A jury in central Illinois has awarded over $2 million in a verdict against a pediatric surgeon for negligence during a procedure that injured a baby over a decade ago.
The verdict was delivered on Friday in Peoria County, finding Dr. Mark Holterman, formerly a pediatric surgeon at OSF Children’s Hospital in Peoria, guilty of negligence in his treatment of a girl in 2011, as stated by the law firm representing the teenager and her family, Romanucci and Blandin.
In July 2011, when the girl was 9 months old, Dr. Holterman examined her esophagus following a choking episode at the hospital. During the examination, he discovered a piece of carrot lodged inside and a narrowed area called a stricture, which he attempted to widen, according to statements from the attorneys.
However, it was alleged by the law firm that during this procedure, the surgeon unintentionally caused a two-centimeter tear in the infant’s esophagus. In an attempt to rectify this, Dr. Holterman purportedly utilized an adult airway stent, which unfortunately ended up being dropped into the baby’s stomach, where it remained for 11 months.
As a consequence, the infant experienced feeding difficulties and relied on a feeding tube inserted through her abdomen into her stomach during this period. Attorneys representing the family explained that the surgeon exerted significant pressure with an outdated device, resulting in the tear in the esophagus.
The attorneys further highlighted that the stent had not been approved for use in a baby’s esophagus, a fact unbeknownst to the girl’s parents. The law firm quoted Dr. Holterman as claiming he was attempting to be innovative when he utilized the adult airway stent, likening his actions to “trying to make chicken salad out of chicken feathers.”
