Eight years after a nurse was falsely accused of breaking an infant’s arm during treatment at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center, a federal jury has awarded the woman nearly $3.9 million for malicious prosecution, false arrest, unlawful detention and other losses.
An order filed Wednesday outlines the damages owed to Crispiniana Domingo, who in 2016 was arrested and charged with aggravated battery to an infant being treated at UIC hospital. Domingo is owed $3.67 million in compensatory damages and $220,000 in punitive damages from the UIC officer who falsely charged her with beating the child and breaking his arm, according to court records.
Domingo, a Bolingbrook resident, was found not guilty of the original battery charges in February 2018, per the complaint.
She spent about a week in Cook County Jail and was suspended from work for about two years during criminal proceedings, the complaint stated.
Attorney Richard Dvorak said an investigation of the baby’s medical history helped clear Domingo of the charges, but that the allegations and legal process were “absolutely horrible and devastating” for her.
He said the verdict and award was a “huge message to police and detectives that they can’t just ignore all of this medical evidence and prosecute people for crimes they didn’t commit.”
Domingo has not worked in nursing since the 2016 accusation, he said.
“(Domingo) had a really good, productive life and this is a classic example of how malicious prosecution can destroy someone’s life,” he said.
An attorney for the officer who was the defendant in the case was unavailable for comment.
