Results tagged “failure to diagnose” from Medical Malpractice Lawyers & Attorneys

In Brooklyn, New York, a family recently received $1.4 million for their medical malpractice lawsuit.  According to reports, the lawsuit involved an infant who had lost his eyesight due to medical negligence.  The infant was allegedly suffering from a serious brain tumor that his doctor failed to diagnose, which led to the baby losing his vision.

It took approximately 4 months for the physician tending to the infant to diagnose the brain tumor.  The plaintiff argued that delay in diagnosis adversely impacted the child's health.  However, the defense asserted that even though there was a slight delay in diagnosis, it did not cause the infant to lose his eyesight.  They claim that even if the tumor had been diagnosed earlier, the child would have still lost his vision.

After ongoing negotiations, the two parties were able to negotiate a settlement of $1.4 million for the medical malpractice lawsuit.  The settlement was approved by the Brooklyn Supreme Court of the State of New York.

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Three doctors in West Virginia have been named as defendants in a medical malpractice lawsuit for allegedly failing to diagnose a patient's condition.

William Todd Gibson filed the lawsuit against Dr. Ronald D. Bowe, an internal medicine physician, Dr. Allen J. Holmes, an emergency medicine physician, and Dr. Tamara Aman, an osteopathic physician.  Gibson sought treatment from all three doctors from November 27, 2007 through December 10, 2007.

He is claiming his physicians were negligent in diagnosing the signs of a neurological impairment. Specifically, his physicians failed to order an MRI of his cervical thoracic and lumbar spine, an immediate evaluation by a neurosurgeon, and immediate measures to reduce the swelling around his spinal cord. Gibson is also claiming that his physicians failed to admit him to the hospital or transfer him to a neurological center that was capable of producing MRI imaging, as well as neurosurgical therapy.

Gibson is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.  In the lawsuit, he claims he was required to undergo additional medical care.  He also says he suffered new injuries, great physical and emotional pain, decreased enjoyment of life, and was forced to change his lifestyle as a result of his injuries. He also claims to have incurred medical expenses.

If you have suffered an injury due to doctor or hospital malpractice, click here to find a medical malpractice attorney in your state who can help you take legal action!

Today, arbitrators ruled in favor of a middle school administrator who filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente.  The administrator, Timothy Howard, filed his claim after physicians failed to diagnose his symptoms, which led to him becoming disabled permanently.

Kaiser Permanente, California's largest non-profit HMO, was ordered to pay Howard $5 million for his injuries.  According to Howard's claim, his physicians failed to diagnose signs of an impending stroke, which later left him paralyzed and disabled indefinitely.  Additionally, an infection related to his stroke led to him having both of his legs amputated.
 
On November 18th, a panel of three arbitrators ruled in favor of Howard.  They said that the physicians at Kaiser Permanente were negligent and failed to properly diagnose Howard's symptoms, some of which included blindness and persistent headaches. 

Howard's lawyer argued that if his client had received proper treatment with medication, his artery would have repaired itself in a few months and the stroke may have never occurred.  However, the condition remained undiagnosed and led to a traumatic stroke two years later. 

Jim Anderson, a spokesman from Kaiser Permanente said, "We all agree that this is a terrible tragedy for Mr. Howard and his family, and all of them have our deepest sympathy."

If you have been harmed by failure to diagnose, click here to find a medical malpractice attorney near you!

A Wisconsin jury has awarded $3.7 million to the family of a farm worker who died after doctors failed to properly diagnose and treat an infection.

Gustavo Espinal-Santos died in January, 2004 after contracting a fungal infection known as blastomycosis, which is often transmitted through water or soil.

According to the medical malpractice lawsuit filed by Santos' family, the first time Santos came to Bellin Family Medical Center he was seen by a physician who concluded he was suffering from the effects of pneumonia. 

Santos' family is claiming the hospital was negligent in failing to run basic diagnostic tests, specifcially X-rays, that would have helped to diagnose his condition.

The jury returned their verdict after a four-day trial and eight hours of deliberation.  Both Bellin Health System and Dr. Peri Aldrich were found to be negligent in providing proper medical treatment to Santos.

Santos is survived by his wife and two daughters.

For more information about failure to diagnose cases, please click here to contact a medical malpractice attorney near you.

