personal injury lawyer

Negligent Urology Surgery Results in Large Verdict

January 29, 2010 | by Andrew G. Slutkin

A Kentucky jury has award $4.6 million to a couple in a medical malpractice case. The couple claimed that a urologist performed a negligent medical procedure on the husband causing permanent personal injuries. The verdict included $3,750,000 to the husband for pain and suffering, $117,612 for medical expenses and $750,000 to the wife.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I handle cases like these all of the time in my practice. One involved negligent anesthesia during urological procedures, while another involved the failure to recognize a spinal cord tumor that was causing incontinence. This is an extremely large verdict for such a case. While the newspaper article didn’t identify the particular injury, it must have been severe.

Contact Andrew G. Slutkin with further questions or inquiries at 410-385-2786

Incorrect IV Site Causing Death

January 26, 2010 | by Andrew G. Slutkin

A Missouri woman has settled a medical malpractice lawsuit for $2.5 million. The woman was treated at University Hospital in early 2005 for dehydration, which was the result of a gastrointestinal condition. Apparently, doctors infused her with nutritional supplements through an IV in her subclavian artery, just below the collarbone, instead of the subclavian vein, where it was supposed to go. This caused fatty blockages to travel to her brain for five consecutive days, causing severe strokes and neurological and mental impairment. She is mentally and physically handicapped as a result.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving the incorrect administration of mediation or nutrition through IVs. These cases usually involve clear medical negligence as the wrong product (medication or nutrition), dosage or entry point is used. In one case, a hospital gave the wrong medication dosage to a patient causing the patient to die. The error was clear from the medical records. In another case, a woman was given 5 times the proper dosage of nutrition supplement causing her to go into cardiac arrest and die. These are terribly upsetting cases because they can easily be prevented with just a little care and attention. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Contact Andrew G. Slutkin with further questions or inquiries at 410-385-2786

Cardiac Catheterization Medical Malpractice

January 25, 2010 | by Andrew G. Slutkin

A Massachusetts jury has found that two doctors at Children’s Hospital Boston were guilty of medical malpractice that caused the death of a 3-year-old boy, and awarded the parents $15 million. The boy died a year and a half after he underwent surgery for a birth defect. The child was born with a severe congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot, a complicated but treatable birth defect that affects the flow of blood through the heart. He underwent eight procedures, 7 of which were cardiac catheterizations, before coming to Children’s for another catheterization procedure to widen his arteries. After the Boston procedure, the child suffered a seizure. A CAT scan revealed that that contrast dye, which is used during the procedure to better see the patient’s anatomy, had leaked into his brain. Later, an MRI revealed that a piece of metal had lodged in the boy’s brain, probably from a medical instrument. When the child left the hospital, he was unable to walk or speak. The jury awarded damages of $5 million for the child’s pain and suffering, $5 million for the parents’ loss of their child, and $5 million for the child’s wrongful death.

According to the lawyers involved in the case, the parties reached a “high-low” settlement prior to the jury’s verdict. Such settlements can be structured in many different ways, but usually it means that the plaintiff will get a certain amount of money guaranteed (the low) in exchange for agreeing that no matter how high the verdict is the defendants will not have to pay more than a particular amount (the high). Usually, the plaintiff gets the low even if he/she loses the case. But sometimes the settlement agreements are structured so that the defendant only pays the money if the plaintiff wins the case. If the verdict is between the high and low, then the plaintiff gets that amount. These agreements can be beneficial to both sides to protect each side from their worst case scenario – in other words, it protects the plaintiff from losing the case completely and it protects the defendant(s) from a large verdict.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving sick children, and have done a number of high-low settlements. They are extremely complicated and require expertise that most general personal injury attorneys do not have.

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Misdiagnosis of Enterovirus

October 7, 2009 | by Andrew G. Slutkin

A Florida jury has jus awarded the parents of a 15 year old girl $4.3 million in a medical malpractice case that was filed in 1996. The case arose when the girl was born, at which time doctors misdiagnosed a virus that the girl had. As a result, the girl’s brain and kidneys were permanently damages. The girl now has severe vision problems and permanent cirrhosis of the liver.

Once the girl got sick, the doctors allegedly ignored symptoms that pointed to an enterovirus, a typically mild illness that can become deadly in infants without a developed immune system. The doctors also failed to take liver and blood tests that would have quickly identified the virus.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of cases involving children who have suffered severe and permanent injuries from malpractice. It’s always tragic to see a child whose life has been permanently affected by the negligence of another.

