Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

In March of 2006, a man arrived at the Alton emergency room complaining of tightness in his throat, neck pain, blurred vision, and tightness in his chest. All of his symptoms pointed to an aortic aneurysm. However, doctors failed to properly examine the gentleman, and shortly thereafter he died from heart complications.

By definition, medical malpractice lawsuits arise when health care professionals are negligent in their care, and their acts and/or omissions not only violate accepted standards, but cause harm to the patient as well. Often hospitals, doctors, nurses, and other types of health care providers are covered by a form of professional liability insurance to offset the costs of lawsuits that occur as the result of malpractice.

But liability insurance serves another purpose: the costs of future medical care may be enormous if the injury is pervasive; but more than that, though money can never replace the life of a lost loved one, monetary penalties may serve as a message to health care professionals, motivating them to change their practices to avoid future litigation.

The family of the 2006 victim is likewise trying to send a message to the negligent doctors who were supposed to be responsible for the man’s care. According to the Madison St. Clair Record, the trial was set to start Monday morning at 9 a.m. in the Madison County Circuit Court with jury selection.

Wrongful death cases that result from medical malpractice are devastating. Not only does the victim bear pain and suffering, but his family and friends are robbed of his love, and companionship, as well as expected to bear the burden of large sums of hospital, medical, and related bills, arising from the health care professional’s negligence.

Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys have handled hundreds of cases of injuries brought on by negligence on the part of the care provider, and have worked tirelessly to fight for the rights of victims. Our attorneys are also responsible for bringing justice in the form of a record-high $14 million verdict against a doctor and hospital that failed to ignore abnormal chest x-ray results, which caused a substantial delay in the diagnosis of lung cancer. If you believe that you or someone you love may have been the victim of medical negligence, an attorney may be able to help you determine your rights.

Long Island Business News reported today on the judicial verdict in a malpractice case that was recently handed down. The lawsuit was filed against two doctors for their negligent post-op treatment which resulted in years of health problems for the unsuspecting medical victim.

Several years ago the patient underwent cardiac bypass surgery at St. Francis Hospital. Following the operation the victim suffered from what is known as a cardiac tamponade. It arises when there is bleeding into the chest following a heart procedure. Unfortunately, the two doctors charged with his care failed to diagnose the dangerous condition. That mistake allowed pressure to build in his chest without relief, leading to cardiac arrest.

The complications required a second cardiac surgery and a subsequent 2 ½ years of hospital stays and rehabilitation requirements. Many other troubles arose stemming from the initial mistake including nerve damage, brain injury, kidney failure, a trachostomy, bed sores, and sepsis.

The man filed a malpractice lawsuit against the negligent doctors for their treatment. After the trial the judge found in favor of the plaintiff, awarding him $7 million for his losses.

Continue reading "$7 Million Awarded in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit" »

KTBS.com recently reported on the prevalence and consequences of medical error involving misdiagnosis of cardiac problems in female patients.

As the report indicated, a misdiagnosis can occur in several forms: diagnosing the patient with the wrong condition, failing to diagnose anything at all (missed diagnosis), or delaying diagnosis and allowing complications to develop.

One of the most deadly forms of misdiagnosis involves heart health. A recent study discussed in the article points to the fact that doctors are much more likely to miss critical heart problem warning signs in female patients than in male patients

The study involved over 300 doctors who examined test medical records, one of a female patient and one of a male patient. Each patient showed the same symptoms. The doctors’ hypothetical diagnosis and treatment revealed the gender bias. The male test patient was diagnosed with heart problems more than thirty percent more frequently than the woman in the sample.

The prevalence of misdiagnoses is widespread, with many people never realizing that they have been victims. The National Patient Safety Foundation reports that nearly one in six people have been misdiagnosed at some point in their medical history. In particular, women under the age of 55 are seven times more likely to be misdiagnosed and sent home from the hospital. Once sent home, the chance of dying from heart complications increase by fifty percent.

