Saalik Ziyad, 40, had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He was received at the emergency department at Advocate Trinity Hospital in Chicago where he was seen for sepsis and an abscess. An ECG was read as borderline, and he was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). A nephrologist,…
Articles Posted in Emergency Room Errors
$4 Million Jury Verdict in Failure to Document Patient’s Risk of Aspiration
Gloria Nogan, 81, underwent a partial colonoscopy after presenting at the hospital emergency room for gastroenterological symptoms. The attending anesthesiologist, Dr. Bassen Ghaly, used a monitored anesthesia care sedation method instead of general anesthesia with an endotracheal tube intubation. Nogan aspirated during the procedure and later died of complications from…
$4 Million Jury Verdict in Failure to Obtain an Order Timely CT Scan
Michael Gerhards, 68, hit his head when he slipped and fell on ice outside his home. He was taken by ambulance to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center where he was diagnosed as having a forehead laceration and right shoulder strain. He was sent home. Over the next few weeks, he…
$1 Million Settlement with Hospital and Jury Verdict Against Physician in Negligent Discharge Case
Leon Radcliff, 48, suffered from heroin addiction when he was admitted to Holy Cross Hospital after developing severe asthmatic symptoms resulting from large doses of prednisone. He received treatment for approximately two days. He was prescribed Ativan to stabilize his condition. About ten hours after his last dose of Ativan,…
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Confirms the Dismissal of a Claim of “Patient Dumping”
An Indiana University Hospital did not violate a law prohibiting patient dumping when it sent a woman suffering from severe abdominal pain to another facility to have dying portions of her intestines removed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago declined to revive the lawsuit that…
$800,000 Settlement in Failure to Diagnose and Treat Heart Disease
Janice Ferguson-Jean, 36, was seen at the Kings County Hospital Center emergency room. After being treated there for elevated blood pressure, she was discharged and instructed to follow up at a clinic. The following week, she was rushed back to the hospital and admitted for treatment of elevated blood pressure.…
$5.45 Million Settlement for Failure to Treat Infection
Ms. Doe, 36, went to a hospital emergency department complaining of severe flank or side pain. She underwent testing and was diagnosed as having a kidney stone in her ureter. Ms. Doe’s test results were allegedly equivocal and showed bacteria in her urine as well as an elevated white blood…
$475,000 in Death for Failure to Perform Cardiac Workup
Laurence Seng was seen at a hospital emergency room where he complained of a persistent cough, chest heaviness and burning following an outpatient urological procedure. Seng, who vomited in the ER, was administered a gastrointestinal cocktail in an effort to relieve his chest symptoms. However, his pain level increased. An…
Illinois Appellate Court Reverses Medical Malpractice Verdict Over Instructions to Jury on Loss-of-Chance Doctrine
In this medical malpractice jury case, a Cook County Circuit Court judge rejected a request by the plaintiff, Jill Bailey. She had requested a non-pattern jury instruction on “loss-of-chance.” The judge’s decision resulted in a reversal of a defense verdict. Bailey alleged that Jill Milton-Hampton died because of a delay…
$9.66 Million Jury Verdict for Late Diagnosis of Spinal Abscess
Anderson Fuentes, 47, had been diagnosed HIV-positive. He experienced severe back pain and an inability to urinate. He was admitted to Wycoff Heights Medical Center emergency room, where he was seen by an internist, Dr. Onyemachi Ajah. After Fuentes underwent drainage of his urine, Dr. Ajah attributed his pain to…