Couple sues hospital, doctor over son's dwarfism

The parents of an infant born a dwarf are suing the hospital where their son was born and the doctors who delivered him, claiming they failed to diagnose fetal abnormalities.

Sung Jun Chun and Youn Joung Kim filed a wrongful birth lawsuit Aug. 12 in the Cook County Circuit Court against NorthShore University HealthSystem, NorthShore University HealthSystem Medical Group, and Dr. Mark Neerhof.

According to the suit, Neerhof performed an ultrasound on March 24, 2012, but failed to accurately diagnose abnormalities that were present when the couple's son was born on Aug. 8, 2012.

The plaintiffs say their son was diagnosed with dwarfism on Aug. 12, 2012 and in June 2013, learned that a second trimester ultrasound like the one Neerhof performed in March shows characteristics of dwarfism.

The couple accuses all of the defendants of failing to properly interpret the ultrasound results, not testing for dwarfism and failing to provide accurate genetic testing, among other allegations.

As a result, the plaintiffs claim they have incurred and will continue to incur extraordinary expenses throughout their son's life in order to properly manage and treat his dwarfism.

They are seeking a $50,000 judgment against each defendant, plus costs, and are represented by attorney Mark R. McKenna of Hurley, McKenna & Mertz P.C. in Chicago.

The suit names Midwest Center for Women's Healthcare and Dr. Jennifer Kim as respondents in discovery.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L008476.

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