Personal Injury Law

Family Awarded $3 Million In Medical Malpractice Death

By Louthian Law Firm

The Washington Post reports a jury has awarded $3 million to the family of a man who died after being misdiagnosed as having a hiatal hernia.

After barbecuing a steak and taking a bite, a 52-year-old man went to the Inova HealthPlex at Franconia-Springfield, Virginia, on July 6, 2006, with chest pains and complaining of trouble swallowing. After X-rays, EKG, and a CT scan of his chest, the radiologist's notes show he thought the patient was suffering from "a large hiatal hernia."

After being treated with oral medications with no success, the man was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital where he continued to be treated with oral medications for his severe chest pain. The next day, a surgeon found the man had a perforated esophagus and ordered he be prepared for immediate surgery.

After suffering from the perforated esophagus for over 24 hours, he was severely weakened and went into cardiac arrest as he was being prepped for surgery, suffered irreparable brain damage and died July 17, 2006.

The widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the radiologist, the Association of Alexandria Radiologists and Fairfax Anesthesiology. Fairfax Anesthesiology settled out of court for $600,000. Due to a state cap on medical malpractice, the jury award was lowered to $1.25 million.

The Columbia SC Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Louthian Law Firm have many years of experience in medical malpractice cases and we are committed to providing personal service and to obtaining fair compensation for all our clients. Call us at 1-866-410-5656 or fill out our confidential online case evaluation form.

Medical Malpractice

Full post as published by South Carolina Lawyer Blog on March 02, 2010 (boomark / email).