Medical center named in negligence suit for using allegedly defective equipment

MetroSouth Medical Center is facing a lawsuit over claims it was negligent.

Norma Ruggio filed a lawsuit Nov. 12 in Cook County Circuit Court against Blue Island Hospital Co. LLC, also known as MetroSouth Medical Center, citing medical negligence.

The complaint states that on Nov. 16, 2011, Ruggio underwent a total knee arthroscopy procedure at the defendant's hospital. Following the procedure, the suit alleges that suffered frostbite on her knee due to lengthy exposure of the cryocuff.

She claims the defendant negligently monitored the cryocuff, failed to supervise the nursing staff, failed to set and adjust the cryocuff at the proper temperature, provided defective cryocuffs and failed to remove the cyrocuffs when they were causing frostbite to plaintiff's left knee, according to the complaint.

Ruggio is seeking more than $50,000 in damages. She is being represented in the case by the Law Offices of Scott B. Wolfman & Associates.

Cook County Circuit Court case No. 2013L012400.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.