Jenny Blake

Jenny Blake is a trial lawyer that concentrates her practice in the defense of complex medical malpractice matters.   She represents hospitals, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers in all aspects of medical malpractice litigation and that has been the focus of her 24+ year career. Ms. Blake was born in the Ukraine, is bilingual, and immigrated to the United States in 1979. She has proven herself to be an aggressive, compassionate, and creative advocate for her clients.  She has been successful in prevailing in numerous jury verdicts, significant motions for dismissal as well as otherwise reaching favorable resolutions on behalf of her clients.

 

Ms. Blake has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer since 2020 by Thompson Reuters as well as a Leading Lawyer by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company. These distinctions are earned by fewer than 5% of all lawyers licensed to practice law in Illinois.

 

The following is a representative list of Ms. Blake’s verdicts:

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• Lead Counsel for a hospitalist and local hospital.  Tried January 8, 2024 – January 26, 2024, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleging failure to suspect and diagnose a pulmonary embolism following a bilateral total knee replacement in a 52-year-old patient. Plaintiff claimed a survival action and wrongful death claim. Jury demand was $36-50 million. Verdict: Not Guilty.

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• Lead Counsel for two pulmonary critical care doctors.  Tried October 10, 2023 – November 6, 2023, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleging physicians failed to diagnose an anastomotic leak leading to the death of a 32-year-old. Verdict: Hung Jury. 

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• Lead Counsel for a general surgeon. Tried September 7, 2023 – October 4, 2023, in Circuit Court of Cook County.   Medical Malpractice case alleging surgeon failed to diagnose an anastomotic leak leading to the death of a 68-year-old. Verdict: $5.3 million. Case settled while post-trial motions were pending for a fraction of the verdict.

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• Lead Counsel for a family practitioner.  Tried January 25, 2023 – February 3, 2023, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleging physician negligently perforated the patient’s tympanic membrane during or immediately after an ear irrigation procedure. Plaintiff claimed permanent and disabling tinnitus and hearing loss as a result. Jury demand was $1,325,000. Verdict: Not Guilty.

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• Lead Counsel for a local hospital for the conduct two interventional cardiologists, three emergency room physicians and two nurses. Tried December 5, 2022 – December 21, 2022, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleging the patient (47-years old) was negligently treated for an acute myocardial infarction and should have been taken immediately for cardiac catheterization. Jury demand was just under $9 million. Verdict: Not Guilty.

 

• Lead Counsel for a local hospital, neurosurgeon and trauma surgeon.  Tried June 13, 2022 – July 1, 2022, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleging the patient (42-years old) was negligently discharged with a worsening subdural hemorrhage which Plaintiff claimed lead to a massive and worsening bleed and brain damage 12-24 hours following his discharge from the hospital. The patient remained in a vegetative state and died 4.5 years after his devastating hemorrhage. Jury demand was $21.5-23.5 million. Verdict: Not Guilty.

 

• Lead Counsel for local hospital.  Tried June 8, 2018 – June 20, 2018, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleged failure to properly treat transient ischemic attacks leading to a hemorrhagic transformation of an ischemic stroke in a 74-year-old man, which resulted in his death. Jury demand was $3.1-3.5 million. Verdict: Not Guilty.

 

• Lead Counsel for fertility specialist.  Tried May 1, 2018 – May 14, 2018, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleged failure to diagnose and remove an ovarian teratoma leading to the wrongful death of a 43-year-old woman 7 months after she delivered her twin boys. Asked jury for $50.6 million. Verdict: Against co-defendant doctor for $25 million.  Plaintiff accepted the pretrial offer after 14 days of trial.

 

• Lead Counsel for local hospital.  Tried November 7, 2017 – November 21, 2017, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleged failure to monitor the patient’s airway including his epistaxis leading to a cardiopulmonary arrest and an anoxic brain injury in an 83-year-old man, which resulted in his death 13 months later. Jury demand was $1.1 million. Verdict: Not Guilty.

 

• Lead Counsel for local hospital.  Tried August 28, 2017 – September 15, 2017, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleged claims of institutional and vicarious liability negligence in causing a MRSA sternal site infection in a 56-year-old man following coronary artery bypass grafting. Jury demand was $2.7 million. Verdict: $300,000. Post-trial settlement for $250,000.

 

• Lead Counsel for internal medicine physician.  Tried June 27, 2017 – July 14, 2017, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleged a failure to properly monitor the patient’s anticoagulation post a hip replacement resulting in the death of a 78-year-old woman from a subdural hematoma. Jury demand was $2.2 million. Verdict: Not Guilty.

 

• Lead Counsel for local hospital.  Tried October 5, 2015 – October 19, 2015, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleged a failure to diagnose and treat an aortic dissection resulting in the death of a 73-year-old man.  Verdict: Not Guilty.

 

• Lead Counsel for local hospital.  Tried May 2, 2014 – May 12, 2014, in Circuit Court of Cook County.   Ordinary Negligence case wherein Plaintiff alleged injuries as a result of falling through a hospital cot.  Verdict: Not Guilty.

 

• Lead Counsel for local hospital.  Tried July 27, 2012 – August 3, 2012,in  Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleging failure to appropriately weigh the patient resulting in a trimalleolar ankle fracture in a 92-year-old woman.  Verdict: Not Guilty.

 

• Lead Counsel for hospitalist and local hospital.  Tried August 4, 2011 – August 16, 2011, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleging failure to timely and appropriately treat C. Difficile and Sepsis resulting in the death of a 69-year-old man.  Verdict: Not Guilty.

 

• Lead Counsel for local hospital.  Tried May 17, 2010 – May 25, 2010, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleging two thermal buttocks’ burns following a Dilatation and Curettage.  Verdict: Hung Jury (10-2 in favor of Hospital).

 

• Lead Counsel for psychiatrist.  Tried September 17, 2009 - October 6, 2009, in Circuit Court of Cook County. Medical Malpractice case alleging failure to prevent a 54-year-old chronic schizophrenic patient from exiting the 5th story window in a nursing home.  Verdict: Not Guilty.

 

• Co-Counsel for gastroenterologist.  Tried June 11, 2007 - June 29, 2007, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case alleging failure to diagnose perforation of a duodenal ulcer in a timely manner resulting in sepsis related complications of hypoxia and stroke resulting in significant disabling brain injury.  Verdict:  Not Guilty.

 

• Co-Counsel for internal medicine physician.  Tried August, 2006, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case involving alleged failure to diagnose myocardial infarction resulting in death of 60-year-old father of two grown children.  Verdict: For Plaintiff ($2.5 million).

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• Co-Counsel for local hospital.  Tried January 7-28, 2002, in Circuit Court of Cook County.  Medical Malpractice case involving an alleged failure to diagnose a brain tumor in a 4-year-old child. Verdict:  Not Guilty.

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