Children's hospital hit with lawsuit over baby's death following ventilator transfer

The parents of a baby who died during an attempt to transfer him to a different ventilation system has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a Chicago hospital.

James Edward Miller III and Jenna Louise Miller, as co-administrators of their son Korbin, sued Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Dec. 29 in Cook County Circuit Court.

According to the complaint, Korbin, who was born on Nov. 26, 2012, was transferred to Lurie Children's Hospital for evaluation and treatment for respiratory arrest on Jan. 2, 2013.

One of the defendants' doctors attempted to transfer Korbin from a high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) system to an avea ventilation system on Jan. 6, 2013, when he suffered respiratory arrest and could not be resuscitated.

The Millers allege the defendant was negligent by trying to wean Korbin from the HFOV ventilator system when it wasn't safe to do so and failed to protect his airway, causing him to sustain hypoxic respiratory failure and ultimately die.

The suit names Drs. Meredith Bone and Z. Leah Harris as respondents in discovery to determine if anyone else should be named defendants.

The Millers are seeking damages and are represented by attorney Bruce R. Pfaff of Pfaff, Gill & Ports of Chicago.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in 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 represents only one side of the story.