For that reason, our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti continue to encourage anyone who suspects they may have suffered because of this medical error to contact our representatives. Many healthcare provider errors are never fully uncovered until lawyers begin investigating circumstances to better understand the causes of certain medical problems.

A trial began yesterday in a medical malpractice case alleging that a doctor’s failure to properly read an echocardiogram test lead to the heart attack death of a popular elected official in Ithaca, reports the Ithaca Journal.

George Dentes was a well-liked figure in his hometown. He was elected District Attorney of the county for fifteen years until his retirement in 2005. Always in good shape, Mr. Dentes was a former all-state high school football player, known for walking to work every day that he was on the job. However, in October of 2006 Mr. Dentes had a heart attack at home from which doctors were unable to save him.

Following his death, Mr. Dentes widow contacted a medical malpractice attorney and filed suit against Mr. Dentes doctor. The suit alleges that the doctor failed to properly read a recent echocardiogram test, commonly known as a “stress test,” which should have revealed that Mr. Dentes had heart disease. Had the doctor noticed the medical issue following the test, surgery could have been performed that could have saved Mr. Dentes life.

According to the National Institute of Health the stress test typically involves having a patient engage in exercise (such as running on a treadmill) and then using an ultrasound machine to determine which parts of the heart are not receiving sufficient blood or oxygen due to blocked arteries. If necessary, more intrusive tests, such as an angioplasty, can be performed to further pinpoint the blockage and the need for long-term surgical solutions.

As alleged in this case, however, at times doctors misread radiological procedures like ultrasounds, which result in a failure to diagnosis life-threatening conditions. Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti have extensive experience fighting for victims of misread radiological procedures like x-rays, slides, and ultrasounds. In one case, we won a record $14 million verdict against a doctor who misread an x-ray leading to a failure to diagnosis lung cancer. Medical professionals have an obligation to properly read the results of tests they perform. If you feel you may have been the victim of a misread test or procedure, contact a local attorney to ensure your rights are protected.

A physician was held accountable in a wrongful death lawsuit for neglecting to diagnose a patient. The patient died of a dissected aorta and bled to death. The patient asked the doctor to see a cardiologist at the hospital but was never given that opportunity. On the same day he was discharged from the hospital, he died. The man’s estate was awarded $1.5 million in the medical malpractice lawsuit.

Read more about the medical malpractice award here.

A Chicago medical malpractice attorney, John Perconti, stated in a press release that a settlement had finally been reached on behalf of Octavia Shealey, a Chicago hospital patient who died from cardiac arrest. The settlement reached $ 5,350,000.00 for medical malpractice against Octavia’s physicians. Although Octavia had signs of congestive heart failure after giving birth to her daughter which would implicate she was suffering from postpartum cardiomyopathy, she went undiagnosed. The physicians instead checked Octavia into the emergency room overnight. Not until the next morning did a cardiologist recognize Octavia’s symptoms. This recognition was too late and Octavia died of heart failure within the Chicago hospital walls.

Read more about the Chicago medical malpractice settlement here.

A jury found a negligent doctor caused the death of a pharmacist. The pharmacist visited the doctor four days before his death because he was experiencing chest pain, jaw pain, and anxiety. Instead of concluding the man was having a heart attack, the doctor delayed diagnosis by taking a electrocardiogram. The widow’s attorney said the doctor should have taken reasonable steps to send the pharmacist to the emergency room to be checked out. The pharmacist then died of a heart attack four days later.

Read more about the negligent doctor here.

According to a report, women were 52 percent more likely to experience delayed diagnosis during emergency medical services than men. The emergency medical services’ delay came while transporting the patient to the hospital. No apparent evidence to why this delay was given. However, the article did claim heart conditions in women may not be readily diagnosed by physicians and thus lead to a slower medical response. This becomes a major concern because women’s health depends on timely medical treatment. Delay could lead to serious medical harm.

For the full story, click here.

