A Cook County Circuit Court jury has awarded $2.7 million to the family of a Midlothian man after finding that his 2002 death from heart disease resulted, in part, from medical negligence.
The jury awarded the family of Scott Tracy $5.4 million, ruling his death resulted from negligence on the part of his physician, Lee Freund, D.O. and the Midwest Physician Group in Crestwood which employed Freund. The award amount was later halved to account for Tracy’s own negligence in his treatment, according to Robert J. Napleton, the Tracy family’s attorney.
In the suit, Tracy’s family argued his life could have been spared if his doctor had ensured he took a stress test within two to three days. Tracy, 36, went to his doctor May 6, 2002, after experiencing pain in his chest and left arm, Napleton said. The doctor ordered a stress test and instructed him to monitor his blood pressure, Napleton said. On May 23, Tracy died of heart disease, a day before he was scheduled to undergo the stress test.
Tracy v. Freund, et al, 02 L 15583.