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Bowel Malpractice

September 8, 2009 | by Andrew G. Slutkin

A widower has won an $8.5 million medical malpractice verdict against an Indiana hospital over his wife’s death. The woman, who had a dangerous bowel obstruction, died after the hospital failed to timely get an x-ray to doctors that showed her condition. During the trial, the man’s lawyers presented evidence demonstrating that the hospital failed to promptly get an x-ray to doctors that revealed the bowel obstruction, which is a life-threatening medical condition. The Plaintiff alleged that the hospital’s actions led to a one day delay in reading the film and postponed emergency surgery that would have cleared the obstruction and saved the woman’s life.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled several bowel cases arising from negligence. Some have been mesenteric ischemia malpractice cases and others have been bowel obstruction malpractice cases. Time is of the essence in treating such a condition, and timely communication among the health care providers is essential. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

In this case, an interesting point is that the verdict will be reduced from $8.5 million to about $1.25 million due to a cap on damages in Indiana. Maryland also has a cap on damages. In Maryland, the current law, which can be found in section 3-2A-09 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, which states:

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Back Surgery Malpractice / Paralysis – Medical Malpractice

December 1, 2008 | by Andrew G. Slutkin

A Los Angeles County woman may receive more than $1.6 million to settle a malpractice lawsuit she brought against the county after being paralyzed during back surgery at a Los Angeles medical center. The L.A. county Claims Board is prepared to discuss the proposed medical malpractice settlement with legal counsel behind closed doors. If they give their go-ahead, the matter will then go before the county Board of Supervisors for final approval.

The lawsuit was brought by a woman who had two vertebrae fractured in a car accident in 2005. During surgery at the hospital, the woman, who was 20 years old at the time, was paralyzed. In her lawsuit, the woman claimed that no one explained the risks of the procedure to her and that the hospital’s staff failed to provide her with the necessary care. Although the medical center took the position that she received proper care, the settlement was proposed to avoid a potentially risky jury trial.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the county would pay $1.5 million to the woman and assume medical bills totaling $112,999. The county has already paid more than $217,000 in attorney fees in the case.

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Breast Cancer Malpractice

July 10, 2008 | by Andrew G. Slutkin

The family of a New York woman who died of a breast tumor in 2004 has been awarded more than $9 million in a medical malpractice case. The jury found that a surgeon failed to properly diagnose the mother of two, allowing her breast tumor to grow and kill her.

I have successfully handled a number of medical malpractice / medical negligence / medical error cases in Baltimore and other counties in Maryland involving a failure to timely diagnose and treat breast cancer and other cancers. Some of the cases I have handled involved a failure to properly read mammograms (negligent reading of mammograms). Other cases have involved a failure to properly read pathology such as tissue samples on slides from a biopsy.

I have even handled a case involving negligent failure to properly treat cancer, in a medical malpractice case against Kaiser. In that particular case, a woman (who happened to be a judge) was properly diagnosed with lymphoma. She eventually started chemotherapy, which lowered the ability of her immune system to fight infection. After the chemo, but while her immune system still was weakened, she developed a rash from her chemotherapy, for which her doctor negligently prescribed steroids. The problem with prescribing the steroids was that steroids tend to further reduce the immune system’s ability to fight infection and, because they act as strong anti-inflammatories, they reduce fever and make you feel better when you are sick, thereby masking infection. Unfortunately, no one ever told this to the patient, so she did not take precautions against infection (which she had been doing while on chemo). Not surprisingly, she developed an infection and never knew it. Her blood work showed it, but the doctor did not tell her about it. Sadly, one night, she became overwhelmed with meningitis and died before being able to summon help. The jury in that case awarded $2.5M to the woman’s estate and her son.

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Doctors Saying I’m Sorry For Medical Malpractice

May 22, 2008 | by Andrew G. Slutkin

This past weekend, there was a fascinating story in the New York Times about doctors who say “I’m sorry” when a medical mistake is made. A copy of the article can be found here. According to the article, some of the leading hospitals in the country are instituting policies that encourage doctors to apologize when a medical mistake is made. What a novel idea!

In my experience, one of the most frequent reasons that people contact my office to investigate a potential Maryland medical malpractice case, is because their doctor will not tell them what happened when something went wrong. These new steps should help doctors avoid medical malpractice cases.

Interestingly, Maryland recently enacted legislation that makes apologies by doctors inadmissible at trial in medical malpractice cases, furthering the goals stated in the New York Times article.

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