$4.51 Million Jury Verdict for Untimely Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiac Arrest

Janelle Jones, 57, underwent a cardiac catherization at Medical Center of Southeast Texas. Jones complained of chest pain before she was discharged. She underwent some testing. Jones was told to follow up with her treating physician in one week or go to the hospital if her pain increased. 

Four days after she was discharged from the hospital, Jones met with her treating cardiologist and complained of shortness of breath, chest pain and increased heart rate. The doctor diagnosed a stomach issue and prescribed medicine.

Four days after that, Jones went to the emergency room at the hospital, where she later died of a fatal heart attack. She was survived by her husband and four children. 

Jones’s husband and family sued the cardiologist, Dr. Abdulla, claiming that he chose not to properly interpret an electrocardiogram taken before Jones’s hospital discharge that showed signs of an impending heart attack. The lawsuit claimed that the hospital chose not to timely treat Jones when she presented to the emergency room with signs and symptoms of cardiac arrest. There was no lost income claimed in the lawsuit. 

The jury’s verdict of $4,510,000 assigned 75 percent of the responsibility to the hospital and the remaining 25 percent of verdict on Dr. Abdulla, the cardiologist.

The attorneys for the Jones family were Clay Dugas and Malachi Daws.

Jones v. Med.Ctr. of S.E. Tex, No. D-186, 807 (Tex.), Jefferson Co. Jud. Dist. June 2013.

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling medical negligence claims, wrongful death actions, birth injury cases and medical negligence lawsuits for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 37 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Naperville, Long Grove, Lindenhurst, Lake Bluff, Mundelein, Midlothian, Oak Park, River Forest, Chicago (Bridgeport, East Side, Back of the Yards), Blue Island and Wheaton, Ill.

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