In 1999, 12 year old Andrew Muno was undergoing surgery on his arm to repair a torn tendon when something went terribly wrong, resulting in his death.  In a clear case of medical negligence, the boy was given an antibiotic that he was allergic to, causing him to have breathing issues and leading to his death.

After a long, drawn out court battle the family won their case in 2006 and was awarded a wrongful death settlement of $7.5 million.

They wouldn’t see any of that money for a while, though, because the anesthesiologist in question, Dr. Dale Gordon, appealed the verdict twice; first to the Appellate Court and then to the state Supreme Court.

The appeals were finally put to rest a few weeks ago when Judge Raymond McKoski ruled that the original verdict be upheld, and awarded the family additional interest, bringing their total settlement amount to $9 million.

The family’s attorney has been quoted as saying, “After nine years of waiting for justice to be rendered for the death of their son, the Muno family is relieved to finally have closure of this horrible chapter in their lives.”

Source: www.suburbanchicagonews.com

The jury has returned a verdict in a tragic case of medical malpractice, in which Theresa Capwell lost her life at the hands of negligent doctors who failed to diagnose her inflamed pancreas.

She left behind three small children.

According to the family’s attorney, not only did the hospital staff treating Capwell fail to diagnose her condition, but they also missed several other opportunities to save her life.  Overlooking the obvious symptoms of pancreatitis, doctors instead wasted two weeks looking for cancer that did not exist.

Ultimately Capwell was placed on a breathing machine, which caused problems with her lungs that prevented proper oxygen intake.  Multiple physicians had ordered that Theresa be given a chest tube to assist her breathing.  Unfortunately, that procedure was never performed.

Because of this blatant oversight, the young mother of three went into cardiac arrest and her brain was deprived of oxygen for more than 10 minutes.  After lying in a coma for a year, Capwell died.

After a three week trial, the jury deliberated for 24 hours before returning their verdict.  The $7 million award is to be split up, with $3 million going to Capwell’s daughters and the remaining $4 million to her surviving husband.

Most people were horrified to hear about the terrible case of hospital malpractice that happened to actor Dennis Quaid and his wife Kimberly when they were at Cedars-Siani Medical Center for the birth of their children in 2007.  And on some levels, it was shocking to see how these types of tragic cases really can happen to anybody, even famous people.

The Quaid family filed a lawsuit against the hospital based on the fact that in November 2007 their newborn twins, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, were accidentally given a near-fatal dose of the blood thinner Heparin.  The infants spent weeks fighting for their lives after the disastrous mistake.  Thankfully they survived and are now said to be in good health.

After much negotiation between the parties, the Quaids decided to settle in the amount of $750,000.

Additionally, the California Department of Public Health has fined Cedars-Sinai $25,000 for the error.

In a separate lawsuit, the Quaids are suing the makers of Heparin, Baxter Healthcare Corp., for negligence due to the fact that the vials used for adult doses are similar to pediatric doses, making errors more likely to occur.

In many cases, such as this, hospital malpractice can nearly cost someone their life.  It must be taken seriously and dealt with severely.  Talk with a medical attorney if you think you or a loved one may have been a victim of hospital malpractice to find out what your rights are.

A Pennsylvania jury returned a guilty verdict last week in a medical malpractice case brought against Dr. Richard Behlke and Community Medical Center.

Laura and Daniel White sued the medical professionals after the 2001 birth of their son, during which they allege that medical negligence of both the doctor and the staff of the medical center resulted in their child’s severe brain damage.

On June 30, 2001, Dr. Behlke, who was not her primary obstetrician, instructed Mrs. White to go to the Community Medical Center after she placed a call indicating that she felt that something was wrong with her unborn child.  Although fetal monitors indicated that the baby was in distress, it took Dr. Behlke over two hours to arrive at the Center.

The baby was receiving very little oxygen during this time.

Upon arrival, Dr. Behlke elected to induce labor, which further complicated the situation.  Baby boy Cody was eventually delivered by Cesarean-section, but it was too late.

