$2,000,000 Verdict - Medical Malpractice

On May 3, 2024, a Peoria County, Illinois jury returned a verdict for a 13-year-old girl and against pediatric surgeon Mark J. Holterman, M.D. The jury found that Holterman was negligent as a surgeon regarding his treatment of the girl in 2011.  The jury awarded the girl more than $2 million in damages for her injuries.

From 2011 to 2017, Holterman was a pediatric surgeon at OSF Children’s Hospital in Peoria.  In July 2011, when the girl was 9 months old, she came to the hospital because of a choking episode. Holterman examined her esophagus and found a piece of carrot. He also found a narrowed area called a stricture.  He then dilated the stricture and caused a 2cm tear in her esophagus. To treat the tear, he used a leftover adult airway stent to try and cover the tear, but he dropped it in her stomach. The stent remained in her stomach for 11 months. During the 11 months, the girl developed feeding problems as she was dependent on a feeding tube inserted through her abdomen into her stomach.