Woman Awarded $21M After Botched Surgery Left her Paralyzed

A Chicago woman was awarded $21 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit after she was permanently disabled from a botched procedure in a Kane County hospital.

The trial jury awarded Narin Bun, 41, monetary compensation after she claimed she became paralyzed and lost her ability to speak, the result of a surgery that involved removing her intravenous tubing.

Bun was admitted to Provena St. Joseph Hospital where she was treated for a non-life-threatening infection. According to her attorneys Peter Flowers and Donald Shapiro, Bun suffered an embolism caused by the improper procedure.

The embolism caused the then 37-year-old wife and mother to have a stroke, which left her severely paralyzed and unable to speak.

“The doctors over at Provena did a great job taking care of her and had cured her and she was on her way to recovery,” until a nurse negligently disconnected a catheter, allowing air into Bun's blood vessel, said Shapiro.

The jury determined Bun's injuries were a direct result of the negligence and/or wrongdoing of the hospital.

Bun was awarded roughly $8.5 million for past and future medical care, $500,000 for pain and suffering, and $12.5 million “for her loss of her normal life.”

“The jury understood that substantial medical expenses were involved in the case in order to care for this woman,” Shapiro said.