Bernie Mac’s widow dropped wrongful death lawsuit against doctor

Bernie Mac’s widow dropped a wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2010 against her late husband’s dermatologist, Dr. Rene M. Earles. Bernie Mac, born Bernard McCollough, was an actor and comedian from Chicago who died in August 2008 from complications caused by pneumonia.

Rhonda McCollough filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2010 against Dr. Earles for failing to recognize her husband’s signs of respiratory distress a few weeks prior to his death. Ms. McCollough claims that the defendant kept her husband at his clinic for several hours rather than having him transferred or admitted to the hospital, even after showing signs of respiratory failure. Dr. Earles stated that he treated Mac on the day in question and his patient appeared weak, and had a fever in addition to a rash.

After Mac conveyed to Dr. Earles that he had received an injection earlier that day for a cold, the defendant contacted the other treating physician only to find out that Mac had been diagnosed earlier that day with pneumonia in both lungs. Once he received this information he then advised his patient to go to the hospital. Mac was purportedly kept in the defendant’s clinic for 9 hours, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Ms. McCollough’s attorney asked the judge to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit in a manner that will allow them to re-file the case once some issues are cleared up. They apparently have no intention to drop the case, but there are some issues that they need to resolve.

Bernie Mac’s doctor treated him for more than 10 years for sarcoidosis, a disease that causes inflammation in the body’s tissues.

Medical malpractice attorneys familiar with Illinois law have suggested that the case may have been dropped due to the fact that the defendant did not have medical malpractice insurance at the time of Mac’s death, which would reduce the amount of money that the plaintiff could recover. Illinois physicians are not required to carry and maintain medical malpractice insurance.

Dr. Earles also has a pending claim against Bernie Mac’s estate for unpaid medical bills allegedly equaling over $1 million.