In a medical malpractice lawsuit, a West Virginia man has sued his doctor for allegedly failing to diagnose colorectal cancer, also known as colon cancer.

Timothy A. Walden, Sr. is claiming that Dr. Ahmad Maraikayer failed to diagnose colorectal cancer in a timely manner and ignored requests for additional testing despite the fact that Walden had been complaining of symptoms for more than 18 months. 

Although Walden began seeing Dr. Maraikayer in June 2006, he was not diagnosed with cancer until January 2008. 

Walden is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.

Recovering Compensation for a Failure to Diagnose

When a doctor or physician fails to diagnose or treat a disease, illness, or condition in a timely manner, it can lead to devastating side effects and serious health complications for the patient.  If a patient can prove that their doctor was negligent in diagnosing their condition or illness, they will be eligible to file for damages under medical malpractice law.  Common types of damages sought in a failure to diagnose lawsuit include compensation for pain and suffering, decreased enjoyment of life, loss of wages, and all current and future medical expenses.

For more information about claims involving failure to diagnose, click here to contact a medical malpractice attorney near you!

In Arkansas, a woman by the name of Linda Beaty has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital and six doctors.  Beaty filed her lawsuit after learning that a brain tumor had been discovered on her MRI.  Despite finding the tumor, her doctors never referred her to specialists or advised Beaty to obtain follow up treatment. 

On July 17, 2009, Beaty filed the lawsuit against Mercy Health Systems, six doctors and their insurers.  In her complaint, Beaty says that the MRI had been signed by two radiologists and had revealed that she had a brain tumor in 2007.  However, she did not discover that she had this lethal condition until she has a seizure in May 2008. 

A brain tumor is an abnormal cell growth on the brain, which may be cancerous or non-cancerous.  When a brain tumor grows, it may exert pressure on the brain which can lead to seizures or epilepsy.  Brain tumors account for nearly 13,000 deaths each year and must be surgically removed unless patients receive immediate radiation therapy, which has been known to treat cancerous cells.

In June 2008, Beaty had surgery to remove her tumor after learning of its existence.  At this time, it is unclear what amount Beaty is seeking from the defendants.
 
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A man was awarded $19.2 million in a paraplegia medical malpractice case against Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York.

According to the lawsuit filed in Bronx Supreme Court (12th Judicial District), Willfredo Figueroa became paralyzed from the waist down after doctors to failed to diagnose and treat a spinal abscess in a timely manner.  Due to a delayed diagnosis, Figueroa suffered a compressive injury, damaging nerve cells in his spinal cord.

Figueroa's attorney, James Wilkens of Duffy & Duffy, proved that the hospital failed to conduct and examine appropriate tests, such as a CT scan and an MRI, even though there were progress notes that indicated Figueroa might have spinal injuries. Wilkens also claimed the hospital failed to notify a neurosurgeon and other experts about Figueroa's condition. Furthermore, Wilkens argued that even though Figueroa first came to the hospital on September 22, 2004, the appropriate tests were not administered until October 4, 2004.

Damages were awarded for Figueroa's medical needs, lost earnings, future loss of wages, pain and suffering, and decreased quality of life.

"An award of this magnitude is certainly necessary to compensate him for the losses, costs, and other burdens our client and his loved ones are forced to endure the rest of their lives," said Wilkens.

For more information about delay of diagnosis claims, click here to find a medical malpractice lawyer near you. 

A settlement has been reached in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by a Florida woman who claims she contracted a flesh-eating bacteria during the delivery of her child at Orlando Regional South Seminole Hospital.

Claudia Mejia Edwards, who eventually lost all four of her limbs, said the hospital attempted to discharge her after she complained of chills, rash, a fever, and other symptoms of the bacteria. Doctors eventually operated and discovered that Edwards had gangrene and Group A Streptococcal infection, which in layman's terms refers to a flesh-eating bacteria.  The removal of her limbs was necessary to prevent her death.

Edwards' lawyer alleged that one of her nurses was guilty of "wanton and reckless conduct" after she refused to testify under oath as to whether she was ever trained to identify the infection, and as to whether or not she noticed the infection on Edwards.

Doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals have a legal duty to abide by the proper standard of medical care in their field.  When a medical professional fails to do this, and as a result causes injury or death to a patient, they can be sued for damages.

Edwards' lawsuit was settled for an unspecified amount.

