Dolores Madigan, 71, had a seizure disorder. She took the anticonvulsant medications Keppra and Dilantin daily. When she was admitted to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, she was suffering from an eye infection. Internal medicine physician Dr. Jayeshkumar Makavana ordered swallow testing to rule out a stroke. Although Dr. Makavana…
Paul Chicoine was 47 years old when he experienced nausea, vomiting and extreme dizziness as he was painting a ceiling. He then developed left-sided numbness, weakness, and slurred speech. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital where he was given medication. An emergency physician, Dr. Michael Mendola, ordered blood…
Latosha Evans, 17, a heart transplant recipient, went to Children’s Hospital to undergo a cardiac catheterization to correct a fractured stent in her ascending aorta. After this procedure, which lasted approximately three hours, Latosha was transferred to the facility’s post-anesthesia care unit. A report from a neurology consultation allegedly wrote…
Ms. Doe, age 47, suffered from multiple sclerosis and used a walker. After she visited an urgent care clinic, she became tired and tried to sit down on her walker. The walker flipped over and Ms. Doe hit her head on the pavement. A physician’s assistant at the clinic treated…
Samuel Gray was 61 when he reported excruciating pain and cramping in his left lower leg. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital emergency room where it was noted that he had diminished foot pulses and was in severe pain. He was later diagnosed as having acute ischemia of…
Jody Blatchley, a 32-year-old snowboarding coach, fractured his left tibia and right calcaneus in a snowboarding mishap. He underwent two surgeries over the next few days including a left tibial plateau repair surgery performed by Dr. Richard Cunningham. After a second surgery, it was noted that Blatchley had pain, decreased…
Jerri Woodring-Thueson suffered a stroke. Several days later, tests showed a suspected vertebrobasilar arterial dissection. She was transferred to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center, the nearest comprehensive stroke center. A vertebral artery dissection is a flap-like tear of the inner linings of the vertebral artery, which is located in the neck…
On April 21, 2011, Gail Osten had a screening mammogram. The “technologist” at the screening noticed a slightly inverted left nipple and a brown discharge, which Osten had not noticed before. The mammogram revealed bilateral benign calcification and no other masses or malignancy. No further tests were ordered. In December…
Billy Pierce, 61, was admitted to East Texas Medical Center complaining of stomach pain and vomiting. Gastroenterologist Dr. Gary Boyd diagnosed bile duct stones, acute pancreatitis and cholangitis. Pierce developed sepsis and multi-organ failure. Another gastroenterologist evaluated Pierce and removed his bile duct stones. Pierce recovered after this surgical procedure…
Joan Simmons, 58, was experiencing acute back pain. She went to the emergency room at St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital. She was treated and released. Her back pain continued. Eight days after the back pain started, she returned to the hospital complaining of an altered mental status. Testing revealed a blood stream…