: You’ll speak with a Peoria medical malpractice lawyer about what happened and your injuries. We review your timeline and available records to assess whether the facts suggest substandard care or negligence and what the next steps could look like.
  2. Investigation and expert opinions: Building a strong case begins with gathering evidence of medical negligence and consulting with medical experts to demonstrate that the health care provider’s negligence caused you harm.
  3. Filing the lawsuit: Your attorney files a complaint that outlines the allegations against the responsible providers and facilities. This preserves your rights and formally starts the case within the applicable deadlines.
  4. Discovery and negotiations: Both sides exchange documents, answer written questions, and take depositions of witnesses and experts. Throughout discovery, your lawyer negotiates for a fair settlement while preparing the case as if it will go to trial.
  5. Settlement or trial: Many cases resolve through settlement, but if the offer doesn’t reflect the full extent of your losses, your case proceeds to trial.

Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice in Illinois

In most cases, the Illinois statute of limitations for medical malpractice is two years from the time you discover medical negligence caused your injury. This discovery rule can be complicated, and deadlines may be extended or shortened in certain situations—including matters involving minors or government-owned facilities—so it’s best to speak with an attorney as soon as possible.

How Can Levin & Perconti Help Victims of Medical Negligence?

Navigating the aftermath of a medical malpractice incident can feel overwhelming and confusing, but our talented team at Levin & Perconti is here to ease that burden and protect your right to compensation. Our priority is to guide you through this challenging time with knowledge built from experience and compassionate support.

Our nationally recognized medical malpractice lawyers in Peoria provide a comprehensive review of your case, acquiring medical records and evidence, connecting with witnesses, taking depositions, and helping you understand the standards of care and filing deadlines surrounding your case.

Frequently Asked Questions About Peoria Medical Malpractice Cases

How much does it cost to hire a medical malpractice lawyer in Peoria?

Hiring a medical malpractice lawyer in Peoria typically involves a contingency fee, meaning you don’t pay attorney’s fees until we win.

How long a medical malpractice lawsuit takes varies depending on your situation. Some matters resolve in a year or two, while other complex cases can take longer.

You can pursue a claim against any provider whose substandard care caused harm.

In some situations, you can sue a hospital for negligence if hospital policies, staffing, or employed clinicians contributed to the error.

A consent form acknowledges known risks but does not excuse surgical errors, misdiagnosis, or negligence. If care fell below the acceptable standards of care and caused injury, you may still have a claim.

If you or a loved one were injured due to a medical professional’s or health care facility’s negligence, you likely have a medical malpractice case.

Contact Our Peoria Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Levin & Perconti

You don’t have to navigate this alone. Levin & Perconti offers a free, confidential consultation, and our contingency fee policy means you don’t owe anything unless we win.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to medical negligence in Peoria or Central Illinois, contact Levin & Perconti for a free consultation. Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys are ready to fight for your rights. Call (312) 332-2872 or reach us through our online contact form.

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