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A Clark County, Nevada District Court jury has returned a verdict of $2.5 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit involving a cancer misdiagnosis.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Elisa Sanchez, claims that Sanchez's doctor, Steven Lampinen, failed to diagnose cancer, which ultimately led to her death.  In 2004 Sanchez, who was 24 at the time, went to see Dr. Lampinen complaining of pain and blood in her stools.  After 7 months of continued visits to Dr. Lampinen and unresolved rectal bleeding and pain, Sanchez was rushed to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where doctors diagnosed her with aggressive colon and rectal cancer.

After Sanchez died from the cancer in 2007, her family sued Dr. Lampinen and his nurse Brian Bishop on grounds of medical negligence for not conducting a proper examination, discounting her symptoms, and misdiagnosing the cancer, all of which ultimately led to her death according to the lawsuit. The attorney representing Sanchez's family is arguing that if Sanchez had been properly diagnosed and examined when she first complained of pain and blood in her stool, her cancer survival rate would have been 97 percent.

By the time Sanchez was accurately diagnosed, her survival rate dropped from 97 percent to 50 percent. After extensive chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, Sanchez died from the cancer in 2007.

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The wife of a man who died after contracting a staph infection has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Florida doctors who failed to properly diagnose the infection that led to the man's death.

The widow of Ronald Carl claims that doctors at Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville, Florida acted negligently when they failed to properly evaluate and treat a boil, which turned out to be a virulent staph infection known as MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus).

The lawsuit states that Carl went to the hospital to get the boil looked at by a doctor, but was sent home with only antibiotics. A culture test was never taken to determine the nature of the condition.

A culture was finally taken on the boil when Carl returned the hospital a few days later to control his blood sugar. But although tests indicated that Carl had a MRSA infection, he was never notified and it was not documented in his medical records.

The lawsuit further claims that two months after the hospital failed to diagnose the MRSA infection, Carl was readmitted to the hospital but there was a 21-hour delay before he could be examined and diagnosed with the infection.   Although he was put in the intensive care unit, he suffered a cardiac arrest hours later and died the next morning.

When left untreated, MRSA infections can be life-threatening, impacting multiple parts of the body including bones, joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstream, lungs, and heart valves.

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In Dallas, Texas, a jury recently awarded $7 million to a family who filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Westchester County Medical Center.  The family filed the lawsuit after Theresa Capwell, a mother of three children, suffered severe brain damage and died after physicians failed to diagnose conditions such as her inflamed pancreas.

The family's attorney, Judith Livingston, claims that after the medical professionals failed to diagnose Capwell, they still had several chances to prevent her death.  Livingston alleges that Capwell went to the hospital and was admitted with distinguishable symptoms that would be indicative of pancreatitis.  However, doctors overlooked the symptoms and started to look for cancer for a time period of 2 weeks.  Capwell continued to grow weak and was placed on a breathing machine, which caused a buildup of air in her lungs, and prevented her lungs from functioning normally.  Eventually, the breathing machine prevented Capwell from receiving sufgficient oxygen as her lungs could not expand or contract correctly.  

Several doctors attending to Capwell had requested that she receive a chest tube to aid her breathing, but the requests were never fulfilled.  Due to the lack of treatment, Capwell went into cardiac arrest.  During that time, her brain was without oxygen for 12 minutes, which led to her incurring serious brain damage.  A year after the incident, Capwell died after living in a comatose-like state.

A jury returned a verdict against Westchester County Medical Center to the Supreme Court Justice presiding over the case, Nicholas Colabella, after they deliberated for 24 hours and went through a 3 week medical malpractice trial.  The jury awarded $3 million to Capwell's 3 daughters and awarded $4 million to her husband.

Westchester County Medical Center informed the public that they plan to appeal the $7 million verdict and that they will file a motion in the near future.

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According to a 2007 statistic released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a staggering 115 million people receive treatment in emergency rooms in America each year.  And, 225,000 of the 115 million receiving treatment die from medical malpractice (Journal of the American Medical Association).  Aside from medical malpractice, approximately half of the fatalities can be attributed to emergency room errors.  

