When Juanita Norton, 88, fell in her yard, she was taken to the local emergency room. At the hospital, she was diagnosed as having multiple pelvic fractures.
She was admitted to the hospital for pain control and rehabilitation when placed on DVT (deep vein thrombosis) prophylaxis.
During the hospitalization, Norton experienced pain, nausea, vomiting and constipation. Later, she had difficulty breathing. Unfortunately, Norton died three days after her hospital admission.
Continue reading
Thomas Lapsley went to a nearby hospital emergency room where doctors ordered a CT scan of his abdomen and pelvis. The scan revealed a lesion on his liver. A follow-up liver CT scan was ordered to rule out metastatic disease. There was nothing in the report as to the symptoms Lapsley might have experienced that prompted him to go to the emergency room.
After the CT scan, a surgeon, Dr. Ben Davis, did an exploratory laparotomy and repaired Lapsley’s gastric ulcer.
Over the next week, as Lapsley was admitted to the hospital, he did not undergo further evaluation of the liver mass and allegedly was not informed of the mass at his discharge. Eighteen months later, another doctor referred him for yet another CT scan. That scan led to a diagnosis of Stage IV metastatic cancer. Sadly, Lapsley died just one month later.
Continue reading
James Kowher underwent a stress test after experiencing an episode of chest pain while he was sleeping. Cardiologist Dr. Sobhan Kodali interpreted the test as negative.
About nine months later, Kowher experienced repeated chest pain episodes accompanied by shortness of breath, nausea and perspiration. Additionally, these episodes were increasing in frequency and severity and continued for up to ten minutes. Kowher’s primary care physician arranged an appointment with Dr. Kodali for two days later.
Dr. Kodali ordered an EKG and diagnosed Kowher as having panic attacks before discharging him. The primary care physician subsequently referred Kowher to a gastroenterologist, whose notes stated that Kowher’s chest pain were ongoing and worsening.
Continue reading
William Pratt, 75, a bilateral leg amputee, went to the Wills Eye Hospital emergency room at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He complained of eye pain and tearing. During his medical workup, Pratt’s eyes were dilated. He was then treated with an antibiotic eye ointment.
The attending physician discharged Pratt with a diagnosis of corneal abrasion. Pratt’s vision was impaired. He steered his motorized wheelchair over cement steps while leaving the hospital. He fell over, and his wheelchair fell on top of him, causing him to suffer a spinal cord injury and a subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Pratt underwent surgery but, unfortunately, he later died. He was survived by five adult children. One of the Pratt children, on behalf of the estate, sued Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Wills Eye Hospital, alleging that its staff chose not to advise Pratt of the need for assistance following his discharge.
Continue reading
Kimberly Suchomel, 28, suffered from a seizure disorder. When she ran out of her seizure medicine, she called the office of her treating neurologist, Dr. Eduardo Gallegos.
She asked for a refill of the medicine but was told by a receptionist that the doctor’s office said she would have to be seen by the doctor in order to receive a refill. An appointment was scheduled for the next available time, which was two months later.
Before this appointment, the doctor’s office told Suchomel that Dr. Gallegos would not see her and that she would not receive her refill until she paid the outstanding balance due to his office.
Continue reading
Gerald Sanford, 72, suffered from mitral valve disease. When he experienced heart palpitations, he consulted with an interventional radiologist, Dr. Amarnath Vedere. The doctor did an angiogram to examine the workings of his patient’s blood vessels; during the examination, he used an x-ray and dye.
The results of the angiogram showed a calcified lesion in the mid-segment of Sanford’s left anterior descending artery. This artery is known to be one of the most likely to be occluded. Dr. Vedere scheduled Sanford for percutaneous coronary intervention, a catheterization with a plaque-removing procedure and stent replacement.
During this procedure, Dr. Vedere attempted fourteen times to insert a guiding catheter with a stent. Sanford suffered respiratory arrest, which led to his death just a few weeks later. He was survived by his wife and teenage daughter.
Continue reading
Arleisha Hayes suffered from asthma. She was 44 years old at the time of this incident. She experienced shortness of breath when taken by ambulance to Hialeah Hospital. When she was admitted to the facility’s ICU and given a nasal swab, the swab showed no infection.
For the next several days, she was treated with steroids and antibiotics. After her condition improved somewhat, she was transferred to a telemetry floor.
While in the telemetry floor, Hayes developed severe shortness of breath and chest pains. This prompted a nurse to call for a rapid response. The house physician, Dr. Xavier Ramos, a medical school graduate who was not licensed to practice medicine, ordered a STAT chest X-ray and transferred her back to the ICU.
Continue reading
William Dukes was under the care of Prompt Ambulance Central Inc. when he suffered a fatal injury. He was survived by his minor son.
The Dukes family and estate sued Prompt Ambulance and Kindred Nursing Centers Limited Partnership, alleging that they chose not to provide adequate care and treatment when transporting him by ambulance.
Before trial, the parties settled for $187,000. The Dukes family then petitioned the court for additional damages to be paid from the Patient’s Compensation Fund of Indiana. The court then did authorize $440,000 in payment to the Dukes estate from that fund.
Continue reading
Beekman Youngblood, M.D., is a board-certified anesthesiologist who appealed a circuit court judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of Anthony Martin, as personal representative of the estate of Lanesha Martin.
On May 25, 2006, Lanesha Martin underwent outpatient sinus surgery at Vaughan Regional Medical Center. During that surgery, she was administered general anesthesia and was intubated (i.e., an endotracheal tube was inserted into her throat to help her breathe).
After the surgery, she developed pulmonary edema while in the post-anesthesia care unit and began experiencing problems with her oxygen saturation.
Continue reading
When Lana Burton went in for a routine mammogram and later developed a lump in her breast, she went back for another mammogram and an ultrasound. The radiologist, Dr. Sanford Limpkin, interpreted the mammogram and ultrasound as being normal.
Fifteen months later, she was diagnosed as having triple negative cancer of the right breast. She underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. Sadly, she died within three years. Burton was 56 when she passed away; she was survived by her husband and adult daughter.
The Burton estate sued Dr. Limpkin and his employer, Advanced Radiology, alleging that they chose not to timely diagnose and treat breast cancer. The Burton family asserted that Burton’s mass was observable on the second set of tests that were done and that Burton should have therefore undergone spot compression imaging.
Continue reading
Kreisman Law Offices Professional Corporation