$5.15 Million Jury Verdict for the Unnecessary Embolization that Led to a Catastrophic Stroke of Family Practice Physician

Dr. Terry Polt was 61 years old when she underwent an embolization procedure to treat her chronic nosebleeds.

An embolization procedure involves the selected occlusion of blood vessels by purposely introducing clots to a blood vessel. Embolization is generally used to treat a wide variety of conditions affecting different organs of the human body. In this case, the attempt was to cure chronic nosebleeds.

After the embolization procedure, Dr. Polt, a family practice physician, suffered an embolic stroke resulting in difficulties with executive function and attention. Dr. Polt was earning $150,000 annually and is now unable to work.

An embolic stroke is caused when one of the arteries to the brain is blocked by a blood clot that has formed somewhere else in the body. Usually the clot is formed in the heart, breaks loose and travels to the brain as an embolus. The clots can travel to any artery in the brain, but most often they block larger arteries. The symptoms most common for embolic stroke are sudden weakness of the face, arm or leg or numbness on one side of the body. Other symptoms include confusion with speech and understanding, impaired sight, balance and coordination problems and severe headache.

Dr. Polt sued the otolaryngologist who recommended the embolization. The lawsuit alleged that the procedure, which Dr. Polk asserted had been performed correctly by an interventional radiologist, was unnecessary.

Dr. Polt claimed that she should have received conservative treatment such as posterior nasal packing, noting that there is a 2% known stroke risk associated with an embolization procedure.

The parties agreed to a high-low agreement of $150,000 to $1 million before the beginning of the trial. The jury entered a verdict of $5.15 million. The attorneys successfully representing Dr. Polt were Scott A. Parsons and Ali Lotrete.

Polt v. Kroon, No. SOML-000427-12 (N.J. Super. Ct. Somerset County).

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling medical negligence lawsuits, nursing home abuse cases, hospital negligence cases, wrongful death cases and misdiagnosis of stroke lawsuits for individuals, families and loved one who have been injured, harmed or killed by the negligence of a medical provider for more than 40 years, in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Lake Forest, Orland Park, Burr Ridge, Alsip, Lincolnshire, Vernon Hills, Northbrook, Northfield, Glenview, St. Charles, Fox River Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Chicago (Beverly, Roseland, Riverdale, Lake Calumet, South Deering, East Side, Jackson Park, Stockyards, Midway, Lawndale, Logan Square, Sauganash, North Park, Irving Park, Uptown), Chicago Ridge and Worth, Ill.