A family of an inmate who died after officials ignored his plea that he needed medical help has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and jail. When the inmate collapsed, a nurse requested a deputy to administer CPR and the deputy was negligent in laughing and walking away.

For the full article.

A young man with a heart valve condition was misdiagnosed by doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. The heart valve condition led to an infection in his hearts and the hospital repeatedly misdiagnosed it by sending the man home with allergy medication once and instructions on visiting a back specialist another time. The infection led to a stroke that left the man with severe physical and mental disabilities. The man settled his malpractice lawsuit against the groups representing the doctors and received $10.2 million that his wife says will be used to continue his rehabilitation and search or him to recover. The amount of the settlement was based on his projected future earnings. The man suffered a stroke after the infection was misdiagnosed. He still suffers from seizures, has no use of his right hand and has difficulty walking, talking and reading. To read the full story, click here.

The leading cause of death in the US is coronary artery disease, or narrowing of arteries supplying blood to the heart. This condition results in a heart disease and failure to diagnose can lead to wrongful death. Doctors oftentimes make mistakes in diagnoses including: failure to take seriously a patient’s complaints, failure to notice or understand the nature of a patient’s symptoms, failure to order the proper tests, failure to properly read or interpret test results, and failure to refer a patient to a specialist for further testing or treatment. If doctors are negligent in these areas they may contribute a patient’s heart attack. Since 1.1 million Americans suffer heart attacks ever year, with 460,000 being fatal, it is extremely important that doctors are through in their examinations. To read the full story, click here.

Research shows that signs of heart disease are more likely to be blamed on stress when the patient is a woman. In two studies, 230 family doctors and internists were shown sample cases of 47-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman. Half the vignettes included sentences indicating the patient had recently experienced a stressful life event or appeared anxious. When the case study involved standard heart symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath and irregular heart beat, there was no difference in the doctor’s advice for the man or the woman. However, when stress was included as a symptom, gender differences emerged. The presence of stress changed the way doctors interpreted a woman’s symptoms, prompting them to suggest psychological factors rather than physical causes, while this didn’t occur in men. When stress was listed as a symptom, only 15 percent of doctors diagnosed heart disease in women, while they diagnosed it in 56 percent of men. These findings could help explain why there is often a delay in the assessment of woman with heart disease. To read the full story, click here.

After actor John Ritter died in 2003 from an aortic dissection, his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against multiple doctors and a hospital. The family settled with the hospital and other people involved for $14 million but sought another $67 million at trial against remaining doctors, alleging that Ritter’s cardiologist misdiagnosed his aortic dissection as a heart attack, consequently mistreating it. Further, the suit alleged that a radiologist failed to perform an x-ray which could have shown the aortic dissection, leading to a missed opportunity for Ritter to receive potentially life-saving surgery. The jury, however, disagreed with his family’s arguments and found in favor of the defendant doctors.

While the Ritter family did not receive the $67 million they asked for, the case still showed the inequities of capping medical malpractice awards. For loss of income, there is normally no cap or a very high one, where as loss of companionship has very low limits. This means that wealthy people, who would have made more in their lifetime, can be awarded larger settlements for the same issues. Often this means that a case on behalf of a decedent who was retired, unemployed, or otherwise not making much money will not be worth filing because of caps on potential awards. Conversely, the same case on behalf of a decedent who was making a large amount of money will be worth filing because the award may be greater since loss of income will have a high cap, if one at all. For example, Ritter’s family could have been awarded a large amount because he had huge earning potential, whereas an unemployed person who died in the same manner would not have been able to receive nearly as large an award because their earning potential was so much smaller.

Read more here.

A study in the May issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery shows that the rate of limb amputation is higher in Chicago’s black communities than in suburban white communities. The data showed that blacks in Chicago are five times more likely to have a limb amputated than suburban whites. Notably, many amputations are preventable. Limb amputations can often be the product of low quality health care and doctor errors, poor access to health care resources, and a doctor's failure to give information about procedures and treatments. One of the more common causes of amputations is untreated pressure sores that may result from diabetes and heart disease.