Cody now suffers from cerebral palsy, is almost completely blind, has lost the use of his hands and is mentally retarded.  According to the Whites, he functions at the level of a child who is 6-9 months old.  He is seven years old.

After deliberating for only four hours, the jury in the case attributed 60 percent of the negligence to Dr. Behlke and the other 40 percent to the medical center.  They further broke down the damages to provide $2 million to the Whites for health care expenses, and the other $18.5 million to Cody upon his 18th birthday, based on his pain and suffering, medical expenses and lost earning capacity.

The award is the largest in recent Pennsylvania history.

Source: The Scranton Times

A medical lawsuit against the Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City has been settled for nearly $1 million in damages. The lawsuit was filed after the death of William Meyer, who was being treated at the hospital for leukemia when he developed a fatal blood infection.

Meyer was undergoing chemotherapy at the VA in October 2004. Several days after his final treatment, he started experiencing diarrhea and stomach pain. Meyer’s wife, Pamela, called the hospital about his symptoms and was told an over-the-counter gas medication should help.

A Severe Infection: Every Minute Counted
However, gas was not the problem. According to the lawsuit, Meyer had developed a bacterial infection in his colon because of his reduced immunity from the chemotherapy.

When Meyer went to the emergency room, he had to wait 10 hours before receiving antibiotic treatment even though two doctors had ordered it. In fact, the medication was hanging on his gurney but had not been plugged into his IV.

Meyer suffered cardiac arrest and died (with his leukemia in remission) just a few days before his 46th birthday. His wife and daughter will receive compensation for general damages and Meyer’s lost wages.

What is medical malpractice, anyway? You hear the term on television all the time, but do you truly understand what it is, and how to file a medical malpractice suit if you needed to?

First you must understand what constitutes a medical malpractice claim. It occurs when a doctor or health care provider fails to provide a patient with competent care or medical treatment. But not every bad experience with a doctor can be considered malpractice. There has to be substantial impact on the patient, and it has to be proven that such impact was caused by negligence on the part of the doctor or health care provider.

If a patient consults with a doctor, and presents symptoms that could be attributed to a number of different illnesses or conditions, the doctor is responsible to explore the different possibilities and treatments for the patient. If the medical practitioner takes the appropriate measures to do so, but ultimately ends up misdiagnosing the problem, this doesn’t necessarily point to medical malpractice. The problem arises when a doctor knowingly fails to treat a patient properly, and this negligence results in personal injury to the patient.

So what do you do now? You feel that you’ve been a victim of medical malpractice negligence, have suffered personal injury as a result and you now want to be compensated. First things first, you must contact an attorney that specializes in medical malpractice suits. Your attorney will then work with you to get your case in order and prepare for possible trial.

The first, and possibly the most important part of a medical malpractice suit is evidence. There is no way you will win a settlement for malpractice if you can’t provide evidence to support your claim of negligence. For this reason, it is critical that you keep detailed records of every aspect of your case. The next step involves your attorney obtaining your medical records and having an impartial third party review them to help determine if there truly was medical negligence in your case.

If it is determined that you do, in fact, have a medical malpractice suit, notice will be sent to the health care provider involved. He or she will then have 90 days to prepare a case in their defense. At that point, there are three options available for the defense: settlement out of court, acceptance of liability and settlement through arbitration, or denial of the claim. If the latter is chosen, you’ll be heading to court.

Should your case end up in litigation, your attorney will present the evidence and medical records he or she has compiled, as well as the detailed medical report from the impartial third party to prove your medical malpractice case. The doctor or medical practitioner will present their own evidence in their defense. If it’s determined that medical malpractice did occur, you will be awarded a monetary settlement to compensate you for the personal injury you have suffered and to punish the doctor for their negligence.

The bottom line is, not every medical mistake constitutes medical malpractice. You need an experienced attorney representing you, and you must have a solid case with ample evidence that proves medical negligence in order to win your case and be awarded a medical malpractice settlement.