$3.5 Million Settlement Reached for Death for Failure to Identify, Treat Heart Disease

Mr. Doe, 56, had a history of hypertension and dyslipidemia. He experienced shortness of breath over a three-month period and consulted Dr. Roe’s physician assistant. The physician assistant, who was a named defendant in this case, performed an examination reported as normal. Mr. Doe then underwent an in-office EKG, which showed a normal sinus rhythm.

Mr. Doe was scheduled for a stress test and a follow-up visit approximately one month later. However, before these appointments took place, Mr. Doe suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.

Mr. Doe had worked as a part-time security guard and was survived by his wife and two adult daughters.

The lawsuit against the physician assistant and the supervising doctor alleged they chose not to identify Mr. Doe’s risk of suffering a sudden cardiac arrest. The Doe family and estate maintained that Mr. Doe should have been sent to the emergency room or referred to a cardiologist immediately so that he could undergo further testing and monitoring, including a stress echocardiogram, serial cardiac enzymes and a serial EKG.

Before a trial, the parties settled for $3.5 million for this wrongful death.

The attorneys successfully handling this case for the Doe family and estate were Andrew C. Meyer Jr. and William J. Thompson.

Doe v. Roe Physician Assistant, Confidential Docket, No. (Mass. Super. Ct. Essex County).

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling wrongful death lawsuits, cardiology negligence lawsuits, physician assistant negligence cases, hospital negligence lawsuits, cardiovascular negligence cases, surgical negligence cases, and nursing home abuse 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 40 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Vernon Hills, West Chicago, Barrington, Roselle, Bloomingdale, Glendale Heights, Carol Stream, Villa Park, LaGrange, Bedford Park, Hickory Hills, Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park, Calumet City, Harvey, Tinley Park, Homer Glen, New Lenox, Olympia Fields, Chicago Heights, Riverdale, Lincolnshire, Waukegan, Chicago (Logan Square, Irving Park, Wrigleyville, Old Town, East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, West Loop, Chinatown, McKinley Park, Kenwood, Woodlawn, Avalon Park, Chatham, Chicago Lawn, Marquette Park, Roseland, East Side), Burbank, Chicago Ridge, Palos Hills and Orland Park, Ill.

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