Hansen v. Baxter Healthcare Corp.

Plaintiffs decedent, Andrina Hansen, suffered an air embolism because an intravenous (IV) tube became detached from a catheter inserted into her jugular vein. The embolism caused brain damage and paralysis; Andrina died a little more than four years later.

The administrator of Andrina’s estate filed medical malpractice claims, in the circuit court of Cook County, against the hospital and one of her treating nurses. He later added survival and wrongful-death claims based on a products liability theory against the manufacturer of the IV tube and connecting devices, Baxter Healthcare Corporation…