Family Receives $3.7 Million in Wrongful Death Suit

The surviving family of a Wisconsin man who died of a misdiagnosed fungal infection has won in court in their wrongful death lawsuit.

The father of two, Gustavo Espinal-Santos, went to the Bellin Family Medical Center in December 2003 because he was feeling ill.  Physicians who treated the man diagnosed him as suffering from pneumonia.  Unfortunately, they were wrong.

The lawsuit alleged that the doctors were negligent in failing to order standard tests such as X-rays, causing them to miss the signs of what Espinal-Santos was actually suffering from:  a deadly fungal infection called blastomycosis.

After two visits to the medical center, Espinal-Santos was finally admitted and the real cause of his symptoms was discovered, but by then it was too late.  He died a short time later.

The medical malpractice trial was relatively quick, lasting only four days and the jury deliberated just eight hours before finding in favor of the plaintiffs.  The award will be reduced, however, because of Wisconsin’s damage caps law.

Source:  www.greenbaypressgazette.com