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Jul. 21--The husband of a Chicago woman whose suicide in 2001 spurred greater awareness of the dangers of postpartum mental illness has reached a $900,000 settlement with a doctor and hospital that treated her.
Sam Stokes III filed a wrongful-death suit in 2002 against Dr. George Melnyk and Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, alleging that his wife, Melanie, had not been treated properly for depression in late May 2001--about three months after the birth of the couple's daughter.
Melanie Stokes was released from the hospital June 1, 2001. She disappeared June 7 and, four days later, jumped to her death from a 12th-floor window of the Days Inn Gold Coast on North Clark Street.
Under the settlement, Stokes and the couple's daughter, Sommer, each get about $300,000, with the rest going to attorney fees and expenses, the family's lawyer, Beverly Spearman, said Thursday.
"It's fair resolution," Spearman said. "It will give the family some closure so they can go on with their lives."
The settlement was reached in May. A Cook County judge approved the distribution of the funds Wednesday, Spearman said. Under the settlement, Melnyk pays $750,000 and the hospital pays $150,000. Neither admits to wrongdoing.
The tragedy prompted Melanie's mother, Carol Blocker, to start a foundation named after her daughter to raise awareness about postpartum depression and psychosis.
After Melanie Stokes' death, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) introduced a bill named after her that would boost research on postpartum mental illness and provide grants to doctors who follow practices that are considered the best forms of treatment. The bill has yet to pass, but it was reintroduced again this year, staffers said Thursday.
Melanie Stokes began to show troubling signs of depression in April 2001, her family has said. Over a seven-week period, she was admitted three times to the psychiatric units of three different hospitals.
The lawsuit alleged that Melnyk failed to administer proper doses of medication or had not properly assessed the risks of suicide.
Lawyers for Lutheran General said in court papers that defense experts would testify that Melnyk and the hospital did all they could. They said Melanie Stokes denied having thoughts of suicide when she was discharged and that Melnyk had put her on proper medication.
Hospital officials would not comment specifically Thursday on their decision to settle.
"The hospital made a contribution to the overall settlement in the case," said Michael Wiegel, the hospital's director of risk management. "This obviously was a tragic event for the family and all those who knew Mrs. Stokes."
Melnyk's attorney, Scott Hammer, declined to comment.
mjhiggins@tribune.com
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Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune
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