Cook County Jury Awards $51 Million After Hospital Skips Glucose Test, Patient Suffers Permanent Brain Injury

In 2022, John Reinke, then 47 years old, went to the emergency room at OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center complaining of a severe headache unlike anything he had experienced before. He had documented risk factors for diabetes, including obesity and a history of gout. Despite those warning signs, hospital staff did not order a blood glucose test.

Physicians diagnosed Reinke with a tension headache, gave him medication, and sent him home. Days later he was found unresponsive. He had suffered a cardiac arrest triggered by a severe, undetected diabetic crisis.

The cardiac arrest caused anoxic brain injury. Reinke now requires 24-hour care. He cannot walk, speak, or eat independently, and his family has sought assistive communication technology to allow him any form of expression.

Smith LaCien LLP attorney Jason Williams tried the case on behalf of Reinke, arguing that a routine blood sugar screening would have identified the diabetic crisis before it became life-threatening. Williams told reporters after the verdict: 'I hope that screening for diabetes becomes a mantra in emergency rooms across the country so that outcomes like this can be avoided.' OSF Healthcare System and the physician named in the suit denied any wrongdoing.

The Cook County jury returned a verdict of $51,015,445 in April 2026. No appeal or remittitur has been publicly reported as of the filing of this record.