$2.4 Million Jury Verdict in Improper Monitoring of Coagulation Levels

Ms. Doe, 70, suffered from atrial fibrillation and had two mechanical heart valves. She was prescribed Coumadin to prevent a stroke. When Dr. Roe, her treating cardiologist, recommended elective replacement of her pacemaker battery, the Coumadin was stopped five days before the procedure. It was then restarted after the surgery.

Dr. Roe placed Ms. Doe on Bactrim to prevent infection and ordered an INR test, which is the international normalized ratio blood test. The test showed a result of 3.2 – more than double the previous INR taken before the procedure. Dr. Roe allegedly ordered a repeat INR for one month later. The INR blood test tells a patient how long it takes for blood to clot. A test called prothrombin time (PT) measures how quickly the blood clots in the body.

Before the repeat INR test, Ms. Doe was taken to the hospital ER suffering from anemia. Her INR at the time was 22.8. While at the hospital, Ms. Doe coded several times and died the next day.

The lawsuit against Dr. Roe alleged that the doctor chose not to order the serial INR testing after Ms. Doe’s Coumadin was restarted. The Doe family asserted that this was necessary due to the Bactrim dosing, which was known to increase the effects of Coumadin.

After a jury trial, the jury signed a verdict for $2.4 million.

The attorney handling this tragic case for the Doe family was Adam Satin.

Doe v. Roe Cardiologist, Undisclosed docket.

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling wrongful death lawsuits, cardiology negligence cases, hospital negligence lawsuits and misdiagnosis of cancer lawsuits for individuals, families and loved ones who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 45 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Schaumburg, Schiller Park, Stone Park, River Forest, Stickney, Western Springs, Darien, Justice, Hickory Hills, Worth, Alsip, Crestwood, Forest Park, Villa Park, Glenview, Chicago (Portage Park, Ukrainian Village, Bucktown, Wicker Park, West Town, Garfield Park, Austin, North Halsted, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Andersonville, Sauganash, Lisle Wood, Albany Park, North Mayfair, Park West, South Loop, Douglas, Wrigleyville, Jackson Park), Western Springs, Glencoe, and Park Forest, Ill.

Robert D. Kreisman has been an active member of the Illinois and Missouri bars since 1976.