The reports indicate that malpractice and errors occur because emergency rooms are so hectic and busy.  Additionally, medical staff working in emergency rooms nationwide have to work long hours, which can open the door for lethal errors.  Medical malpractice in emergency rooms commonly results from:

- incorrect diagnosis/misdiagnosis
- lack of diagnosis/treatment
- delay of necessary treatment due to emergency room overpopulation
- prescription/medication errors
- diagnostic test omissions
- failure to seek medical advice from specialists

According to a study released by Health Grades, Inc., approximate 20-40% of patients in emergency rooms are misdiagnosed by the health professionals treating them.  If the mistakes made by medical professionals are serious enough, the patient can suffer long-term harm, or even wrongful death.

If you or a loved one has suffered from medical malpractice in an emergency room, click here to find a skilled medical malpractice lawyer!

A woman was awarded $16 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit against Latter Day Saints (LDS) Hospital in Salt Lake City after contracting flesh-eating bacteria that lead to the amputation of three of her limbs.

Lisa Speckman lost her legs, right arm, and finger after contracting necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating bacterial infection. Speckman claims she contracted the infection while receiving post-natal care at the hospital after giving birth to her baby in 2005. Her reproductive organs, gall bladder, and most of her large intestine were also removed.

According to the lawsuit, Speckman is claiming the hospital doctors' negligent care lead to the debilitating infection.  Speckman said the hospital staff failed to diagnose and treat indications of the infection before her daughter was born. She also claims the hospital staff did not properly diagnose or treat a new infection that produced the flesh-eating condition following a Caesarean section.

Speckman and her attorneys sought damages and financial compensation to cover a lifetime of care. Speckman will need life-long treatment to care for her permanent and disabling injuries due to the medical malpractice incident.

Attorneys for LDS Hospital, Intermountain Health Care, and the doctors and nurses involved in the lawsuit deny any wrongdoing.

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Dr. James S. Snow of Liberty Regional Medical Center in Hinesville, Georgia has been fined by the state medical board for a case involving a 40-year-old woman who died in his care while awaiting discharge.

According to the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners, the patient, identified only as E.T., came to the emergency room at Liberty Regional Medical Center on January 10, 2004 with complaints of chest pains that she described as, "an elephant sitting on my chest." Snow ordered standard lab work, a chest X-ray, and an EKG. According to reports, the patient appeared to be getting better when she suddenly experienced "ventricular fibrillation" and died. Attempts were made to resuscitate her but were unsuccessful.

A peer reviewer appointed by the medical board to assess how Snow handled E.T.'s case concluded that Snow's actions failed to conform to minimum accepted standard of care in regards to both diagnosis and treatment.  

Snow signed a public consent order and agreed to pay $5,000 and complete 15 hours of continuing medical education. In addition, Snow will also pay $400 to the medical board as reimbursement for administrative fees.

Snow's profile on the medical board's website shows that Snow was also ordered to pay $750,000 in a medical malpractice settlement in May 2007. However, according to the medical board this settlement may occur for a number of reasons and does not automatically mean that Snow acted negligently or incompetently as a physician. Snow's most current consent order will also appear on his physician profile.

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A jury awarded an Indiana couple $8.1 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Eric and Renee Flora of New Carlisle, Indiana filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against podiatrist Dr. W. Douglas Kolmodin for failing to diagnose cancer in Renee Flora.

In early 2004, Renee Flora went to Dr. Kolmodin's office to have a growth removed from her big toe and tested for cancer. Flora believed herself to be in good health until the growth resurfaced a year later and she consequently was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Now in stage three cancer, Flora has only a 17% chance of living longer than 12 years, according to her attorney Rob Gonderman.

Both in court and in sworn affidavits, the Floras testified that they saw Dr. Kolmodin's place the lesion into a container to be sent out for testing. But that was the last day Dr. Kolmodin practiced in that office, as he was in the process of moving his office to a new location. Gonderman said it was during the moving process that Flora's specimen was lost.

According to court records, Dr. Kolmodin denies that the specimen was lost. He said the specimen had disintegrated upon removal from its container and that there was nothing left to test.

But the three podiatrists who reviewed the case for the Indiana Department of Insurance agreed that there should have been enough tissue to conduct a test, Gonderman said.

Upon conclusion of the five-day trial, the St. Joseph Superior Court jury found Dr. Kolmodin liable for medical malpractice after coming to the conclusion that Flora's odds at overcoming the cancer were significantly reduced because he failed to test the tissue for cancer.

Although the Floras declined to comment on the verdict, Gonderman said he was pleased with the verdict.

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