Lexis/Nexis, a legal news provider, compiled a list of the Top 10 medical malpractice verdicts of 2014 across the country. Here we present a summary of 5 of the most interesting from the list.
- Florida jury awards the family of a women who died of cervical cancer $15.6
A technologist at Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp) misread Darian Wisekal’s pap smear result. Three years later, Wisekal died of cervical cancer. The family claimed that due to the misinterpretation of the pap smear, the cancer spread and became untreatable. The jury rejected LabCorp’s argument that the disease which caused Wisekal’s death was not subject to diagnosis at the time and therefore, even if the LabCorp cytotechnologist had interpreted the relevant Pap smear as atypical, it would not have save Wisekal’s life.
- New York State Jury awards $172 Million to Girl Who Suffered Brain Damage From EMS Negligence
12-year-old Tiffany Applewhite suffered an adverse reaction to a steroid shot that her home healthcare provider administered to aid her eye condition. Tiffany went into anaphylactic shock which caused her heart to stop. It took 20 minutes for a private ambulance equipped with advanced life support to arrive. As a result of the delay, Tiffany suffered significant brain damage. A jury heard the claims against EMS and the City of New York and returned a verdict for the plaintiffs. This amount included $65,000,000.00 for Tiffany’s past and future pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. In addition, the award included over $ 90,000,000.00 for future medical care and expense.
- Connecticut State Jury Awards $12 Million for delayed diagnosis
Vivian Gagliano suffered a perforated colon during an elective laparoscopic hernia repair. In the medical malpractice suit, she argued that her doctors at Danbury hospital did not timely diagnose and treat her perforated colon. As a result of the delay, Vivian went into profound septic shock; suffered acute respiratory failure, metabolic encephalopathy with coma, and prolonged intubation and ventilator support.
- Georgia JuryAwards $8.4 Million to an Infant who Suffered Hypoxic Ischemic Brain Injury at Birth
Heather Medley spent 12 hours in labor at a Georgia hospital. Prior to delivery, doctors noted the baby’s heart rate decelerating and variable. Later, J.M. was born severely depressed with below normal APGAR scores and metabolic acidosis. Doctors delayed intubation for 8 minutes as J.M.’s condition continued to deteriorate and eventually he coded. Although the doctors succeeded to resuscitate, J.M. developed cerebral palsy. The jury found the Medical Center liable for medical malpractice due to the delay in treatment.
- Illinois StateJury Awards nearly $2 Million to a Man who Alleged Surgeon Negligently Removed His Testicle during Hernia Surgery
35-year-old Carl Edwards filed a medical malpractice action against a doctor for failure to perform an adequate physical examination prior to surgery. Edwards required surgical repair of a left inguinal hernia. During the surgery, Edwards maintained that the surgeon removed his testicle without a legitimate medical reason and without obtaining appropriate consent. As a result of the alleged negligence, Edwards is unable to have children and he developed a testosterone deficiency, which causes increased fatigue, sweating and a decreased libido. The verdict included the damages for the following: disfigurement – $ 175,000.00, disability – $ 1,250,000.00, and pain and suffering – $ 385,000.00.
Medical malpractice is hard to prove. The attorneys at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath have the skill, experience and knowledge to get you the compensation you deserve.
If you have any questions on this blog or need information on other personal injury queries, please call the Law offices of Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath located in West Palm Beach at 1-800 4-RIGHTS (1-800- 474-4487) We welcome your call and look forward to helping you.
