Articles Posted in Hospital Errors

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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 discontinued Madigan’s medication, a neurologist later reinstated the anticonvulsants.

The next night, a nurse alerted Dr. Makavana that Madigan had not been receiving her medicine. The nurse then administered a small inadequate dose of medication in line with Dr. Makavana’s instructions.
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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 tests and a CT scan of the head. The finding from the CT scan was negative except for a note about a sinus inflammation. Chicoine was then discharged with the diagnosis of vertigo and sinusitis.

Eight days after discharge, he suffered a stroke. After extensive rehabilitation over eight months, he returned to his job as a court officer. He has been unable to continue working due to his deficits, which included vision impairment and limited use of his left hand, which were the result of the stroke.
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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 in the chart that Latosha had possible right hemiparesis; however, neither the attending nursing nor medical staff initiated a stroke protocol or requested a complete neurological assessment.

Hemiparesis is a partial weakness on one side of the body. It can affect either the left or right side of the body. The weakness can involve the arms, hands, legs, face or a combination of all. Almost 80% of stroke survivors experience hemiparesis, making it one of the most common effects of a stroke.
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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 the injury and stitched Ms. Doe’s wound before discharging her with only verbal instructions.

Ms. Doe lapsed into a coma approximately five hours later. She was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital where testing revealed a skull fracture and intracranial hemorrhage with midline shift.
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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 the lower leg and was given Heparin, a blood thinner.

The hospital staff contacted a thoracic surgeon, Dr. Panagiotis Iakovidis, who agreed to treat Gray and ordered a CT angiogram. The CT angiogram confirmed the diagnosis of acute ischemia in the lower leg.

However, Dr. Iakovidis did not see Gray personally until the next day, 22 hours after the hospital staff had requested his services. Despite an attempt to restore blood flow, Gray subsequently required below-the-knee amputation of his left leg.
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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 sensation in his left leg, and an inability to move his left toes. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Peter James evaluated Blatchley and prescribed pain medication.

Over the next few days, Blatchley’s pain increased, he developed swelling and remained unable to wiggle his toes. He underwent an ultrasound and was later found to have increased pressure in the compartments of his lower left extremity. This led to an emergency fasciotomy, debridement and skin graft procedures, and placement of a wound VAC six days after the injury. Blatchley now suffers from left foot drop and lower leg pain. His medical expenses totaled $418,000, and he lost income of $190,000.
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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 and supplies blood to the brain. After such a tear, blood enters the arterial wall and forms a blood clot to thicken the artery wall; often it blocks blood flow.

Shortly after her admission to the Seattle facility, she experienced nausea, vertigo, decreased hearing, blurred vision and uncontrolled eye movements. A repeat MRI was negative for new strokes. Woodring-Thueson’s treating physicians continued her on dual antiplatelet therapy, which included aspirin.
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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 2011, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died on March 19, 2015.

On Jan. 20, 2017, Joseph Osten, as special administrator for Gail Osten’s estate, filed suit against Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation, Nye Partners in Women’s Health and three of the medical providers who treated Osten in April 2011.
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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 but subsequently developed worsened cholangitis, which necessitated a liver transplant.

Pierce had been a senior vice president of a chemical company and was earning $900,000 per year, but he is now unable to work.

Pierce sued the hospital, Dr. Boyd and two other treating gastroenterologists. He alleged that the hospital negligently allowed Dr. Boyd to practice when the state medical board had suspended his medical privileges and that Dr. Boyd chose not to remove the bile duct stones, which led to sepsis and the multi-organ failure.
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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 infection.

An infectious disease specialist, Dr. Sarah Barbour, examined Simmons, who then began to experience progressive leg weakness.

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