Blankenships receive $6 million compensation for infant son's death due to medical negligence

A couple who alleged that Saint Louis University failed to diagnose and treat a bacterial infection that led to their 6-month-old son’s death were awarded $6 million by a St. Louis jury on Aug. 17. The parents were represented by attorneys David M. Zevan and Kevin J. Davidson of St. Louis-based Zevan & Davidson.

On June 26, 2002, Dewayne and Suzanne Blankenship took their 6-month-old son Dylan to SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center for a medical evaluation. Dylan was feverish and lethargic and was having difficulty breathing. Later that day, he was discharged from the hospital. The next day Dylan was taken by ambulance back to Cardinal Glennon and admitted. He died six days later.

In a wrongful death medical malpractice lawsuit filed against several defendants, including Saint Louis University, which was providing hospital services through the Cardinal Glennon facility, the Blankenships alleged that Saint Louis University negligently failed to diagnose and treat a bacterial infection. The suit, Blankenship v. Saint Louis University, et al., cause no. 22052-07195, was filed July 1, 2005, in St. Louis Circuit Court.

The Blankenships’ claims against all of the defendants except Saint Louis University were dismissed before trial. The jury trial against Saint Louis University began on Aug. 10 of this year. On Aug. 17, the jury awarded the parents $6,080,000.

“We hope that this verdict will promote change so that another child will not suffer the way Dylan did,” explained attorney David M. Zevan. Zevan also noted that the case was filed before the $350,000 damage cap went into effect. “If the damage cap had applied, it would have been unlikely, due to the high costs associated with medical malpractice litigation, that a case would have ever been filed.”