Read the news story here.

One of the greatest organizational problems facing hospitals today is the battle over medical records. Many patients find that it can take months or years to get a hold of their own medical records after treatment. Even worse, some families of victims of medical malpractice or wrongful death have waited for years to obtain their loved one’s medical records from hospitals. Often, lost or missing records are simply part of hospital error and not a deliberate attempt to delay, but on some occasions hospitals may frustrate a patient’s records request purposefully. Patients and victims’ families must be aware that statutes of limitation often require that medical malpractice lawsuits be filed within a certain period of time after the injury occurs or is discovered. This means that patients and victims’ families must decide to file a medical malpractice lawsuit and contact their medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible and begin the medical records request process.

Read more here.

In a recent medical malpractice lawsuit, a birth injury that was allegedly caused by a nurse-doctor communication breakdown yielded a $1.2 million settlement. Nurses were concerned that the birth was taking too long, but were hesitant to consult the doctor about these fears due to his reputation of angry responses to perceived criticism. The infant developed cerebral palsy.

Physicians too commonly react harshly to instances where they feel bothered by the nursing staff, such as late-night clarification requests, difficulties with procedures, changes in patient condition and more. The negative consequences of verbal abuse or disruption in hospitals are significant; reduced communication, team collaboration, information transfer and concentration are all reported as responses to disruptive behavior. Patient safety is compromised in many ways by these reported breakdowns. Medical errors increase in disruptive or abusive situations and the quality of care decreases. Patient mortality increases with these outbursts. Medication errors have also been caused by verbally abusive hospital staff relations.

Click here for the full article

Continue reading "Hospital conduct leads to reduced patient safety and medical malpractice lawsuits" »

The trial of a wrongful death lawsuit brought against a cardiologist and his team began recently. The plaintiff, the 91 year old father of the 65 year-old victim, sued the doctors, alleging medical malpractice during their care of his son in January 2005. The medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that the doctor failed to get an angiograph done in a timely manner despite repeated medical indications that it was needed immediately. The victim was sent to the cardiologist in December of 2004 after experiencing symptoms of a heart attack. By the time the doctor looked at the patient, it was too late because much of the victim’s heart muscle had been permanently damaged.

For the full article.

A medical malpractice lawsuit was recently settled for over $1.5 million on behalf of the family of a 37-year-old Illinois man who died of a heart problem resulting from the negligence of his doctor. The man died only days before a follow-up appointment was scheduled with his doctor. Unfortunately, during previous visits the doctor failed to perform the necessary tests to monitor the health of the man, who suffered from cardiac sarcoidosis. The tests the doctor should have performed include a Holter monitor test, an echocardiogram and a Thallium stress test. The doctor also failed to properly treat the patient, by neglecting to install an implantable defibrillator to regulate the man's heart rhythm.

A jury found that the negligence of a pediatrician and two physician assistants resulted in the death of a one year old. The child died of cardiac failure and severe myocarditis, a disorder that is usually caused by viral infections. The doctor and physician assistants failed to perform a complete evaluation of the child and failed to respond properly to the child’s symptoms upon admittance. The plaintiff’s medical malpractice attorney was quoted as stating that a majority of the jurors saw this case as warranting a $5 to $7 million reward case, but one juror was out of touch.

For the full article.

A jury awarded the family of a man nearly $2 million in damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit for negligent treatment in failure to diagnose a cardiac condition. The man went to the E.R. for treatment of chest pain and numbness in October 2003. A doctor mis-diagnosed him as having a gastroesophageal problem and reassured the man that he had a healthy heart. Again, the hospital acted negligently when the man’s wife called the hospital in November 2003. The man was experiencing similar pains to those he experienced the previous month and the E.R. nurses who answered the call did not tell the woman to bring her husband into the E.R. He died later that day in a death that may have been prevented if the hospital would have properly diagnosed his cardiac condition.

For the full article.